13-560: The Sokens is a name often used to describe the area containing the traditional parishes of Thorpe , Kirby and Walton , which now lie in Tendring district in the Naze area of northeast Essex . The significance of this grouping is now mostly historical. The name 'Soken' is derived from the Saxon 'soc' or 'soca', signifying immunity, peculiar privileges and jurisdiction. It refers in particular to
26-730: A few decades more, until the late 19th century. 51°51′37″N 1°13′09″E / 51.8602°N 1.2191°E / 51.8602; 1.2191 Thorpe-le-Soken Thorpe-le-Soken is a village and civil parish in the Tendring district of Essex , England. It is located east of Colchester , west of Walton-on-the-Naze and Frinton-on-Sea , and north of Clacton-on-Sea . Since 2002, archaeological investigations ahead of construction work have uncovered traces of Palaeolithic (early Clactonian 424,000-400,000 BC), Mesolithic, early Neolithic and Roman rural settlements. Thorpe-le-Soken's contiguous history can be traced back to Saxon times. In c. 970 , King Æthelstan confirmed
39-625: The manor was owned by the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's in London , and was assessed at 27 hides . It may have been granted to them by King Athelstan . The manor was held directly of the King, forming a peculiar jurisdiction or soke . The first indication of subdivision into three dependent manors comes in 1150. The Chapter retained the area until 1544, when it was exchanged with the Crown for other estates. In 1551
52-639: The High Street, and the Thorpe Campus of Tendring Technology College (Years 7, 8 and 9) in Landermere Road. The village is served by Thorpe-le-Soken railway station . The village had a post office at 29 High Street, but this closed c. 2008 and was converted into a house. The village hosts several shops, pubs and eateries. [REDACTED] Media related to Thorpe-le-Soken at Wikimedia Commons Thorpe Hall (Thorpe-le-Soken) Thorpe Hall
65-551: The court of the Archdeacon of Colchester .) Much of the soken court's business was taken away by the Probate and Matrimonial Causes acts of 1857. From the 16th century onwards, the court generally sat in Thorpe church. The last session was held in 1861. The last commissary was William Burgess, in office from 1823-1862. He was also vicar of all three parishes. Manorial courts continued for
78-525: The grant of Eduluesnaesa – combined estate of Kirby, Thorpe and Walton – to St Paul’s. Soken meaning a jurisdiction with separate taxation and managerial responsibilities. There has been a manor house at Thorpe since about 1150. The old manor house, Thorpe Hall , was owned by the Leake family, and rebuilt in the 1820s by the wealthy lawyer J.M. Leake ( d. 1862 ). It was later leased by Frederic Foaker, owner of Sneating Hall at Kirby-le-Soken . Thorpe Hall
91-520: The manorial rights were granted by the young Edward VI to Thomas Darcy, Baron Darcy of Chiche . The manor descended with the Barons Darcy and earls of Rochford, until being sold by the fourth earl to Richard Rigby in 1775 to pay debts. Since then, the rights have been sold numerous times. The Sokens formed a peculiar jurisdiction within the Church of England , with its own ecclesiastical court under
104-450: The power to administer justice within itself, and likewise the circuit within which such power was exercised. Among others was the claim that no bailiff except the lord's bailiff could arrest any person within the parish. Thorpe, Kirby and Walton once made up the ancient manor of Adulvesnasa. This name probably refers to the promontory or Naze where Walton now lies, and may denote a former landowner. The Domesday Book states that, in 1066,
117-457: The responsibility of a commissary appointed by the lord of the manor. This court dealt with a range of matters that has lessened over time. In earlier years it would have included dealing with disciplinary offences such as adultery, fornication and drunkenness. In later years it was limited to more administrative matters such as the proving of wills and granting of marriage licences. (In neighbouring parishes, this business would have been conducted in
130-610: Was a manor house built in the Georgian style at Thorpe-le-Soken in Essex , England. The Thorpe Manor estate belonged to the Dean and Chapter of St Paul's until the Dissolution of the Monasteries . In 1723 it was bought by Stephen Martin who assumed the name and arms of Leake upon inheriting an estate from Admiral Sir John Leake ; it remained in the Leake family – the most recent manor house
143-533: Was also the home of the famous Midlands author Arnold Bennett just before and during the First World War. (Source: contemporary issues of Essex County Standard , Arnold Bennett's Correspondence.) The local church, St Michael's, was shown in series 2 episode 4 of the BBC's Who Do You Think You Are? , where comedian Julian Clary traced a family member to the church. Thorpe-le-Soken has Rolph CofE Primary School in
SECTION 10
#1732868705835156-550: Was built between 1822 and 1825 for John Martin Leake – until 1913 when it was bought by Julian Byng, 1st Viscount Byng of Vimy whose wife, Evelyn Byng, Viscountess Byng of Vimy , laid out the gardens. Viscount Byng died at Thorpe Hall in 1935. It was acquired by the Ministry of Defence at the start of World War II and then became the Lady Nelson Convalescent Home for employees of English Electric in 1951. It
169-537: Was the home of Viscount Byng of Vimy (Governor General of Canada 1921–6), and his wife Evelyn Byng, Viscountess Byng of Vimy , who relandscaped the gardens. Between 1690 and 1720 Thorpe housed a community of several dozen Huguenot refugees fleeing persecution in France, who are thought to have stayed at the large house still called Comarques . The house is now home to the Adams family. (Source: Huguenot Society records.) This
#834165