Dr Cyril Hart largely accepted the authenticity of this charter and other recent research has described the content of this charter as "worthy of favourable reconsideration."

Dr Cyril Hart has produced the attached map which plots his interpretations of these landmarks. Such a boundary description is known as a "perambulation", and was the normal method of describing a location at this time.

The manor of Hardwick was granted to Sir Thomas Darcy, who was Lord Darcy of Chiche, (now known as St Osyth's) as part of the monastic disposals, although the exact area is unclear. "All woods....called Hardwycks Wood....50 acres in Bury St Edmunds, Nowton, Stanefield and Gt Horningsherth" were granted to Darcy. Darcy had already owned Horringer Parva since 1540.

A description of the property was included by Sir John Cullum in his History of Hawstead. It was described as being on an eminence, gently sloping towards the south. The whole formed a quadrangle, 202 by 211 feet, divided into two sections.

The first courtyard consisted on three sides of barns, stables, a mill house, slaughter house, blacksmiths shop, and various other offices. In the fashion of the time, these working buildings were a little further away from the great house than they would have been in the time of Henry VIII. The main house could only be approached through this Outer Court.

The rear section of the whole enclosure contained the mansion house, standing higher than the other buildings and divided from them by a moat, and surrounded by a fine wide terrace. This Inner Court was an area of 58 feet square.

At home, the major issue was the refusal of Catholics to accept the official Protestant religion. This issue was made more dangerous by the presence of Mary Queen of Scots under house arrest in Derbyshire. She could at any time become the focus of a Catholic uprising. East Anglia was prosperous and densely populated, and Norfolk and Suffolk retained a number of important Catholic families.

In May the first ideas were being discussed at Court. In mid June, Thetford and Norwich were given official notice to expect the Queen in August.

On Tuesday, 5th August, the Queen journeyed northwards to Lawshall Hall, the home of Henry Drury , where she dined, but did not stay overnight. Henry Drury was a Catholic, and although nothing happened while the Queen was at his home, he would later be arrested for his faith.

In honour of the Queen's visit, a stone statue was carved of a naked man with a large club. This may have been intended to be Hercules, a popular theme at this time. The illustration here showing the statue in a loincloth is almost certainly not as it originally appeared. It originally formed part of a stone fountain in which the flow of water made it appear that it was Hercules passing water. This statue was taken with the Drurys when they moved to Hardwick in the 17th century, but now stands at Hawstead Place Farm today.

The Queen was said to have dropped her fan into the moat at Hawstead. As Sir William had 2,000 acres enclosed for a Deer Park, the Queen went hunting there, and then enjoyed a "costly and delicate dinner." But even this outing had been carefully orchestrated by Anthony Wingfield, of the Court, who had spent two days at Hawstead setting up the Dining Chamber, and Charles Smythe, who came for a day to assist the arrangements.

Following Drury's demise, Sir William Waldegrave, Sir John Higham, Sir Nicholas Bacon and Sir William Spring were directed by the Queen to undertake the commission for the inquisition after his death to enquire into the annual value of his estates. The enquiry found, amongst other things, that "Roger Reve of Bury, gent, holds, by lease, (from Drury - ed) the profits of the fayres and markets in Bury, at £36 a year's rent, 40s deductions." At this date it therefore appears that the fairs and markets in Bury had been leased to Sir William Drury of Hawstead Place from the Crown, and that he had sub-leased these rights to Reve.

In 1510 Sir Robert Drury had gained permission to empark his estates. However, with the refurbishment of Buckenhams to become Hawstead Place, it seems that a new park was created around the estate in the 1580s. One set of particulars from the depositions after the enquiry into his will, was as follows:
"The new park is unletten, worth about 20 marks yearlie, besides profits of deer and conies. Another person valued the park very differently, unless he included the profits of the livestock in it: he said the new park is not very much charged with deer and conies; and worth yearlie £50."

Hall would publish many books, and eventually would be made Bishop of Exeter in 1627 and Bishop of Norwich in 1641.

Two of his writings were published as "Three Centuries of Meditations and Vowes, Divine and Morall" (1606, 1607, 1609), edited by Charles Sayle, and "The Arte of Divine Meditation". (1607)

At Hawstead Place Lady Drury selected a small room, study or closet wherein she could make her devotions assisted by a series of painted panels, each one devoted to a theme or "emblem" of devotional significance.

In his History of Hawstead and Hardwick, Cullum devoted several pages to the description and interpretation of these panels, but made no reference to a possible artist or artists. Lady Ann's brother was a well known amateur artist, and the practice of painting would have been well known to Lady Ann. It is therefore becoming accepted that Lady Ann Drury herself may well have executed these paintings possibly over a period of years to 1615.

In 1924 the panels were purchased by the Ipswich Borough Council and can now be seen in the Christchurch Mansion Museum there. You can also find illustrations from Cullum's Book as well as photographs from the Christchurch Display by clicking here:

Drury had probably financed the purchase by his sale of his market rights to the corporation at Bury for £2000.

Thus began the association of the Drury family with Hardwick which lasted until 1656. Drury now proceeded to build the mansion, later to become known as Hardwick House. He would remove many of his treasures from his old estate at Hawstead Place, and install them in the new Hardwick House.

North is at the top of this map. (Septentrio refers to Ursa major the stars which dominate the northern sky at night.)

The representation of the line of Drury of Hawstead devolved on his kinsman Sr. Henry Drury of Hedgerley, co. Bucks, knight, his third cousin once removed.

Thomas Cullum (1587-1664) was a wealthy draper in London who had been Sheriff of London in 1646, and this portrait by Gerard Soest shows him in the robes of that office. By 1656 he was in his late 60's, and looking to retire from business. Thomas Cullum was the youngest son of John Cullum of Thorndon in Suffolk. Wishing now to become a country gentleman, he purchased the estates of Hardwick and Hawstead on the outskirts of Bury for £17,787. The Cullum family would own Hardwick House and retain a strong presence in the town and surrounds right up until 1921, when the last male heir died.

Sir John included a small section on Hardwick at the end of his book. He wrote that as it was extra parochial it would not find a place in any other parish history.

Upon inheriting his title and the family estates at Hawstead and Hardwick he gave up his medical practice in Bury St Edmunds.

The Hardwick Estate lands are labelled "Dow Lady M Cullum". Dow probably meaning Dowager. Mary Cullum (17??-1807) was the unmarried sister of the 6th and 7th baronets.

Sir Thomas Gery Cullum was also managing the River Lark Navigation on behalf of his aunt, Susanna Palmer, at this time. The company assets included the Wharf at Fornham, located just downstream of the site of Babwell Priory.

He was succeeded as 8th baronet by his eldest son, who also shared his name. The Reverend Sir Thomas Gery Cullum, 8th baronet, also inherited his father's love of botany. He was vicar of Knettishall and chaplain to the Duke of Sussex. He would undertake some major improvements to Hardwick House and the estate, and continued to make improvements to the River Lark navigation. The Reverend Sir Thomas Gery Cullum, 8th baronet, liked to leave his mark on his achievements, and plaques with the legend "TGC 18??" can be seen on structures built by him.

The top portion of the plan has a dashed and dotted line which encloses the supposed extent of the "extra parochial" area of Hardwick. This area is not regarded as within any ecclesiastical jurisdiction as previous owners had obtained permission to construct a private chapel for their family, servants and occupants of the alms houses on the estate.

The 'lower' (or northern) part of the dotted line divides part of the estate from the Borough of Bury St Edmunds - St Mary's parish.

The Cherry Ground lock was a key part of the improvements to the river. It was built on a bend where the lock was fashioned into a crescent shape, much longer and wider than the usual locks on the Lark. It could hold 8 gangs of lighters at one time if necessary, lined up side by side. Such a lock justified a full time resident lock keeper.

So Sir Thomas Cullum also built River House nearby for the use of the lock keeper. This was completely demolished in 1979 as part of the preparations for the opening of the West Stow Country Park to the public. The house had stood in ruins for years, and was unsafe. According to D E Weston, this house also bore the Cullum plaque, "TGC 1842".

In December, 1846 the long hoped for railway line arrived at Bury St Edmunds from Ipswich. There were street celebrations and fireworks to welcome this great event.

During this period of the sudden decline of the River Lark navigation, Sir Thomas Gery Cullum died, aged 77, on February 3rd, 1855. He had made many improvements to the river in the 1840s, but the new railways had largely destroyed the barge trade.

The Reverend Sir Thomas Cullum of Hardwick and Hawstead had no sons, and neither did his brother, John Palmer Cullum. The baronetcy would thus become extinct in 1855, on Sir Thomas's death. However, the estates passed to his daughter Arethusa, the wife of The Right Honourable Thomas Milner-Gibson. The Cullum name was later adopted by their son George Gery Milner-Gibson, (1857-1921), so he became known as George Gery Milner-Gibson Cullum. This would enable him to inherit the estate in his turn.

There was an older half-brother, Thomas Bowles, son of Thomas Milner-Gibson, but he had no claim on the Cullum estates.

In January 1842, Thomas Gibson Bowles was born to his father Thomas Milner Gibson and his mother, Susannah Bowles, a servant. Thus he shared a father with George Gery and Sydney Isabella, but appears to have been illegitimate.