10 Jul Lordship Title of Oakley ID1214
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The history of Oakley begins with an entry in the Ramsey Cartulary to the effect that one 'Alfelinus,' who died in 988, gave Oakley and Potton to the abbey. 'Alfelinus' clearly represents one O. E. Ælfhelm, and the mention of Potton enables us to identify him with Ælfhelm of Wratting, a wealthy thegn of East Anglia and Cambridgeshire, who disposed of part of Potton by his extant will. The church of Ramsey never obtained the latter vill, and its possession of Oakley was delayed, for in compiling a general charter of confirmation in the name of Edward the Confessor the monks assert that they received Oakley with its appurtenances from Eadnoth the son of Godric. It is significant that Ælfhelm of Wratting in his will refers to Godric as the husband of his unnamed daughter; but the gift by Eadnoth, Godric's son, can hardly have been made long before the time of the Confessor, and the abbey's tenure in any case was brief. Although there is no direct evidence of connexion, the Ramsey estate is probably represented by the hide in Oakley which in 1066 had belonged to Godwine, a man of Earl Harold, and twenty years later was held by Miles Crispin of the Countess Judith. Unlike the bulk of the property of the countess, this hide never became attached to the honour of Huntingdon. Miles Crispin would appear to have later become seised in chief, and the property together with part of his Clapham lands later became the manor of Ocle-cum-Clapham or Bayeux Manor, and was held of the honour of Wallingford. The history of this property until 1564 is the same as that of the manor of Ocle-cum-Clapham in Clapham parish (q.v.). In that year, however, the manor was divided, Lord Vaux selling his Clapham property to Thomas Rowe, while he retained his Oakley lands. The Clapham moiety alone appears to have had manorial rights attached to it, but both are afterwards termed 'manors.' In 1582 Lord Vaux sold Oakley to Miles Sandys and Anthony Saurez. They in turn sold it to Richard Faldoe in 1585 for £420, the property then comprising 200 acres of arable land, 30 acres of meadow and 6 acres of wood. In 1612 Richard Faldoe alienated the property to Charles North and Stephen Partridge. It probably was soon afterwards broken into smaller holdings, as no further mention of it has been found.
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Listed in the Domesday Book:
Yes