Several of the old halls in the parish are of very ancient date, and mention is made of them before the conquest. Butler's Hall was given by the Conqueror to Richard, son of Gislebert; Goldingham Hall, in the time of Edward the Confessor, was in possession of a Saxon freeman named Godwin, and was granted to Richard Maier, Lord of Eye and Great Chamberlain of England, by William I; Smeetham Hall was, under the Saxon government, a lordship in possession of a free woman, and was given by the Conqueror to Eustace, Earl of Boulogne. In the Domesday Book this lordship is named Smedeluna, afterwards it is written Smitbton. The " Auberies " was built on the site of an old foundation by Lady Aubrey. In 1556 a chapel, dedicated to St. James the Apostle, was built on Chapel Green, attached to the mansion there, and being at a considerable distance from the parish church it was a great convenience to the inhabitants. Several of the estates are well wooded, particularly the Auberies, now in the possession of J. St. G. Burke Esq., Q.C., who has much beautified the mansion, and protected with much care and taste the fine trees in the grounds. G. Coote, Esq., one of the Churchwardens, resides at Smeetham Hall, and D. Badham, Esq., county magistrate, lives in a substantial mansion near the church.