For his military service at the Norman invasion, Walter Giffard was rewarded by William the Conqueror with the grant of many estates throughout the country, and included amongst these was the manor of Whaddon. Then during the mid 13th century Robert Giffard, a probable descendant of Walter, also held interests in the locality and, with these including the site of the present Whaddon Hall, and also the custody of the Whaddon manor, Robert’s descendants would be appointed as hereditary Keepers of Whaddon Chase. In fact only with the marriage of Margaret Giffard to Robert Pigott, towards the late 15th century, would the family lose their manorial influence. The Pigotts made their home at the old Whaddon Hall, and, with this being a dwelling of notable proportions, a surveyors report in 1541 describes the building as ‘a fair old mansion place builded of stone and brick and covered with tile, wherein is a fair old large hall and a chapel with fair parlours, lodgings, butteries, etc. all in good repair.’ At a salary of £4 13s 4d even a chaplain was retained by the family, who within Whaddon church are commemorated by a fine memorial of Purbeck marble, on which brasses depict the kneeling figures of Thomas Pigott, ‘serjant-at-law’, who died in 1519, his children and his two wives, Agnes and Elizabeth. Their family arms, of Forster and Ewerby, are incorporated with those of his own. In 1552 Whaddon was then conveyed to William Lord Grey de Wilton, ‘a noble, valient and painful gentleman’, who, being much steeped in military affairs, would be during his career charged with the defence of Guisnes, in France. However, he had the misfortune to be taken prisoner, and the consequent ransom of 24,000 crowns did little to sustain the family fortunes. Thus when he died in December 1562 Arthur de Grey inherited the residue of the estates, which nevertheless included the choice of two manorial homes, either Water Hall, at Fenny Stratford, or the former residence of the Pigotts, at Whaddon. Opting for the latter, Arthur had Water Hall taken down, and the materials were then transported to enlarge the mansion at Whaddon. In fact with all the wagon teams in the county hired for the task, they would form a carting procession nearly two miles long! From all the salvaged materials Arthur was able to greatly enhance his mansion, and, expressing herself ‘greatly gratified with the sports of the chase, in such a magnificent amphitheatre of wooded scenery’, even Queen Elizabeth I would subsequently stay, not only in 1563 and 1568 but probably on other occasions as well. In fact perhaps partly because of the lavish hospitality in 1580 she would appoint her host as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, although, due to the violence that he was to apply during his term of office, this soon proved to be a decision of retrospective doubt. In fact the Queen’s mounting displeasure, plus the financial burdens imposed by the office, lead Arthur to vacate the position in August 1582, and he would thereon devote more of his time to the estate at Whaddon, where he died on October 14th 1593. His son Thomas, the 15th Lord Wilton, then succeeded to the inheritance, but with the succession of James I to the throne Thomas became involved in two plots to oust the new monarch. However, following the failure of these he was arrested and, with his estates being seized, for 11 years he would then languish in the Tower of London, where he was to die childless in 1614. Via the Crown, the estates were eventually granted to George Villiers who, being royally favoured, by a succession of advancements became the Duke of Buckingham. Yet by other factions he was rather less well favoured, and such resentments would culminate in his murder at Portsmouth in 1628. An infant son was then left to continue a Royalist support, but with Parliament’s victory in the Civil War the estates of this second Duke were seized in 1647, whereupon he sought a prudent refuge in foreign exile. Yet he eventually returned, and in 1657 married Mary Fairfax, the daughter of the Parliamentary general to whom his estates had been granted! However, no sooner had the couple made their home at Whaddon Hall than Cromwell banished him to the Tower, and there he would remain until February 1659, two months after the Protector’s death. With the Restoration of the monarchy in the following year he then regained the Whaddon estate, although by the folly of his spendthrift ways this did little to improve his financial situation, and in 1687 he died in poverty. His trustees had therefore little choice but to sell off the estate, and in 1698 Whaddon was consequently purchased by James Selby, of Wavendon manor, and Thomas Willis, the son of a renowned surgeon. The agreement awarded two thirds to Selby and the remainder to Willis, although this applied not only to the estate but to the Hall as well! Therefore, in perhaps a wise decision both parties agreed to demolish the Hall – a miserable and gloomy place, ‘exceedingly dirty to get to’ – and with Willis being the first to fulfil his obligation, most of the floors had been taken up above stairs, and the ceilings beaten down, by the time that he died, aged 41, in November 1699. Uninhabited, except for a dairyman, in this ruined condition the Hall then remained, until Browne Willis, the son of Thomas, decided to not only renovate the family share, but to also add to the other rooms. Purchasing the remainder of the Hall from Selby, in 1710 he duly commenced the reconstructions, and it was fortuitous that for the building of the servants’ quarters an unexpected supply of materials became available in 1711 when, incensed that a dissenters meeting house had been built in Fenny Stratford, of which he was lord of the manor, ‘in order to pull down and take the same from off the ground’ he bought up both the site and the building, and had the materials transported to Whaddon. As for the finance for his venture, at his marriage to Catherine Eliot in 1707 he had received the convenient sum of £7,000, as the matrimonial portion, although apart from this welcome advantage the marriage it seems held little else to interest him. In fact his real passion lay with antiquities, and having pursued a brief and uneventful Parliamentary career he would then settle down to indulge this obsession at Whaddon Hall. Indeed, he would there produce and prepare several manuscript collections for printing, although often their academic worth was unfortunately marred by his handwriting, which varied from ‘the barely readable to the completely illegible.’ Browne Willis would remain at Whaddon Hall for the rest of his life, and towards enhancing the mansion at the demolition in 1738 of the magnificent Salden House, near Mursley, he purchased some of the painted glass for 30s. Accounting many friends amongst the nobility and the gentry, he would often entertain at Whaddon Hall, and on one occasion in August 1746 gave a dinner party for guests to include the Rev. Hawes of Shalstone, Mr. Wallbank, a Buckingham surgeon, Dr. Knap, a physician, Mr. Prance, Mayor of Buckingham, and the Rev. Edward Troutbeck, vicar of Westbury; ‘Mr. Brown Willis and his 3 Daughters, and his 2 men servants and servant maid received them.’ It would then be at Whaddon Hall that he died on February 5th 1760, and due to the minority of his grandson and heir the interests at Whaddon, including the Hall and the grounds, were sold by Act of Parliament in the following year to the son and heir of James Selby, Thomas, who, despite enjoying the company of a Mrs. Elizabeth Hone, alias Vane, at his Wavendon mansion, remained a confirmed bachelor all his life. Therefore it was decreed by his will of 1768 that in the event of a failure to locate his rightful heirs – ‘for the better finding out of whom I direct advertisements to be published immediately after my decease, in some of ye public papers’ – his estates, excepting Wavendon, should descend to his great friend William Lowndes, of Winslow. However, this was to be only on condition that William assumed the surname of Lowndes Selby, an imposition that seemed little to trouble him! Thus when Thomas died in 1772 a search was duly made for his lawful heirs, although ‘no matter how good the claim no letter will be received unless post paid.’ Meanwhile William was appointed as the receiver of the estates, and in the following October he duly filed a bill to establish his title. Nevertheless it would be ten years before, in the absence of any challenges, he was able to take possession of the estate rents, which had been previously paid into a bank. Accompanied by a procession of friends, dependants and a band, during the spring of 1783 he then gained possession of Whaddon Hall, and with the entertainments and rejoicings enhanced by a maypole, ‘Mr. Lowndes-Selby joined in the dancing with the pretty Buckinghamshire girls at old Whaddon Hall.’ In due course his son, also William, would reverse the order of the surnames by licence, and thus now becoming the Selby Lowndes the family made an eventual decision to live at their main residence of Winslow Hall. As a consequence Whaddon Hall fell into decay, until rebuilt by the family to the present aspect around 1820. Yet regarding the Hall and estates, even at this period as the supposed heirs at law of James Selby diverse parties were still making claims, and in fact on May 20th, 1862, one aspiring candidate wrote to Mr. Selby Lowndes stating that; ‘I intend as soon as it suits my convenience and that of my friends to proceed to different parts of your estates (so called), and there cut up sods and cut trees & c., as an assertion of my just claims; and it will be at the peril of any police officer to use any illegal means to remove us while in the execution of a justifiable act.’ An injunction was hurriedly sought to prevent this proposed mischief. By the later 19th century instances were still arising from a supposed family line in North Pembrokeshire, but these would all be eventually and legally dismissed. Nevertheless, claims from elsewhere continued to be made, including that from a motor dealer in 1946! However, a lawful division of the Whaddon interests had been made at the Park Hotel, Bletchley, on Thursday December 19th 1918 when, in 21 lots, outlying portions of the Whaddon Hall estate were put up for sale by auction. ‘The greater part of the Property offered in this Sale is within the ancient Chase Boundary, and is noted for its excellent old pastures, all of which are good sound sheep and cattle grazing lands.’ As for the human occupants, ‘Notice to quit was given to all Michaelmas tenants to terminate their tenancies at September 29th, 1919.’ The fascinating story of Whaddon Hall during World War Two, as a centre for secret radio communications, is detailed in the books ‘Secret Wireless War’, and ‘Bletchley Park’s Secret Sisters’, and after the war for the sum of £50,000 the premises were purchased by the Merchant Venturers of Bristol. Eventually Whaddon Hall became a country club, but having been badly damaged by fire, which destroyed much of the interior, the mansion was converted in more recent years into flats. As for the ‘ownership’ of the village, for the sum of £6,600 in October 1990 a local person became ‘lord of the manor’, having purchased the title at auction in London!