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Warborough, Hadham, Chislehampton, Drayton, Clifton, Bircot, Overy, Nettlebed, and Baldon, or Baddington, under which general name of Baldon, or Baddington, are comprehended and known the townships of Foot Baldon, March Baldon, Lawrence Baldon, and Little Baldon, and every of them, all lying within the boundary of Baldon Field, but neither of them of itself known by the name of Baldon, without other addition, and all the Baldons keep the same festival, being that of St. Lawrence.

The church of Dorchester, with the spiritual profits of its peculiar, was anciently parcel of the possessions of the bishop and convent of Dorchester, and after the removal of the see to Lincoln, such spiritual possessions remained the property of its chapter, consisting of secular canons, with an abbot presiding over them instead of the bishop.

Besides the rectory or spiritual revenues of the peculiar, the monastery of Dorchester, before anno 1291, had the rectory of the church of Shirburn, another ancient mother church within the same county, appropriated to its use, but those of the peculiar belonged to it from the earliest payment of tithes; it had also sundry temporal estates, and there were great grounds to conclude that the abbot had a house at Shirburn, and often retired to it, and was there at the time of the survey of the possessions of the monastery of Dorchester, in the 26th of Henry VIII.

Dorchester church, and the whole of its peculiar, is in the deanery of Aston; and whether through the hurry and confusion of those times, or the inaccuracy of the survey of the 26th Henry VIII. all the possessions of Dorchester are returned therein as being in Aston deanery; although Dorchester church, and the whole of its peculiar, is in the deanery of Cuddesden, and rated amongst other churches, having spiritualities in the deanery of Cuddesden, anno 1291; but no such church as Marsh Baldon having any spiritual endowment, is to be met with in the taxation of spiritualities, anno 1291.

The peculiar or ancient parish of the church of Dorchester being very extensive, and many villages or hamlets within it remote from the mother church, occasioned the erection of many chapels [192] within its peculiar rectory; and subsequent to the division of the dioceses in parochial cures, and the establishment of tithes in this kingdom, some of these chapels were independent chapels, endowed with a temporal revenue in perpetuity, by some pious persons for maintenance of a priest to perform divine service; and for the better accommodation of the inhabitants, they were allowed the privilege of sacraments and burials, and other parochial rights, and presentation being made of some of them by their founder or endower, became from that time presentative; and institution the mode of investing its incumbents with such temporal revenues wherewith endowed, and to enable them to recover and defend the same, was practised and allowed: others have no such provision, yet most of them, either through the presentation of their patrons, or vulgar reputation, have now acquired the reputation of parish churches, and the hamlets wherein they are situated, distinct parishes, although anciently parcel of Dorchester, and no tithes belonging of original right to any of them, except Dorchester.

The convent of Dorchester being dissolved temp. Henry VIII. the Crown, for valuable considerations paid into the Exchequer, granted its spiritual revenues out in parcels to sundry purchasers, by such descriptions as appeared best adapted to ascertain the matters granted; and this, according to the language of such grants, was by the description of the rectory of such place, etc. whereof the grant was of the spiritual profits or tithes; amongst others, one Toppes, in the 28th of Henry VIII. had a grant of all tithes and glebe lands of all the Baldons, parcel of the peculiar rectory of Dorchester, by the description of the rectory of Baldon, parcel of the possessions of the monastery of Dorchester; and in the eighth year of Queen Elizabeth, the Crown, in consideration of £1152 paid into the Exchequer, granted, ex certa scientia, the reversion of such rectory of Baldon generally, parcel as aforesaid, to one Hall in fee, excepting the advowson of all rectories, vicarages, and churches.

Soon afterwards, Hall granted the said rectory of Baldon to one Anthony Pollard, an ancestor of the respondent Lane's in fee; from whom it descended to John Pollard, and afterwards to Lewis Pollard, great grandfather of the respondent Lane, and of Margaret the late wife of the respondent Bacon.

In the 6th year of King James I. the Crown granted licence to John Pollard and Lewis Pollard, to alien the rectories of Marsh Baldon, St. Lawrence Baldon, and Little Baldon, to Richard Goddard and John Staunton, but for what purpose or estate did not appear.