In the period just prior to the outbreak of the Civil War in 1642, the Crown tried on a number of occasions to enclose the Northchurch Common as part of the Crown Estates. These moves were opposed by the people of Northchurch led by William Edlyn of Norcott, the manor that lies on the hillside just above Dudswell. Later, his son John Edlyn donated the Almshouses to the Parish to house the poor and disabled.