Vol 3 - Lackham Countryside Centre

The Manor of Lackham Vol 3 : The Montagu family
James Montagu IV re-acquired Bewley Court from Mr. Lloyd in 1764.
Bewley is a very ancient property, even by the standards of the local
area, and had been part of the Lackham estate in the time of the Bluets,
in the 12 th to 14 th centuries 307 . It remained part of Lackham estate
until the early 19 th Century when the estate was broken up 308 . It was
again bought by Lackham by a future owner, George Palmer,
James Montagu IV was a Trustee for an important local charity which
looked after Maud Heath’s Causeway. Maud Heath was an
extraordinary woman who, in 1474,
gave her properties in Chippenham to trustees so that they
could use the income to provide a paved path from the top
of Wick Hill to what was then the boundary of the parish of
Langley Burrell with Chippenham. 309
The details of Maud’s life given on the various memorials and in most of
the accounts available would appear, thanks to the recent scholarship
of Dr. K. Taylor 310 , to be in error - that she was a “poor market woman”
307 See Pratt, T & Repko, K (2008) The Bluets : a baronial family and their historical
connections 1066-1400 Wiltshire College Lackham p75 online at
http://www.lackham.co.uk/history/the_bluets_09.pdf
308 Lacock Inscriptions
After Lackham estate was broken up in the early 1800’s Bewley Court became part of
the property of Mr Huggens, who founded a charitable institute, the Huggens College,
said to be situated somewhere in Kent, and upon that institution he bestowed his
property in the parish of Lacock
309 Taylor, K (2010) pers. comm. Our sincere thanks to Dr Taylor for making us aware
of the Montagu connection with the Trustees and for willingly sharing the results of
her own research.
310 Taylor, K (2010) “Who was Maud Heath?: The Myths and Reality of a Chippenham
Benefactor” paper presented at Chippenham Museum 10 th Anniversary Archaeology
and History Dayschool, Chippenham, March 2010
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