TOPOGRAPHY
Leland said that outside each of the two gates of
the old city there had been 'a fair suburbe'. (fn. 1) It seems
reasonably clear that the eastern suburb had been
in some kind of occupation in early times, for beside
the present Old Castle Inn (fn. 2) excavation has revealed
a building possibly a church, and cess pits of 11thcentury date. (fn. 3) The cess pits, however, may have
been dug in this quarter to keep them away from
the main centre of settlement, so it should not be
inferred that the suburb was then populous. Leland
notes that houses in this suburb had been inhabited
within the memory of people living in his time, but
all were deserted when he wrote. (fn. 4)
Early references to the lands of the old borough
are so scanty that the only hope of identifying them
lies in the attempt to extract the information from
later sources. An Exchequer suit of 1596–8 implies
that the 'borough land' or lands, some of which
seem to have been inclosed, lay in the two King's
Furlongs. Their area, however, was uncertain, two
deponents computing it at 40 a., another at 32 a.,
and another at 24 a. (fn. 5) Fortunately the maps attached
to the inclosure award for Stratford and Milford
(made in 1800) and to the tithe commutation award
(1839) give more substantial help. (fn. 6) The inclosure
map distinguishes the old inclosures from the lands
allotted by the commissioners: and the tithe map
shows that embedded in a larger area of varied
ecclesiastical ownerships there is a core of lands
belonging to James Alexander, who had acquired
the Old Sarum estate by exchange with Lord
Caledon. Comparison of the two maps makes it
possible to identify — very broadly — the old inclosures which were in lay ownership, and which
therefore undoubtedly represent the borough lands.
All round them were lands held in 1800 by Lord
Camelford under leases from the Dean of Salisbury,
the dean and chapter, and the succentor, and by
others as lessees of the Prebendary of Stratford and
the Chancellor of Salisbury. These are evidently the
lands appropriated by the Bishop of Salisbury for
the endowment of the cathedral church, and subsequently allotted by the chapter either to individual
prebends or retained for the common fund of the
canons.
The lands thus identified as borough lands consist
of plots to the east of the castle, mostly between the
castle gate and the network of roads beyond, with
perhaps some plots across the road, and certainly
including an inclosure known later as 'Turrell's
Three Acres' which was one of the nine surviving
burgages in the 18th century. On the west side of
the castle there are inclosures flanking a road leading
south-west from the castle towards the present
bridge over the Avon, and a few plots south of the
bridge, and between the village street and the river,
intermingled with plots in ecclesiastical ownership.
The western part of the borough is found, however,
concentrated chiefly along both sides of the road
called the Portway in 1596–8 (fn. 7) and 1800, (fn. 8) and
Inckleton Way in 1839. (fn. 9) This led south-west from
the castle. All, or almost all, of this area was later
in lay ownership. A large field nearest to the castle
defences, and crossed by the Roman road, bore the
revealing name of King's Field. (fn. 10) This is part of
the borough referred to by Benson and Hatcher as
being within the boundary diverging from the
rampart to take in a considerable open space in the
declivity, and abutting on the road leading to
Stratford. (fn. 11) They arrived at this conclusion by
inspection and discovery of the foundation of a wall,
and they did not realize that the borough lands went
further. At the point at which the Roman road met
the river lay the bridge that once carried the Roman
road to Wilton.
It can be no surprise to find that the western part
of the borough was gathered for the most part along
the Portway, for the military considerations, which
prompted the building of the castle, pointed as
insistently to the control of communications, and in
particular of the bridge; and when lands in the
future Stratford were granted by a pre-Conquest
king or lord to a bishop of Sherborne or Ramsbury,
it was these key points which were reserved to the
royal control.
An inquest of 1289 shows that there were then
three bridges belonging to the old borough. The
first of these lay between the king's mill and the
castle, and half of it was repairable by the king. (fn. 12)
Meadows, called Kingsbridge Meadow, lying beside
the water, at the point where the line of the Portway
cuts the river, (fn. 13) fix the location of it. The other
bridges lay between the mill on the west side of the
castle and the castle itself, (fn. 14) probably the present
Stratford Mill. One of them may have carried across
the river the road that runs downhill in a direction
slightly south of west from a wind pump below the
castle into the Stratford-Woodford road; in 1839
there was a Bridge Meadow on the west of the Avon
at the point where this track would have debouched. (fn. 15) These two bridges were repairable by
communitas patrie. (fn. 16) In 1320 a jury, sitting at
'Kingsmill', found that the townships of Bemerton
and Quidhampton, west of the river, were bound to
repair half of 'Kingsmill' bridge. The township of
Stratford was responsible for the other half together
with the king's road itself, and other little bridges
over the mill troughs in that roadway, as far as the
bridge nearest to Stratford. The latter bridge, however, had always been the responsibility of the
commonalty of the borough. (fn. 17) The second of these
bridges is presumably either the bridge that, as
suggested above, debouched upon Bridge Meadow,
or else another a little further upstream. About
1380–4 Kingsmill bridge was repairable by Stratford, Quidhampton, Bemerton and the borough of
Old Salisbury. (fn. 18)
The materials for reconstructing the rest of the
topography of Old Salisbury are very scanty. In 1353
the bishop leased to John Everard a dovecot in
'Nyweton Westyate', and a watermill called Coleman's
mill. (fn. 19) Newton Westgate is not expressly stated to
be situate in the borough, though the 'aldermanry of
Newton' mentioned in the will of John atte Stone
(1361) (fn. 20) must have been. A Robert Cheke of Newton
Westgate was living in 1424. (fn. 21) Newton Westgate
was probably a street in the borough, perhaps the
Portway itself, which leads westwards, and lay in a
district which might once have been given the name
of Newton. The high cross in or beside the king's
highway of Old Salisbury is mentioned in 1400. (fn. 22)
'Uptonlond', mentioned in 1423, (fn. 23) probably preserves the memory of the Upton family, who were
dealing with lands in the old city in 1270, (fn. 24) 1271 (fn. 25)
and 1321. (fn. 26) It was possibly this land, which, having
once belonged to Alan Upton, a clerk convict, was
successively committed for terms of years to John
Compton in 1510 and Chideock Wardour in 1570, (fn. 27)
and granted to Lord Salisbury in 1606 with the
castle and borough. (fn. 28)
One mill was shared in Domesday Book by the
king and the bishop; (fn. 29) there presently appear two
mills, and there may have been more along the
river. (fn. 30) In 1204 the vill of Salisbury and the mill
there were granted with the custody of the castle. (fn. 31)
In 1241 the sheriff was ordered to make the king's
mill under the castle, (fn. 32) presumably the mill on the
western side of the Avon on the line of the Portway.
Ten years later it had been overthrown by a thunderstorm, and the sheriff was bidden to buy timber,
millstones, and other things for its repair. (fn. 33) Timber
for repair was ordered again in 1270; (fn. 34) and six years
later the sheriff was granted four oaks for rebuilding
the mill which had lately been thrown down by the
force of the river. (fn. 35) In 1315, the mill being broken
down, the sheriff was excused 4 marks of its farm. (fn. 36)
Repairs were again authorized in 1320, (fn. 37) 1348, (fn. 38)
1359, (fn. 39) and 1360, on the last occasion to a limit of
£30. (fn. 40)
It appears that Patrick, Earl of Salisbury, described as 'the true lord and possessor of the mills',
had given a mill to the Prior and Convent of St.
Denys of Southampton. He gave it to the intent that
they and their successors should have only the
multure of malt of the men of the vills thereabout:
he reserved the multure of all other corn of the
men of those vills to his other mill. Malt went to the
one mill, and other corn to the other mill both when
the earl had the castle, and when later it came into
the king's hands. When Walter of Stirchley was
sheriff he caused the malt to come to the royal mill,
and similarly his successor did not allow the convent's tenant, Walter of Wilton, to enjoy the multure
of malt. The king therefore issued a commission of
oyer and terminer in 1265 and a writ to inquire in
1277. The jurors found that the prior's mill was
entitled to the multure of malt of the men of Old
Salisbury on the condition that the mill tenant
provided carriage and took for it one barrel of ale
of each brewing. As to the multure of malt of men of
adjoining vills, however, the prior's mill was only
entitled to that of those who came freely and of good
will. The prior's tenant, Walter of Wilton, had made
a fulling mill next to his malt mill in the same course,
to the damage of the king's mill and fishery: and it
was because of this damage that Walter of Stirchley,
the sheriff, had caused the malt to be brought to the
king's mill. (fn. 41)
With the mill the prior and convent evidently
acquired some land, held of the Bishop of Salisbury,
for they granted it (situate in Stratford vill) 'from
the highway to the water up to the piece of meadow
on the water'. The meadow they retained to themselves, but granted a right of pasture in it after they
had taken their hay, until the feast of the Purification
when they closed it. They also granted pasture for
an ox in the common pasture of Stratford. (fn. 42)
Churches.
St. Peter's church is first mentioned in
1229 when the king, its owner, gave it to Wymund
the clerk. (fn. 43) In 1249 it was valued at 2s. (fn. 44) In 1268 it
was assessed at 1 mark, and what was called the
service of the chapel, (fn. 45) in 1281 at 20s., (fn. 46) and in 1289
at ½ mark. (fn. 47) It was never appropriated; a reference
to the resignation of the 'vicarage' in 1405 (fn. 48) is
presumably an error. Royal patronage is implied in
1229, and claimed from 1249. (fn. 49) The last presentation that has been noted was in 1437. (fn. 50) Clerks
presented between 1298 and 1412 were instituted
by the bishop. (fn. 51) In 1343–4 escaped prisoners sought
sanctuary in the church, which was therefore
presumably standing at that time. (fn. 52)
In 1327 the parson of St. Peter's claimed that all
his predecessors before the foundation of New
Salisbury received tithes and oblations of the men
dwelling in the castle, which was within his parish;
also tithes of wool and milk of beasts pasturing in
the castle; and that they received them until a
chaplain celebrating in Holy Cross chapel took
possession of the tithe. On enquiry a jury of men of
Old Salisbury and the neighbourhood returned that
it was notorious that the castle was outside the
parish of St. Peter; that when the cathedral church
was situate in the castle it received the tithes, and
after its transfer to New Salisbury the chaplain of
Holy Cross had received them. (fn. 53)
There is a single reference to the church of St.
Aldreda, Old Salisbury, in 1351, when the king
presented to it. (fn. 54) In 1361 there is a bequest to the
church of St. Ethelred. (fn. 55) The dedication, presumably to St. Ethelreda, suggests a pre-Conquest
foundation.
The chapel of Holy Cross and other castle chapels
have already been described. (fn. 56) Leland refers to a
parish church of St. John in the east suburb, a
chapel belonging to which still stood in his day. (fn. 57)
This may be a confusion with the church of St.
John's hospital, (fn. 58) or with St. Peter's church, one
or other of which may have been the building
excavated in 1933, beside which a graveyard lay. (fn. 59)