TIDCOMBE
Tidcombe parish, (fn. 52)
c. 15 km. both south-east
of Marlborough and north-west of Andover
(Hants), comprised Tidcombe, 895 a., and Fosbury, 1,444 a., which were detached from each
other; 27 a. of the land of Oxenwood, otherwise
in Shalbourne parish, had been added to Tidcombe parish by 1786. (fn. 53) Tidcombe parish church
stood at Tidcombe and in the 19th century a
church was built at Fosbury. (fn. 54) In 1894 Wiltshire
county council gave the parish the name Tidcombe and Fosbury, and Hippenscombe, 911 a.,
a civil parish, formerly extra-parochial, and linking Tidcombe's and Fosbury's land, was then
added to it. (fn. 55) In 1934 the land lying between
Tidcombe's and Fosbury's, part of Shalbourne
parish and until 1895 in Berkshire, was transferred to Tidcombe and Fosbury parish, (fn. 56)
increasing it to 1,529 ha. (3,778 a.). (fn. 57)
The population of Tidcombe parish in 1801
was 220. Between then and 1881, when it was
238, it was at its lowest, at 204, in 1811 and its
highest, at 274, in 1861. It had fallen to 199 by
1891 and, despite the addition of Hippenscombe
to the parish, to 190 by 1901. A rise to 251
between 1901 and 1911 and a fall to 197 between
1911 and 1921 cannot be explained. Despite the
addition of part of Shalbourne in 1934 the
population of Tidcombe and Fosbury parish
continued to fall. There were 158 inhabitants in
1951, (fn. 58) 97 in 1971. In 1991 the population was
105. (fn. 59)
TIDCOMBE AND FOSBURY c. 1840 HIPPENSCOMBE 1848
The main part of this article deals principally
with Tidcombe. Most aspects of Fosbury and
Hippenscombe are dealt with separately in subarticles under the name of each place.
The boundary of Tidcombe follows a Roman
road for most of its length on the east and for a
short distance on the north. Another road marks
the boundary on the north-east, and the 27 a. of
Oxenwood's land lies east of that road. (fn. 60) On the
west the south part of Tidcombe's boundary
follows a prehistoric ditch for c. 1 km. (fn. 61) On the
south the point on the boundary where the
Roman road crosses a prehistoric ditch was
called Street gate in the 10th century. (fn. 62) All
Tidcombe's land lies on chalk, a north facing
scarp crosses the middle of it, and there is no
stream on it. North and south of the scarp much
of the land is flat. That to the north reaches its
lowest point, at 150 m., on the north part of the
boundary. That to the south is downland which
falls gently from c. 260 m. immediately south of
the scarp to c. 195 m. on the south part of the
boundary; in two places the chalk is overlain by
clay-with-flints. (fn. 63) Sheep-and-corn husbandry
was for long practised on the land. (fn. 64)
No main road crosses Tidcombe's land. The
Roman road followed by its boundary and crossing it north-east of Tidcombe village linked
Cirencester and Winchester; the section on the
east was part of a south-west deviation of the
road from its otherwise straight course made to
avoid broken relief. (fn. 65) Where it crossed and
bounded Tidcombe all but a short part of the
straight course was tarmacadamed and, leading
north-west towards Marlborough and south-east
towards Andover, was in use as a public road in
1998. A long barrow, a bowl barrow, and several
prehistoric ditches lie on the downland south of
Tidcombe village. (fn. 66) Tidcombe lay within Savernake forest until 1330. (fn. 67)
Most of the buildings of Tidcombe village
have long stood in a north-south street immediately below the face of the scarp, with the church
in the middle on the west side. (fn. 68) In the Middle
Ages there were probably c. 16 small farmsteads
in the street, (fn. 69) and in 1377, when it had 50
poll-tax payers, (fn. 70) Tidcombe village may have
been more populous than at any time later. It had
76 inhabitants in 1841. (fn. 71) In the mid 18th century
a manor house was built north of the church, (fn. 72)
and in the earlier 19th century a vicarage house
was standing on the east side of the street and
east of the church. About 1840 there were two
farmyards at the north end of the street, one on
each side, and a house and a farmyard stood
immediately north of the vicarage house. There
were then nine cottages in the street, including a
terrace of five at the south end. (fn. 73) In the mid 19th
century the vicarage house was rebuilt and, south
of the church and on the west side of the street,
a school was built; (fn. 74) the school was converted to
a house c. 1947. (fn. 75) Of the buildings standing c.
1840 only the church, the manor house, a small
house apparently of 17th-century origin, and a
possibly 19th-century cottage survived in 1998.
At the north end of the street 20th-century
buildings stood in the two farmyards; buildings
on the site of the third farmyard were used for
keeping horses. Only two new houses were built
in the street in the 20th century.
About 1840 two cottages stood beside the lane
by which the north end of Tidcombe street is
approached. One of them, of brick, flint, and
thatch and possibly of the late 18th century,
survived in 1998. North-east of it two pairs of
estate cottages were built between c. 1840 and
1879 and rebuilt in the mid 20th century. Beside
a track leading to the street from the south four
cottages were standing c. 1840; three were demolished between 1899 and 1922, the fourth in
the mid 20th century. (fn. 76)
Tidcombe village was designated a conservation area in 1975. (fn. 77)
MANOR AND OTHER ESTATE.
Tidcombe
was probably part of the estate called Bedwyn
which passed with the crown almost certainly
from the 8th century. The estate was held by
Abingdon abbey (Berks., later Oxon.) from 968
to 975 or later, and from 978 apparently again
passed with the crown. (fn. 78) By 1066 Tidcombe had
been granted away: it was held then by Wenesius, in 1086 by his relict. (fn. 79)
In the late 12th century TIDCOMBE manor
was held by Henry Hussey. (fn. 80) Formerly it may
have been held by members of the Beauchamp
family, and in 1249 William de Beauchamp of
Elmley Castle (Worcs.) confirmed it to Hussey's
successor. (fn. 81) The overlordship of the manor was
held by William's son William, earl of Warwick
(d. 1298), (fn. 82) and descended with the earldom. (fn. 83)
Tidcombe manor passed from Henry Hussey
to his son Geoffrey, to whom the king confirmed
it in 1198. It presumably descended like
Figheldean manor to Geoffrey's son Geoffrey (d.
c. 1218), whose estate passed to another Henry
Hussey (d. 1260 × 1263). (fn. 84) Tidcombe manor
passed from that Henry Hussey to his son Sir
Hubert (d. by 1275), (fn. 85) whose heirs were his
infant daughters Margaret (d. c. 1320), who
married Henry Sturmy (d. c. 1305), Maud (d.
c. 1285 unmarried), and Isabel, who married
John Thorney. (fn. 86) From c. 1285 to the later 14th
century moieties of the manor apparently descended separately. In the 1320s what was
probably one of the moieties was apparently
disputed between Margaret Sturmy's sons
Henry Sturmy and John Sturmy, as a moiety of
Figheldean manor was, (fn. 87) and in 1331 John held
an estate in Tidcombe, presumably the moiety. (fn. 88)
John's estate may have passed to Henry (d. c.
1338) and probably passed to that Henry's son
Henry (d. 1381). (fn. 89) By 1289 Isabel Thorney's
moiety had apparently been acquired by (Sir)
John of Kingston, (fn. 90) who in 1322 forfeited his
lands for contrariance. (fn. 91) By 1329 it had apparently been recovered by Sir John (d. 1332 ×
1339), who settled it on himself and his wife
Constance for life with reversion to his son
Thomas: in 1329 Sir John's right to the estate
was acknowledged by John and Isabel Thorney,
and in 1339 it was disputed by Henry Sturmy
and by Isabel's grandson John Thorney and her
daughter-in-law Maud Thorney. (fn. 92) The estate
passed to Thomas Kingston's son John, who in
1375 conveyed a moiety of Tidcombe manor to
Henry Sturmy and the younger John Thorney. (fn. 93)
In 1382 the whole manor belonged to Henry's
nephew and heir (Sir) William Sturmy. (fn. 94)
From Sir William Sturmy's death in 1427
Tidcombe manor was held for life by his relict
Joan (d. 1429). Sir William's heirs were his
grandson (Sir) John Seymour and his daughter
Agnes, the wife of John Holcombe. (fn. 95) Tidcombe
manor may have been assigned to Agnes and in
1447, as part of the settlement of a dispute over
the partition of Sir William's lands, it was
assigned to her son William Ringbourne (fn. 96) (d.
1450). It was held for life by William's relict
Elizabeth and passed in turn to his son Robert (fn. 97)
(d. 1485), Robert's brother William (d. 1512),
and that William's grandson Thomas Brown, (fn. 98)
who held it until 1532 or later. (fn. 99) By 1540 the
manor had been acquired, probably by purchase,
by Edward Seymour, earl of Hertford (cr. duke
of Somerset 1547). (fn. 1)
On Somerset's execution and attainder in
1552 Tidcombe manor passed by Act to his son
Sir Edward Seymour (cr. earl of Hertford 1559,
d. 1621), a minor. (fn. 2) From 1553 to 1675 it descended with Tottenham Lodge in Great
Bedwyn successively to William, duke of Somerset (d. 1660), William, duke of Somerset (d.
1671), and John, duke of Somerset (d. 1675). (fn. 3)
Under a settlement of 1672 the manor passed in
1675 to Somerset's relict Sarah (d. 1692), and
from then until c. 1767 it descended in the
Seymour family with Pewsey manor. (fn. 4) About
1767 Hugh Percy, duke of Northumberland, and
his wife Elizabeth, by direction of Joseph Champion, sold it to Edward Tanner. (fn. 5)
The manor descended from Edward Tanner
(d. 1779) to his son John (d. 1797) (fn. 6) and passed
to John's daughter Martha (d. 1855), from 1798
the wife of the Revd. W. R. H. Churchill (d.
1847). It passed to Martha's son the Revd.
William Churchill, who in 1871-2 sold it to
Thomas Hayward (fn. 7) (d. 1921). The manor descended in the direct line to Thomas Hayward
(d. 1947), who sold the manor house and c. 25
a., T. P. Hayward (d. 1985), and Mr. J. W.
Hayward, who owned Tidcombe farm, c. 940 a.,
in 1998. (fn. 8)
Tidcombe Manor was built in the mid 18th
century, possibly for John Tanner soon after c.
1767. (fn. 9) It is a two-storeyed house of red brick
with, on the south, a main front of five bays, of
which the central bay is pedimented and incorporates an open-pedimented doorcase. (fn. 10) On the
ground floor the house originally had four
rooms, two on each side of a central staircase
hall. In the 1930s a rear service wing was
enlarged, the interior of the house was much
altered, a garden with rustic walls of flint was
made to the west, and a swimming pool house
was built in a Moorish style. In the 1960s stables
were converted to cottages, in the 1970s a bay
was added to the service wing and a coach house
was converted to a library, (fn. 11) and in 1990 the
south forecourt was altered to designs by Sir
Geoffrey Jellicoe. (fn. 12)
A licence of 1331 for Easton priory to appropriate Tidcombe church (fn. 13) was void. A licence
for the priory to appropriate it as soon as it was
vacant was granted in 1392, (fn. 14) and between 1401
and 1403 the priory appropriated the church. (fn. 15)
The RECTORY estate belonged to Easton priory
until the Dissolution, (fn. 16) and in 1536 it was
granted to Sir Edward Seymour, Viscount
Beauchamp (cr. earl of Hertford 1537, duke of
Somerset 1547). (fn. 17) In 1547 Somerset gave it to
the Crown in an exchange and the Crown
granted it to St. George's chapel, Windsor. (fn. 18) It
was confiscated by parliament in 1643, assigned
to the almshouses of Windsor castle in 1654, and
recovered by the chapel at the Restoration. (fn. 19) In
1838 the estate consisted of 48 a. and all the
tithes from the whole of Tidcombe and Fosbury;
the tithes were valued at £481 in 1839 and
commuted. (fn. 20) In 1867 the estate passed to the
Ecclesiastical Commissioners, (fn. 21) who sold the
land in 1920. (fn. 22)
ECONOMIC HISTORY.
In 1086 Tidcombe
had land for 3 ploughteams: 1 team and 1 servus
were on the demesne, and 2 villani and 6 bordars
had 2 teams. There were 4 a. of woodland and
10 square furlongs of pasture. (fn. 23)
Until the later 18th century Tidcombe's only
inclosed land, c. 25 a., lay in the home closes of
farmsteads in the village and in a few closes of
meadow and pasture near the village. North of
the scarp which crosses Tidcombe immediately
south of the village there were three open fields,
North, East, and West, a total of 431 a. The
scarp face and the downland south of it, 392 a.,
were common pasture. (fn. 24)
In the 16th century all the land of Tidcombe
manor was apparently held customarily. There
were then 14 holdings, with an average of nominally 38 a. in the open fields; the largest had
nominally 67 a., the smallest nominally 13 a.
Each holding included land in each of the fields,
common pasture for sheep and cattle, and a
tenement presumably in the village. (fn. 25) The only
other holdings of Tidcombe's land were a freehold, about the size of the largest copyhold of
the manor and apparently of 2 yardlands, and
the land of the rectory estate, about the average
size of a copyhold and of 1 yardland. (fn. 26) Sheep
stints, at 60 to 1 yardland, were generous. (fn. 27) In
the late 17th century there was a cow down, on
which sheep were kept in winter. From 1692 or
earlier no more than three beasts to 1 yardland
was permitted on the common pasture, and from
1702 or earlier no more than 40 sheep or 80
lambs on the cow down. (fn. 28)
By 1774 all but one of the copyholds of
Tidcombe manor had been agglomerated as one
farm; the last was added in 1791-2. (fn. 29) The open
fields and common pastures were inclosed in
1775 by Act. In respect of the farm later called
Manor farm the lord of Tidcombe manor was
allotted 295 a. of the open fields and 296 a. of
the downland. Other allotments lay east of his:
47 a. was allotted to the owner of the Rectory
estate, 90 a. to the freeholder, and 95 a. to the
copyholder. The Act required that after inclosure no less than 230 a., shared proportionately
among the owners, should be ploughed. (fn. 30) By c.
1840 little of the land north of the scarp face had
been laid to grass and 137 a. of the downland
had been ploughed. (fn. 31)
About 1840 Tidcombe had c. 590 a. of arable,
c. 42 a. of meadows and lowland pasture, and c.
236 a. of downland pasture. Manor farm, then
and later worked from two farmyards at the
north end of the street, had 718 a., and a farm
worked from the farmstead east of the church
had 145 a. (fn. 32) Both were apparently arable and
sheep farms. (fn. 33) The smaller was added to Manor
farm in the later 19th century or early 20th. In
1910 Manor farm had 850 a. (fn. 34) In 1998 it was a
farm of c. 940 a. on which corn was grown and
sheep and beef cattle were kept. (fn. 35)
Tidcombe had little woodland. Scots Poor
plantation, 18 a. at the southern boundary, was
standing c. 1840 and in 1998. No other wood as
extensive as 10 a. seems to have been planted. (fn. 36)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT.
Although the lord
of Tidcombe manor in the late 12th century held
the manor quit of suit to shire and hundred
courts, (fn. 37) no separate view of frankpledge or court
leet is known to have been held in respect of it.
Records of the court baron survive for 1615-16,
1620, 1692-1702, and 1711-89. In the early 17th
century the homage presented the death of
tenants, and orders were made for hedges and
boundaries to be repaired. In the late 17th
century and early 18th it seems that the court
usually met once a year, occasionally more often.
Then and later in the 18th century it witnessed
surrenders of and admittances to copyholds,
endorsed regulations, most of them stereotyped,
for common husbandry, and occasionally penalized the contravening of custom or of a
regulation. The court met less often after the
early 18th century: not at all between 1716 and
1719, only thrice in the 1740s, infrequently after
1760, and last in 1789. (fn. 38)
To relieve the poor of Tidcombe and Fosbury
the parish appointed two overseers, each of
whom relieved poverty throughout the parish.
In 1775-6 the parish spent £142 on poor relief.
In the late 1780s much more was spent on
monthly doles than on making occasional payments for shoes, clothing, medical help, and
funerals and in meeting other needs. The parish
had a workhouse, in which there were usually
three paupers in 1780; it stood at Fosbury and
was probably closed in 1783. From Easter 1782
to Easter 1785 poor relief cost an average of £106
a year. In 1802-3 £160 was spent on relieving
15 adults and 14 children regularly and 10 people
occasionally; by their labour the poor contributed £27 to their maintenance, and at 3s. the
poor rate was about the average for the hundred. (fn. 39) In 1814-15 £344 was spent on relieving
5 adults regularly and 41 occasionally. (fn. 40) The cost
of poor relief reached a peak of £441 in 1817-18;
it had fallen to £146 by 1822-3, and between
then and 1833-4 exceeded £300 only twice. (fn. 41) By
1848 Tidcombe parish had joined Hungerford
(Berks.) poor-law union, which was formed in
1835. (fn. 42) Tidcombe and Fosbury parish became
part of Kennet district in 1974. (fn. 43)
CHURCH.
Tidcombe church was standing in
the mid 13th century. (fn. 44) It was served by a rector
until, between 1401 and 1403, it was appropriated
by Easton priory. In the licence to appropriate,
which was given in 1392, the bishop required the
priory to appoint a resident stipendiary chaplain
who was to be presented to him to receive cure
of souls, (fn. 45) but by 1403 a vicarage had been
ordained. (fn. 46) Vicars were presented until 1575. (fn. 47)
From when the vicarage was vacated by the
vicar instituted in 1575 the church was apparently served by stipendiary curates. (fn. 48) From
1789 it was served by a perpetual curate licensed
by the bishop (fn. 49) and from 1868 called a vicar. (fn. 50)
Tidcombe ecclesiastical parish was reduced in
1856, when Fosbury, where a church was consecrated in that year, was made a separate
ecclesiastical district, (fn. 51) and increased in 1879,
when Hippenscombe was added to it. (fn. 52) In 1926
the vicarages of Tidcombe and Fosbury were
united, (fn. 53) and in 1962 the united benefice was
united to East Grafton vicarage. (fn. 54) In 1979 that
united benefice was united to others to form
Wexcombe benefice, and the ecclesiastical parishes of Tidcombe and Fosbury were united. (fn. 55)
The advowson of Tidcombe rectory belonged
to Henry Hussey (d. 1260 × 1263), the lord of
Tidcombe manor, and descended with the
manor to his son Sir Hubert (d. by 1275). From
c. 1275 to 1335 it was disputed. (fn. 56) In 1275 and
1276, when as overlord he was keeper of Sir
Hubert's daughters and heirs, the king presented, (fn. 57) and Sir Hubert's daughters Margaret,
the wife of Henry Sturmy, and Isabel, the wife
of John Thorney, later claimed to share the
advowson with each other and attempted to
present alternately; Margaret's claim passed to
her son Henry Sturmy. Against that claim it was
said in 1324 that the advowson had passed by
successive conveyances from Sir Hubert Hussey
to his brother John, to Richard de la Mote, and
to William Mauduit; it was said to have descended to William's son Thomas Mauduit and to
have been conveyed in 1324 by him to the rector
Vincent Tarent, (fn. 58) on whose resignation in 1324
his claim was disputed by the younger Henry
Sturmy. Tarent claimed that the candidates
presented by the king had not been instituted,
ignored a successful claim by Margaret Sturmy
and Isabel Thorney against William Mauduit's
relict Joan Mauduit in 1305, (fn. 59) and claimed that
candidates presented successively by John
Hussey and Richard de la Mote had been instituted; he himself had been presented in 1318 by
Thomas Mauduit. Sturmy claimed that a candidate presented by his parents before c. 1305 had
been instituted and, although the bishop recorded that it had been disputed by John
Thorney, (fn. 60) claimed that the presentation of 1318
had been by grant of Isabel Thorney's turn.
Jurors found for Tarent, who presented his own
successor in 1324 and presented unchallenged in
1325. (fn. 61) At the following vacancy, in 1335, Henry
Sturmy and John Sturmy, who were apparently
disputing what was probably a moiety of Tidcombe manor with each other, each presented a
rival to the candidate as rector presented by
Tarent: Tarent's candidate was instituted, and
between 1336 and 1349 Tarent presented five
rectors without challenge. In 1361 William of
Wykeham and John Froile, probably feoffees,
presented, (fn. 62) and by 1374 the advowson had been
acquired, possibly by purchase, by the younger
Henry Sturmy's son Henry (d. 1381), who probably held a moiety of Tidcombe manor. (fn. 63) The
advowson passed with Tidcombe manor to Sir
William Sturmy, under a licence of 1390 Sir
William gave it to Easton priory in an exchange, (fn. 64) and the priory was patron in 1392
when it was licensed to appropriate the church. (fn. 65)
From 1403 to the Dissolution the priory presented vicars. (fn. 66) The patronage passed with the
Rectory estate to Edward Seymour, duke of
Somerset, and to St. George's chapel, Windsor, (fn. 67) and in 1575 William Ernle, the chapel's
lessee, presented a vicar. Thereafter stipendiary
curates were appointed by successive lessees or
their nominees, (fn. 68) apparently until the late 18th
century. In 1789 and later the perpetual curates
and the vicars were nominated by St. George's
chapel. (fn. 69) In 1926 the patronage of Fosbury
church was given to the chapel in an exchange,
and the chapel was the sole patron of the united
benefice of Tidcombe with Fosbury. (fn. 70) From
1962 the chapel shared the patronage of the
united benefice and from 1979 had a seat on the
board of patronage for Wexcombe benefice. (fn. 71)
In 1291, when it was worth £5 6s. 8d., the
rectory was of below average value for the
diocese. (fn. 72) Apparently the rector held 1 yardland
and was entitled to all the tithes from Tidcombe
and Fosbury. (fn. 73) The vicar was entitled to no tithe
and, apart from a house, had no glebe. In 1535
the vicarage was worth £6 13s. 4d. (fn. 74) From 1612
the lessee of the Rectory estate was required to
pay £13 6s. 8d. for services in the church, £14
6s. 8d. from 1627, £38 from 1669, (fn. 75) £45 10s. in
the earlier 19th century. The living was augmented in 1723 by £400, of which Queen Anne's
Bounty gave £200, and in 1830 by £400 given
by Queen Anne's Bounty. (fn. 76) The incumbent's
average income from 1829 to 1831 was £77. (fn. 77)
The living included a thatched house in 1812. (fn. 78)
In 1833 the house was said to be unfit for
residence (fn. 79) and in 1843 was dilapidated. (fn. 80) A new
house was built c. 1865. (fn. 81) It was sold c. 1926. (fn. 82)
In the late 1320s an obligation to pay for the
daily service of the church by two chaplains and
a holy water clerk was placed upon the rector;
the patron, Vincent Tarent, endowed the rectory
with 100 wethers, 4 oxen, 2 horses, and 10 pigs
to meet, or to help meet, the cost. The obligation
was removed in 1374. (fn. 83) In 1553 quarterly sermons were not preached and the church had no
communion table. (fn. 84) From 1612 or earlier a condition of the lease of the Rectory estate was that
eight sermons a year were to be preached. (fn. 85) In
1783 services were held by a curate who lived at
Chute and served the cure there. At Tidcombe
one service was held each Sunday, alternately
morning and afternoon, and communion was
celebrated four times a year; there were 8-12
communicants. (fn. 86) In the earlier 19th century
large new private pews were built and the incumbent complained that as a result some poor
parishioners attended nonconformist meetings
because there was too little room for them to
worship in the church. Alterations to provide
more free seats were made c. 1845. (fn. 87) From 1810
or soon after, services attended by inhabitants of
Fosbury were held in a schoolroom standing in
Shalbourne parish beside the Oxenwood road
near Fosbury House. Sunday service was held
there in the morning in 1851 with a congregation, presumably including inhabitants of
Oxenwood, said to average 200. (fn. 88) In 1851 there
was still only one service held each Sunday in
Tidcombe church; the congregation numbered
only 50 on Census Sunday. (fn. 89) In 1864 two services
were held each Sunday and additional services on
Good Friday and Christmas day; communion was
celebrated every two months and at Easter, Whitsun, and Christmas with 6-8 communicants.
Between 1862 and 1864, after Fosbury church
was built, the average congregation at Sunday
services was said to have risen from c. 16 to c.
35. (fn. 90) In the late 19th century and early 20th the
vicar held services in a chapel of ease at Wexcombe in Grafton parish. (fn. 91) The vicarages of
Tidcombe and Fosbury were held in plurality
from 1916 to 1925; (fn. 92) that of Tidcombe with
Fosbury was held in plurality with the rectory
of Ham with Buttermere from 1952, with East
Grafton from 1955. (fn. 93)
The church of ST. MICHAEL, so called in
1763, (fn. 94) is built of rendered flint rubble and
consists of a chancel and an aisled and clerestoried nave with north porch and, within its
westernmost bay, a tower. Apart from the porch
and tower it was built in the 14th century; on
the north wall of the chancel an arch, now
blocked, may have led to a chapel. In the 15th
century the chancel was reroofed and the clerestory was built. The tower was built, and the
west bay of each aisle was altered, c. 1600. The
porch, of brick, was built in 1675. West buttresses were built of brick in 1707. (fn. 95) Proposals
to build a gallery were made in 1724 and 1750; (fn. 96)
there is no evidence that one was built. (fn. 97) The
church was lightly restored in 1882 to designs
by Ewan Christian. (fn. 98)
Plate weighing 2½ oz. was confiscated from the
church in 1553 and a chalice of 9 oz. was
retained. A silver chalice of the earlier 18th
century, a silver paten hallmarked for 1727 and
probably given to the church in 1736, and a
silver-plated flagon given in the later 19th century
were held for the church in 1891 and 1998. (fn. 99)
Three bells hung in the church in 1553. The
treble was replaced by a bell cast by John Wallis
in 1608, the middle bell by one cast by Wallis in
1622, and the tenor by one cast by John Danton
in 1636. In 1907 the treble cast in 1608 was
replaced by a bell cast by Llewellins & James at
Bristol, (fn. 1) and the bells were rehung. (fn. 2) The bells of
1907, 1622, and 1636 hung in the church in 1998. (fn. 3)
The registers begin in 1639. They are lacking
for 1702-30, and registrations of burials are also
lacking for 1676-9. (fn. 4)
NONCONFORMITY.
Inhabitants of Tidcombe village may have been among
parishioners who refused communion in the
1580s and 1686 (fn. 5) and among the five nonconformists, including four papists, who lived in
the parish in 1676. (fn. 6) In 1816 a meeting house in
Tidcombe was certified, probably by Independents, and Independents certified a meeting
house there in 1828. (fn. 7) In 1864 there were eight
Primitive Methodists and four Baptists in
Tidcombe, some or all of whom met in a cottage
in the village. (fn. 8) No nonconformist chapel is
known to have been built.
EDUCATION.
A National school in Tidcombe
village was opened between 1846 and 1855. (fn. 9) It
was held in a cottage until 1858, when it was
attended by c. 20 children, probably including
some living in Wexcombe. A new school was
built in 1858. (fn. 10) It was apparently closed c. 1879. (fn. 11)
CHARITIES FOR THE POOR.
Ann Crook
(d. 1825) gave by will nearly all the income
from £100 for blankets and fuel for four poor
inhabitants of Tidcombe village, and by will
proved 1849 Edward Tanner gave a similar
amount for fuel for four similar people. In 1904,
when each charity had an income of £2 10s., the
trustees of the two charities gave coal to 14 people. (fn. 12)
In the 1950s coal was given away every few years. (fn. 13)
In 1998 the charities were being wound up. (fn. 14)