FISHERTON ANGER
The ancient parish of Fisherton Anger, 348 a., lay
on the west and north-west of New Salisbury, in
Branch and Dole Hundred. By the Municipal Corporations Act of 1835 a substantial slice of it, in fact
almost all the inhabited area, was brought within the
city boundary, (fn. 1) and formed into a part of St.
Thomas's ward. (fn. 2) In 1894 185 a. of the ancient
parish (six of them water) were transferred to the
city of Salisbury as the civil parish of Fisherton
Anger Within; the area thus transferred for parochial
purposes coincided with the area transferred for
municipal purposes in 1835. The transfer left 163 a.
to form the civil parish of Fisherton Anger Without,
which was absorbed into the city of New Sarum in
1904. (fn. 3) The area of the ancient parish is roughly
oblong, with two projections on the south created by
the curves of the Nadder in its eastward course to
Salisbury, and most of it is wedged into the angle
formed by the Avon and the Nadder. The greatest
altitude, 325 ft., is on the north-west. A vein of
fossiliferous brick earth runs through the area,
beside and south of the Wilton Road. The subsoil
is mainly gravel with a narrow strip of chalk marching with the Devizes Road. (fn. 4)
The original Fisherton, 'a village . . . or ever New
Saresbyri was builded', (fn. 5) appears to have been strung
along a lane connecting Fisherton Street with
Fisherton Mill on the northern arm of the Nadder.
In this lane, called Church Street in 1860, (fn. 6) and
subsequently Mill Road, stood the first church. But
Fisherton Street and Crane Bridge Road were also
developed early. The first of these, starting at
Fisherton Bridge, (fn. 7) formed originally the main
western exit from Salisbury and attracted taverners.
Six shops (seudas), presumably in this street, are
referred to as early as 1286. (fn. 8) Speed's map (1611)
marks an almost unbroken line of houses on the
north side and there were a few on the south. By
1716 the southern line had become continuous. (fn. 9)
Crane Bridge Road is recognizable in the 13th
century as 'the southern way', (fn. 10) and in 1350 as the
road from Fisherton to Bemerton. (fn. 11) It appears in
1611 to have led into open country. (fn. 12) In 1716 this
road, called Back Lane in 1796 (fn. 13) and 1860, (fn. 14) forked
a little to the west of the parish boundary at a point
where it was, and is, borne by a bridge across a
narrow stream connecting the Avon with the
northern arm of the Nadder. (fn. 15) There one branch of
it turned southwards to Harnham Mill on the
southern arm of the Nadder, and followed a line
still (1957) traversed by a much-trodden footpath.
The other branch, called Harcourt Place by 1879, (fn. 16)
ran northwards along the stream spanned by Harcourt Bridge and joined Fisherton Street at another
bridge, (fn. 17) called Summerlock Bridge in 1752. (fn. 18) By
1716 a short stretch of road, (fn. 19) the property of the
mill owner in 1777, (fn. 20) connected Harcourt Bridge
Road, as it was called in 1879, (fn. 21) with Fisherton
Mill. (fn. 22) This is probably the 'Water Lane' of 1790. (fn. 23)
Harcourt Bridge Road is now part of Mill Road.
Harcourt Bridge, formerly a footbridge, was rebuilt
in stone in 1777 at the expense of the parish. The
cost was thus borne on the understanding that the
owner of Harnham Mill would keep the bridge
repaired thereafter. The owner's responsibility was
transferred to the parish in 1801, since when the
bridge has been known by its present name. (fn. 24)
In the 19th century the western part of Fisherton
was a favoured site for the erection of villa residences
for the richer inhabitants of Salisbury. (fn. 25) The opening of the railway stations in 1856 and 1857 (fn. 26) led to
the development of nearby areas with smaller houses,
and by 1879 all of the eastern part, except for a
floodable area east of the railway, and a bowling
green and nursery south-west of Crane Bridge
Road, had been built over. To the west the whole
of the Wilton road as far as the parish boundary, and
the whole area within the fork formed by the Wilton
and Devizes roads was overspread with houses and
gardens. The Devizes road, however, lay open on
its north-eastern side from a point a little to the
north-west of the gas-works. There was very little
building in the Nadder loop, between Bemerton and
the railway stations. (fn. 27) By 1937 the urban character
of the parish had been accentuated by the disappearance of Fisherton Farm in the Devizes road, (fn. 28) and
by the extension of the Infirmary to the south. (fn. 29)
The population of Fisherton was 865 in 1801, and
it rose to nearly six times that number in 1891. The
greatest decennial increase, 1,249, was in 1871; in
the next decade the increase was still as much as
1,110. The Registrar General attributed the increase
of 1861 to the opening of the railway, and that of
1871 to the development of railway traffic 'and to
the selection of this parish as a place of residence
because of its reputedly healthy character'. (fn. 30) Late-19th-century censuses differentiate between the
extra- and intra-mural populations, the former
amounting to 1,078 in 1881 and to 1,218 in 1891.
Many of these were probably lunatics. Indeed all
the population figures include the inhabitants of the
infirmary and lunatic asylum, and also of the gaol
so long as that was in use, although since 1800 the
gaol had strictly speaking lain within the city. (fn. 31)
After 1281 Fisherton became the home of a community of Dominican friars whose history is
described elsewhere. (fn. 32) The site and buildings of
their house, which lay beside Fisherton Bridge
opposite the infirmary, were granted some time
before Michaelmas 1542 to John Bourchier, Earl of
Bath. The earl then leased either the whole site or
that part of it that was not occupied by buildings or
gardens to Henry Sutton from year to year, so that
he might keep there the 'game' of the earl's bears. (fn. 33)
By 1545 the site had been resumed by the Crown,
for the king then granted it with the prior's lodging,
the graveyard, sundry houses and gardens and a
fishery to John Pollard and William Byrte, who
received much other monastic property at the same
time. (fn. 34) The buildings were presumably demolished
and were replaced by an inn called the 'Sun'. This
is constantly referred to until 1842–4. (fn. 35) In it a
theatre was fitted up in 1765, Otway's Venice
Preserved being the first performance. (fn. 36) The site of
the inn was later successively occupied by a wheel-wright's yard, a skating rink, and the Maundrel
Hall. (fn. 37)
Other early inns were the 'George', the 'Lamb',
the 'Angel', and the 'Bull'. The first of these belonged in 1558 to John and Mary Young, and
perhaps was part of the Tropenell estate, (fn. 38) for Mary
was a Tropenell. John Young died seised of it in
1588. (fn. 39) It has last been noticed in 1736. (fn. 40) The
'Lamb' occurs in 1637. (fn. 41) The name is not found in
the 18th century records, but by 1822 it was again
in use, (fn. 42) presumably for a different building. The
'Angel' is first mentioned in 1624–5. (fn. 43) It belonged
to the dean and chapter and consisted in 1649 of a
hall, parlour, buttery, 'low chamber', tap house and
five lodging chambers, and had a frontage on the
north side of Fisherton Street of 256 ft. (fn. 44) Its name
constantly recurs until 1890. (fn. 45) By 1925 or there-abouts it had become a Y.M.C.A. hostel. (fn. 46) The
'Bull', almost opposite, occurs from 1706, (fn. 47) and still
survives.
In 1674 the number of alehouses was deemed
excessive and they were all suppressed for three
months. (fn. 48) They revived, however, and remained
numerous, as befitted a village that was so much a
street. Between 1707 and 1826 (fn. 49) it is nearly always
possible to find seven or eight of them in flourishing
coexistence.
After its street, Fisherton is perhaps best known
as having been the seat of the county gaol. A gaol at
Fisherton can be traced from 1421, (fn. 50) and since the
sheriff is known to have had an office (scaccarium)
there in 1485 it was probably an adjunct to it. (fn. 51) Old
Salisbury gaol, however, continued for a while to be
used concurrently with Fisherton, and it was not
until 1512 that Fisherton secured a monopoly. (fn. 52)
The location of the first gaol is not known. In 1540
it seems to have belonged to Sir John Hampden,
lord of the manor, and to have been leased by him
to Robert South. (fn. 53) In 1560 the building belonged to
Richard and Elizabeth Okedene and was by them
commonly let to the sheriffs at £10 a year. The
sheriff in 1558 had refused to pay the rent, (fn. 54) a
refusal that could be attributed to the unsuitability
of the accommodation. At all events the justices
resolved in 1568 to build a proper gaol of their own
on ground on the south side of Fisherton Street
adjoining the Avon, which had been purchased from
a Mr. Abarowe. The building, which was not
finished until 1578, measured 53 × 28 ft. with walls
23 ft. high. A women's prison and a keeper's house
were provided. (fn. 55)
In 1631 Fisherton was chosen to be the site of one
of the county's houses of correction. The house,
which seems to have adjoined the gaol, was certainly
established, but its separate existence was a short
one, barely lasting beyond the Restoration. (fn. 56) In the
two succeeding generations gaol and bridewell,
which presumably had for all practical purposes
coalesced, grew increasingly congested. Between
1668 and 1712 the gaoler's house disappeared, (fn. 57)
transformed perhaps into quarters for the prisoners,
but other efforts made in 1713 (fn. 58) and 1730 (fn. 59) to
enlarge the prison buildings proved fruitless.
Though the gaol was claimed in 1712 as 'one of the
most commodious . . . in England', (fn. 60) the tribute,
even if just, was not a high one.
An inventory drawn up in 1672 gives a few brief
details of the prison buildings. It refers to the
'common gaol', the 'upper gaol', the 'upper cabin',
the 'Whitehall', the 'Whitehall chamber', the 'Rose
chamber', the 'Forest chamber', and the tap house.
It also mentions the Bridewell, its chamber and
brewhouse. In the 'yard house', presumably annexed
to the Bridewell, were yarn, wool, and scales. (fn. 61) A
new chapel was brought into use in 1764. (fn. 62) When
Howard visited the prison about 1776 he found a
building of two stories, in which the debtors were
housed above the felons. There was a separate room
for women. There was also an infirmary in which
the sexes were likewise segregated. There was a
'bridewell', which Howard thought to be insecure. (fn. 63)
Following the Houses of Correction Act (1782) (fn. 64)
the justices decided to provide separate cellular
confinement for felons. Twenty-four cells, in three
stories, were accordingly constructed in 1783, (fn. 65)
designed to be of white brick internally and stone
externally. (fn. 66) About 1792 another 20 cells were
added, and separate yards provided for felons and
debtors. (fn. 67) By 1807 two rooms were set apart as
infirmaries. (fn. 68)
In 1785 the city prison (fn. 69) had been closed and
prisoners of all kinds from the city and the Close
committed to the county gaol, until the city should
rebuild. (fn. 70) It did not do so, however, and in 1800
Fisherton gaol was formally converted into a combined gaol for county, city and Close. At the same
time Lord Radnor, who had rebuilt the city Council
House, gave an acre of ground between the gaol and
the infirmary for the enlargement of the gaol. (fn. 71)
Notwithstanding this enlargement and the reconstructions of the late 18th century the gaol remained
inadequate, its site constricted and its buildings old.
In the end it was completely rebuilt between 1818
and 1822 on a new site at the junction of the Devizes
and Wilton roads. (fn. 72) The new building seems to have
consisted originally of a debtors' ward, two felons'
wards, a 'bridewell', a keepers' house, and a
chapel. (fn. 73) In 1843 it was said to contain seven yards,
appropriated to different classes of prisoner. (fn. 74) The
Home Office never greatly cared for it, and it was
closed in 1870. (fn. 75) Part was pulled down in 1875, (fn. 76)
but the central block survived as a private residence,
Radnor House. (fn. 77) In 1901 the War Department took
a lease of this building from its owner, Dr. W. C.
Finch, and bought it in 1922, together with the
adjacent Nelson House and gaol chapel. (fn. 78) From 1901
until the outbreak of the Second World War Radnor
House was used as the headquarters of the 2nd
Army Corps, later Southern Command, and
elements of that headquarters still remain within
it. (fn. 79)
A spike, probably meant for a stake or gallows, is
marked on Speed's map (1611) at a point just west
of the present church. On Naish's map (1751) a
rough drawing of a gallows appears at this point,
and in 1773 the site was known as Gallows Gate. (fn. 80)
Thus by the 18th century Fisherton had become a
place of execution for Salisbury and was still so used
in 1777. (fn. 81) At Speed's spike, according to tradition,
the Protestant 'martyrs', John Maundrel, William
Coberley and John Spicer, suffered death by burning
on 23 March 1556, although it must be pointed out
that Foxe merely says that they were burnt 'at a
place between Salisbury and Wilton'. (fn. 82)
In 1766 a society was formed to promote the
foundation of what became the Salisbury General
Infirmary. (fn. 83) It purchased in that year some houses
in Fisherton Street between the 'Bull' and the
gaol, (fn. 84) and behind them the Infirmary was built.
These houses, the first home of the patients, were
pulled down in 1771, when the Infirmary was
opened. (fn. 85) This building, designed by John Wood
of Bath, the younger (d. 1781), (fn. 86) was of four stories,
and included a committee room and chapel. (fn. 87) In
1822 the site was extended by the purchase of the
old gaol, and in 1827 part of the prison governor's
former house was converted into wards. (fn. 88) In 1845
a new east wing was built to replace a part of the
old gaol. (fn. 89) In 1869 a new west wing, and in 1877
a north-east wing were added. (fn. 90) The Victoria Home
for nurses, in Crane Bridge Road, was built in 1901
as a Diamond Jubilee memorial. (fn. 91) It was extended
in 1930 and 1934. (fn. 92)
In 1920 the Infirmary building was adjudged
quite insufficient, the removal of the hospital to a
new site resolved upon, and then or soon after land
bought for the purpose at Butts Farm, on the
northern outskirts of Salisbury. (fn. 93) Meanwhile the
existing buildings were altered in various ways, and
were also enlarged, notably by the erection in 1924
of a maternity and child welfare clinic and a pathological laboratory. The cost of the first was borne by
the Hon. Lady (Edith Maud) Hulse, of the second
by the Hon. Louis Greville. (fn. 94) In 1933 it was decided
to abandon the idea of using the Butts Farm site, (fn. 95)
parts of which had already been sold as housing
plots. (fn. 96) Instead of this, between 1934 and 1937,
extensive new buildings were put up adjacent to the
existing hospital. (fn. 97)
In 1892 Dr. John Roberts built the clock tower
that stands on the east side of the Infirmary in
memory of his wife. (fn. 98)
Harcourt House, in Mill Road, formerly Fisherton
Cottage in Harcourt Bridge Road, was the home of
the Alford family until its last Fisherton member
died in 1873. (fn. 99) In 1874 it was established as the
Diocesan Institution for Trained Nurses. (fn. 100) By 1939
it had been renamed the Nurses' and Nursing Home,
and by 1956 had become the Preliminary Training
School of Salisbury General Hospital. (fn. 101) The original
building of the later 18th century has been enlarged.
Fisherton House, in Wilton Road, came into the
hands of William Finch in the early 19th century. (fn. 102)
From 1813, when the first patient was admitted, (fn. 103)
until 1954 it was used as a private lunatic asylum,
and since 1954 has remained a mental hospital under
the S.W. Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board. (fn. 104)
Numerous piecemeal additions have been made to
the original building, which was presumably the
manor house. Thus a chapel was added in 1859, (fn. 105) and
a hall, built in the asylum grounds for the entertainment of the Prince of Wales' entourage at the time
of the autumn manœuvres in 1872, was subsequently
converted into a ward, (fn. 106) and adjacent houses called
Evelyn House, College House, and Osborne Villa,
had been added to the complex by 1904. (fn. 107) The three
houses were on the south of Wilton Road, but the
Finches had also by this time purchased Montague
Villas and the Paragon (fn. 108) on the north side, and these,
unlike the others, have remained part of the
hospital property. (fn. 109) 'Llangarran', on the opposite
side of Wilton Road, behind the Paragon, was
acquired apparently in 1906, (fn. 110) and Bemerton Lodge
about 1919. (fn. 111) Orchard House was built in 1938. (fn. 112)
The fee simple of the asylum buildings was conveyed in 1904 by Dr. W. Corbin Finch (d. 1905),
the last of the Finches, to Frances Emily Parker
(later Mrs. Baskin), who took over the business on
his death. (fn. 113) By her both business and buildings were
transferred in 1910 to Lady Chubb, the wife of Sir
Cecil Chubb, Bt., and Finch's niece. (fn. 114) She in turn
conveyed them to the Old Manor (Salisbury) Ltd.
in 1924, and they upon their voluntary liquidation
thirty years later to the Ministry of Health. (fn. 115) Since
the conveyance of 1924 the hospital has been called
the Old Manor.
St. Paul's Home, lying within the graveyard of
the church, was founded by Francis Attwood (d.
1871), a Salisbury surveyor, in 1863 for three
Anglican gentlewomen, aged 50 or more, with
annual incomes of between £25 and £70. The
women must have lived at least five years in Salisbury diocese — a requirement slightly varied in
1868 — and for preference should be the widows,
sisters or daughters of clergymen. They were to
receive annual stipends of £30. The original endowment was £2,700 stock, together with the reversion
of the site. Subsequently three more cottages,
designed by R. F. Fisher, were built on the site of
the Wilton Arms Inn and settled in trust in 1868.
In 1871 the founder gave some land and bequeathed
£1,000. Next year his widow, Caroline Mary, gave
more land. All the land was sold between 1900 and
1956. By 1906 the stipends had fallen to £28 but the
inmates shared in any surplus revenue. In 1955 no
stipends were paid. The total yearly receipts were
£327 in 1905 and the net income £425 in 1956. The
six houses under one roof are built in alternate
courses of flint and grey brick. The trustees have
always been the Mayor of Salisbury, the Dean of
Salisbury, and the incumbents of the three ancient
Salisbury churches and of Fisherton. (fn. 116)
The former G.W.R. railway station in Fisherton,
the terminus of the Warminster—Salisbury railway,
was opened in 1856, and closed to passenger traffic
in 1932. (fn. 117) It has remained an unaltered example of
Brunel's 'usual all-over roofed stations'. (fn. 118) In 1859
the L.S.W.R. opened its station beside it, and closed
its station at Milford to passenger traffic. (fn. 119) What is
now the Southern Region station seems at first to
have consisted of two parts. One of these lay on the
west side of Fisherton Street and was probably built
by the Salisbury and Yeovil Railway Co. It forms
the eastern section of the present station buildings.
The other part lay wholly on the west side of
Fisherton Street and was presumably the L.S.W.R.
station. It seems to have been the later of the two. (fn. 120)
Vestiges of the eastern station, and the approach
road giving access to it, remain. After the purchase
of the Salisbury and Yeovil Co. by the L.S.W.R. in
1878 (fn. 121) the two stations presumably came to be used
as down and up platforms respectively. Between
1899 and 1906 the station was greatly altered, the up
platform being moved to the west side of the street
facing the down platform, and the station buildings
extended to the west. (fn. 122) The Salisbury Railway and
Market House Railway traverses the parish. (fn. 123)
The Salisbury Gaslight and Coke Company was
formed in 1832 (fn. 124) and in January 1833 a gasworks
was opened on a site in Fisherton parish behind the
gaol. (fn. 125) The works were enlarged in 1893, 1919 and
1928. (fn. 126) Production ceased in 1957 on the completion
of a main to supply the city from Southampton. (fn. 127)
A company to supply water to that part of the
parish that lay beyond the city boundary was incorporated by Act of Parliament in 1867. It was
authorized to construct within four years a reservoir
in Highfield, and a pumping station. (fn. 128) The pumping
station survives, but the company was taken over by
Salisbury Corporation in 1924. (fn. 129)
A police station in the Devizes road had been
erected before 1855, when a police superintendent
was living in the parish. (fn. 130) By 1957 it had been
turned into shops. (fn. 131)
For the first few months of 1579 Fisherton
parsonage was the home of Simon Forman (1552–1611), astrologer and quack. (fn. 132) Fisherton is also
associated with two witches: Agnes Mills, widow,
hanged for murdering by witchcraft William, son of
Edward and Agnes Baynton, in 1564, (fn. 133) and Anne
Bodenham, a poor teacher, executed about 1649 for
lesser offences. (fn. 134)
MANOR.
Godric held FISHERTON in the time
of King Edward, and by 1086 it had passed to Hugh
of Avranches, Earl of Chester. Under Hugh it was
then held by Hamon de Masci. (fn. 135) Both tenant-in-demesne and overlord appear to have forfeited their
interests in it in consequence of their revolt against
Henry II in 1173. (fn. 136) About 1194 the Earl of Salisbury's bailiff was claiming land in Fisherton (fn. 137) and
by 1242–3 the Earl shared the overlordship with the
Earl of Arundel. (fn. 138) The Arundel portion of the overlordship is not heard of again, but the overlordship
of the Earl of Salisbury can be traced to 1428. (fn. 139)
In 1242–3 Richard son of Aucher was the tenant-in-demesne of both overlords, his tenement being
rated at 1½ fee. (fn. 140) From his family the parish took
its name. By 1272 it had descended to Henry son of
Aucher, otherwise Henry Aucher, (fn. 141) who died seised
of it in 1303. (fn. 142) Aucher, son of Henry, presumably a
direct descendant, appears to have been lord in
1309, (fn. 143) and settlements for his benefit were made in
1319 (fn. 144) and 1338. (fn. 145) One of his line, John son of
Aucher, otherwise John Aucher, appears to have
been at some time in possession. (fn. 146) There is then a
lapse in the descent, as in the descent of other
manors held by the Auchers. (fn. 147)
Some time before 1365 a John Frank had been
considered to be lord. (fn. 148) The manor then passed to
the Pophams. In 1376 Henry Popham was holding
land in Fisherton, (fn. 149) and in 1380 the manor was
settled on him and Joan his wife in fee, with
remainder to Joan's heirs. (fn. 150) Henry died seised in
1418, having first settled the remainder upon his son
Stephen and Margaret, daughter of Nicholas Rede,
in tail male. (fn. 151) The manor was accordingly delivered
to Stephen and Margaret, (fn. 152) and Stephen died seised
of it in 1445. (fn. 153) He was survived by four daughters,
all minors, though the eldest of them was married
to John Wadham. (fn. 154) It is said to have been Stephen's
intention to settle the manor upon the Wadhams
but this was unfulfilled at his death. (fn. 155) When and
what kind of a partition of his whole inheritance was
made has not been ascertained, but, if anything may
be inferred from the descent of the advowson, (fn. 156) the
manor remained in the hands of Stephen's feoffees
until at least 1456. In 1470, however, the advowson
was in the hands of a Thomas Hampden. (fn. 157) Thomas
Hampden of Hampden (Bucks.), presumably the
same, married Margery, Stephen Popham's second
daughter, (fn. 158) and apparently acquired the manor
through her. At all events tenants were claiming to
hold under him in 1488, (fn. 159) and his son Edmund was
of Fisherton when attainted of high treason in
1484. (fn. 160) Thomas does not mention any Wiltshire
lands in his will made in 1482, (fn. 161) and there is no
inquisition upon any such lands after his death. On
the other hand his relict (then called Margaret) is
described as lady of Fisherton in 1490, (fn. 162) as is
Katharine Hampden in 1521. (fn. 163)
In 1548 Sir John Hampden conveyed the manor
to Edward Ferrers or Ferris. (fn. 164) In 1589 Henry,
Edward's son, sold it to John Quarles, citizen and
draper of London, (fn. 165) who in 1608 sold it to Judith,
relict of another John Quarles of London, the
vendor's brother. (fn. 166) In 1627 Judith sold it to George
Lowe, of London. In 1639 Lowe entailed it on his
son George with remainders to his nephews John and
Richard Lowe in fee. The younger George succeeded and died without issue. A dispute between
Richard Lowe and Matthew Raymond, to whom
John had devised his share by his will dated 1649,
was then settled by an equal partition between
Raymond and Lowe. In 1661 Raymond appears to
have conveyed his whole interest to Lowe, who by
his will of 1663 left his Fisherton lands, not called a
manor, to his son Edward in fee. In 1670 the
premises were entailed upon Gabriel Ashley and
Margaret, daughter of James Harris, and their issue.
Their daughter Catherine married George Wyndham. He claimed the manor through her and was
confirmed in it by chancery decree of 1720, after
he had been tortiously disturbed in his possession by
John and Frances Deye acting as agents of W. V.
Riddlesden, a felon. (fn. 167) The descent is then uncertain,
but by 1747 the manor had come into the hands of
Frances, relict of William Harris, of the Close,
Salisbury, and of William and Sarah Hayter. (fn. 168)
Sarah was William Harris's daughter and sole
heir, (fn. 169) and after Hayter's death she married Henry
Southby of Carswell in Buckland (Berks.). (fn. 170) The
Southbys seem to have been jointly seised in 1773
and 1778. (fn. 171) In 1782 William Hayter, a son of Sarah's
first husband, was lord, (fn. 172) and to him was allotted
the second largest area of land under the Inclosure
Award of 1790. (fn. 173) He was still living in 1794, but by
1797 had died an intestate celibate lunatic, and his
sister Sarah had succeeded to the manor. (fn. 174) In the
same year she settled the manor itself and all her
lands in Fisherton in trust for the benefit of the
almshouse of her foundation. Certain rents and
profits of the lands were to be applied first to the
trust and thereafter to her own use. (fn. 175) The trustees
were therefore only usufructuaries, and the manor
itself was devised on Sarah's death in 1822 to Francis
Thomas Egerton, of Roche Court, Winterslow,
grandson of one Thomas Hayter. (fn. 176) On his death in
1861 he left it to his cousin Frances Elizabeth,
dowager Countess Nelson (d. 1878), with limitation
upon her death to Horatio, Earl Nelson (d. 1913) in
tail male. (fn. 177) Henry Edward Joseph Horatio, 7th Earl
Nelson, may now (1957) be considered to be lord.
LESSER ESTATES.
In 1291 the Bishop of Salisbury acquired a small plot of land in Fisherton,
where he already had a pond. (fn. 178) In 1629 he owned
Blue Boar Mead. (fn. 179) By the later 13th century the
chapter had also acquired a small estate there, part
of a complex called 'Our Lady's Chamber', the
revenue from which was given to the poor. (fn. 180) By 1341
they owned Fisherton meadow, which may or may
not have formed part of this complex. This, with
some other property in Fisherton, was then transferred by the Archdeacon of Salisbury, its farmer,
to the wardens of the fabric fund, who, in return for
a yearly rent of £1, were authorized to build upon
it. (fn. 181) In 1535 the chapter drew from their property
in Fisherton rents amounting to £8 12s. 8d. net, of
which the fabric fund received the greatest share. (fn. 182)
In 1649, at the time of the Parliamentary confiscation, they were holding the Angel Inn, and five
other houses. The rents then amounted to £7 15s. 8d.,
a figure near enough to that entered in the Valor to
suggest that there had been little change in the
constitution of the estate meanwhile. (fn. 183) St. Nicholas's
Hospital acquired its first holdings in Fisherton from
Richard son of Aucher between 1237 and 1245. (fn. 184)
By the end of the 13th century its holdings had
increased and in the middle of the 16th appear to
have amounted to 20 garden plots. (fn. 185) The charter of
1610 confirmed them in possession of Buckett's
Mead, St. Nicholas Gardens and two pasture
closes. (fn. 186) They sold all their Fisherton property
between 1879 and 1905. (fn. 187) In 1281 the Friars
Preachers of Salisbury received from the Crown
meadows and other lands in Fisherton to build their
house upon, and they enlarged the site in 1295. (fn. 188)
Such were the ecclesiastical lands in the village.
Of the many small lay freeholders, sixteen of them
in 1303, (fn. 189) special mention may be made of the
Tropenells. Upon Thomas Tropenell, of Great
Chalfield, (fn. 190) two small estates were separately settled
in 1457 (fn. 191) and 1465. (fn. 192) The first of these, which seems
to have lain between Fisherton and Crane Bridge
Streets, (fn. 193) originated in a 13th-century gift by
Richard son of Henry Aucher to Austin le Corvesire. (fn. 194) The second sprang from a gift from Robert
Fraunceys to Robert le Poleter and his wife Godeline
in 1317. (fn. 195) It is possible to trace, stage by stage, the
descent of both these tenements upon the Tropenells. (fn. 196) The lands passed to Christopher Tropenell,
Thomas's son, (fn. 197) to Thomas his grandson, (fn. 198) and to
Giles his great-grandson, who was a minor in 1550. (fn. 199)
ECONOMIC HISTORY.
In 1086 Fisherton was
assessed at 3 hides, 2 of them in demesne. There
was land for 2 ploughs, 1 of which with one serf was
in demesne. There were 40 a. of meadow and the
same of pasture. There were 3 villeins and 5
bordars. (fn. 200)
In 1303 Fisherton manor was valued at £5 7s. 6d.,
£4 of which represented the value of the mill. There
were 24 a. of arable in demesne and 12 a. of meadow;
and there was a dovecote. The 10 customary tenants
owed no works, but paid 25s. annually. (fn. 201)
Fisherton Field, apparently a unity in 1262 (fn. 202) and
1548, (fn. 203) had by 1638 been divided into two fields or
more, for in that year there are references to the
Lower Field 'upon Wilton way' and the North
Field. (fn. 204) In 1790, the year of inclosure, we read of
four fields: Church, North, Middle, and St. Ann's
Stile (or Little) Fields. (fn. 205) Long Lands or Brick Field
may perhaps be reckoned a fifth. Probably Church
Field was a new name for the Lower Field. (fn. 206) The
meadow is first mentioned in 1341. (fn. 207) In the 16th and
17th century there are several references to particular meadows: Friars Mead or Rycrofts (1624, (fn. 208)
1649 (fn. 209) ), Blue Boar Mead (1544, (fn. 210) 1629 (fn. 211) ), Buckets
Mead (1610), (fn. 212) Plashets or Little Mead (1657), (fn. 213)
and Broad Mead (1619, (fn. 214) 1638 (fn. 215) ). The first of these
lay beside the Avon, Plashets to the north of it, and
Broad Mead in the west of the parish beside the
Nadder. Blue Boar and Buckets Meads are not
mentioned in the Inclosure Award; Parsonage and
Spring Ditch Meads make their first appearance
there. Spring Ditch Mead lay north of Broad
Mead. (fn. 216)
The award of 1790 affected only 205 a., including
roads, out of a parochial area of 348 a. (fn. 217) The difference between the two areas is attributable to building
and to earlier inclosures. Of the latter phenomenon
there is some evidence. An inclosed meadow had
been taken out of Broad Mead before 1638, (fn. 218) and
Willow Grove in Middle Field had been inclosed
within the six years preceding the award, which
contains other references to old inclosures. Fisherton
marsh, part at least of which lay between Fisherton
and Crane Bridge Streets, (fn. 219) is said to have been
inclosed about 1616. (fn. 220)
At the statutory inclosure James Harris, 1st baron
(subsequently 1st Earl of) Malmesbury (103 a.), and
William Hayter (70 a.) were the only substantial
allottees. (fn. 221) In 1801 42 a. within the parish were
sown to wheat, 35 to barley, 7 to peas, 6 to oats and
1 to potatoes. (fn. 222) About 1834 there were 160 a. of
arable, and 60 of pasture; about 30 a. were devoted
to private gardens. There were 4 or 5 very small
farms. (fn. 223) In 1844 an acre or two of hops were grown
in the parish. (fn. 224)
The Tithe Award of 1842–4 shows that the northwest and west parts of the parish, on both sides of
the Devizes and Wilton Roads, were devoted to
arable. (fn. 225) The lands on the right bank of the Avon
north of the village were meadow, and so were those
in the west of the parish from the point where the
arable ended to the Nadder. The second of these
areas included two withy beds of 10 a. They seem to
have been formed about the time of the inclosure,
for their rating has not been noticed until 1790. (fn. 226)
At the time of the award, 135 a. were arable; water
meadows and pasture accounted for 50 a. each. (fn. 227) .
The village proclaims in its name (fn. 228) the original
primary occupation of its inhabitants, and in the
later 13th century it still contained two professional
fishermen. (fn. 229) Its fishery was tithable in 1341, (fn. 230) and
a several fishery, presumably in the Avon, belonged
to the Dominican friary, and was conveyed with the
site at the Dissolution. (fn. 231) In 1718 William Croome,
the miller, was dealing with a fishery, (fn. 232) and fishing
rights were still annexed to the mill in 1899. (fn. 233)
There was a mill, worth 10s., in 1086. (fn. 234) A mill is
next mentioned in 1273 when Maud, relict of Robert
Walrand, claimed her dower in it against Alan
Plogenet. It was then worth 30d. (fn. 235) This can hardly
be the same mill as that of which Henry son of Aucher
died seised in 1303, for his was annexed to Fisherton
manor and was valued at £4. (fn. 236) It is no doubt this
second building, described as two mills, that in 1589
was conveyed with the manor by Henry Ferrers to
John Quarles. (fn. 237) It seems to have descended with the
manor until 1653 when the mills, then called three
grist mills, with adjacent lands, were conveyed by
Richard Lowe to Matthew Raymond. (fn. 238) The devolution of the property then becomes obscure, but by
1718, if not before, it seems to have been separated
from the manor, for in that year William Croome,
who had been paying rates on it in 1714, (fn. 239) was
dealing with it. (fn. 240) Croome was still the occupier in
1736. (fn. 241) In 1777 one Neave owned it. (fn. 242) Between 1855
and 1867 the mills were occupied by George
Gregory, between 1875 and 1899 by H. G. Gregory. (fn. 243)
In 1891 they were fitted with a 2½-sack roller
plant (fn. 244) and in or about 1899 were purchased by
Messrs. F. Bowle & Sons who remained the owners
until 1931. (fn. 245) From 1935 to 1953 they were occupied
by J. H. Bartlett (fn. 246) and in 1956 by Messrs. H. R. & S.
Sainsbury & Co., Ltd. (fn. 247)
Fisherton Millhouse is an 18th-century house of
three stories built of brick. The entrance door has a
plain arched fanlight above and on either side Doric
pilasters with carved scroll brackets support a
moulded hood. To the south there is a 19th-century
extension set slightly back. An early-19th-century
mill building of three stories and attic adjoins the
house on the north, and at the back there is a long
range of mill buildings of possibly earlier date.
In 1649 a brewery, malt house and kiln of
eighteen bays, with malting rooms above, stood on
the north side of Fisherton Street. They belonged
to the dean and chapter, and were then occupied by
Roger Jole under a lease of 1628 to Robert Jole,
whose ancestors had long occupied them. (fn. 248) They
are traceable to 1778. (fn. 249) In 1796 four malthouses
were rated, in 1800 two, in 1814–5 three and in 1826
two again. (fn. 250) In 1842–4 there was only one malthouse
in the parish. It was in the ownership and occupation of George Pothecary, and stood to the southwest of Crane Bridge Road. (fn. 251) The buildings still
stood there in 1900, (fn. 252) though apparently converted
to a different use, and in 1908, under the name of
Fisherton Brewery, were put up for sale. (fn. 253) By 1879
six malthouses stood on the north side of Fisherton
Street between the 'Angel' and the river. (fn. 254) From
1867 they belonged to Messrs. Charles and Alfred
Williams. (fn. 255) The firm called Messrs. Williams Bros.
still occupied them in 1939. (fn. 256) Since 1950 they have
belonged to Messrs. Samuel Thompson & Sons. (fn. 257)
Lying as it did so close to Salisbury, Fisherton in
the Middle Ages naturally housed a number of
clothworkers of various kinds, and in the later 14th
century contained a tenter. (fn. 258) To other industrial
enterprises there are no early references. In later
times, however, the brick earth of the parish naturally
encouraged the establishment of brickworks. Mrs.
Gooden, or Goodhind, occupied a kiln in 1706,
which in 1714 and 1716 was in the hands of the firm
of Forhead & Goodhind. Between 1714 and 1718
a second kiln or 'kiln ground' is discoverable. Until
1826 there is no further evidence that there was
more than one works, but in that year a 'kiln' and a
'yard' were separately rated. (fn. 259) In 1844 there were
four brickworks: one occupied by John Pike on the
west of Mill Road, two 'yards' occupied by William
Harding, one on the south of the Wilton Road,
where the Devizes Road leaves it, another on the
west side of the Devizes Road a little to the north of
it, and a 'field' occupied by Dr. Richard Greenup
and Thomas Napier in the Wilton Road to the
south-west of Harding's. A 'kiln', occupied by
Frederic Tabor, almost opposite the lunatic asylum,
seems by this time to have been converted to
arable. (fn. 260) In 1854 Harding and one Darby worked
brick pits in the parish, north of the Wilton Road. (fn. 261)
Harding, who was also a lime burner and merchant,
survived until 1859. In 1855 the manager of the
Fisherton Brickworks was living in the parish.
Perhaps he worked for Robert Futcher, who carried
on a brickmaking business from 1859 to 1880. (fn. 262) A
brick, lime, and whiting works, almost certainly an
enterprise distinct from Futcher's, had been established in the Devizes Road, opposite Fisherton
Farm, by 1860. (fn. 263) In 1880 it belonged to R. C.
Harding who had set up as a lime burner and
merchant in 1867, and still owned it in 1899. (fn. 264) By
1903 the brick earth was 'very little worked' as the
cream-coloured hand-made bricks hardly paid to
make. (fn. 265) By c. 1908 the works had become a dairy,
and in 1914 were taken over by the Nestlé Company
as a condensed milk factory. (fn. 266)
There were timber yards in the parish between
1706 and 1747, two of them in fact in 1714 and three
in 1718. (fn. 267) The yards have not been noticed again
until 1842–4, when there were two, both in Fisherton Street. One occupied by Walter Morrice lay
opposite the site where the church now stands. A
few years later it seems to have come into the hands
of a Mr. Futcher. (fn. 268) The other timber yard was
occupied by John and James Griffin and was beside
the malt houses. (fn. 269) Griffins, whose business had
become a steam saw mill by 1879, were still occupiers
in 1903. (fn. 270) The business passed into the hands of
The Building Material Co., who still owned it in
1956. (fn. 271) By 1879 there was another yard immediately
to the north of Summerlock Bridge; it was still there
in 1887. (fn. 272)
Other economic enterprises worthy of passing
mention are a lime kiln or pit, rated between 1790
and 1800, (fn. 273) a rope walk in 1859, multiplied to two
rope walks in 1879, (fn. 274) and several nurseries. One of
the nurseries lay beside the bowling green, (fn. 275) where
in 1842–4 'gardens' were occupied by A. G. Dent,
who also occupied other gardens due north of them. (fn. 276)
The nursery was still in cultivation in 1956. (fn. 277) Since
1875 there has been another nursery, called Waterloo, behind the houses on the north of Fisherton
Street. (fn. 278) Since at least 1939 both nurseries have been
in the hands of the firm of W. F. Gullick. (fn. 279)
Despite these varied economic activities Fisherton,
from the early 17th century, was a poor parish often
visited by pestilence or hunger. References to the
pestilence begin in 1604, when the justices made
arrangements for the relief of the poor weavers of
the parish, who were falling out of work because of
local epidemics. (fn. 280) In 1646 there was another outbreak of the plague, and the justices ordered the
surrounding neighbourhood to contribute to the
rate then authorized. Later in the year the rate was
doubled by direction from the justices of assize. In
petitioning for an increase on such a scale the
inhabitants declared that there were 269 poor in the
parish, and that not more than eight parishioners
could relieve themselves. (fn. 281) They had erected a pest
house, the memory of which survived until 1842–4. (fn. 282)
The device of rating other places for Fisherton's
behoof continued. There are seven instances of it
between 1661 and 1718, and no other Wiltshire
parish was thus benefited so frequently. (fn. 283) The gift
of £50 to the poor of Fisherton made by George I,
when visiting Salisbury in 1722, is probably another
sign of parochial destitution. (fn. 284) In 1715 175 inhabitants suffered from smallpox. (fn. 285)
Fisherton was visited by cholera in 1849, and
when inspected in 1851 was found to be still exposed
to the dangers of disease. It lacked closed sewers,
and contained many piggeries, cowsheds, and
slaughter houses. The defective pavement of
Fisherton Street held pools of stagnant water. (fn. 286) The
ensuing improvement in sanitary conditions, (fn. 287) and
the coming of the railways brought better health and
more employment to the people and so enlarged the
population. Service on the railways became a
leading occupation of the inhabitants, so that in 1918
St. Paul's could justly be described as 'essentially a
railway parish'. (fn. 288) But poverty and sickness were not
stamped out. In the hard winter of 1894–5 coal,
grocery and soup tickets had to be distributed, a fish
kitchen started and free breakfasts served to the
children; (fn. 289) towards the end of 1895 the services of a
trained 'lady nurse' were secured to tend the poor
freely; (fn. 290) and at Christmas 1896 three benefactors
augmented Lambert's charity (fn. 291) by gifts of bread and
coal. (fn. 292)
CHURCHES.
The rectory of Fisherton is first
mentioned in 1319, when Aucher son of Henry
presented to it. (fn. 293) The survival, however, of a
Norman font, (fn. 294) if nothing else, raises the presumption that the church (St. Clement's) (fn. 295) was established
long before. From 1319 the advowson appears to
have descended with the lordship of the manor until
1650. (fn. 296) The lords, however, did not always exercise
their rights in person. Stephen Popham's feoffees
presented in 1444, 1446, 1453, and 1456. In 1490
Sir Roger Tocotes presented by grant of Margaret
Hampden, in 1548 Thomas Hughes, executor of
Dr. John Hughes, by grant of Sir John Hampden,
and in 1575 Hugh Powell by grant of Edward
Ferrers. In 1520, for unspecified reasons, the bishop
was presenting. (fn. 297)
Under the award made after the death of John
Lowe (c. 1649), (fn. 298) the advowson seems to have been
assigned to Richard Lowe, who in 1653 conveyed it
to Matthew Raymond. (fn. 299) It then passed through
many different hands. In 1692 Eleanor Shadwell,
widow, presented, in 1731 John Talman of Salisbury
Close, clerk. (fn. 300) Talman's presentee, Richard Fishlake, seems likewise to have owned it; at any rate
he included it in his marriage settlement, made in
1732. (fn. 301) Dr. Thomas Troughear, of Northwood (Isle
of Wight), was patron in 1754, Elizabeth Mathews,
of Stanmore (Middx.), widow, in 1758, and Martha
Davenport, of Lacock, widow, in 1786. (fn. 302) By 1790 the
advowson had passed to William Davenport Talbot,
of Lacock, (fn. 303) and was owned by William Henry Fox
Talbot between 1804 (fn. 304) and 1849. (fn. 305) For some years
after 1850 it belonged to Revd. Dr. James Cottle, (fn. 306)
who did not have an opportunity to exercise the
patronage. In 1864 Samuel Waldegrave, Bishop of
Carlisle, and four other trustees presented. (fn. 307) The
living has remained in the hands of trustees, who
are now represented by the Church Patronage
Society. (fn. 308)
The rectory was valued at £6 13s. 4d. between
1291 (fn. 309) and 1428, (fn. 310) at £13 net in 1535, (fn. 311) and at £80
in 1650. (fn. 312) It was valued at £48 when discharged of
first fruits under the Act of 1707. By 1731 it seems
to have been valued at £80, as in 1650, but it is not
clear to what this augmentation was due. (fn. 313) In 1835
the gross and net values were returned respectively
at £169 and £160. (fn. 314) In 1878 the net value was said
to be £300 with a house. (fn. 315) In 1864 the Ecclesiastical
Commissioners endowed the benefice with £1,000, (fn. 316)
a sum which seems to have been yielding £66 yearly
in 1887. (fn. 317) In 1903, when efforts towards augmentation were made, the living was described as 'poor'. (fn. 318)
In 1341 the glebe consisted of arable land valued
at 3s. 4d., and some meadow. (fn. 319) In 1638 it consisted
of the rectory house, with its adjacent lands covering
3 a., 10 a. of arable, 3 halves of meadow, 4 a. of
pasture and 6 beast leazes in the common fields. In
1688 the arable area and the number of leazes appear
to have fallen slightly. (fn. 320) At the inclosure in 1790
about 9½ a. were allotted to the rector for glebe,
mostly in the North Field and the Plashets, (fn. 321) and
in 1842–4 the acreage was about the same. (fn. 322) In 1851
the glebe was valued at £30, (fn. 323) in 1868 at £56, (fn. 324) and
in 1887 at £125. (fn. 325) By award made in 1842 and
confirmed in 1844 tithe was commuted for a rent
charge of £162. (fn. 326)
The Church Land, 1 a. in the North Field, had
been acquired by the parish before 1790. (fn. 327) In 1833
the rent from it was used for church repairs. The
land was sold for building in 1897, and in 1942 the
ground rent brought in £44 a year. (fn. 328) In 1831
Lt.-Gen. Mitchell gave £100 stock to buy coal to
warm the church. In 1950 the interest, £2 10s., was
paid into the church expenses fund. (fn. 329) In 1894
James Clark gave £100 for Sunday school prizes.
The income was £5 in 1905. (fn. 330) In 1909 Eliza Lucas
gave £100 for church expenses, which yielded
£3 11s. in 1950. (fn. 331) In 1917 Francis Drake Deverill
gave £300 subject to legacy duty. The capital was
not settled in trust but applied to church expenses. (fn. 332)
Church collections were thrice-yearly from 1876
until the turn of the century when they seem to have
become weekly. (fn. 333) Pew rents were abandoned in
1924. (fn. 334)
Stephen le Criour, who in 1319 owned land in
Fisherton, (fn. 335) joined with his wife Maud in 1324 to
found a chantry, dedicated to St. Mary, in Fisherton
church. (fn. 336) They endowed it with lands in Bemerton
and Fisherton, which were to support a chaplain
celebrating daily for the souls of the founders, their
ancestors, and all faithful departed. They provided
the chantry with books and ornaments, and the first
chaplain with farming implements, furniture and
household gear. The Archdeacon of Salisbury was
made patron, and he or his attorneys always exercised the patronage. (fn. 337) How it came about that in
1384 Thomas and Agnes Leycestre released the
advowson of the chantry to Nicholas de St. Lo is
hard to fathom. (fn. 338) In 1535 the gross value was
£5 12s. 8d., and its net value £5 9s. 6d. (fn. 339) In 1548
the chantry lands, which included the chantry
dwelling house, the chantry mead (2 a.), and 18 a.
of arable in Fisherton and Bemerton were valued at
£5 18s. 2½d. net. The incumbent was then a layman
who was applying the stipend to his own education. (fn. 340)
The chantry was dissolved, and in 1549 much of the
property described above was given by the Crown
to Laurence Hyde of London. (fn. 341) In 1592 further
chantry lands in Fisherton were given to William
Tupper and Robert Dawe. (fn. 342)
By will proved 1505 Richard Harrison, or Brewer,
of Fisherton, left 9 marks to be paid for 10 years to a
priest to celebrate in Fisherton church for the souls
of himself, his wife Maud, and all faithful departed. (fn. 343)
In 1413 Thomas Mannyng of Fisherton left small
bequests to the three brotherhoods of the lights of
the Holy Trinity, St. Christopher and the Holy
Cross in the church. (fn. 344)
There are known to have been 'curates' serving
the parish, or serving in the parish, in 1674, (fn. 345)
1736, (fn. 346) 1796, (fn. 347) 1808, (fn. 348) 1819, (fn. 349) and 1836. (fn. 350) During
the quarter of a century after 1853 there seems
normally to have been at least one assistant curate.
In 1878 there were two, and from 1884 to 1897
normally three. (fn. 351) In 1901 there was only one, but
the need for a second was emphasized and an
'additional curate fund' was started. (fn. 352) There were
two curates in the next year and this was the normal
number until 1914. (fn. 353) Between 1914 and 1926, (fn. 354) and
in 1937 (fn. 355) there was only one. In 1957 there was
none. In 1892 a 'scripture reader' and a 'Bible
woman' were appointed, (fn. 356) and between 1904 and
1925 there was usually a lay reader or 'lay worker'. (fn. 357)
The payment of wages to a parish clerk was
authorized in 1744, apparently for the first time. (fn. 358)
There was still a parish clerk in 1934. (fn. 359) In the 19th
century and until 1928 there was also a vestry
clerk. (fn. 360) To save the cost of pew openers, sidesmen
were appointed in 1896. (fn. 361)
Richard Kent (d. 1692), rector from 1644, had
been ejected from the living by 1650, after a party of
Parliamentarian soldiers had entered the church at
service time and started a brawl. (fn. 362) His successor
George Bayly (fn. 363) appears to have been replaced in
1654 by another royalist, Samuel Forward, who was
ejected in the same year in favour of S. Bayly and
lived in great want. (fn. 364) Kent was restored in 1660. (fn. 365)
In 1754 the rector was holding the living in plurality
with that of Sutton Benger. (fn. 366) In the 1840s there
was a male and female choir led by a band of string
and wind instruments. The band was replaced by a
barrel organ and eventually by a pipe organ. The
singing was then so much improved that it was
thought the best in the diocese. (fn. 367)
The 'low church' principles that have characterized the parish ever since seem to have been
established in the time of the Revd. A. B. Handley
(1864–73). Upon his institution some who 'did not
value evangelical truth' left the congregation; others
thought him 'too religious'. (fn. 368) He was succeeded in
1873 by E. N. (from 1908 Canon) Thwaites (d.
1919), who was locally renowned as an evangelistic
preacher, and as an unusually gifted and energetic
organizer. Thwaites made his parish a centre of
missionary activity at home and overseas. (fn. 369) It was
through him that the church was enlarged and
adorned, (fn. 370) and a new school and halls for devotional
meetings built. (fn. 371) He started a parish magazine, (fn. 372) a
temperance hotel, and a hostel for girls. (fn. 373) Somewhat
surprisingly in such a parish, a communicants' union
was formed and held its first meeting in 1888. (fn. 374)
Within the church the number of communions was
somewhat above the diocesan average. (fn. 375) In 1883
celebrations occurred at least fortnightly, in 1895
usually once a week, and by 1912 regularly so. (fn. 376) On
Easter Day three celebrations were normal, and the
number of communicants was sometimes considerable — 412 in 1889, (fn. 377) and 382 in 1890. (fn. 378) The parish
was a pioneer in the neighbourhood in holding
midnight services on 31 December, which, even
after other parishes had adopted the habit, were well
attended. (fn. 379)
W. C. Procter, who succeeded Thwaites, while
describing himself as 'a very decided Evangelical', (fn. 380)
introduced several novel practices: a regular 8.0 a.m.
Sunday morning communion, (fn. 381) singing the Gloria,
more frequent settings of the Canticles, (fn. 382) open-air
services on summer evenings. (fn. 383) He also urged the
congregation to kneel at prayers. (fn. 384) Determined to
administer the parish on 'thoroughly democratic
principles'. (fn. 385) he established a church council. (fn. 386) But
his ministry does not seem to have been successful,
for in his own estimation he was neither a good
administrator nor a diligent visitor. (fn. 387)
H. M. (later Canon) Allen succeeded Procter in
1917. He was thought to possess the qualities that
his predecessor lacked, and he was a capable
musician. (fn. 388) He introduced a surpliced choir, (fn. 389) and
provided for simpler, more congregational singing. (fn. 390)
As was to be expected, the first of these innovations
came to Fisherton much later than to most parishes
in the diocese. (fn. 391) Allen also founded in 1920 a parish
hall or church institute in an Army hut erected on
land to the north of the church. (fn. 392)
Since Allen's resignation in 1930 the most remarkable events in the life of the parish have been the
replacement in 1933 of the 'iron room' (fn. 393) by the
Church Rooms in the old St. Paul's Schools, and of
the church hut by a new Parochial Hall built on the
site of the hut in 1937. An objection lodged in 1945
to a faculty for a plain oak cross upon the Communion Table illustrates the tenacity of the
evangelical tradition of St. Paul's. (fn. 394)
Perhaps the most striking monument to Thwaites
was the Maundrel Hall opened in 1880 beside
Fisherton Bridge. Named after one of Fisherton's
Protestant 'martyrs', (fn. 395) and provided by public subscription, it was designed as a meeting-place for
undenominational worship and discussion, especially
for the poor who were not habitual churchgoers. (fn. 396)
The hall gathered round it other buildings devoted
to Christian purposes: the Luther Hall (later the
Little Maundrel Hall) to the west, opened about
1884, (fn. 397) west of that a building, called successively
the 'British Workman' and the 'Star of Hope',
opened about 1883 as a temperance hotel, (fn. 398) and
behind the 'Star of Hope' the Princess Christian
Home (later Hostel) for women, opened in 1907. (fn. 399)
In 1895 J. H. Maundrel settled £500 in trust for the
benefit of the hall. The income was £15 in 1955. (fn. 400)
The erection of the new Parochial Hall beside the
church, and the shift of population westwards
deprived the Maundrel Hall of much of its usefulness, and under Orders made by the Charity
Commission in 1953 and 1954 it was sold, together
with the Little Maundrel Hall and the Princess
Christian Hotel. (fn. 401) It was then taken over by Messrs.
Graham, furniture dealers, and the other property
by Maidment's Publicity, Ltd.
The church of ST. CLEMENT was largely built
of flint and consisted of a nave, north aisle, north
and south transepts, chancel, west tower and south
porch. There was a small projection, probably
containing a rood loft stair, on the south side of the
chancel. Lancet windows survived in the north aisle
until at least 1807, and it is probable that much of
the structure was of 13th century date. The belfry
stage of the tower was an addition of the 15th or
early 16th century. There was a blocked Perpendicular window at a high level in the north aisle.
Several other windows and the south porch appear
to have been of post-Reformation date. (fn. 402) When he
visited the building about 1824 Sir Stephen Glynne
found it an 'unassuming village church . . . kept neat
and tidy'. The west tower window he considered
was Perpendicular. (fn. 403) Most of the windows were
modern and 'bad'; some small Perpendicular ones
had been walled up. There were five stone crosses
on the gable ends. The nave was divided from the
north aisle by an octagonal pillar, and a 'ruder kind
of partition'. Plain pointed arches opened into the
transepts and chancel. (fn. 404)
Some information survives about improvements
in the fabric. In 1742 new seating was provided in
the south 'aisle' (presumably south transept) and the
whole building was retiled and repaved. There were
lesser repairs in 1773–4, 1776, 1778, and 1784–7.
In 1791 a gallery was erected, the south end of
which was reserved for 'singers' in 1810. Further
repairs and improvements were authorized in 1803. (fn. 405)
The churchyard was enlarged in 1788, (fn. 406) and again
in 1809. (fn. 407)
In 1850 the vestry, moved, it is believed, by Dr.
W. C. Finch, (fn. 408) met to consider for the first time the
erection of a new church to house the expanding
population. (fn. 409) In pursuance of the decision taken
then or soon after, the foundations of ST. PAUL'S
church in Devizes Road were laid in 1851, and in
1853 that building was consecrated. (fn. 410) St. Clement's
was demolished in 1852, (fn. 411) but the churchyard has
remained an open space. (fn. 412)
St. Paul's, built in early 'Decorated' style to the
design of T. H. Wyatt of London, consisted originally of chancel, nave of six bays, aisle, west gallery,
south vestry, small organ chamber, south porch and
tower. The tower buttresses, some of the interior
arches and piers, and the font were brought from
St. Clement's, and the new tower built to the
dimensions of the old to accommodate the bell-frame
timbers and bells from the old church. (fn. 413) Sidney
Herbert and Bishop Denison contributed to the
expenses of the new building. (fn. 414) In 1876 a north
aisle and west porch were added. (fn. 415) In 1880 the
chancel walls were coloured, (fn. 416) and in 1883 painted
texts were placed over all the arches. (fn. 417) In 1885 the
chancel was retiled and carved fronts added to the
choir stalls. (fn. 418) In 1892 a new organ chamber for a
new organ was constructed north of the chancel. (fn. 419)
In 1895 a screen was erected so as to convert the
former organ chamber into a choir vestry. At the
same time the choir stalls were rearranged, so that
the choir could thereafter sit on either side of the
chancel. (fn. 420) In 1898 the whole building was restored, (fn. 421)
in 1910 the chancel. (fn. 422) In 1917 a new choir vestry
was constructed at the north-west corner of the
church. (fn. 423) The clergy vestry was enlarged in 1932. (fn. 424)
The east window, erected in 1866, commemorates
members of the Alford family, (fn. 425) and that in the
south aisle, erected 1910, the relict and sisters of
Thomas Norwood (d. 1879). (fn. 426) The Norman font,
standing on modern steps, was brought from St.
Clement's. (fn. 427)
There is one 17th-century monument in the
church commemorating William Boucher (d. 1676),
of Salisbury Close, and a number of 18th-century
date. (fn. 428) Nineteenth-century monuments commemorate members of the Alford and Finch families.
In 1553 St. Clement's had four bells. (fn. 429) Six were
brought to St. Paul's, (fn. 430) one of them having been
recast in 1705. (fn. 431) In 1923 the bells were rehung, and
in 1926 a chiming apparatus by Mears & Stainbank
was fitted. In 1949 two trebles were added and the
whole octave rehung. (fn. 432)
The king's commissioners of 1553 left to the
parish a chalice (10 oz.), and reserved ½ oz. of plate
to the king's use. (fn. 433) New plate appears to have been
provided in 1853, when St. Paul's was opened. (fn. 434)
The plate now consists of 2 chalices, 2 patens, and
a cruet-shaped flagon, 1869, and an alms dish
presented in 1932 in memory of W. J. Naish (d.
1931). (fn. 435) The last replaces a silver-gilt dish. (fn. 436) The
parish also possesses three pewter flagons, one of
1660 and two of 1672. The first, 21½ in. high, is
thought to have been an extra-sacramental ringers'
flagon, and is inscribed 'the pot of Fisherton Anger
Church'. (fn. 437) Presumably these were in use until 1853.
The registers of births and baptisms date from
1651, of marriages from 1654, and of burials from
1653 and are complete. The other parish records
include three volumes (1705–96) somewhat confusedly recording churchwardens' and overseers'
accounts and vestry minutes, a sequence of vestry
minute books from 1778, and overseers' rate and
payment books (1766–1803, 1809–34). Most of
these are in the Council House in Salisbury.
A rectory house in Mill Road was in existence by
1638, and was considered 'little' in 1688. (fn. 438) It was
evidently rebuilt on ampler lines in the early 18th
century. Seriously damaged by fire in 1834, (fn. 439) it was
very dilapidated when Handley became rector thirty
years later. In Handley's time it was largely reconstructed except for the walls, and the entrance moved
from the front to the back. (fn. 440) An 'iron room' for
meetings was erected in the garden in 1885. (fn. 441) In
1937 the building was sold, (fn. 442) and a new rectory put
up beside the church. A fund of £440 collected for
the maintenance of the rectory house and glebe was
settled in trust in 1904. (fn. 443)
St. Anne's chapel, to which in the 14th and 15th
centuries a hermitage was attached, (fn. 444) presumably
formed no part of the church. St. Anne's Stile Field,
of uncertain location but probably lying north-east
of Fisherton Street, seems to have preserved its
memory almost until the 19th century. (fn. 445)
NONCONFORMITY.
In 1676 there were seven
dissenters in the parish, none of them Roman
Catholics. (fn. 446) In 1767 there were two Roman
Catholics, who presumably worshipped in Salisbury. (fn. 447) There are no other evidences of Romish
recusancy.
The Methodist meeting, held for a short time in
the 'Green Dragon', after Westley Hall became
curate at Fisherton in 1736, has already been mentioned. (fn. 448) Houses for Methodist worship were
certified in 1794 and 1810, on the second occasion by
John Sutton. (fn. 449) Either of these meetings may have
become the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in Mill
Road opened in 1832. (fn. 450) Such a building was still in
use in 1842–4. (fn. 451) In 1851 it had 250 sittings. (fn. 452) A new
Wesleyan chapel, with the same number of sittings,
was built in Wilton Road in 1860. (fn. 453) Presumably it
replaced the Mill Road chapel, although that
building was not struck out of the Worship Register
until 1889. At any rate there seems to have been only
one Wesleyan community in Fisherton in 1874. (fn. 454)
By 1927 the number of sittings in the Wilton Road
chapel had risen to 400. (fn. 455)
A garden was certified for worship by 'Tent'
Methodists, probably early Primitive Methodists, (fn. 456)
in 1823. (fn. 457) A Primitive Methodist chapel was built
in 1826; (fn. 458) it lay on the south side of Fisherton
Street, well back from the road, (fn. 459) and was certified
for worship in 1835. (fn. 460) There were 500 sittings in
1851 and a settled minister, but the congregation
was about the same size as that which frequented
the Wesleyan chapel. (fn. 461) By 1957 the building had
become the Fisherton Conservative Club. In 1869
a new chapel, seating 340 in 1880, was erected on
the north side of Fisherton Street, where it is joined
by Chapel Place. (fn. 462) In 1917 a third church, seating
450, was built in Dew's Road, (fn. 463) and by 1923 or
thereabouts its predecessor had been converted into
a cinema. (fn. 464) In 1958 the Wilton Road and Dew's
Road churches had memberships of 107 and 89
respectively, and shared a minister. (fn. 465)
A house for Baptist worship was certified in
1800, (fn. 466) and a small congregation of Baptists existed
in 1829–30. (fn. 467) It is not certain whether there was any
direct connexion between these persons and those
who worshipped at the Harcourt Bridge Road Baptist
chapel, with 240 sittings, erected in 1875 (fn. 468) in what
is now Mill Road. At all events no Baptists are
included in the ecclesiastical census of 1851. The
Harcourt Chapel was still used for worship in 1890, (fn. 469)
but was struck out of the Worship Register in 1894.
In 1957 the building still stood but was unused.
There was a congregation of Independents in
1829–30, (fn. 470) but there is no return for them in 1851.
It probably had no connexion with the present
Congregational church, a conspicuous feature of
Fisherton Street, which was built by the Salisbury
congregation in 1879. (fn. 471)
The 'exclusive' Brethren met in Fisherton Street
in 1885 and 1890 and in Churchfields in 1895. (fn. 472)
The chapel of the Christian Brethren in Church
Street, seating 400, was built in 1860 (fn. 473) and has
remained in use. A chapel of the New Jerusalem
Church (Swedenborgian) was certified in 1829 (fn. 474) and
a building belonging to a Mr. Whitehorn was
certified for use by the same sect in 1872. (fn. 475) The
second of these, which was in Fisherton Street, (fn. 476)
was struck off the register in 1878, (fn. 477) when the
congregation probably moved to Antelope Yard,
Salisbury. (fn. 478)
Certifications of dissenting meeting places, of
unspecified denomination, also took place in 1821, (fn. 479)
1822 (John Holmes' house), (fn. 480) 1830 (a schoolroom) (fn. 481)
and 1881. (fn. 482) The fourth of these was in the chapel
of the former gaol. Mr. Gregory's mission room in
Dew's Road, and Mr. Simper's mission room, are
mentioned in 1874. (fn. 483)
PARISH GOVERNMENT.
In the 18th century
the parish seems to have been served by the not
unconventional complement of two churchwardens
and two overseers. (fn. 484) Surveyors of the highways are
not mentioned until 1805; a hayward, not previously
mentioned, was being appointed in vestry in 1808. (fn. 485)
From 1822 there was a perpetual overseer then paid
£15, a sum doubled in 1826. The assistant overseer,
appointed in 1852, as a collector of rates of every
sort, was paid £20. (fn. 486) A successor in office, appointed
in 1884 after a poll, was paid £75. (fn. 487)
Between 1716 and 1778 the usual attendance at
the annual parish meetings or vestries for the
election of overseers was about eleven, (fn. 488) and later
meetings called to deal with the practical issues of
poor relief and workhouse management were
attended by about as many. Between 1805 and 1824
such meetings, at least in theory, were held monthly.
In 1824 a select vestry was appointed under the
Sturges Bourne Act. (fn. 489) In 1854 it resolved to constitute a burial board. (fn. 490)
In 1715 the parish paid the rent of certain paupers
who lived in Matthew Bony's houses. (fn. 491) It is not
clear from the context whether Bony owned a poor
house, or whether his tenants, though contractual
ones, were too poor to pay their rent. A workhouse
was in existence by 1778, when the vestry appointed
a master and mistress to take charge of the poor
within it. The master's salary was £21 a year and
1s. in the £ on the work of the house. The regulations were to be the same as those of Salisbury
workhouse. (fn. 492) Further regulations made in 1780
show that the poor did spooling and weaving, and
that the master or mistress was required to teach
the workhouse children to read and learn the
Catechism. In 1796 a new master undertook to farm
the poor at 3s. each a week. (fn. 493) By 1810 this had risen
to 3s. 9d. and was then further raised to 4s. In 1802–3
there were 15 people in the house, in 1806 13, and
in 1814 21, including children in each case. (fn. 494)
The cost of maintaining the poor per head of
population rose from 8s. in 1803 to 11s. 3d. in
1813. (fn. 495) Four years later the level of the poor rate
seemed to the vestry 'alarming', and a special vestry
was summoned to consider what to do. (fn. 496) In 1819, as
a means of reducing the cost of the workhouse, it
was resolved that the poor should no longer be
farmed but should be paid allowances, and the
master or mistress granted 5s. a week with house
and garden and the exclusive use of a loom. (fn. 497) The
rates continued to rise and reached 12s. 8d. a head
in 1821. (fn. 498) By 1831, however, they had fallen to
6s. 1d. a head. (fn. 499) In 1839 Alderbury Union sold the
workhouse, (fn. 500) where since 1778 the vestry had met. (fn. 501)
The site, or part of it, was eventually occupied by
the parish school. (fn. 502)
In 1842 the four sane parishioners who lived
outside the borough boundary declared themselves
in vestry too few to enable the requirement to
appoint parish constables to be complied with. (fn. 503) In
1894 a parish council for Fisherton Anger Without
was appointed, with the rector as its first chairman. (fn. 504)
In 1905 its duties were transferred to the city
council. (fn. 505) In 1879 the vestry, which in 1851 was
maintaining a rather inadequate system of street
lighting, (fn. 506) adopted the Lighting and Watching Act
of 1833, (fn. 507) and appointed inspectors to administer
the lighting of the parish — powers that were
assumed in 1895 by the parish council. (fn. 508)
SCHOOLS.
The public elementary schools have
been described with the other primary schools in
Salisbury. (fn. 509) Private schools included one kept by
R. West in 1803, (fn. 510) Fisherton Academy, a Methodist
establishment existing in 1836, (fn. 511) a 'young ladies'
school' kept by Miss Emily A. Blundell in 1855, (fn. 512)
another kept by the Misses Cullingham, of Rhynwick House, in 1891 and 1897, (fn. 513) and a third kept by
Miss Harrison in 1910–11. (fn. 514)
CHARITIES FOR THE POOR.
Sarah Hayter,
lady of the manor, having already built an almshouse, styled the Asylum, endowed it in 1797 with
the rents and profits of Fisherton manor and about
100 a. in Fisherton. (fn. 515) This institution, later called
Hayter's Almshouses, was intended to house six
poor Anglican spinsters, of 'sober and peaceable
deportment', aged 50 or more. They were to be
drawn from the parishes of Fisherton, Bemerton,
and St. Thomas, Salisbury, in that order of preference, or, in default, from other Wiltshire parishes.
Each woman was to receive 5s. weekly, and, if
circumstances permitted, a bonus as well. After
Sarah's death in 1822 the right to take the surplus
revenue from the trust estate descended with the
manor until it was extinguished in 1957 for £5,300.
Between 1861 and 1905 many of the lands of the
original endowment were sold or exchanged, and
other lands in Fisherton, Whiteparish, and Stratford-sub-Castle acquired in place of them. The
gross income amounted in 1905 to £684. Further
sales were subsequently authorized, notably the sale
of Fisherton Farm to Salisbury corporation in 1922,
and by 1953 the trustees had divested themselves of
all their real property. The gross income from stock
amounted in 1956 to £1,382. The stipends of the
inmates, which had risen to 12s. 6d. in 1905, were
in 1957 raised still further to 15s. 6d. The buildings
consist of six red brick houses in Fisherton Street
under one tiled roof with gardens at back and front.
Arrangements made in 1906 to move the almshouse
to St. Paul's Road were abandoned in 1911, because
the plans did not fully comply with Salisbury
corporation by-laws. The trustees for choosing the
inmates have always been the Dean of Salisbury and
the parsons of the three parishes benefiting. (fn. 516)
In 1731 John Woodward left a £1 rent charge to
be spent on bread for poor householders on St.
Thomas's Day (21 Dec.). There were 80 recipients
in 1905. (fn. 517) In 1950 it was unspent. (fn. 518) Under the will
of another John Woodward, proved in 1829, £900
was settled in trust for distributing clothes at
Michaelmas to twelve poor male parishioners not in
the poor house. The interest amounted to £31 in
1833 and £22 in 1905. In the latter year it was still
used for its original purpose, (fn. 519) but the uses to which
it was put in 1950 were unspecified. (fn. 520)
The only addition to the parish charities in the
later 19th century was the benefaction of Edmund
Lambert, who, by will proved 1878, left £200 to
supply the deserving poor with necessaries at
Christmas. The revenue was £5 in 1905 and was
used for coal. (fn. 521) In 1950 it was being mistakenly
applied to church expenses. (fn. 522)
In 1895 the benefits of the Salisbury Municipal
Charities were extended to Fisherton. (fn. 523)