Summary – The Cheyney Knights of Longstanton
General Introduction
There were several manors in Longstanton in medieval times, one of which was named Cheyneys manor.
The name Cheyney was also spelt as Chene, Cheney, Chesney, Chayney and in other ways. It is thought that the Cheyney family were originally Normans who came over to England at the time of the Conquest. Their family name was derived from the medieval Quesneto or Caisneto, a Latinized form of Quesnai or Caisnei, a place-name in Normandy. In fact, it is likely that the Cheyney family originally came from the village of Le Quesnay near St Saens in Normandy, France. (Quesnay may also have been a version of the Latin for ‘oak tree’.)
Various families with the surname Cheyney were found in Scotland, Norfolk, Sussex, Kent and elsewhere in England in the 13thcentury. A village called Chenies (and house) in Buckinghamshire was named after this family. A Cheyney family from Guernsey came to own property in Longstanton and became Lords of what later became known as Cheyneys manor there in the 13th century.
Cheyney Knights – Family Tree – Summary
The first Cheyney recorded in connection with Cheyneys manor, Longstanton, was Sir William Cheyney. Sir William held land in 1235 from William le Latimer that was described as a ½ knight’s fee in 1242-3. His son, Henry, may have had a house on this ½ knight’s fee in the time of Edward I. In 1302 – 3 a Margery Cheyney held this ½ knight’s fee. In 1335 a John Cheyney held a certain manor in Longstanton from William le Latimer, by service of ½ knights fee, and a John Cheyney licensed a chapel in his house at Longstanton in 1351. In 1385 a William Cheyne licensed a chapel in his manor house of Longstanton, as did John Cheyne (William’s son) and his wife, Margery, in 1397 and 1400. John and Margery’s son, the Reverend John Cheyney, the Rector of Longstanton St Michael, was the last owner of Cheyneys manor to reside in Longstanton.
Although the proof is lacking at times, it seems highly likely that all these people were members of the same Cheyney family over various generations.
Cheyneys House, Chapel and Manors
It is not known exactly where the land of Cheyneys manor lay in Longstanton. However it is thought that the old part of the house known as ‘The Manor’, Woodside, which lies to the south of the church of Longstanton All Saints was a re-build of Cheyneys manor house by its high-class tenants, the Burgoynes, in the 15th century.
The Cheyneys left another legacy in the village: that of Cheyneys Chapel in the south transept of All Saints Church. This beautiful 14th century building was reputed to have been one of the most interesting features of the church and traces of early medieval wall paintings remain on its walls. The Hatton family took over this chapel after their arrival in the village as lords of the manor in the early 17thcentury and turned it into their family sepulchre. It is likely that Hatton and maybe Cheyney tombs reside under the floor of the chapel, in the subterranean part of the church.
In fact, much of the church of All Saints that one sees today could be the work of the Cheyney family. The church was reconstructed after it was damaged by fire in 1349 and needed major repairs in 1361 after a falling tree broke through the roof and killed two people inside. As the Cheyney family were one of the more important lords of the manor in the village at that time and, living next door to the church, it seems likely that they were major influences in its reconstruction.
Finally, local folklore relates that there was a tunnel between All Saints Church and the house known as ‘The Manor’ today. Although limited investigations have not located it to date, what more likely place for the tunnel to commence in the church than in the vault below Cheyneys chapel! (However, the churchwardens have not allowed access to check on this point to date.)
This Cheyney family also came to own the manor known as French Ladies in Longstanton St Michael in the 13th century. Although there are gaps in the historical record, in time by the 15thcentury the Cheyneys seemed to own most of the other manors in Longstanton. Their lands were eventually gained by the Vaux family when Elizabeth de Cheyney married Sir Thomas Vaux of Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire in 1511.
Branches of this family also came to own property in Fen Ditton, Steeple Morden and elsewhere in Cambridgeshire and England.
References
* Victoria County Histories – A History of Cambridgeshire, Vol IX, section on Longstanton, Cambridgeshire Public Libraries
* Cheyneys Manor House Unmasked by H A E Stroude and J Lane, Cambridgeshire County Record Office
* Cheyneys Manor House Unmasked – The Story Continues by H A E Stroude and J Lane, Cambridgeshire County Record Office
* The Hatton Family, The Baronets of Longstanton, by J Lane, Cambridgeshire County Record Office
* An overview of the early Cheyne Family, http://www.rootsweb.com/~cheyne/
