Antiquarian and Topographical.
SKETCHES OF HAMPSHIRE.
No. XXVIII. BY HENRY MOODY.
[WRITTEN FOR THE "HAMPSHIRE ADVERTISER."]
King George in a fright
Lest Gibbon should write,
The story of Britain's disgrace ;
Thought no means more sure,
His pen to secure,
Than to give the historian a place.—
Rt. Hon. C. J. Fox.
PETERSFIELD AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD
I commence my present Sketch with a notice of the most extensive, though least important, of our Hampshire boroughs, Petersfield, which derives its name from the Church dedicated (according to the honours conferred in the olden time) to the Prince of the Apostles, the keeper of the keys of heaven, and the patron of fishermen, St. Peter, on whose festival (old style, July 10th), there is still held an annual fair. Petersfield is of considerable antiquity, and although it is not mentioned in the Doomsday Book by its present name, it evident from the Norman foundation of its Church, that even then people had congregated in its neighbourhood. The town was incorporated by charter dated by Queen Elizabeth. It however, returned a member or members to Parliament as early as 1306, but did not exercise the franchise from that period till the reign of Edward VI. from whence it returned two members, till the passing of the Reform Act, by which it was entitled to send one only. The present parliamentary boundary includes the parishes of Petersfield, Buriton, Lyss, and Froxfield, the tythings of Ramsden, Langrish, and Oxenbourne, in the parish of Westmeon, and also the greater portion of the parish of Steep. The living is a curacy annexed to the rectory of Buriton. Near the Church there is an equestrian statue of William III. presented to the town by William Jolliffe, esq. an ancestor of the present representative of the borough. On the pedestal there is an inscription, of which the following is an translation :—
"To the most noble and illustrious Prince William III. who so highly deserved the gratitude of these kingdoms for the many and signal offices which he rendered to the people, who seasonably preserved our pure and sincere worship of God, who bravely sustained the drooping state, restored the free force of the laws, and strengthened the authority of the senate; that no testimony might be wanting with how much love and emulation he admired liberty itself, as well as this, its celebrated avenger, William Jolliffe, esq. erected this statue to his memory, and placed it in this town."
Churcher's College was founded under the provisions of the will of William Churcher who bequeathed the sum of £3,000 bank stock, £500 in cash, for its establishment and support. Several acts of Parliament have been obtained for regulating the expenditure of the funds, which have considerably increased. At the time of the investigation of charities, there were twelve boys belonging to the borough of Petersfield, taught reading, writing, arithmetic, and mathematics, and were clothed and apprenticed. There were also forty-five pay scholars, including thirty boarders, taught with the foundation boys. There was a suit then pending in the Court of Chancery for the regulation of this charity. The parish consists of 2,000 acres, and contains a population of 1838, and the number of electors amounts to about 350.
About two miles to the south, we have the village of Buriton, of which parish Petersfield may be said to form part. The Church is ancient edifice, apparently of Norman foundation. On one side of the Chancel there are three arched recesses, being the ancient sedalia, or seats for the officiating priests during certain portions of the mass; these formerly existed in all our old churches, but were generally destroyed at the Reformation. The chancel is separated from the nave by a screen of Norway oak beautifully arched. There are transepts on each side of the nave, and the arches which separate them are of Norman workmanship, whilst their capitals are rudely ornamented with sculpture. In the chancel there are a few tesselated tiles, with various uncouth figures upon them. The Manor of Mapledurham, in this parish, is mentioned in the Doomsday Book as belonging to Queen Matilda, the wife of William the Conqueror, and probably included the whole of the present parish, as it consisted of not less than twenty plough lands. Here were also a Church, three mills, and woods which furnished thirty hogs, the whole manor being then worth 25l. Edward I granted by charter to the Bishop of Winchester free warren of the manor of Mapledurham, but the Abbey of Durford, in Sussex, the Priory of St. Swithin, Winchester, as well as private individuals, appear to have possessed land in this manor. Its principal estate was purchased in 1722, by Edward Gibbon, esq. the father of the justly-celebrated Historian of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, who was born here April 27, 1737, and who, in 1770, by the death of his father, succeeded to the estate, which ten years afterwards he sold to Lord Stowell, from whom it passed, also by purchase, into the possession of H. Bonham, esq. the grandfather of John Bonham Carter, esq. of Ditcham House, in this parish. The parish is divided into four tythings, Buriton, Weston, Nursted, and Sheet; the latter its separated from the rest by the parish of Petersfield, and its inhabitants support their own poor, and are rated to the Chapel at Petersfield, instead of the mother Church at Buriton. The parish consists of 6181 acres, and contains a population of 822. The living is one of the richest in the patronage of the Bishop of Winchester, the great tythes of which, including those of Petersfield, have been commuted at 14,000l.
To the south of Buriton, and yet within the northern division of the county, are situated the parishes of Chalton, Clanfield, Idsworth, Catherington, and Blendworth. Chalton is a rectory , with Clansfield and Idsworth annexed, in the patronage of King's College, Cambridge, of the annual value, according to the Parliamentary returns, of 580l. Chalton has a population of 650, Clanfield, 239, and Idsworth of 364. Catherington is a vicarage in the gift of J. Maberly, esq. ; the population amounts to 1,003, a great part of whom reside in the village of Horndean, situated on the high road from Portsmouth to London, which is the centre and gives its name to a Poor-Law Union. Blendworth is a rectory in the patronage of the Rev. Mr. Ward, of the annual value of 230l., and contains 280 inhabitants.
Directing our footsteps westward, we soon reach the extensive parish of Hambledon, which is six miles in length from north to south. It is mentioned in the Doomsday Book, as are also several of its manors. It has four tythings, in addition to that which bears the name of Hambledon, viz. Chidden, Glidden, Ervills, or Leigh, and Denmead, in each of which there was, in ancient times, a chapel ; three of them have been destroyed, and the other in the large hamlet of Denmead, converted into a farm house. The Church is a handsome structure in the early English style. The living is a vicarage of the value of 529l., including 80 acres of glebe land, in the patronage of the Bishop of Winchester, who is the appropriator of the great tithes. Windmill hill, in this parish, is famed in the annals of cricketing, as being the principal resort of the choice players of Hants, Surrey, and Sussex, whilst the men of Hambledon were for many years famed for their excellent play. The parish of Hambledon consists of 9041 acres, and contains a population of 2069.
Still pressing westward, we next arrive at the village of Soberton, situated on the Meon stream, which rises in the parish of East Meon, and runs into the sea below Titchfield. Soberton is an extensive parish, containing 5890 acres, with a population of only 164. The living is a rectory annexed to that of East Meon.
Within little more than a mile up the stream, we have the large village of Droxford. A portion of the parish, namely, Shidfield, is detached, and is situated to the south of Bishop's Waltham. This Chapelry was endowed a few years since by the then rector, the late Rev. W. Garnier, with 1,300l. . Droxford is mentioned in the Doomsday Book as belonging to the Bishop of Winchester, as being assessed at 14 hides, and containing a Church and two mills. The Church there mentioned is most probably the present structure, for although later detail, have been introduced , the original. foundation is either Saxon or early Norman. The Bishop is still the patron of the rectory, the great tithes of which have been commuted at 1,110l., in addition to which there is a glebe worth 26l. The parish consists of 3,800 acres, and has 1942 inhabitants.
Another mile in the same direction brings us to Meon Stoke, which also in the time of William the Conqueror had a Church, which paid to the Bishop the annual sum of 20 shillings. The greater portion of the manor belonged to the King, and the remainder to the Bishop, who still retains the patronage of the rectory, which is of the annual value, according to the Parliamentary returns, of 568l. The Church is a handsome structure of the decorated English style, with details of a later date. In the east window there is some delicate tracery, and it contains the well-known rose of William of Wykeham, by whom that portion is supposed to have been erected, and on each side a beautiful canopied niche, which for many years was concealed by thick coats of plaster. There are several barrows on the downs, some of which on being opened, were found to contain calcined bones, &c. The parish consists of 2256 acres, of which 1300 are uninclosed. The population in 1841 was 459.
On the opposite side of the stream we have Corhampton, with a population of 181. The living is a perpetual curacy in the patronage of W. Wyndham, esq. of the annual value of 39l. Here is an endowed school founded under the will of W. Collins, esq. 1669, of which the master is required to officiate as minister of the parish Church, and is for eight poor boys of the parishes of Corhampton, Meonstoke, Exton, and Droxford. At the period of the investigation, the office of schoolmaster and incumbent was not held by the same person ; the income amounted to 34l., of which 22l. arose from a rent charge, and 12l. from the rent of the school; the incumbent received the former and the schoolmaster the latter. The school is united with the national school, and the eight boys of the parishes above-mentioned, are taught reading, writing, and arithmetic free. In this parish is situated Preshaw House, the seat of Walter Long, esq. A portion of the mansion is of the age of James I. but within the last thirty years Mr. Long has made considerable anditions and improvements to it.
On the same side, and a short distance higher up the stream, we have the village and Church of Exton, which is also mentioned in Doomsday Book as belonging to the see of Winchester. Here was a Church and two mills, and although the value of the manor was but 20l., the rent was 30l. The present Church is supposed to have been erected two centuries subsequent to the Norman Conquest. The rectory is in the gift of the Bishop, the tithes of which have been commuted at 470l. The parish consists of 2456 acres, and contains a population of 282.
Still proceeding up the stream, another mile brings us to Warnford, which at the time of the compilation of Doomsday Book was held by Hugh de Port, one portion of it in his own right, and the other in that of Winchester Cathedral. Warnford House, late the seat of W. Abbott, esq. now of J. Tunno, esq., is a noble and commanding building, and is supposed to have been originally built in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, but the subsequent repairs made by its successive owners have left few features of the original structure. It was purchased in 1824 of the Marquis of Clanricarde by Mr. Abbott, who made considerable alterations and additions to it. In the park and at a short distance from the house there are some majestic ruins of an ancient mansion, generally known as King John's House, but properly St. John's House, from its having been the property of the St. Johns, Lords Basing, who Inherited it from their ancestor, the renowned Hugh de Port. A century ago the remains were much more perfect than they are at present. In the writings connected with the estate it is denominated "the old house," and was probably for centuries the residence of the proprietors of the manor of Warnford, but it has been untenanted for nearly three centuries. Within twenty yards of these ruins stands the parish Church, founded by Adam de Port, who is also supposed to have built the old house at the commencement of the thirteenth century. The tower is, however, of a much later date than the other portion of the Church. The population of the parish at the last census was 371, and it contains 2690 acres.
Another mile brings us to West Meon, consisting of 3,380 acres, with a population of 814. By Doomsday Book this appears to have been one of the largest manors in the county, one portion being held by the king and the other by the bishop. That held by the former contained 64 plough lands, of which 56 were occupied by 70 villagers and 82 borderers; here were fifteen servants, six mills, and eight acres of meadow and woods, which furnished 200 hogs. The herbage produced 7s 6d. It was worth 60l., but paid a rent of 100 pounds in weight. The portion held by the bishop contained fourteen plough lands; here was a church and ten acres of meadow, worth 30l., but let for 40l. The church paid to the bishop 5s annually. Within the last few years a new church has been erected, entirely at the cost of the Venerable Archdeacon Bailey, who was the rector, and has left money enough for its completion. The rectory is in the patronage of the bishop, the tithes of which have been commuted at 729l., in addition to which there is a glebe consisting of thirty-six acres.
Still continuing our route we find ourselves at the distance of two miles at East Meon, which was also at the period of the Norman Conquest a portion of the possessions of the see of Winchester. Here was then a church, which was speedily to give place to one erected by Walkelyn, Bishop of Winchester, which is cruciform and surmounted by a spire; the font greatly resembles the one in Winchester Cathedra, but the sculpture on it is entirely different; that on the one at Winchester representing the legendary tales at St. Nicholas, and that at East Meon the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise, and their subsequent instruction in the arts of husbandry and spinning. The living is a vicarage, endowed with a portion of the great tithes, of the net annual value of 903l., with the chapelries of Froxfield and Steep annexed. The parish consists of 11,380 acres, and contains a population of 1,499.
Privett, to the north of the last mentioned parish, possesses nothing worthy of notice; it contains 1,170 acres, and has 273 inhabitants.
Froxfield, to the east of Privett, has a population of 656, and contains 6,486 acres. Here is an endowed school, with an income 55l., founded by R. Love, esq. a former proprietor of Basing Park in this parish, by which twenty-two boys are educated and occasionally clothed. Basing Park probably took its name from forming part of the possessions of the St. Johns, Lords Basing; for several centuries it belonged to the Love family, and after passing through several hands was purchased by Sir Thomas Lethbridge in 1830, and who five years afterwards sold it to it present proprietor, J. Martineau, esq. The mansion stands on an elevated site, and till recently was but scantily supplied with water; a well had been sunk to the depth of 300 feet, but the spring was too feeble to render it available for more than a limited supply ; the well being afterwards sunk ninety feet deeper, the water rose 130 feet, and the supply is now abundant. The park consists of about 300 acres, and is situated within the borough of Petersfield.
The only parish remaining unnoticed in the eastern part of North Hants is Steep, situated within the borough of Petersfield. It contains 4,970 acres, with a population of 885. The living is a chapelry attached to East Meon. A part of this parish consists of that long, yet narrow strip of land locally situated in the county of Sussex, to the east and north east of Midhurst, but which forms part of Hampshire.
See also other 'Sketches of Hampshire'
6-Sep-1845
23-Nov-1844