Manor of Great Stanmore

The manor of Great Stanmore was owned by St Alban's Abbey at the time of the Norman Conquest. The manor was initially known as Stanmore-the first recorded division of Stanmore into "Great" and "Little" is in the Domesday Book. The Abbey leased the manor to various tenants until 1279 when Robert of Stanmore successfully claimed it. In 1362 it was acquired by the prior of St Bartholomew's, Smithfield, who already held the manor of Little Stanmore. The chief steward of St Bartholomew's, Geoffrey Chamber, leased the manor. He sold some of the property to Sir Pedro de Gamboa, a Spanish mercenary working for the royals. Chamber died in 1544, in heavy debt, and his estates were forfeited and granted to de Gamboa. However, he was murdered in 1550 and the manor was leased to Sir George Blage.

In 1604 the lordship was sold to Sir Thomas Lake, a secretary of state, and the owner of Little Stanmore manor. A fee farm rent was paid to the Crown, later granted to the chapter of Westminster. Later branches of the Lake family underwent much litigation relating to the ownership of the manor, and it subsequently went through several changes of owner and was subdivided. In 1715 the manor was once again united with Little Stanmore manor, this time under the Brydges family, earls of Carnarvon and dukes of Chandos. The manor was sold to James Hamilton, marquess (later duke) of Abercorn, and the owner of Bentley Priory. It was sold on to John Kelk, then in 1882 sold to Thomas Clutterbuck. The Clutterbuck family held the manor until 1936 when the manorial rights were extinguished.

Information from: 'Great Stanmore: Manor and other estates', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5: Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham (1976), pp. 96-99 (available online).