STRATFORD-SUB-CASTLE
Before its extinction in 1954 (fn. 1) the parish of
Stratford-sub-Castle lay to the north of the city of
New Sarum. It was roughly square, but on its west
side two excrescences projected across the Avon. Of
these the hamlet called Avon formed the more
northerly. Old Sarum, which lay within the parish,
came to be regarded as extra-parochial, (fn. 2) but was
transformed into a civil parish under the Extra-Parochial Places Act of 1857, (fn. 3) and was amalgamated
with Stratford in 1894. (fn. 4) Avon was a recognizable
township in or about 1249. (fn. 5) It contained at least
three houses in 1567 (fn. 6) and 1631–2, (fn. 7) and five in
1841; (fn. 8) in 1955 it was reduced to little more than a
farm-house. It seems to have been part of Stratford
parish by 1631–2, for the then tenants were churchwardens. (fn. 9) The township was, however, in the
hundred of Branch and Dole, and the 'manor' of
Avon was included in Fugglestone in the 16th and
17th centuries. (fn. 10)
At its greatest extent Stratford comprised 1,576 a.,
including water. (fn. 11) In 1897 that part of Stratford
(apparently 1 a.) lying within the city of Salisbury
was added to Milford Within — a parish incorporated in the city in 1904. (fn. 12) In 1904 91 a. were taken
out of the parish and joined with Milford Without
to form Milford. (fn. 13) In 1927 167 a. in Stratford were
joined to New Sarum. (fn. 14) In 1954 237 a. of the parish
with their 165 inhabitants, including the village and
Old Sarum, were brought within the city boundaries, and the rest of the parish transferred to
Laverstock. (fn. 15)
From the citadel of Old Sarum, 400 ft., the land
falls away in every direction except the south-east,
but near the northern boundary rises again to 300 ft.
The lofty hill on which the ruined castle stands,
clothed with yews and beeches, is the most striking
feature. On the east the Avon flows roughly southwards. Not far to the east of the river a secondary
road runs from Salisbury to Amesbury via Woodford, spanning the Avon by means of Stratford and
Avon Bridges, about ½ mile from the former parish
boundary on the north-west. Avon Bridge, which is
the more westerly, was repairable by the county in
1852–5. (fn. 16) It was widened in 1936. (fn. 17) The soil and
subsoil of the former parish are chalk and gravel.
In 1956 the land, so far as it was not built upon, was
mainly tilled in the north and grazed in the south.
The population was 352 in 1801 and rose to 385
in 1821. It then slowly declined until it reached 307
in 1871. It rose again to 375 in 1901, notwithstanding
the boundary change of 1897. After the second
boundary change in 1904 it was 281, and after the
third in 1927 231. In 1951 it was 256. (fn. 18)
Stratford village, which had borne a variety of
suffixes both in Latin and English, (fn. 19) was called
Stratford-under-the-Castle in the census reports
from 1801 to 1891. (fn. 20) The ecclesiastical parish was
then given the name 'Stratford-sub-Castle' and this
was extended to the civil parish in the next report
and has since remained in use. There seems to be
no early warrant for the form, though Thomas
Mozley, who had been Rector of Cholderton (1836–
47), used it in 1882. (fn. 21) Between 1841 and 1881 Old
Sarum was given the alternative name of Old Castle
in the reports.
The parish had begun to accommodate the surplus
population of Salisbury by about 1880 when a line
of substantial villas, Park Lane, connected the tips
of the prongs that clasp Victoria Park. (fn. 22) By 1955
the southern part of the former parish had been
largely built upon, and contained, apart from
dwellings, the church of St. Francis, the Salisbury
and South Wilts. College of Further Education, and
the works of Salisbury Precision Engineering, Ltd.
These developments, however, form part of the
history of the modern city and have been there
considered. (fn. 23)
The city of Old Salisbury in its pride and decline,
its castle, and the Parliamentary borough of Old
Sarum are dealt with elsewhere. (fn. 24) The separation
between Old Salisbury and Stratford cannot,
however, be at all complete. As the population of
the old city dwindled to nothing, the village of
Stratford grew increasingly conspicuous and eventually engulfed its neighbour. This process cannot
of course be traced accurately but it is obvious that
lands and even buildings which were once said to
belong to Old Salisbury came in time to belong to
Stratford. (fn. 25) The 75 a. allotted to Old Sarum in
1881 (fn. 26) may well be far below the area of the old
city.
The chief houses in the parish are the Manor
House, (fn. 27) Mawarden Court, (fn. 28) Parsonage Farm, (fn. 29)
and the Prebendal House, (fn. 30) all described below.
New Farm seems to have been built in the middle
of the 19th century. (fn. 31) Old Forge Cottage and the
adjoining dwelling form together a long range with
upper story timber-framed probably dating from the
16th century. The smithy stood immediately to the
north. At the south end of the village there are
several 17th- and early-18th-century cottages of
stone and flint with thatched roofs. Other cottages
in the same area, which existed in 1839, (fn. 32) have been
demolished, probably during road improvements. A
brick cottage adjoining the post office is dated 1703,
with initials 'I.C.'. Stones bearing 12th-century
ornament, taken from a demolished cottage in the
village and now in Salisbury Museum, are thought
to have come originally from Old Salisbury. Possibly
several of the mixed stone and flint walls in the
village contain material from the same source.
There were 2 inns in the parish. The Stratford
Inn, towards the south end of Stratford village on
the east side of the Woodford-Salisbury road, is
mentioned as an inn from 1859 to 1889. (fn. 33) The brick
building still stood in 1956. The 'Old Castle' on the
main road from Salisbury, stands on the site of a
building called Old Castle House in 1773. (fn. 34) A house
with that name existed at least as early as 1668–9
when 19s. 6d. was spent on its repair by the overseers of the poor. (fn. 35) This suggests that it was then
a poor house. On the other hand, it is stated on
Wansey's plan of Old Sarum (1820) that the land
on which the present building stands was given by
Robert Pitt to J. Rose, an old servant, 'to build him
a cottage on'. If this was so, the date of erection
would be the early 18th century. The structural
details of the earliest portions are consistent with
either date. It was presumably this building which
Defoe (c. 1722) (fn. 36) and the American Curwen (fn. 37)
visited in their travels and chose to regard as the
solitary domiciliary vestige of Old Salisbury. If so,
its occupiers supplied visitors with punch, wine, and
tea in 1776. (fn. 38) In 1790 the owner seems to have been
John Cooper, of Salisbury, (fn. 39) and in 1839 John
Cusse, who was also the occupier. The building was
certainly a public house at that time. (fn. 40) The original
stone cottage of two stories has been enlarged on its
west side at various periods, the last additions being
made to improve its appearance on the new road
front between 1930 and 1935. An ancient stone
fireplace inside the building was brought from
elsewhere. (fn. 41)
A parish reading-room was erected on the north
side of Mawarden Court in or about 1881 (fn. 42) and
still existed in 1956. The Salisbury and District
Joint Isolation Hospital, on the extreme east of the
former parish, was built in 1911–12, (fn. 43) and closed in
1951. (fn. 44) It provided beds for 90 patients, and was
later enlarged by huts. (fn. 45) The nearest railway station
has always been in Salisbury. The Wilts. and Dorset
omnibus company was running omnibuses past the
Old Castle Inn by 1923. (fn. 46) Electricity was first
supplied to the parish in 1938, (fn. 47) and a piped water
supply in 1941. (fn. 48) In 1960 main sewerage was being
laid in the village.
From the late 17th to the early 19th century
Stratford was associated with the Pitt family.
Thomas Pitt (1653–1726), (fn. 49) Governor of Madras,
and purchaser of the Pitt diamond, acquired
Mawarden Court in 1686, (fn. 50) and he and his eldest
son, Robert, added to the property substantially in
later years. (fn. 51) When Thomas left England in 1698 to
become president of Fort St. George, his wife lived
for a time at Mawarden Court. She was there in
1702, (fn. 52) but often stayed in Bath, (fn. 53) and left Stratford
for good in 1708. (fn. 54) The house was then transferred
to Robert (d. 1727) who was often at Stratford
between 1714 and 1726. (fn. 55) Later Pitts do not seem
to have frequented it, and it could be said in 1790
that they had not done so for many years. (fn. 56) In the
letters of Thomas and Robert Pitt Mawarden Court
is never so referred to, and in 1773 Andrews and
Dury called it Stratford House.
The Revd. Edward Caswall (1814–78), divine and
poet, was Perpetual Curate of Stratford from 1840
until his conversion to Roman Catholicism in
1847. (fn. 57) In the 19th century H. J. F. Swayne, the
Wiltshire antiquary, lived at Mawarden Court. (fn. 58)
MANORS AND LESSER ESTATES.
By his
foundation charter St. Osmund, Bishop of Salisbury,
gave the canons of Salisbury 6½ hides in Stratford,
besides land in the old city itself and before the
castle gate. (fn. 59) In early times one of these hides had
been assigned to the Prebendary of Grantham
(Lincs.), who exercised jurisdiction over his men
within it, but before 1225 he had lost it. (fn. 60) Apart from
this assignment we lack early evidence of the way
in which the cathedral lands in Stratford were
distributed among the cathedral dignitaries, and
when in 1120 Bishop Roger gave the canons the
amercements of the assize of bread and ale of their
Stratford tenants — revenue which he had apparently withheld — he gave it them in common. (fn. 61)
While in course of time the bishops conveyed
nearly all the ecclesiastical property in Stratford to
the canons, for the benefit either of a particular
dignitary or the common fund, they seem to have
retained a small amount in hand. At any rate in 1353
Bishop Wyville leased for life some land in Stratford
to John and Beatrice Everard. (fn. 62) Before 1358 this
grant had been converted into a feoffment in tail at
a rent of 8 marks, (fn. 63) and shortly afterwards Everard
was found to hold of the bishop by knight service a
messuage and two carucates, (fn. 64) which was possibly
the same tenement. In 1370 Isabel relict of Sir Hugh
Tirell held a small plot of the bishop, (fn. 65) and lands
belonging to the bishop in Penteslade in Stratford
are mentioned in a deed of 1397. (fn. 66) The village
itself, or some part of it, was called Bishop Stratford
in 1443, (fn. 67) and in 1535 the bishop still held land
there. (fn. 68) Perhaps these episcopal lands represent
some part of the prebend of Old Salisbury, dissolved
in 1226, (fn. 69) if the whole of the prebend was not made
over to the Mary mass. (fn. 70)
STRATFORD DEAN.
The dissolution of that
prebend was determined upon in 1225, and became
effective in 1226 upon the death of the then
incumbent. Thereupon the jurisdiction that he
formerly exercised over his men in Stratford and
which he had taken over from the Prebendary of
Grantham, (fn. 71) together with jurisdiction over the
Dean of Salisbury's men in Stratford, was granted
to the dean. (fn. 72) Subsequent medieval references to
the estate are rare, but in 1312 a conveyance was
made of four acres in the fields of Stratford decani,
and the property was expressly said to extend to the
dean's meadow; (fn. 73) in deeds of 1336 there are references to land abutting upon the dean's. (fn. 74) In 1535
the dean's lands were under lease to Master Hilley,
cathedral treasurer, though the lessee himself was
then dead. (fn. 75) In 1539, as the manor or farm of
Stratford Dean, they were leased to Richard
Channons for 41 years from 1546, and from his
determination this manor was successively leased to
Richard Boulton and Robert Smyth for the same
term from 1558, and to James Parham or Wiseman,
a Salisbury tanner, for 51 years from 1567. (fn. 76)
Parham devised his term in the lease to his son of
the same name, who was confirmed in his tenure by
chancery decree of 1583. (fn. 77) A James Parham or
Wiseman, possibly the same, was still tenant in 1650,
when the manor was sold by the Parliamentary
Commissioners to Thomas Williamson, of London,
for £369. (fn. 78) By 1656 the interest in the preceding
leases had become vested in Richard Hill of Stratford. He seems subsequently to have acquired the
fee simple, which he devised to his son John by will
proved in 1659. (fn. 79) At the Restoration the freehold
returned to the chapter, who leased it in 1665 to
Thomas Cullinge and Thomas and Elizabeth Hill,
of London. (fn. 80) The terms of the lease suggest that the
Hills may have been descendants of Richard Hill.
In 1672 the lease was transferred to Sir John Bankes,
bt., and Sir Eliab Harvey, both of London, (fn. 81) who
still enjoyed it in 1690. (fn. 82) By 1697, however, it had
been transferred to Thomas Pitt, (fn. 83) and in 1724
passed to Thomas's son Robert. (fn. 84) Robert died in
1727 and the succession to his estates was disputed
among members of his family, (fn. 85) but in 1739 seisin
of the manor was delivered to Thomas, his eldest
son, under a lease of 1737, (fn. 86) and in 1760 the manor
was settled upon him, his son Thomas (cr. Baron
Camelford, 1784), and William Pitt (cr. Earl of
Chatham, 1766) for their lives. (fn. 87) In 1800 Thomas,
2nd Lord Camelford, was holding the manor. (fn. 88) In
1804 together with the other Pitt estates it was
devised to Anne, Lady Greville, (fn. 89) and conveyed by
her and her husband to the Earl of Caledon in
1805. (fn. 90) He sold the lease in 1818 to his first cousin
James Alexander (d. 1848), M.P. for Old Sarum in
1812. (fn. 91) In 1851 Alexander's representatives sold it
to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. (fn. 92)
In 1650 the dean's estate included a farm house,
3 closes (6 a.), rights of herbage in several meadows,
an inclosed meadow, and about 140 a. of arable, an
orchard, and a hop garden. (fn. 93) In 1800 and 1839 the
area was some 250 a., (fn. 94) and in 1856 some 270 a. (fn. 95)
The farm house, called the Upper Farm in 1793 (fn. 96)
and the Manor House since 1867, (fn. 97) was said in the
former year to be 'ancient' and built of flint and
stone, with a tiled roof. (fn. 98) The east end of the present
building is of those materials and dates from the
late 16th or early 17th century. The house has been
much altered and its west end was completely
rebuilt c. 1900. (fn. 99) All the internal timberwork was
renewed in 1954–5 after damage by death watch
beetle.
In 1793 the house, with its adjacent garden and
orchards, was occupied by Joseph Maffey. (fn. 100) By 1849,
when it was occupied by T. O. Stevens, it seems to
have been severed from the dean's estate and to
have become Alexander's freehold. (fn. 101) It was sold to
the Ecclesiastical Commissioners in 1851. (fn. 102) It was
then successively occupied by W. C. Saunders
(1867–88), Mrs. Saunders (1895–8), and Joseph
Carpenter (1903–15). (fn. 103) In 1921 it was bought by the
Misses C. M., F. A. and C. T. Carpenter, (fn. 104) from
whom Mr. C. Thomas bought it in 1942. (fn. 105)
An L-shaped house of brick, stone, and flint
dating from the 18th century and later, lies about 50
yards to the south of the Manor House. This building was known as North Hill Farm in 1773, and was
then connected with the church by an avenue of
trees, (fn. 106) traces of which still remain. Since at least
1839 it has been known as Dean's Farm, (fn. 107) and
perhaps took the name of the dean's estate after the
former manor house of the reputed manor had been
enfranchised. It was then occupied by Thomas
Waters, (fn. 108) and between 1849 (fn. 109) and 1867 (fn. 110) by his son
Edward. He was succeeded by an occupier of the
same name, who can be traced to 1895. (fn. 111) In 1896
the occupier was W. C. Young. (fn. 112) In 1920 the house
was sold to C. D. Woodrow, (fn. 113) and a Woodrow still
lived there in 1956. (fn. 114)
A yardland (30 a.), parcel of this manor, was the
object of separate conveyances from the 17th
century. It had once been in the tenure of James
Parham, (fn. 115) and subsequently of Dr. John Elliott,
who in 1672 was or had been tenant. (fn. 116) In 1690,
1697 and 1705 it was leased for years to Nicholas
Elliott of Salisbury, later of Winterbourne Gunner, (fn. 117)
and in 1729 and 1736 to Isabella, relict of John
Elliott of Winterbourne Gunner. (fn. 118) Hence the name
Elliotts, which the land bore until 1849. (fn. 119) Its descent
has not been continuously traced but in 1818 it was
sold by Lord Caledon to James Alexander (fn. 120) and by
his representatives to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners in 1851. (fn. 121)
SUBCHANTER'S FARM.
When Bishop Poore
granted to the Dean of Salisbury the jurisdiction
which the Prebendary of Grantham had once exercised over his men in Stratford, (fn. 122) he kept the
demesne, which seems to have amounted to 1 hide,
in his own hands. Before 1228, however, he had
handed it over to the succentor for the support of
St. Mary's mass in Salisbury Cathedral. (fn. 123) The
memory of this endowment is possibly preserved in
the name 'Morwemasseclerk' applied to some land
in Stratford in 1397. (fn. 124) It is also possible that the
endowment represented the estate subsequently
appropriated to the succentor. The succentor's land
is mentioned in 1328, (fn. 125) and was said in 1336 to be in
'le Ridelonde'. (fn. 126) Robert South, of New Salisbury,
by will proved 1540, bequeathed his term of years
in a farm in Stratford, which he held under the
succentor, to his son Robert (d. c. 1549). (fn. 127) The
tenants who successively followed him were Ellis
Bennett (1565), and Hugh and Mallet Halswell, the
last of whom acquired a lease of the land in 1631
for a fine of £60. (fn. 128) In 1638 William Poulton, of
Stratford, took Mallet Halswell's place, (fn. 129) and was
still tenant in 1649. (fn. 130) The succentor leased the
property to Bridget Earle in 1677, (fn. 131) to Thomas
Curgenven (fn. 132) at an unknown date after her death in
1696, and to Robert Pitt in 1714. (fn. 133) Robert paid a
fine of £86 and 'a broad piece of gold' and surrendered his interest in a lease of 1701 the text of
which has not been found. The Pitt family continued
as tenants, (fn. 134) and in 1800 Lord Camelford was
holding the leasehold estate called Subchanter's
Farm. (fn. 135) The estate then followed the descent of
Stratford Dean manor. (fn. 136)
In 1649 the property comprised a farm house of
two rooms above and two below, a stable adjacent,
a barn of 5 bays, a granary and yard, and a backside
adjacent to the Parsonage House. There were also
closes of pasture and meadow, strips of arable in St.
John's and Castle Fields and pasture for 300 sheep
on the downs, but of these appurtenances only half
was appropriated to the succentor. The other half
belonged to the dean and chapter, though the
apportionment between the two was uncertain. (fn. 137) In
1800, 1839, and 1849 the property amounted to some
120–130 acres. (fn. 138) The following are known to have
been undertenants: John Whitchurch in 1793, (fn. 139)
Charles James and Thomas Moody in 1839, (fn. 140) and
Thomas Mitchell in 1849. (fn. 141)
CHANCELLOR'S ESTATE.
Some land appropriated to the chancellor lay in Stratford field in
1328, (fn. 142) and in 1423 there is a reference to land late
held of him. (fn. 143) In 1636 the estate was leased to
Anthony Parry. (fn. 144) Before 1662 it had been in the
joint tenure of five persons, of whom William Collis,
a Salisbury physician, was one. (fn. 145) By that year
Thomas Deare, of Stratford, had acquired Collis's
interest, which he then surrendered in return for a
lease to himself. (fn. 146) In 1671 the lease was transferred
to John Brown, (fn. 147) who, when he renewed it in 1683,
was also described as a Salisbury physician. (fn. 148) Later
tenants were Samuel Squire, of Durnford, clerk, and
John Squire, (fn. 149) who gave the estate the name
'Squires', which it bore in 1800. (fn. 150) It was then held
by John Blake, of Ford (in Laverstock), (fn. 151) who still
held it in 1856. (fn. 152) Joseph Maton was undertenant to
John Squire, (fn. 153) and in 1839 Samuel Lampard and
John Downton were sub-leasing part of the estate
from Blake. (fn. 154)
In 1649 the estate comprised a house with hall,
kitchen, parlour, buttery, milk house, and four
lodging chambers, a barn, a stable, a cart-house, a
pigeon-house, closes of meadow and pasture and
arable in St. John's field, and the fields 'under the
castle,' and 'shooting upon the down'. (fn. 155) In 1671 its
area was small, (fn. 156) and in 1856 it consisted only of
some 20 a., (fn. 157) including a house of brick and slate. (fn. 158)
The house was sold in 1921 to W. G. Bigg. (fn. 159) It has
been called Orchard House since at least 1945 when
the executrix of Lt.-Col. F. P. St. Maur Shiel put it
up for auction. (fn. 160) It is a long building, apparently of
the 18th century and later. The end elevation, facing
the road, is of Georgian red brick and has a central
doorway dating from c. 1800.
PREBENDAL ESTATE.
The prebend of
Stratford St. Lawrence existed in 1217 when it was
taxed at four marks. (fn. 161) It was taxed at £5 in 1291, (fn. 162)
at four marks in 1452, (fn. 163) and at £6 9s. 4d. gross in
1535. (fn. 164) In 1405 it was said to be endowed with tithe
arising in Kingsfield and the oblations offered in
Stratford church, and to possess glebe consisting of
60 a. of land, 6 a. of meadow, and pasture for 495
sheep. There were ten customary tenants who
rendered 56s. 4d. for four virgates. (fn. 165) In 1408 and
1412 it was being farmed by Nicholas Petyte. (fn. 166)
Presumably from this time the prebendaries normally let the prebend. It is known that in 1623, on
payment of a fine of £45, it was leased in survivorship to William and Mary Poulton, of Kingston
Deverill, and their son Edward at £5 6s. 8d., (fn. 167) a
rent which continued to be reserved until at least
1703. (fn. 168) In 1651 it was sold to John Pewde, of
Stratford, for £359. It was then called the 'prebend,
manor, or lordship' of Stratford and comprised 'the
prebend house', two small closes, a 'place' of river
called Blackwell, and strips of arable. (fn. 169) In 1656
Pewde devised it to his mother Elizabeth Pewde. (fn. 170)
The manor returned to the chapter at the Restoration, and in 1667 they leased it to Mary Poulton of
Monkton Deverill for a fine of £40. (fn. 171) In 1670 it was
leased to Bridget Earle (d. 1696), (fn. 172) and after her
death to Charles Thompson, of Stratford, clerk, (fn. 173)
who secured a new lease in 1703. (fn. 174) He was still lessee
in 1717. (fn. 175) After this changes in the tenancy were
frequent: Richard Thompson in 1731, William
Townsend in 1737, James Townsend in 1738 and
1741, John Wadman in 1746 and 1752, John Cooper
between 1753 and 1771, the Revd. Edward Cooper
in 1776 and 1808, and George Fort in 1808 and
1819. (fn. 176) In 1820 James Alexander bought the leasehold interest from a Mary Cooper, (fn. 177) and his representatives sold it in 1851 to the Ecclesiastical
Commissioners. (fn. 178) Although Alexander was lord or
farmer of the manor in 1839, some small parts of
the prebendal estate seem to have been then
separately leased to Thomas Blake and Vincent
Wing. (fn. 179)
Courts baron for the manor were held at infrequent
intervals between 1689 and 1844. In the later 18th
century orders were made to beat the bounds in the
autumn. (fn. 180)
The area of the estate was some 170 a. between
1800 (fn. 181) and 1851. (fn. 182) Tithe was commuted in 1839 for
£95. (fn. 183)
In 1800 Cooper's leaseholds were subdivided into
eight separate estates, three of which had been
sublet to Joseph Brunsdon, John Whitchurch, and
Stephen Hutchins respectively. (fn. 184) Two of the estates,
not so sublet, preserved the name Kentons in their
titles, a name which takes the reader back to some
of the cestui que vies of the late 17th century. (fn. 185) In
1839 the chief undertenants were Charles James,
Thomas Waters, and Thomas Blake. (fn. 186)
In 1405 the home farm consisted of a hall with a
chamber under one roof, a grain barn, a hay barn,
a byre, and a dovecote. (fn. 187) In 1408 a stable is mentioned. (fn. 188) In 1425 a bakehouse and a high gate by the
road are also mentioned. The hall was then thatched,
and the chamber at the end of the hall slated. (fn. 189)
The house now known as the Prebendal House
lies immediately south of Mawarden Court. There
are no traces of the medieval building, although
stones in the north wall are older than the rest of
the structure. The present red-brick house is of two
distinct parts. The north end consists of a two-story
splayed bay of early 18th-century date with a
Venetian window to each floor. This bay may
originally have formed the central feature of a longer
frontage. (fn. 190) The south part of the building is much
lower and is an addition of the mid-19th century.
In 1849 the house was in use as two cottages. (fn. 191) The
plaque now on the front, dated 1700, is not original.
The house was occupied by H. J. Gibbs in 1885, (fn. 192)
P. R. Foster in 1889, (fn. 193) C. McGill and Mrs. C.
McGill from 1896 to 1920. (fn. 194) In 1921 it was bought
by Mrs. B. V. Gordon. (fn. 195) F. C. Farrington occupied
it in 1931, (fn. 196) and J. S. Woolley in 1935 and 1939. (fn. 197)
In 1947 (fn. 198) it began to be used as the vicarage, and
was still being so used in 1956.
STRATFORD PARSONAGE.
While the lands
of the Dean, Chancellor, and Succentor of Salisbury
and of the Prebendary of Stratford, appear to have
been set aside for the use of those dignitaries at an
early date, the village as a whole was looked upon
as the common property of the chapter. Lands of
the communa of Salisbury Cathedral are so referred
to in a deed of ante 1280, (fn. 199) and in 1316 the Sheriff of
Wiltshire declared that the village was in the undivided lordship of the dean and chapter. (fn. 200) Whatever
the precise position about the decanal and other lands
may ultimately have been, there was undoubtedly
spiritual and temporal property in Stratford which
was always held by the chapter collectively, as part
either of the common or the fabric fund. (fn. 201) It was
these lands which in the 15th (fn. 202) and 16th (fn. 203) centuries
came to be known as Stratford Common or Canon,
and were apparently augmented by a mortmain
licence of 1429 when the chapter acquired lands of
the yearly value of 44s. in Stratford Dean, Stratford
Common and Great Woodford. (fn. 204) These communal
estates seem eventually to have been reputed two
manors, Stratford Parsonage, belonging to the
common fund, and Mawarden Court to the fabric
fund. (fn. 205)
In 1228 the church of St. Martin, Salisbury, with
the chapel of Stratford, was granted for life to
Master Harvey. (fn. 206) This is the first mention of
Stratford chapel. The effect of this grant was to
convey the vicarial tithe, for the rectorial tithe had
already been granted by the bishop to the common
fund. (fn. 207) When St. Edmund's College, Salisbury, was
founded in 1269 the vicarial tithe of St. Martin's was
assigned to its provost, but the rectorial tithe in
St. Martin's and Stratford remained with the
chapter, (fn. 208) who acted as rectors of both until 1635 (fn. 209)
and of Stratford until modern times. It was the
chapter's habit to let their tithes to farm. In the 14th
century these farms were assigned in chapter to
residentiary canons. On the death of a residentiary
it was usual for the next in seniority below him to
take his farm and for the remaining canons in order
of seniority to exchange their own farms for the
next more profitable one. (fn. 210) In the case of Stratford
this system is first seen in operation in 1334 (fn. 211) and
for the next 92 years there are many further
instances of it. (fn. 212) Presumably St. Martin's and
Stratford were up to this time always farmed
together, though the documents sometimes speak of
St. Martin's alone. When the two separated is not
clear, but in 1448 powers were taken by the chapter
to let St. Martin's, apparently without Stratford, to a
layman. (fn. 213) It is possible that Stratford continued to
be farmed in the old way, for in 1460 Master
Richard Whitby, a canon, took it. (fn. 214) In 1468,
however, it was clearly transferred to lay hands for
it was then leased to three husbandmen for 5 years. (fn. 215)
In 1430 it was being called a manor. (fn. 216) In 1334 the
rent for St. Martin's and Stratford was £40. (fn. 217) In
1461 it was £36 13s. 4d. (fn. 218) In 1468 the rent for
Stratford alone was £18 13s. 4d. (fn. 219) and thenceforward until 1627 it fluctuated between £18 and
£20. (fn. 220)
In 1545 the chapter leased their 'parsonage or
chapel' of Stratford to Robert South, of Stratford,
for 70 years at £20, (fn. 221) and in 1549 to Sir William
Herbert, later Earl of Pembroke (d. 1570) for 99
years at the same rent. (fn. 222) In 1629 Mallet Halswell, of
Charlinch (Som.), an assignee of Lord Pembroke,
surrendered his interest, and thereupon the chapter
gave him a lease for three lives. (fn. 223) In 1633 the lease
was renewed to him and two others for the lives of
Dr. Andrew Bowerman, Anne his wife, and James
Young. (fn. 224) Bowerman seems to have become possessed of the lease, for during the Interregnum he
compounded for £125. (fn. 225) In 1650 the rectory was
said to be worth £150, (fn. 226) and, under the name of the
rectory manor, was then sold with other capitular
lands in Stratford to Philip Jermine, a justice of the
Upper Bench, and his sons-in-law, John Greene and
Roger Bisse, for £691. (fn. 227) In 1662 four persons,
including John Young and Anne Bowerman, being
then vested in the premises, surrendered them to
the chapter, who at once leased them for three lives
to Dr. John Earle, Bishop of Salisbury. (fn. 228) After his
death in 1665 the leasehold passed to his relict,
Bridget. (fn. 229) She died in 1696 (fn. 230) and in 1699 a new
lease was made to Nathaniel Trotman. (fn. 231) Trotman
secured a licence to alienate at the same time (fn. 232) and
evidently transferred his interest to Edmund Pitman,
of New Salisbury, and Robert Burleton, of East
Knoyle, who in 1700 acquired the leasehold for
three lives. (fn. 233) Next year they were replaced as lessees
by Thomas Curgenven, Thomas ('Diamond') Pitt's
uncle, (fn. 234) with whom Charity Trotman, presumably
Nathaniel's relict, levied a fine, (fn. 235) though her interest
in the property is not obvious. The rent at this time
was £100 as it had been regularly since 1664. (fn. 236) The
property secured by fine was said to comprise three
messuages or cottages, water-mills for grain and
fulling, 120 a. of land and some meadow and pasture,
with the rectory and tithe, but the mills had in fact
been separately conveyed. (fn. 237) In 1709, presumably
after Curgenven's death, Robert Pitt acquired the
lease. (fn. 238) After Robert's death a lease was made in 1728
in favour of his relict Harriet and her son and
daughter, Thomas and Essex. (fn. 239) In 1760 the manor,
with the tithes, was settled upon Thomas, 'Diamond'
Pitt's grandson, and his brother William, later Earl of
Chatham. (fn. 240) The leasehold then followed the descent
of Stratford Dean. (fn. 241)
The estate called Parsonage Farm consisted of
some 113 a. in 1800 (fn. 242) and about 144 in 1851. (fn. 243) In
1839 it comprised a house, three gardens, and some
arable and meadow. The tithe arising was then
commuted for £484. (fn. 244)
In 1720 Pitt sublet the estate to John Burrough
for 11 years, though he reserved to himself a part of
the house, the flower garden, and 2 orchards. (fn. 245) In
1731 the same premises were sublet to Joseph Maton
who held them until he died in 1767. (fn. 246) In 1793 they
were occupied by John Whitchurch, (fn. 247) and in
1839 (fn. 248) and 1849 (fn. 249) by Charles James. In 1875 the
farmhouse was in the occupation of John Marsh, (fn. 250)
and between 1895 and 1920 of Francis Carey. (fn. 251) In
1921 it was bought by R. F. S. Coggan, (fn. 252) who was
still in occupation in 1939. (fn. 253)
In 1426 the home farm, surrounded by a thatched
wall (clausura), consisted of a hall and chamber, a
kitchen, at least one barn, a stable, a byre, and a
pound (locus imparcacionis). (fn. 254) The property, when
next surveyed in 1430, had suffered from a fire
which had consumed a chamber over (supra) the
principal gate, a wall connecting it with the barn,
the eastern part of the hall roof, the ceiling in the
south part of the hall, and the chief end of the
chamber, called the gable ('le puynnon'). A lower
chamber by the principal gate was also defective.
Fairly extensive repairs were then ordered, which
included ceiling the chamber over the gate. The hall
ceiling, however, was not to be mended, but replaced
by a hipped roof. (fn. 255) The house was again repaired in
1470. (fn. 256) In 1614, when it was described as 'very
fair', there lay beside it two tiled barns, a tiled
garner, a stable, and a byre. A barton adjoined, and
there were two gardens. (fn. 257) In 1793 the house was
described as a large ancient building in good repair,
and nearby were two large barns and a new dovehouse, all tiled, and two thatched carthouses. It was
also remarked that 'the part which was formerly
called the Farm, the boundary between which and
the parsonage is to be seen, is now laid together, and
part of the house which remains is converted into a
stable with chambers over for carters.' (fn. 258)
The existing farmhouse consists of a front range
parallel with the road and a long wing running back
from it at right angles. The former probably dates
from the 16th century, and is of two stories with
attics, the base being of stone and the upper part
timber-framed. The front wall was faced with
yellow brick c. 1800 when Georgian sash windows
and a porch were added so that no timbering is
visible externally. The 5-bay roof is original and the
former hall retains some 16th-century features.
Incorporated in the back wing is a stone building,
probably of the early 17th century, which is
separated from the front range by a space about
10 ft. wide. On the first floor of this building is a
panelled chamber with a coved ceiling, traditionally
known as the 'chapel room'. In the late 17th or early
18th century the back wing appears to have been
remodelled and a new roof constructed to connect
it with the front range. This may explain the phrase
used in 1793. Cob garden walls with thatched
copings and two timbered barns were still standing
in 1956.
MAWARDEN COURT.
The property of the
fabric fund in Stratford was defined in 1535 as a
rent of assize leased for £7 6s. 8d., and a mill leased
for £6. (fn. 259) If statements made in 1576 may be
believed, the property had by that time been enlarged, for it was then declared that the manor or
farm of Mawarden Court formed part of the fabric
fund estates. This property, which perhaps takes its
name from Richard Mawarden, knight of the shire
in 1403, who held lands in Stratford, worth £6, in
1412, (fn. 260) was by 1477–8 being leased to William
Stanford or Stampford from year to year. (fn. 261) It
remained in his family until 1547, when Robert
Stanford, William's grandson, was claiming to hold
it in fee by a quitrent. The chapter, however, seems
to have leased it in the same year to Robert Elyott,
who successfully challenged Stanford's claim,
though shortly afterwards Stanford bought him
out. (fn. 262) It was alleged in 1576 that Stanford then held
the estate on lease, (fn. 263) but there has survived a 99-year lease of it, dated 1549, to Sir William Herbert,
later Earl of Pembroke (d. 1570), (fn. 264) and this should
still have been current. A carved stone escutcheon,
reset in an external wall, suggests that between 1603
and 1618 the house was occupied by Philip Herbert,
Earl of Montgomery and later Earl of Pembroke
(d. 1650). (fn. 265) In 1623 the chapter leased the property
to William Poulton, of Kingston Deverill, for the
lives in survivorship of himself, his wife Mary, and
his son Edward, one of whom appears to have been
tenant in 1649. (fn. 266) Before 1651 the lease appears to
have passed to Ellis Swaine, whose executors then
conveyed it to Richard Hill of Stratford for 80 years
if the three Poultons should so long live. Hill seems
subsequently to have acquired the freehold which
he devised to his son John by will proved in 1659. (fn. 267)
At the Restoration the chapter recovered the estate,
which in 1664 they leased to Thomas Cullinge and
Thomas and Elizabeth Hill, all of London, (fn. 268)
shortly to become lessees of Stratford Dean. (fn. 269) In
1686 the property was leased to Giles Lytcott, of
London. (fn. 270) He surrendered it almost at once, and in
the same year a lease was made to Thomas Pitt. (fn. 271)
Robert Pitt acquired the lease in 1724, (fn. 272) and the
Pitts evidently remained lessees until the property
was conveyed to Lord Caledon in 1805 along with
Stratford Dean, with which manor it afterwards
descended. (fn. 273)
In 1649 the property comprised the farm house
of Mawarden Court, 2 barns, 2 stables, a granary,
woodhouse, and 'stawle', 2 gardens, an orchard, and
a little courtyard. There were also 5 closes of
pasture, a meadow, foreshares and aftershares of
meadow or herbage, strips of arable in the common
fields, and another house with a little ground belonging. The area was then some 265 a. (fn. 274) In 1800 and
1839 the area was only some 180 a. (fn. 275) This reduction
is in part attributable to the fact that by 1793 the
manor house had been separated from the lands
formerly belonging to it. Both, however, were then
occupied by Joseph Maffey. (fn. 276) In 1839 Thomas
Waters occupied the lands, and the perpetual curate
the house. (fn. 277) In 1849 the house was assigned by the
chapter as the curate's permanent residence, (fn. 278) and
became known as the Vicarage. In 1947 it was
abandoned by the vicar, (fn. 279) and shortly afterwards
sold to Mr. J. S. Woolley, (fn. 280) who in turn sold it
c. 1952 to Brig. J. H. Gibbon. In 1954 it was bought
by Major Ireland-Blackburne, (fn. 281) who was occupying
it in 1956.
The present stone house, which probably goes
back to Philip Herbert's coat of arms, (fn. 282) originally
had a frontage consisting of two projecting gabled
wings with a smaller gable in the centre of the
connecting range. To the north was another low
gabled wing and a high building of flint and stone
chequerwork, pierced by an archway that probably
led into a stable yard. (fn. 283) Internally it comprised in
1649 a kitchen, parlour, brewhouse, buttery, larder,
milkhouse, 'old parlour', 6 lodging chambers, and
2 garrets. (fn. 284) A rusticated stone doorway, with a
segmental hood, inscribed parva sed apta domino, (fn. 285)
appears to have been inserted in the centre of the
main block in 1673, the date it bears. The house
seems to have been repaired in 1707, (fn. 286) and then or
thereabouts a western range with fine panelling was
added at the back, and some of the front rooms were
also panelled. After 1805, and probably between
1834 and 1839, the house was much altered. (fn. 287) The
north side, and the northern end of the western
range were pulled down, and the northernmost of
the two front gables rebuilt to within 12 ft. of the
corresponding south gable. The porch was reconstructed within the gables, but lost its segmental
head. The house then became square in plan with
two projecting gabled wings. Repairs costing £200
were executed in 1859, (fn. 288) and the whole building
was restored by Mr. Woolley after his purchase of it
in the 1940's. (fn. 289) After the house had become a
vicarage, possibly during the repairs of 1859, five
paintings, one reputed a portrait of Nell Gwyn by
Lely, were found behind the panelling of an upper
room. These were adjudged the incumbent's
property, and the proceeds of their sale were said
to have been spent upon the house. (fn. 290)
In 1701 firs in a double line flanked the 'long
walk' from the house to the river, and there were
cross walks 'between the fish ponds' coming to meet
it and two 'little gardens' before the pigeon house. (fn. 291)
The walks and ponds still extended to the river in
1800, (fn. 292) nor had traces of the fishponds vanished in
1956.
Where distinct estates, leased to the same tenants,
lie together contiguously, boundaries between them
can easily be shifted and become uncertain either by
accident or design. This happened in Stratford. In
1576 it was disputed at law whether certain small
parcels of land belonged to Mawarden Court or to
Stratford parsonage manor. (fn. 293) In 1649 it was declared
that only a moiety of Subchanter's Farm (fn. 294) belonged
to the succentor, the rest being the property of the
chapter as a whole, but since both halves had for so
long been in the same tenant's hand they could no
longer be distinguished. (fn. 295) In a survey made in 1793,
it was stated that the chapter lands in Stratford were
granted under eight different tenures, but having
been in the hands of one lessee for many years 'the
various holdings are entirely blended and in a great
degree unknown'. (fn. 296) The foregoing attempt therefore
to trace the descents of various estates systematically
is more than ordinarily unreliable.
By the Cathedrals and Ecclesiastical Commissioners Acts (1840–1) and a succession of Orders in
Council made thereunder the fee simple of the
ecclesiastical lands in Stratford became vested by
stages in the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, who, as
is shown elsewhere, bought the leasehold interests
in 1851. (fn. 297) The dean's lands became so vested on
the resignation of Dean Pearson in 1846, (fn. 298) the
Prebendary of Stratford's in 1850, (fn. 299) the succentor's
in 1854, (fn. 300) the chancellor's in 1856, (fn. 301) and the lands of
the common and fabric funds (fn. 302) in 1861. (fn. 303) In 1875 all
these estates, together with the freeholds purchased
in 1851, (fn. 304) except the tithe rent-charge, (fn. 305) and two
small plots that had been sold in 1853 and 1874,
were transferred by the commissioners to the
chapter as part of their endowment or permanent
estate. This transfer was dated back to 1874. In
1895 the same property, apart from the hill-top of
Old Sarum, was re-transferred to the commissioners,
who sold most of it between 1920 and 1937. The
chief purchasers were C. D. Woodrow (1920, 583 a.),
R. F. S. Coggan (1921, 153 a.), Salisbury Corporation (1922, 94 a.), and Messrs. Woolley and Wallis
(1925, 45 a.). Old Sarum was re-transferred in 1936
with effect from 1935. (fn. 306) In 1955 the Church Commissioners still held some 260 a. in the former
ancient parish. (fn. 307)
In 962 King Edgar gave Titstan, his cubicularius,
8 cassati in AVON. (fn. 308) In 963 he gave Winstan, his
chamberlain, 3 cassati there, (fn. 309) and in 972 4 cassati in
the same place. (fn. 310) The second and third of these
gifts are entered in the Wilton Abbey cartulary and
have been taken as the abbey's title to the manor. (fn. 311)
At all events the abbey held the demesne of Avon
c. 1191. (fn. 312) At the Dissolution it was still seised of the
manor, (fn. 313) which was granted to Sir William Herbert,
later Earl of Pembroke (d. 1570), and Anne his wife
in 1544. (fn. 314) In 1567 and 1631–2 at least part of it was
reputed a member of the manors of Fugglestone and
Bulbridge. (fn. 315) In the former year Lord Pembroke
held a part of it in fee. This had formerly been in
the successive tenures of John Beaton, Thomas
Blecher, and Sir Giles Poole. (fn. 316) The rest was let by
copy to members of the Davye (later Davies)
family. (fn. 317) In 1631–2 two tenements were still let to
members of that family, and a third to Christopher
Merifield. (fn. 318) In 1839 Avon Farm itself, with the
lands belonging to it, amounted to some 135 a. and
was let to Joseph Compton, and there were other
lands in Avon (c. 66 a.) let to Charles Dew and sublet to J. S. Vincent. (fn. 319) Subsequent occupiers of the
farm were Alfred Tabor (1867), W. F. Stocks
(1895), W. J. Snook (1898–1915), and E. Snook
(1915–35). (fn. 320) It was to the executors of a member of
the Snook family that Lord Pembroke sold the farm
in 1920 for £9,000. (fn. 321) W. E. Davis was occupier in
1939. (fn. 322)
Besides Avon there were some other lands in
Stratford held in fee by laymen, though no such
estate was ever reputed a manor. Some of them, we
must suppose, had formed part of the fields or
purlieus of the old city, or even part of the city
itself. Such properties cannot be enumerated or
their descents traced. It must suffice to mention the
early 15th-century lands of the Nedler family. From
1397 conveyances to this family of small parcels in
Stratford can be traced, (fn. 323) and by 1535 a tenement
in Stratford Common had acquired the name
'Nedlers'. It then belonged to Thomas Mundy, of
London. (fn. 324)
In 1800 some 135 a. of freehold land in Stratford
were inclosed, of which Lord Camelford held about
22, the Revd. Edward Cooper about 26, and John
Blake, of Ford, about 50. (fn. 325) These lands undoubtedly
extended to Old Sarum, where, however, there were
several old inclosures. (fn. 326) In 1839 there were about
550 a. freehold, of which James Alexander held
about 220, Lord Pembroke about 200, Thomas
Blake about 88, and James and Josias du Pré
Alexander about 24 jointly. (fn. 327) The Pembroke lands,
at least in part, seem to represent the former manor
of Avon, (fn. 328) which apparently was not inclosed with
the rest of Stratford. If these lands and the pre-1799
inclosures be excluded from the calculation, the
discrepancy between the two freehold areas is the
more easily explicable.
Besides the bishop, the Dean, and the Chapter of
Salisbury, other ecclesiastics and ecclesiastical bodies
once enjoyed territorial interests in Stratford. In
1548–9 some land there belonged to Bishop Beauchamp's chantry in Salisbury Cathedral. (fn. 329) Twenty
acres of this land, formerly held by William Hake,
were granted in 1554, to Elizabeth Gravener, of
London. (fn. 330) In 1535 a small rent issuing out of arable
was drawn by Ivychurch Priory. (fn. 331)
In 1227 the Prior of St. Denys, Southampton,
assured his right in a virgate in Stratford. (fn. 332) Before
1280 a succeeding prior, Nicholas, and the convent,
had granted away some land in Stratford stretching
from the road leading to the river to the meadow on
the water, together with some rights of pasture. (fn. 333)
The meadow itself they retained, and in 1296 a
succeeding prior still enjoyed pasture rights. (fn. 334) As has
been shown, the Prior of St. Denys held one of the Old
Salisbury mills in the 13th and 14th centuries, (fn. 335) and
he still held lands in the neighbourhood at the
Dissolution. (fn. 336) It is not known in what circumstances
his interests in Old Salisbury and Stratford were
extinguished.
ECONOMIC HISTORY.
Apart from King's Field,
which belonged peculiarly to Old Salisbury, (fn. 337) none
of the Stratford fields is named in early days, but
from 1312 there are a few general references to
holdings in 'the fields' of Stratford, (fn. 338) Stratford
Dean, (fn. 339) and Stratford Common. (fn. 340) In 1351 Marsh
Furlong is named, (fn. 341) in 1420 Paul's Dean, (fn. 342) in 1423
South Field, (fn. 343) and in 1483 North Field, then a
sheep-run. (fn. 344) In 1614 we hear of the field adjoining
Little Down, (fn. 345) St. John's Field, and Stratford
Lane, (fn. 346) in 1649–51 of Upper, Home, and Castle
fields, Rephill, Ivers, and the 'field over the water'.
At the latter date Stratford Dean manor seems to
have had strips in North, Home, and Upper fields,
the prebendal manor in St. John's and Castle fields,
and the 'little field by the down', and Mawarden
Court in North and Upper fields, 'the little field by
the down', Rephill, and 'the field over the water'.
The succentor held strips in St. John's and Castle
field. (fn. 347) In 1672 the chancellor held strips in Home,
South, St. John's, Castle and Little Down fields,
Marsh Furlong, Stratford Lane, and Paul's Dean. (fn. 348)
North, South, Upper, and Home fields still existed
in 1800, and there are also references to Great and
Little Home Fields (perhaps the same as Home
Field), and to Middle Field, and the Twenty Acres
Field. (fn. 349) The fields were inclosed in 1800, (fn. 350) though
it is clear that some inclosure, both within the old
city (fn. 351) and in Stratford itself, had taken place
already. The area affected by the award was 1,073 a.,
exclusive of roads.
The Tithe Award of 1839 and its map help us to
plot some of the fields. (fn. 352) It is clear that Upper
Fields lay in the north-west of the parish opposite
Avon hamlet on the left bank of the river, with Great
Home Field to the south of it, and Little Home
Field south of that. North Field was in the northeast of the parish, separated from South Field by the
old castle. St. John's Field lay in the extreme east.
Stratford Lane ran north-eastwards from the present
Manor House towards the castle. Paul's Dean,
represented in 1955 by a housing estate, was in the
south-east of the parish.
In 1614 there were uninclosed meadows called
Gryffin's Mead, Mill Mead, Cables, and Cheynams, (fn. 353) and in 1649–50 Upper Mead and Ivers as
well, and at the latter date many small closes or
paddocks of meadow or pasture. Two of them bore
the suggestive name of Hop Garden; another was
called Cherry Close. (fn. 354) Many of the meadows, e.g.
the Upper Meadows, Ivers Mead, and Cheynam's
Meadow, survived until 1800 and 1839, and, as is to
be expected, lay on either side the Avon. (fn. 355)
The place called Avon has been taken as an
example of a pre-Conquest open-field township. (fn. 356)
In 1567 Avon manor seems still to have possessed
three fields, North, Middle and South, and there
was pasture for at least 240 sheep and 30 beasts. (fn. 357)
In 1631–2, when the fields were the same, there are
references to four meadows, and there was pasture
for at least 330 sheep, 14 horses, and 21 beasts and
calves. (fn. 358) The manor seems to have been inclosed by
1800.
Parts of the parish must always have provided
pasturage for beasts. In 1560 100 sheep going to
Thomas Bedford's leazes in Stratford were bequeathed by Thomas Parsons, (fn. 359) and in 1596–8 it was
declared that the farmer of Old Salisbury castle site
had usually kept 300 sheep on the castle and
borough lands. (fn. 360) Common of pasture for 300 sheep
belonged to the succentor's estate in 1649, (fn. 361) and
pasture for 60 sheep to the chancellor's in 1672. (fn. 362)
In 1936 there was still a good deal of pasture,
though there were substantial areas of arable in the
north-east and north-west of the parish. (fn. 363)
Statements of manorial custom presented at the
prebendal manor court between 1737 and 1797
declared that Stratford marsh should be laid up and
hained at Lady Day, and should not be broken by
the pasturing of any beast upon it before Whitsun
Eve; that no cattle should be kept in the marsh by
night until after the corn fields had been cleansed,
unless fences were maintained in good order; that
agistment cattle might not be taken into any
common; that those whose lands bordered the Avon
should cut the river weeds growing beside their own
grounds; and that sheep should not be fed on the
common meads or marshes. After 1741 it was provided that Mill and Bridge Meads might be fed in
common from Lammas to Lady Day with all cattle
except sheep. (fn. 364)
The agents of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners
declared in 1856 that the church property in Stratford was of good quality and 'exceedingly well
farmed'. A fair proportion of it was water-meadow,
also of good quality. (fn. 365) That it had long yielded a
good return to those who tilled it is suggested by
the fact that 'farmer Maiden' (recte Joseph Maton)
died in 1767 worth £20,000 and qualified for a
mention in the Gentleman's Magazine. (fn. 366)
In 1867 the chief crops were said to be wheat,
barley, and turnips, the last of which was changed
in 1885 to 'green crops'. (fn. 367) A nursery garden, called
Blundell's Garden or Hart's Close, was among the
freehold lands sold by Alexander to the Ecclesiastical
Commissioners in 1851. (fn. 368) It was some 8 a. in extent
in 1839, (fn. 369) and lay at the point where the Salisbury—
Woodford road turns west as it enters Stratford
village, and on the left-hand side of that road.
In 1649 the great timber belonging to Mawarden
Court was said to be 'considerable'. (fn. 370) As surviving
correspondence shows, Thomas Pitt fully exploited
that part of his purchase. In 1701 trees had been
planted in the Court meadows on the bank of the
'carriage', bordering a walk from the parsonage barns
to the mills, on the castle mound, and in two
'groves' beside the house. (fn. 371) Next year Pitt gave
instructions that large nurseries of trees were to be
maintained, (fn. 372) and in 1706 orders went forth to plant
a newly-purchased plot. (fn. 373) In 1839 there were about
2 a. of plantations belonging to this estate. (fn. 374)
The earlier history of the mills in Stratford has
been traced under Old Salisbury, where it is clear
that in the 13th and 14th centuries there were at
least two mills, one belonging to the king and the
other to the Prior of St. Denys, Southampton. (fn. 375) It
is also known that the bishop had half a mill in
1086. (fn. 376) No connexion between these and the Stratford mills of later days can be satisfactorily established. The Mill Ham, belonging to the churchwardens, is continuously referred to from 1573, (fn. 377)
but it seems to have lain in the marsh, (fn. 378) and therefore well south of the site on which 'Stratford Mill'
stood in 1773. (fn. 379) In 1477–8 the chapter owned a
fulling mill and a cornmill in Stratford. (fn. 380) In 1549
the Stratford mills, presumably the same as these,
were leased to Sir William Herbert, later Earl of
Pembroke (d. 1570), for 99 years. (fn. 381) They eventually
came on lease into the hands of his grandson Sir
William Herbert, later Earl of Pembroke (d. 1630).
In 1637 they were acquired at a fine of £40 by Sir
John Lambe of Coulston. (fn. 382) Thereafter 21-year
leases at £5 were granted to a succession of tenants (fn. 383)
ending with Robert Pitt (1709–16). (fn. 384) The mills then
seem to have followed the descent of Stratford Dean
manor. (fn. 385) In 1793 they were occupied by John
Whitchurch, (fn. 386) in 1839 by J. S. Vincent, (fn. 387) and in
1849 by Job Sutton. (fn. 388) They were sold to R. F. S.
Coggan in 1921. (fn. 389)
In 1637 the mills consisted of a fulling mill, with
two stocks, and a grist mill, together with a little
land, (fn. 390) and this was their customary description.
In 1805 the property was conveyed as three mills, (fn. 391)
but a single building, called Stratford Mill, is
marked on the map in 1773, (fn. 392) and after 1805 one
mill alone is referred to in 19th-century documents,
though in 1849 it drove two stones. (fn. 393) It was noted
in 1793 that much water had been diverted from the
stream, and that this had caused a reduction in the
rent, (fn. 394) or perhaps more properly the fine. In 1920
the mill was being used by the Stonehenge Woollen
Industry, (fn. 395) and was subsequently used as a bone
mill until its disuse c. 1933. (fn. 396) The lower part of the
red brick structure is probably of the 18th century.
The upper storey was rebuilt after it was struck by
lightning and burnt in 1900. (fn. 397) The wooden wheel
was still in position in 1956. The mill house, now
Avon Cottage, dates from the early 19th century. (fn. 398)
CHURCH.
It has been said above (fn. 399) that Stratford
chapel, first mentioned in 1228, was originally
annexed to St. Martin's church, Salisbury. When
St. Edmund's College was established in 1269, and
territory assigned to it for a parish, the opportunity
was taken to define the bounds of St. Thomas's
parish as well. It then appears that the ecclesia of
Stratford, as it was called, was considered to belong
to St. Thomas's, (fn. 400) but this arrangement, if it was
ever in force, did not last. In fact, Stratford appears
to have become a separate parish by the late 14th
century (see below). Old Sarum remained extraparochial for ecclesiastical purposes until 1953 when
it was joined with Stratford. (fn. 401) In 1937 parts of the
ecclesiastical parish were combined with parts of
the parish of St. Mark, Salisbury, to form the new
'district' of St. Francis, Salisbury. (fn. 402)
In the early 19th century, and presumably long
before, the Sub-Dean of Salisbury exercised archidiaconal jurisdiction within the parish. (fn. 403) As early as
1429 he had claimed spiritual jurisdiction against
the prebendary of Stratford. The dispute was then
referred to arbitrators but their award has not been
traced. (fn. 404)
While the rectorial estate was termed a chapelry
at least until 1701, (fn. 405) the church itself was often
styled and always regarded as a parish church from
1394 at the latest. (fn. 406) In proof of this it was asserted
in 1405 that it had a graveyard, baptistry, and all
sacraments and sacramentals. (fn. 407) The responsibility
for maintaining the chancel fell originally on the
prebendary, whose farmer in 1408, (fn. 408) and executor
in 1462 (fn. 409) were charged with making good dilapidations. In 1461, however, the cost of mending the
chancel was met out of the chapter's common fund, (fn. 410)
and when the rectory was let to laymen in 1468 the
chapter undertook the maintenance of the entire
building. (fn. 411) Later leases saddled the lessee with
responsibility either for the whole (1694) (fn. 412) or for
the chancel (1700). (fn. 413)
A parochial chaplain, John Atteyate, seems to
have been regularly serving the cure in 1394. (fn. 414) In
1405 it was said to be the prebendary's responsibility
to find a curate who celebrated weekly on Sundays,
Wednesdays and Fridays. (fn. 415) It was found in 1573
that vicars choral of the cathedral had often, against
the statutes, filled the office. (fn. 416) Throughout the 17th
century, and in the earlier 18th, the dean and
chapter found stipendiaries, though the cure was
vacant in 1650 'for want of maintenance'. (fn. 417) It was
agreed in 1670 that the bishop should nominate pro
illa vice. Because the curate then appointed was also
Rector of St. Martin's it was also provided that he
should find an 'under-curate' out of his stipend.
This arrangement lasted until 1687. (fn. 418) Until the late
18th century the curates were not instituted and
there was no patron. Ecton declared that the subdean was patron (fn. 419) — a misleading statement based
either on the fact that Stratford was in his peculiar
jurisdiction or that he had nominated on the
chapter's behalf at the last vacancy. Later in the
century the curacy became presentative in the dean
and chapter who were patrons in 1789, (fn. 420) as they
were in 1955–6. (fn. 421)
Between 1461 and 1556 the farmer of the parsonage was wont to pay the chaplain a yearly wage of
£2. In 1627 this sum seems to have been augmented
by £6 by the grace of the chapter. (fn. 422) In 1629 a new
farmer covenanted to pay the chaplain £16. (fn. 423) In
1662 the stipend, payable by the farmer, was raised
to £80 (fn. 424) and in 1835, (fn. 425) and perhaps in 1849, (fn. 426) the
figure was still the same. In 1861 the chapter were
paying the incumbent £150. The Ecclesiastical
Commissioners then assumed the responsibility and
at the same time augmented the benefice by £10, (fn. 427)
to which they added £85 in 1864. (fn. 428) In 1871 a tithe
rent charge (then c. £137) was substituted for twothirds of the former sum, (fn. 429) so that the stipend came
to consist of tithe rent charge, commissioners'
endowment, and patron's grant. In 1887, on a change
of incumbents, the stipend was nicely calculated at
£279 gross, £226 net, with 3 a. of glebe. (fn. 430)
In 1849 the chapter gave Mawarden Court as a
home for the incumbent, who was indeed already
occupying it. (fn. 431) It remained the Vicarage until 1947,
when it was replaced by the Prebendal House. (fn. 432) The
glebe mentioned in 1895 and after was presumably
the grounds of Mawarden Court.
To judge from the records of bread and wine
purchased, the Holy Communion was celebrated
regularly between 1578 and 1711, though there were
no charges in the period 1648–54. The most usual
frequency was four times a year, but five times was
almost as common. Once, in 1630, there were seven
celebrations, and in seven years there was but one.
In 1665 there was a special communion 'for young
people'. (fn. 433) Under the 1670 agreement the curate was
to celebrate four times a year and preach on Sundays
alternately with the under-curate. (fn. 434) When Caswall
was curate (1840–7) there were daily celebrations. (fn. 435)
It was decided in 1597–8 that the cost of the consecrated elements should be defrayed from a levy
of 1d. upon each communicant, but in 1600–1 this
was not fully meeting the cost. (fn. 436)
The church (formerly chapel) of ST. LAWRENCE, of flint and stone, consists of nave, chancel,
south porch, and west tower. (fn. 437) It is probable that
much of the stone came from Old Sarum; at least
two blocks, incorporated in later masonry, bear
Norman ornament, but the date of their incorporation is unknown.
The antiquity of the building is unascertainable.
It was 'consecrated' in 1326, (fn. 438) but since a chapel
had existed in Stratford from 1228, (fn. 439) it is not clear
what the act of consecration implied: a new chapel
may have been built on the original site, a new site
may have been found for an existing chapel and a
building raised upon it, or there may have been a
desecration followed by a reconsecration. The
architectural evidence is too ambiguous to help to
solve the problem.
The presence in the building of a late 12th-century
font suggests the existence of a church at this period;
on the other hand the font may be an importation
from elsewhere. Although there is nothing inconsistent with a complete rebuilding c. 1326 there are
features in the chancel, the oldest part of the church,
which could have survived from an earlier structure.
In particular a splayed window jamb, discovered in
the north wall in the 20th century, may have
belonged to a 13th century lancet. The altered 'low
side' window could have had a similar origin.
Alterations and repairs to the chancel are known to
have been made in the 15th century. In 1426 the
shingled roof, beams, and walls needed repair at an
estimated cost of £8 6s. 8d. (fn. 440) In 1462 further repairs,
though less extensive ones, were required in the
walls, and two stone benches were found defective.
Tiles for the roof and flints for the walls were among
the requirements. (fn. 441) There is no proof that these
works were done, but the estimates are specific. A
sum of £2 19s. 10d. was certainly spent on the
chancel in 1461. The present east window was
inserted in the same century. (fn. 442) The waggon roof,
which has carved bosses of great variety and interest,
is probably of the same date. The 3-light windows
in both north and south walls are more likely to be
of the 16th century. A wood lintel built into the
south wall suggests the position of a former priest's
door.
The nave, including the south porch, contains
much 16th-century work and was probably largely
rebuilt at this time. Among the arms which appear
on the roof corbels are those thought to have been
used by John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland
(d. 1553). (fn. 443) In general the carving of the roof is late
medieval in character.
The church was repaired fairly regularly between
1574 and 1728. Much of the work consisted only of
retiling and repointing, but in 1583–4 £6 10s. 7d.
was laid out in 'decent making', paving and levelling
'the Communion place', fitting seats in the chancel,
and building three buttresses against the south
wall. (fn. 444) Much more expensive works were carried
out in 1595–7 for some £53, both parishioners and
'strangers' contributing to the cost. (fn. 445) In 1700–1 the
repairs seem again to have been fairly extensive, (fn. 446)
and in 1711 Thomas Pitt rebuilt the tower, (fn. 447)
probably as a copy of the original late medieval one.
The altarpiece and rails are thought to have been the
gift of Thomas Pitt, (fn. 448) and it is likely that the considerable rebuilding which has taken place at the
east end of the chancel is contemporary with their
installation.
An early 19th-century view of the south side of
the church (fn. 449) shows a dormer window, since removed,
lighting the gallery, and two sundials, one above the
porch and one on a buttress further east. In 1904–5
the building was restored under the direction of
W. D. Caroë, largely through the efforts of Major
C. McGill (d. 1913). (fn. 450) Further repairs were carried
out in 1926, (fn. 451) and electric lighting was installed in
1948. (fn. 452) The church was further restored and the
nave roof strengthened in 1957–8. (fn. 453)
The oak chancel screen is of the 15th or early-16th century with embellishments added in the
early 18th century. The carved pulpit and sounding-board date from the early 17th century. The former
is mentioned in 1619–20, when it was under repair. (fn. 454)
Many of the internal fittings, including the pews,
carved altarpiece and panelling date from the early
18th century. The seats in the chancel are thought
to have been for communicants and not for the
choir, which is likely to have been accommodated
in the west gallery at this time. The chancel seats
include two square family pews immediately east of
these. William Stamford, perhaps of Mawarden
Court, (fn. 455) was occupying just such a seat at the time
of his death. (fn. 456)
A barrel-organ was brought into use in 1852. (fn. 457)
Among the mural monuments and floor-slabs a
number date from the 17th century. (fn. 458) The earliest
commemorates Anne (d. 1630), daughter of Hugh
Halswell, of Wells (Som.), and wife of Dr. Andrew
Bowerman. (fn. 459) Josiah Nesbit, whose relict married
Horatio Nelson, later 1st Viscount Nelson, in 1787,
is commemorated by a tablet of 1781.
A small sum was spent in 1608 on painting the
royal arms. (fn. 460) New 'flourishing' of the arms took
place in 1660–1, (fn. 461) and in 1713 Thomas Pitt provided the present achievement, (fn. 462) a carving in high
relief.
An 'old' church chest existed in 1462. (fn. 463) The oak
chest, now standing in the chancel, probably dates
from the 16th or early 17th century.
In 1553 there were three bells. One of these seems
to have been superfluous in 1582, and to have been
sold in 1584. (fn. 464) There are now two bells, one of
1594, and one of 1767. The clock made by George
Hewett of Marlborough, with its single-handed dial,
is thought to be contemporary with the latter. (fn. 465)
It was stated in 1405 that Prebendary John
Walbronde had taken away a chalice from the church
with other goods. (fn. 466) Edward VI's commissioners left
for the parish a chalice (12 oz.); 2 oz. of plate were
taken for the Crown. (fn. 467) The chalice, which had a
cover, still existed in 1582–3. (fn. 468) Thomas Pitt gave a
chalice, paten, large tankard-shaped flagon, and
almsdish, all of which bear the family arms. (fn. 469) The
parish still owns these, and also another chalice and
a paten given in memory of Thomas Maunder, and
some minor pieces. (fn. 470)
The registers are complete from 1654, except for
burials between 1687 and 1767. There are also
'church books', vestry minutes, and 'poor books'
which furnish a fairly continuous record of parochial
activity from 1573 until 1836, except for the period
1729–65, when they are wanting. An inventory of
church goods (1928, with additions) and a modern
entry book of notes on the church may also be
mentioned. (fn. 471)
NONCONFORMITY.
Houses in Stratford were
certified for Independent worship in 1798 (fn. 472) and for
Baptist worship in 1823. (fn. 473) The Baptist meeting was
returned by John Saffery, minister of the Brown
Street church in Salisbury, (fn. 474) and was therefore
presumably served from there. A Sunday School
was attached to it in 1826. (fn. 475) There was still a
Baptist meeting in 1851, apparently served from
Salisbury, but since it was said to have been set
apart in 1847, (fn. 476) a continuous connexion with the
congregation of twenty years before cannot be
proved. In 1816 a building, occupied by Jonathan
Viney, was certified for unspecified nonconformist
worship by the same man who seven years later
certified the Primitive Methodist meeting in Fisherton. (fn. 477) It was, therefore, presumably Primitive
Methodist. It appears to have existed, under the
name of Andrews's, in 1829–30. (fn. 478) In 1851 there was
also a Wesleyan Methodist meeting, apparently
served from Salisbury, in a house said to have been
set apart in 1849. (fn. 479) Nothing further is known of any
of these congregations.
PARISH GOVERNMENT.
There was one churchwarden in 1572 and 1573. Afterwards, so far as is
known, there were always two, except perhaps in
1671. (fn. 480) A sidesman existed in 1602 (fn. 481) and there are
many references to two sidesmen in the 17th century.
Two overseers of the poor were presenting their
accounts in vestry by 1617, (fn. 482) but had existed before,
and after 1617 these officers were normally appointed. Surveyors of the highways were being
appointed from 1654. (fn. 483) A parish clerk was paid
intermittently from 1665. (fn. 484) From 1573 there was an
annual vestry, not always held at Easter, at which
until 1728 at least the accounts were audited in the
presence of eight of the principal inhabitants or
fewer. In 1824 and 1825 vestry meetings seem to
have occurred five times a year. (fn. 485)
Apart from casual gifts and collections the parish
revenues arose from meadows called the 'hams' and
from church rates. The 'hams' first come to notice
in 1573 and were regularly let from that time. One
lay by Blackwell, in the south of the parish. The
other, sometimes distinguished as Mill or Rack
Ham, was near the Mill Mead. (fn. 486) In 1800 and 1839
they were vested in the churchwardens and
amounted to about 2 a. (fn. 487) Between 1626 and 1671
rates were assessed upon the yardland and in the
former year the area of assessment was reckoned to
be 50 yardlands. (fn. 488)
SCHOOLS.
In 1819 there was one unendowed day
school. (fn. 489) A Baptist Sunday school was started in
1826, (fn. 490) and in 1835 was attended by 15 boys and 17
girls. Fifteen infants were taught in another school
at their parents' expense. (fn. 491)
The present Church of England school, in the
Salisbury-Woodford road, was erected in 1840, (fn. 492)
with the help of a government grant, (fn. 493) and in 1847
was united with the National Society. (fn. 494) In 1858 20
to 30 children of both sexes were being taught in a
fair room with a boarded floor and wall desks by an
uncertificated mistress with one leg. (fn. 495) A 'singing
man from the Cathedral' conducted the evening
school, held thrice weekly in winter. (fn. 496) The government paid an annual grant from 1862. (fn. 497) The site was
enlarged in 1906 and the premises reconstructed
about 1913. (fn. 498) In 1929 the senior children were transferred to the appropriate schools in Salisbury. (fn. 499)
Average attendance was 42 in 1866, (fn. 500) 34 in 1886, (fn. 501)
45 in 1896, (fn. 502) and 58 in 1937. (fn. 503) The school became a
controlled school under the 1944 Education Act. (fn. 504)
CHARITIES.
In 1535 the chapter was distributing
20d. a year to the parishioners in fulfilment of an
ordinance of unknown purport. (fn. 505)
Anthony Parry, of Stratford, by will proved 1604,
left £10, to be called 'Parries Stocke', for loans or
gifts to two poor parishioners, with a gift over to the
poor of Salisbury. (fn. 506) There is no evidence that this
charity was ever distributed either in Stratford or
Salisbury. (fn. 507)
No charities were reported to exist either by the
Brougham Commissioners or in 1901. (fn. 508) In 1925 the
sum of £320 was transferred from the Ecclesiastical
Commissioners to the Official Trustees for Charitable Funds. This sum appears to represent the
capital upon which a voluntary payment, made by
the Chapter of Salisbury when owners of the soil,
was charged, for which payment the Commissioners
made themselves responsible upon the transfer to
them of the chapter estates in 1895. In 1950 the
income amounted to £8. (fn. 509)