ALTON BARNES
The ancient parish of Alton Barnes, 1,040 a.,
consisted of two detached areas, Alton Barnes, some
6 miles east of Devizes, and land at Shaw some 2
miles further north-east. (fn. 1) Other lands at Shaw are in
Overton and Wilcot parishes and this account deals
only with the Alton Barnes portion. In 1885 the
Alton Barnes land at Shaw was transferred to the
chapelry of Alton Priors in Overton parish. Alton
Barnes and Alton Priors were merged in 1934 to
form the parish of Alton. (fn. 2)
The boundaries of Alton Barnes were established
by the early 10th century and thereafter remained
unchanged. The eastern boundary with Alton
Priors was marked in the north by an old highway
east of and parallel to the Ridge Way, and in the
south by the stream flowing from Broad Well
spring (Brade Wyll), and eventually into the Christchurch Avon. The western boundary with Stanton
St. Bernard was marked by stones, (fn. 3) still to be seen.
The long narrow strip of land thus bounded, 607 a.,
is some 2 miles from north to south, and ½ mile
from east to west. It reaches from the Marlborough
Downs in the north, down the scarp face to the
Pewsey Vale in the south. In the north, where
Wansdyke crosses the strip of land, there is much
land over 800 ft. Upper and Middle Chalk outcrop,
and the highest land, over 900 ft., is capped by
Clay-with-flints. The flatter areas north of Wansdyke
can be tilled but the upland has generally been used
for pasture. A white horse was cut in the hillside
at c. 800 ft. in 1812 and remains a prominent
landmark visible from the Pewsey Vale. (fn. 4) Lower
Chalk outcrops below about 750 ft. The land slopes
more gently southwards below the scarp face and
is suitable for arable cultivation. There is also good
arable or meadow land near the village of Alton
Barnes where Upper Greensand outcrops.
The existence of a number of earthworks and
ditches, including Eald Burgh, an Iron-Age
hill-fort on the Stanton St. Bernard border, indicates prehistoric settlement on the downs above
Alton. (fn. 5) The village of Alton Barnes, which presumably took its suffix from members of the Berners
family, possibly lords of the manor in the 12th
century and later tenants of a freeholding in Alton, (fn. 6)
grew up on the spring line near Broad Well, on
the other side of which lay Alton Priors. In 1766 the
village apparently retained its ancient pattern. (fn. 7) The
church and Rectory and the manor-house and
demesne farm were clustered beside the stream.
The tenant farms stood beside a path a short distance north of the church, and until c. 1580 (fn. 8) a mill
stood a short distance south of it. The cottages
standing in Alton Barnes in 1766, and those built
afterwards, (fn. 9) were all on the waste. The village was
very small. It was assessed for taxation at only 40s.
in 1334 and there were only nine poll-tax payers in
1377. (fn. 10) Fewer than ten households were there in
1428, and 16th-century taxation assessments were
also low. (fn. 11)
The land at Shaw which was part of the ancient
parish of Alton Barnes belonged to a village of
Shaw. The land of that village straddled Wansdyke
from the Ridge Way to the old Huish-Marlborough
road through Hursley bottom. (fn. 12) It extended northwards in a triangle with its apex on Lurkley Hill,
and southwards in a triangle with its apex on Golden
Ball Hill. Most of the land is over 600 ft. There is
no permanent surface water and the landscape is
one of alternating ridges and dry valleys running
back from the Kennet valley. The dryness is caused
by the predominant Upper and Middle Chalk
outcrops which permit arable cultivation where the
gradient is not too great, but Clay-with-flints caps
much of the land which can therefore support dense
woodland.
Archaeological discoveries and ancient earthworks
on Golden Ball Hill, and a Celtic field-system near
Wansdyke, indicate the likelihood of ancient settlements in the area. (fn. 13) The village of Shaw existed by
1086. (fn. 14) Excavations of the church in 1929 indicate
that the village lay a little south of Wansdyke, west
of Shaw copse, some ½ mile west of the Huish—
Marlborough road. (fn. 15) It lay within Savernake forest
until 1330. (fn. 16) The village was very small, assessed
for taxation at only 8s. in 1334, and with only three
poll-tax payers in 1377, the lowest number in any
Wiltshire village. (fn. 17) It was probably deserted in the
earlier 15th century when Shaw was linked with
Alton and its farms merged with Alton farms. (fn. 18)
The land of Shaw was shared between the lords
and tenants of Alton Barnes and the owner of Shaw
farm. (fn. 19) Intercommoning rights over the woodland
were apparently enjoyed by the men of Overton
and Draycot Fitz Payne in Wilcot. The lands at
Shaw belonging to the lords of Alton and the owner
of Shaw farm were separated and inclosed in 1680.
The land south of Wansdyke, except part of Shaw
field, and the Barken grounds north of Wansdyke
were allotted to the lords of Alton. (fn. 20) The wooded,
eastern, part of Shaw common was inclosed in
1693. The lord of Draycot was then allotted the
southern part, called Skilling heath; the northern
part became part of Shaw farm; and the middle
part was allotted to the lords of Alton. (fn. 21) When the
boundaries of the land belonging to Alton Barnes at
Shaw, called Shaw-in-Alton, were thus defined, it
amounted to 433 a.
The ancient parish of Alton Barnes, as it was from
1693 to 1885, was served by the Avebury-Amesbury
road, turnpiked under an Act of 1840. (fn. 22) The road
passed through Shaw-in-Alton, the remoter parts
of which were reached by farm tracks, and was
crossed near Alton Barnes by the Devizes-Pewsey
road linking the villages at the foot of the downs.
The southern part of the parish was crossed by the
Kennet & Avon Canal in 1807. (fn. 23)
The population of Alton Barnes was 83 in 1801
and only nine cottages stood there in 1812. (fn. 24) The
population more than doubled in the next 40 years
but declined slowly from a maximum of 177 in 1861
to 122 in 1931. (fn. 25) Alton parish, 2,518 a., had 306
inhabitants in 1951 but only 195 in 1971. (fn. 26)
The village of Alton Barnes still stands around its
church, west of which is the Old Rectory. East of
the church is Alton Barnes Farm, an irregular twostoreyed brick house of at least three periods. The
south end, of chequered brick with a stone plinth
and quoins, dates from the early 18th century. The
house was altered and extended later in the 18th
century and further extended and reroofed in the
early 19th century. A short distance north of the
church are three farm-houses, once the houses
attached to the three copyhold farms, connected to
the church by a footpath which was a road until the
18th century. (fn. 27) Neates, the southernmost, is an
irregular two-storeyed range of red brick under a
thatched roof, and is mainly of the late 18th century.
It retains its farm buildings, the oldest barn apparently of the 18th century. In 1970 they were disused,
but formed an impressive group of timber-framed
and brick buildings with thatched roofs standing
west of the house. Maslens, beside Neates, is an Lshaped thatched building of which the older
southern arm, a single-storey range with attics,
appears originally to have been timber-framed and
contains a stone fire-place of Tudor date. The walls
were faced with brick at various periods and there
is a brick addition at the north end. The western arm
is a much higher structure of two tall storeys, cellar,
and attics. It was built c. 1700 of brick on a base of
sarsens. The front doorway is set in the angle bay
beside the older wing. The bay contains a staircase
of c. 1700. The height and architectural treatment of
the south façade seem inappropriate to its narrow
frontage: the intention may once have been to
demolish the older wing and to extend the new
range eastwards, making it symmetrical with a
central doorway. To the south of the house a
garden was in 1970 enclosed by a cob wall with a
thatched top. Chandlers, north of Maslens, has
a mid-18th-century west front of chequer brick on
a stone plinth, and a recent tiled roof carried down
to first-floor level on the east. A pair of possibly
17th-century cottages stands by the DevizesPewsey road, 18th- and 19th-century cottages are
by the Avebury-Amesbury road, and some 20thcentury council houses are opposite the Old Rectory.
Manors.
Edward of Salisbury held Alton Barnes
in 1086. (fn. 28) He was succeeded by his son Walter (d.
1147) and grandson Patrick, first earl of Salisbury.
Alton passed with the earldom to Margaret Longespée. (fn. 29) Her husband, Henry de Lacy, earl of Lincoln,
held the manor in 1275, (fn. 30) and it passed to his
daughter Alice whose husband Thomas, earl of
Lancaster, was overlord in 1316. (fn. 31) After Thomas's
death in 1322 Alice surrendered many of her
estates, including Alton, in favour of Hugh Despenser. (fn. 32) When Despenser's lands were forfeited to the
Crown after his death in 1326 the overlordship of
Alton was probably granted with the earldom of
Salisbury to William de Montagu whose son William
died seised of it in 1397. (fn. 33) It was allotted as dower
to William's widow Elizabeth. (fn. 34) At her death in 1415
the overlordship reverted to Thomas Montagu, earl
of Salisbury. (fn. 35)
Henry de Berners was possibly the tenant in
demesne of the manor of ALTON BARNES in the
late 12th century when he held land in Swanborough
hundred. (fn. 36) The manor may have passed to John son
of Hugh on his apparently bigamous marriage to
Maud de Berners, and it was forfeited to the Crown
with his other lands in 1216. (fn. 37) It may then have been
granted to a succession of royal servants (fn. 38) but in
1241 Geoffrey son of John, presumably the son of
John son of Hugh and Maud de Berners, recovered
half the manor. (fn. 39) In 1242 half was held by Geoffrey
and half by Robert of Huxham, then sheriff of
Wiltshire. (fn. 40) Geoffrey son of John had apparently
recovered the whole manor by 1253 when he conveyed it to William son of Walter. (fn. 41)
In 1257 William son of Walter settled the manor
on himself with reversion to his son Walter. (fn. 42)
William still held it in 1285 when William the son
and Rose the widow of Walter son of William
conveyed their interests in it to Henry Thistleden
and his wife Isabel who became lords of the manor
after the death of the elder William son of Walter. (fn. 43)
By 1326 Henry Thistleden had been succeeded by
John Thistleden, (fn. 44) who in 1328 settled the manor on
himself and his wife Elizabeth with reversion to
Geoffrey Blount. (fn. 45) After John's death the manor
was apparently held by Nicholas Martin, presumably the husband of Elizabeth. (fn. 46) After Elizabeth's death before 1363, however, the manor
passed under the settlement of 1328 to Margaret,
the daughter and heir of Geoffrey Blount, the wife
of Walter of Frampton, and then a minor.
In 1363 Walter of Frampton successfully resisted
the claims of the daughters of the younger William
son of Walter and of the heir of Henry Thistleden to
the manor. (fn. 47) His tenure of it in his wife's right was
confirmed in 1366 (fn. 48) and in 1367 Walter and Margaret
conveyed it to William of Wykeham, bishop of
Winchester, a transaction completed in 1370. (fn. 49)
Under licences of the king and of William de
Montagu, earl of Salisbury and overlord of Alton
Barnes, William of Wykeham granted the manor in
1385 to the warden and scholars of the newlyfounded St. Mary College of Winchester in Oxford,
commonly called New College, who still owned it in
1970. (fn. 50)
Alwin held Shaw T.R.E. William de Breuse held
it in 1086 and Robert de Breuse held it of him. (fn. 51)
The manor of SHAW was settled by William
Salisbury on the marriage of his daughter Maud and
William Spillman probably in the mid 13th century. (fn. 52)
William died c. 1291 when the manor passed to his
son Peter, who died seised of it in 1292. (fn. 53) One of
Peter's heirs was his elder sister Maud, the wife
of John Grimstead who held Shaw at his death
c. 1314. (fn. 54) John was succeeded by his son John
whose widow Margery held the manor in 1348. (fn. 55)
In 1358 reversion of the manor was acquired
by Thomas Rivers whose wife Joan was a daughter
of the younger John Grimstead. (fn. 56) In 1374–5,
Thomas Rivers settled Shaw on himself and Isabel,
then his wife, (fn. 57) who sold it to William of Wykeham
after Thomas's death in 1375. (fn. 58) The manor was
granted with the manor of Alton Barnes to New
College (fn. 59) and the composite manor was called the
manor of Alton Barnes with Shaw. The rights of
Thomas Rivers's heirs to Shaw were extinguished in
1411 by a quitclaim of Thomas Rivers, presumably
after Isabel's death. (fn. 60)
Economic History.
Alton Barnes was assessed
at 5 hides in 1086. There was said to be land for 4
ploughs on the estate, but the demesne had only 2
ploughs and 4 serfs, while 3 villeins, a bordar, and 6
coscez shared only a single plough. There were 25 a.
of meadow and pasture 3 furlongs long and 2
furlongs broad. The estate was worth £5 T.R.E. and
£6 in 1086. (fn. 61)
The estate at Shaw was worth 10s. T.R.E. and
20s. in 1086 when it comprised 2 hides of demesne
land with a single plough and 1½ virgate shared by a
villein and 2 bordars. There were 40 a. of pasture and
woodland a league long and 3 furlongs broad. (fn. 62)
Even by the early 14th century Shaw probably comprised no more than c. 110 a. of arable cultivated in
common, and small areas of meadow land and
several pasture. It supported a demesne farm, a
freeholding which was presumably the farm later
called Shaw farm, and three half-virgaters. (fn. 63) The
grassland and woodland of the downs afforded
common pasture, probably shared by the farmers
of Shaw with men from villages below the downs.
Rights to feed animals on the upland were possibly
increased in 1330 when Shaw was placed outside
Savernake forest. (fn. 64)
Alton and Shaw apparently remained completely
separate economic units until the late 14th century
when they passed to New College. The two demesne
farms were not leased at that time and the college
presumably amalgamated them. The college demesne, on which large flocks of sheep were kept, (fn. 65)
was first leased in 1430. It included 108 a. of arable
and stock valued at £74, and was leased for £14 a
year. (fn. 66) Some time after New College acquired
Alton and Shaw, probably in the earlier 15th
century, the three customary holdings at Shaw
were merged with the three at Alton. The composite
farms thus established were worked by Alton men
and the village of Shaw was abandoned.
The agrarian patterns at Alton and Shaw remained fundamentally unchanged in the period
1450–1650. The demesne farm of the manor of
Alton with Shaw, called Alton farm, was leased, (fn. 67)
although the estate remained subject to visitations
by the college warden. William Button (d. 1547) of
Alton Priors, tried to secure a lease of Alton farm
in the 1530s, but the warden of New College was
unwilling to lease it to the tenant of the neighbouring
farm. (fn. 68) John Benger held it from 1528 until his
death in 1547, after which the lease passed to his
widow Margaret and Robert Woodroff, her next
husband. After Woodroff's death, however, Alton
farm was acquired, lawfully or otherwise, by
William Button (d. 1591) who thereby united for a
time Shaw farm and the demesne farms of Alton
Barnes and Alton Priors. (fn. 69) Button's occupation of
all the farms created difficulties for the lords of
Alton Barnes. An order was made in 1584 to view
lands at Shaw to avoid future confusion about
which of Button's lands there belonged to Alton;
he was said to have kept too many sheep on the
common, and to have demolished Alton Barnes
mill and diverted the water of the stream to drive
his own mill in Alton Priors. (fn. 70) Alton farm was leased
in 1596 to Anthony Mawkes who apparently held
it for many years. (fn. 71) He was succeeded by another
Anthony Mawkes who assigned his lease to Francis
Hill in 1666. (fn. 72) In 1659 the farm comprised 157 a.
of arable, 49 a. of meadow at Alton, 11 a. of several
pasture at Shaw, and feeding rights for 21 cattle,
300 ewes, and 600 wethers. (fn. 73) There were five other
farms in Alton, probably from the mid 15th century,
and all with land at Shaw. They were the glebe
farm, (fn. 74) the freeholding called Barnes, some 20 a.,
which was held with Alton farm in the time of John
Benger, (fn. 75) and three copyholds. In 1628 the copyholds were worth £4 12s. a year in rents to New
College. They comprised a total of 4½ virgates, and
each was an amalgam of two former holdings,
presumably one at Alton and one at Shaw. (fn. 76) All the
farmsteads were in Alton village. South of them the
meadow land was divided between the copyholders'
few acres of common meadow and the farmer's
several meadow. The tenants' common arable lay
in an arc around the north and west of the village
and the farmer's arable lay in an arc outside it. (fn. 77)
Further north the upland of Alton was divided
between a sheep-down and a cow-down common to
the farmer and tenants. (fn. 78)
The land of Shaw was shared by the farmers of
Alton and the tenant of Shaw farm. It consisted of
a common arable field, Shaw field, (fn. 79) a few small
several meadows or pastures, an extensive common
sheep-down, (fn. 80) and the wooded eastern part of
Shaw Down. (fn. 81) Pressure on the upland pastures
around Shaw clearly increased in the 16th century
when the lords of neighbouring manors were said
to have inclosed their common downs. (fn. 82) A long
dispute developed between the tenants of New
College and the Skillings of Draycot Fitz Payne
about the title to, pasture rights over, and the right
to cut wood on, the eastern part of Shaw Down
which apparently remained open. (fn. 83) The pastures of
Shaw were used in 1659 by the tenant of Shaw farm
with 1,100 sheep, the farmer of Alton Barnes with
600, the tenants of Alton with 600, and by the
Skillings of Draycot with 300 sheep in the eastern
part of the down. (fn. 84) Considerable economic benefit
was also derived from the extensive woodlands on
the down.
Great economic changes took place at Alton
Barnes and Shaw after 1650. The land of Shaw,
except the eastern part of Shaw Down, was inclosed in 1680. Sir John Button, then owner of
Shaw farm, was allotted most of the land north of
Wansdyke, and part of Shaw field, c. 140 a., south
of it. New College was allotted the Barken grounds
north of Wansdyke and the rest of the land south
of it. (fn. 85) Both the arable and pasture land over
which New College acquired sole title was divided
and inclosed by the college's farmer and tenants of
Alton Barnes. The tenant of Alton farm was allotted
the southern part of Shaw field. The copyholders
and the rector divided among them the northern
part of Shaw field and the Barken grounds which
were converted to arable. The sheep-down on the
steeper land between Shaw field and the Barken
grounds was divided into a copyholders' sheepdown, in which the rector also had feeding rights,
and a farmer's down, in which the freeholder had
feeding rights. (fn. 86) The wooded, eastern, part of
Shaw Down was inclosed in 1693. (fn. 87) The land over
which New College acquired sole rights was divided
among the farmer and the copyholders of Alton
Barnes and converted to arable. At the time of these
inclosures at Shaw the upland of Alton south of
Wansdyke was divided between the copyholders'
sheep-down and the farmer's sheep-down, and the
land north of Wansdyke was allotted to the farmer. (fn. 88)
The agrarian changes of the late 17th century
resulted in an increased acreage for every farm in
Alton. By the late 18th century there were still six
farms, Alton farm, 595 a., the three copyholds,
87 a., 76 a., and 68 a., the freehold farm, and the
glebe farm. Nearly all the land of Alton farm was
cultivated in severalty, but the other farmers used
in common some 95 a. of arable and 3 a. of meadow
at Alton. Sheep-downs at Alton and Shaw, 54 a.
and 70 a. respectively, were used by the copyholders for flocks of 220 sheep, including 40 of
the freeholder, and 240 sheep, including 40 of the
rector. The freeholder also fed 40 sheep with the
farmer's flock. In 1797 the parish included some
530 a. of arable, 400 a. of pasture, 43 a. of meadow,
much of it water-meadow, and Shaw copse,
11½ a. (fn. 89)
Between 1797 and 1812 Maslen's and Chandler's
copyholds were merged to make a farm of more than
150 a. (fn. 90) In 1812 the common arable, called Home
field or 'Below Hill', was inclosed by agreement,
and, presumably at the same time, the copyholders'
common sheep-down at Alton was divided between
the two tenants. (fn. 91) By 1839 there were only three
farms in the parish. Alton farm, held from 1805 to
at least 1853 by Robert Pile, (fn. 92) who, like several
previous tenants, also owned the freehold farm,
amounted to 629 a. in all. Maslen's farm amounted
to 206 a. and its tenant also leased the 36 a. of
glebe. Neate's farm amounted to 89 a. (fn. 93) By 1882
Neate's and part of Maslen's had been added to
Alton farm, and the rest of Maslen's was leased to
J. Stratton with Alton farm in 1907. The rector's
portion of the former copyholders' sheep-down at
Shaw, assessed at 23 a., was sold to New College in
1966 and was leased to the tenant of Alton farm,
Mr. A. G. Stratton. (fn. 94) In 1970 the parish land was
all part of one farm and devoted largely to arable
and dairy farming.
There was a mill worth 10s. at Alton Barnes in
1086, (fn. 95) and a mill stood on the manor until c. 1580.
It was situated c. ½ mile south of the village, driven
by the stream flowing from Broad Well spring, and
was apparently leased with the demesne. It was
demolished by William Button when he was lessee
and when he also held the near-by Alton Priors mill
on the other bank of the stream. The Alton Priors
mill was demolished c. 1650 and there were subsequent disputes, apparently resolved in favour of
Alton Priors, over the course of, and the rights to,
the water of the boundary stream which was
especially useful for watering meadows. (fn. 96)
Local Government.
Court records for the
manor of Alton Barnes with Shaw exist for the years
1384–9, when separate courts were held for Alton
and Shaw, 1453, 1482, 1496, and 1501–1875. (fn. 97)
The courts were held once a year by the steward
during the warden's progress, (fn. 98) but could also be
held at other times of the year. (fn. 99) New College
exercised no public jurisdiction in Alton Barnes.
The courts were therefore solely concerned with
the administration of agrarian custom and tenurial
business.
Churchwardens' accounts exist for the periods
1627–46 and 1677–1721 when a single churchwarden
was appointed. (fn. 100) The parish became part of Devizes
poor-law union in 1835. (fn. 101)
Churches.
Saxon work in the church at Alton
Barnes indicates that it was built there before the
Conquest. (fn. 102) The rectory was united with the chapelry
of Alton Priors in 1913 and, under an Order in
Council of 1928, with the rectory of Stanton St.
Bernard in 1932. (fn. 103) In 1928 the hamlet of Honey
Street was detached from the ecclesiastical parish of
Woodborough and annexed to Alton Barnes, and
the hamlet of West Stowell was detached from
Alton Priors and annexed to Wilcot ecclesiastical
parish. (fn. 104)
The advowson of the church passed with the
lordship of the manor. The king licensed Henry of
Cerne to present in 1216 when the lands of John
son of Hugh were in his hands, (fn. 105) and rectors were
subsequently presented by Henry Thistleden and
John Thistleden. Nicholas Martin, possibly lord of
the manor in his wife's right, presented in 1335 and
1349, but Henry and Geoffrey Thistleden, presumably relatives of John Thistleden, presented in
1342 and 1361 respectively, perhaps under grants
of Nicholas and his wife. William of Wykeham
presented in 1376 and thereafter the patronage was
exercised by New College. (fn. 106)
The value of the church was put at £5 in 1291, (fn. 107)
and at £6 19s. in 1535. (fn. 108) The living, worth an
average of £294 in the years 1829–31, (fn. 109) was of
average wealth among the livings of the hundred
but in 1861 the warden and scholars of New College
resolved to increase its value by annexing Neate's
copyhold to it. Although the rent from Neate's was
possibly paid to the rector, the annexation was
deferred until a vacancy in the living and the resolution was rescinded in 1883. (fn. 110)
The rector received the great and small tithes
from the whole parish. They were commuted for a
rent-charge of £262 10s. in 1839. (fn. 111)
The glebe included land at Shaw and at Alton. It
was estimated to be some 15 a. in the 16th century,
but at 18 a. with pasture rights for 100 sheep in the
early and mid 17th century. (fn. 112) After the 17thcentury inclosure of land at Shaw the glebe amounted
to some 39 a., still with rights in Shaw common
down. (fn. 113) Most of the glebe, but not the common
pasturage, was sold in 1915. (fn. 114) The former glebehouse, called the Old Rectory in 1970, stands
immediately west of the church. (fn. 115) The front range,
of two storeys and five bays, was built in the early
18th century. One of the chimneys is dated 1739.
The house was enlarged 1785–7 by the addition of
a back range containing the present staircase. (fn. 116) A
chimney carries the date 1785 and a brick near the
eaves is dated 1786.
William de Kyngrave, presented to the church in
1319, was refused institution by the bishop because
of his lack of learning. Custody of the church was
granted to Richard Thistleden, probably a relative
of Henry Thistleden, then lord of the manor.
William was instituted in 1320 but required to
present himself to the bishop once a year until he
had made up his lack of learning. (fn. 117) In 1409 Ralph
Gardiner, rector 1393–1415, (fn. 118) was licensed to be
absent for a year to serve the abbot of St. Albans. (fn. 119)
The church was later served by men of learning,
many of them fellows of New College. Richard
Steward (d. 1651), the author of a number of
religious works, though not a fellow of the college,
became rector c. 1630. He held several other benefices, was a royalist, and followed Charles II to
France. (fn. 120) He was succeeded as rector of Alton by
the Puritan Obadiah Wills, presented in 1652. (fn. 121)
It was suggested to parliamentary commissioners
that the congregations of Alton Barnes and Alton
Priors should be united, and that was achieved in
practice by Wills who in 1656 became curate of
Alton Priors where the former royalist curate was
dispossessed. (fn. 122) Wills was ejected in 1660 and the
two congregations were separated. (fn. 123) Much had been
done to restore the Anglican order at Alton by 1662 (fn. 124)
but a book of homilies was not purchased until
1687. (fn. 125)
Two services were held every Sunday in 1783 and
Holy Communion was celebrated four times. (fn. 126)
William Crowe, a poet and divine, was rector from
1787 to 1829. He was in the habit of walking between
Alton and Oxford where he was the university's
public orator. (fn. 127) He was succeeded as rector of Alton
by Augustus Hare who also, unofficially, served the
church of Alton Priors. Services were held alternately in the two churches. They were held on all
saints' days, every Wednesday and Friday in Lent,
and twice on Sundays with comments on Old
Testament lessons in the morning and sermons in
the afternoon. In addition to serving the church
Hare joined with the villagers of Alton in forming a
co-operative society, divided part of the glebe into
allotments, and, with his wife, held schools for the
poor. He forsook richer livings for the 'quiet life' at
Alton but left the parish in 1833 shortly before his
death. (fn. 128) The rector was assisted by a curate in 1864.
Communion was celebrated six or seven times a
year, services were held at the main festivals and
twice a week in Lent, but the second Sunday service
was replaced by a Sunday school. (fn. 129)
The church of ST. MARY consists of nave and
chancel only. Its Saxon origin is clear from parts of
its masonry, including long and short quoins at the
west end, and from the high narrow proportions of
the nave. (fn. 130) The damaged west window and the old
north doorway date from the 14th century. (fn. 131) The
chancel was reroofed c. 1661 (fn. 132) and rebuilt in 1748. (fn. 133)
Alterations were made to the interior of the church
in 1832 (fn. 134) but c. 1875 the chancel arch collapsed and
the east wall of the nave had to be taken down. (fn. 135)
The church and its 15th-century roof were restored
in 1904 under the direction of C. E. Ponting. (fn. 136)
There were two bells at Alton in 1553, subsequently replaced by two dated 1626 and 1788. (fn. 137)
They were hung between the ceiling and the roof
of the nave until 1904 when they were rehung in
the west gable. (fn. 138) The church possessed a chalice of
8 oz. in 1553 when 2 oz. of silver were taken for the
king. (fn. 139) A chalice, paten, and flagon were given
in 1757. (fn. 140) The flagon was missing in 1973. The
registers date from 1592 and are complete. (fn. 141)
A church was built at Shaw in the early 14th
century. Excavations undertaken in 1929 indicate
that it consisted only of a rectangular nave, larger
than the nave of Alton church, with north and
south doorways and large windows in the east and
west walls. One of the windows is possibly that in
the west wall of Alton church since a tradition
existed among the villagers that stones of Alton
church were brought from Shaw church. It is not
known how Shaw church was served, nor when it
ceased to exist, but it was probably abandoned
about the time that Shaw village was deserted. (fn. 142)
Nonconformity.
Anthony Mawkes was granted a licence for a Congregational place of worship
in Alton Barnes in 1673, (fn. 143) but there is no other
evidence of dissent in the parish before 1822 when
a house was registered as a meeting-place. (fn. 144) A
Baptist lived in the parish in 1831, (fn. 145) and a small
group of Wesleyans lived there in 1864 but no
permanent congregation was established. (fn. 146)
Education.
A school at Alton Barnes was
opened in 1829, (fn. 147) and by 1833 was attended by 10
boys and 16 girls including some from Alton Priors. (fn. 148)
A new school was built in 1837 and attended by
children of both the Altons and of the near-by
hamlet of Honey Street in Woodborough. (fn. 149)
Attendances increased to 84 by 1906 but declined
to 51 by 1938. (fn. 150) In 1969 the children of Stanton St.
Bernard, where the school was closed, joined the
school at Alton. In 1973 25 children attended it. (fn. 151)
Charities for the Poor.
Francis Brereton,
rector of Alton Barnes, bequeathed by his will
proved 1865 £100 for the poor of the parish. The
sum was held by the incumbents of Alton Barnes
until 1903 when it was transferred to trustees. The
annual interest of £2 10s. was distributed to the poor
in cash or in kind. In 1904 the rector gave 2 cwt. of
coal to each of 23 poor families in the parish at
Christmas. (fn. 152) The income was later distributed in
cash but in 1971 it was put towards the cost of an
annual party for old people. (fn. 153)
Six cottages in the parish, once occupied as a
poorhouse and afterwards leased by the overseers
in aid of the poor-rate, possibly had their origin in
a charitable endowment for the poor. The cottages
were sold in 1886, the proceeds invested, and the
interest put towards the parish poor-rate. (fn. 154)