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Note on sources.

Most information comes from the individual deeds in two batches of Deeds at the house. These are supplemented by a number of other Deeds in the Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies at Aylesbury and are prefaced below by “CBS”. Other information is at the National Archives at Kew and prefaced “Nat Arch”. Census returns are available on the Internet.

Pre 1400 There statements in various books and articles conjecturing on the earlier history and Saxon origin of Stonewells. These are non-academic sources and appear to be pure speculation with no firm evidence base.

C 1480-1520 Estimated date of construction of the current house from its style and timbers. This is a high status building for its time but we currently do not know who occupied it and whether it was major farm or had some greater significance within a manor such as the Manor House or Home Farm.

1558 Possible mention within the land holdings of William Gardyner of Grove Place Manor at the Inquisition after his death. (Source Nat. Arch C 142/118/3)

1601 The Grove Manor is sold by William Glover to George Fleetwood of the Vache.
(Source CBS D-RA/1/200)

1623 George Fleetwood sells Grove Manor, and also specifically Stonewells, to Henry Sams and his son. This is first time the name appears. (Source CBS D-RA/1/200). Whether Stonewells was previously part of Grove Manor is uncertain.

1689 Stonewells and its lands, defined for the first time(in red on map), is now in the ownership of a Henry Clarke, Stationer and citizen of London, and he sells it to his brother in law, Lord Chandos of Sudely. (Source Deed Poll of 23 Nov. 1756.)

1693 Joseph Bartlett, blacksmith of Chalfont St Giles, acquires Street End Croft, Thisley Croft and Smalden Mead (part of land in green) from Susannah Barton. (Source CBS D234/3/1.)

1695 Joseph Bartlett in partnership with John Grimsdale acquires a one third interest in Three Households. (Source CBS D234/3/1.)

1697 Deed of partition to split the lands in the 1695 acquisition. (Source CBS D234/3/1.)

1699 Stonewells and some, or all of the land shown on the map in red, was acquired by Joseph Bartlett from the Duke of Chandos . (Source Deed of Covenant 29 May 1777.)

1721 Joseph Bartlett also acquires Chapell Farm (als Hunger Hill), which had been the home of Thomas Ellwood, in Coleshill from Thomas Talboys. (Source CBS D69/7/1.) Joseph Bartlett and his family were Quakers of many years standing.

1731 Joseph Bartlett dies leaving Hunger Hill Farm, Coleshill, to his son Henry Bartlett immediately, and the property in Chalfont St Giles including Stonewells, to Henry after the death of Joseph’s widow.(Source CBS BAS 774/38.)

1736 Henry Bartletts sells Hunger Hill Farm to William Bassil of Wilton Park. (Source Deed Poll of Frances Bassil 11 Nov 1756.)

1750 Henry Bartlett takes out a mortgage on all his remaining property from a Harriet Needham for £500. Mary Buckmaster is current occupant of Stonewells. (Source 25 June 1750 Indenture Of Lease.)

1756 Henry Bartlett sells Stonewells and its lands (shown red and green) to the Rev. Robert Hare and Philip Roberts for £1,500. Robert Hare owns the Vache but the role and relationship of Philip Roberts is unknown. (Source 18 November 1756 Indenture Tripartite.)
As part of this transaction Robert Hare redeems the mortgage from Harriet Needham. (Henry Bartlett does not die until 1784 and still has other property.)

1756 Robert Hare takes out a mortgage of £1300 on the property from Randle Wilbraham.
(Source. Indenture of Release 23 November 1756.)

1771 The mortgage of £1,300 is transferred to Mary Eeles. (Source. Indenture of Release 26 January 1771.)

1777 March Robert Hare redeems the Mortgage. (Source. Reconveyance of Mortgage 12 March 1777.)

1777 May Robert Hare sells the land in red and blue (which latter was part of Vache) to Mary Buckmaster, who was already in occupation, for £1,029. (Source. Indenture of Release 29 May 1777.) She took out a mortgage for £700 from Thomas Clutterbuck.

1777 July At the same time Robert Hare sold the land in green to Sir Hugh Palliser. (Source CBS D29/18. Indenture of lease 23 Jul 1777.) Palliser used it to expand Gorelands farm.

1779 June Mary Buckmaster died leaving John Buckmaster her eldest son as her heir.

1781 March John Buckmaster, who had inherited the property, sold it to his brother Roger Buckmaster for £300 plus the outstanding mortgage of £735. (Source 27 March 1781 Indenture of Release.)

1783 March. Roger Buckmaster redeems the mortgage.

1797 June. Roger Buckmaster sells the property to John Bagwill through a nominee, William Mittou. (Source 8 June 1797 Conveyance and Release.)

1826 August. William Johnson sells to James Bradshaw a close of land shown in yellow for the price of £153/15/-.. (Source 26 August 1826 Conveyance and Release.)

1829 January . James Bagwill died.

1829 September . The trustees of the will of James Bagwill sell to James Bradshaw the land in red blue and brown. (Source 24 September 1829 Conveyance by Release.)

1840 Tithe survey. James Bradshaw owns and occupies the land in red, blue, brown and yellow; plus a further 9 acres off Narcot Lane. His total estate in Chalfont St Giles is 67 acres. His brother William owns and occupies Bowles Farm totalling 46 acres, and Twichells.

1843 April. James Bradshaw died without issue and left all his estate to his brother William, except a legacy of £200 to his sister Sarah and £90 pa to his wife, also Sarah. His estate includes property in Coleshill, six cottages in Wooburn Common and a house in Beaconsfield. (Source His will Nat. Arch Prob/11/1977.)

1849 March. William Bradshaw died leaving a son William who was under age. His will was that his executors are to sell all his estate (See plan) except the house in Chalfont St Giles adjoining the property of Mr Anthony, which he leaves to his wife Ann Bradshaw. (This appears to be the premises currently Lloyds Pharmacy). The proceed are to be used to support his son until he is 25 when he inherits the whole. (Source His will Nat. Arch Prob/11/2090.)

1850. The trustees of the will of William Bradshaw sell Stonewells and the lands, as in the Sept 1829 indenture, to William Nash. (Source 24 January 1850 Conveyance.) A mortgage for £700 was taken out on the property.

1851. The Census shows Stonewells being occupied by William Nash, the son of the William who had purchased it. He is aged 26, living alone but is described as a farmer of 55 acres employing three men and two boys. He was born in Oving.

1861. On this census William Nash the son, is still occupying Stonewells and of course he is 10 years older at 36. He is a farmer of 60 acres now employing three men and three boys. He now has a wife Julia aged 30 born in what is probably Oving, and a son aged one month.

1864. William Nash the elder dies leaving Stonewells and its lands to his sons John and William.

1866 Amersham Union Valuation. Shows William Nash as both the owner and the occupier of Stonewells and 52 acres 1 rood 8 poles with the rateable value of £44/2/0. ( This is likely to be William Nash the son.) (Source CBS.)

1871. Stonewells is being farmed by Sarah Nash widow, who is described in the census as farming 79 acres with 2 men and one boy. She has living with her two grandsons by her deceased son Thomas, William E Nash and Frank Nash. By this time her son William had moved to Fingest to farm there.

1875. Sarah had died in 1873 and her son John had died in 1874; Stonewells and its lands were inherited by William Nash, her son as sole heir. He redeemed the mortgage in November 1875 and then sold most of the property to William White and Thomas White of Rickmansworth, who appear to have just leased it back to either William or William E Nash. ( Source 1932 Abstract of title of W E Nash to Stonewells farm.)

1881 Census. Shows Stonewells being occupied by a William Nash aged 26 born in Bierton Bucks, described as a farmer of 80 acres employing one man and one boy. Living with him are his wife, Mary A Nash aged 28 born in Chalfont St Giles, a daughter Mary A Nash aged five, a second daughter Minnie S aged 2, and a son William J Nash aged three months, all born in Chalfont St Giles.

1891 Census. Shows Stonewells occupied by William E Nash aged 36, together with his wife Mary, daughter Mary, and son William, but no daughter Minnie. There are now two additional children, Lizzie aged eight and Harry aged one.

1904 District Property Valuation. William E Nash is shown as the occupier, but the owner of the house and 3 acres land is shown as a William White. The building (287) is described as, House Shop Buildings Premises and Appurtenances in the High Street. The main part of the land appears to have been lumped together with other land owned by William White described as 80 acres on Narcot Lane. (Source CBS.)

1910 Inland Revenue Valuation. This again shows William E Nash as the occupier of the House Shop and Buildings (277) and 3 acres of associated land. The owner is shown as William White of Long Lane farm Rickmansworth. (I think this is a farm at Maple Cross.) Now however William E Nash is shown as the occupier of 32 acres of land in the Deanway owned by William White, who also owns a further 41 acres of land at Narcot Lane. (I suspect this is the land of Bowles farm but it needs to be checked.) (Source CBS.)

1928. William White dies and leaves his wife Florence his sole heir.

1929. Florence White sells Stonewells and lands to William E Nash, who is the sitting tenant, for £2,200. ( Source 1932 Abstract of title of W E Nash to Stonewells farm.)

1932. William E Nash sells Stonewells Farm house and immediately surrounding land to Robert S Fox, an engineer, for £1,200. (See plan.) Nash appears to have retained the remaining land.

1935. Robert Fox conveyed a small plot of ground fronting onto Deanway to the Uxbridge and District Electric Supply Co for use as the location of a transformer sub-station.

1951. Date of preparation of Abstract of Title of R S Fox. Presumably in preparation for conveyance to Gerald and Elizabeth Elvey. The house was advertised at this date with Stonewells Cottage split out as a separate lot and tenanted. This must have been done at some earlier date by Robert Fox.

1985. Gerald Elvey dies.

1989 Elizabeth Elvey dies and presumably the house is sold soon after.

More recent property transactions have deliberately not been included.