MEONSTOKE
Menestoche (xi cent.); Mienestoch, Mionstoke
(xii cent.); Manestoke, Menestoke (xiii cent.); Munestoke, Munestokes, Maonestoke, Moenestoke (xiv
cent.).
Meonstoke parish, covering an area of 2,055 acres,
lies five miles north-east of Bishop's Waltham, and
about one and a half miles north of Droxford. The
village is situated in the extreme west of the parish,
close to the river, the church being on the left bank
of the stream, while the village lies to the south and
east, on the lower slopes of the east side of the valley.
The houses are built along two streets which meet at
right angles, the one running eastward from Corhampton, and the other following the line of the
river and going southwards to Soberton. A swiftlyflowing mill-race near the bridge at the west end of
the village probably marks the site of the mill which
is mentioned in Domesday Book, (fn. 1) and is included in
the extent of the manor of Meonstoke Waleraund
taken in the reign of Edward II. (fn. 2) The smithy stands
close by, to the north of the road, and by the Buck's
Head Inn a little path runs off north to the church
of St. Andrew. The rectory, which stands on the
higher ground east of the church, was built in 1895,
replacing the old rectory-house, which, with the glebe,
was sold in that year. There are few old cottages,
since the greater part of the village was burnt down
at the beginning of the eighteenth century, and in
place of the older houses were built rows of houses
fronting on the street and entered by tall flights of
steps. The manor house lying to the east is the residence of Dr. George William Butler. To the east of
the village runs the Meon Valley branch of the South
Western Railway, and beyond it rise the downs, Old
Winchester Hill, in the north-east corner of the
parish, reaching a height of 650 ft. The only
houses in the eastern part of the parish are a few
scattered farms reached by rough roads which in some
cases are merely tracks across the downs. The south-eastern corner of the parish is well wooded, containing
Little Sheardley Wood, Great Sheardley Wood, Stoke
Wood, and Stockram Copse. There are 987 acres of
arable land in the parish, 134¼ acres of permanent
grass, and 31½ acres of woods and plantations. (fn. 3)
Meonstoke Down was inclosed in 1863.
The soil is chalk and loam, the subsoil chalk and
flint. The chief crops are wheat, oats, and barley.
The following field-names are found in the fourteenth century: 'Jamesland, Crouchland, and
Martinsland.' (fn. 4)
MANORS
MEONSTOKE formed part of the
lands of King Edward the Confessor,
being then assessed at one and a half
hides. At the time of the Domesday Survey it was
part of the ancient demesne of the crown, and was
therefore not assessed. (fn. 5) In 1180 Meonstoke was the
land of Henry de Bulleis. (fn. 6) He was succeeded by
Hamon de Bulleis, who died in 1187, when it passed
to the crown. (fn. 7) Until the reign of Henry III Meonstoke formed part of the sources of the royal ferm.
Thus in 1189 Richard de la Bere accounted for £20
farm of Meonstoke, paying thence 10 marks for her
dowry to Joan widow of Hamon. (fn. 8) Again in 1202
Thomas de Hoe paid 40 marks for two years' farm of
Meonstoke. In the reign of Henry III Meonstoke
was divided into three portions worth respectively
£10, £5, and £2 a year, (fn. 9) and from this time there
were three manors of Meonstoke—each with a distinct history—until the later consolidation in the
time of William of Wykeham.
MEONSTOKE WALERAUND
MEONSTOKE WALERAUND, afterwards
MEONSTOKE PERRERS. The first mention of
the largest of these portions as a separate manor
seems to be in 1224, when the sheriff was ordered
to give seisin to Pain de Chaworth of his land
in Meonstoke. (fn. 10) This land was afterwards granted
to William de Percy, who, however, cannot have
held it long, as in 1239 Henry III granted it to
Fulk de Montgomery, with the proviso, however,
that if the property were restored by the crown
to the heirs of William de Percy, Fulk should
receive £30 yearly from the exchequer, until he
received an equivalent grant of escheated lands. (fn. 11)
In 1231 Fulk sold the manor to Sir John Maunsel,
chancellor of St. Paul's, (fn. 12) who in the same year
obtained a grant of a weekly market on Monday at
Meonstoke and of a yearly fair there on the vigil,
the feast, and the morrow of St. Margaret, (fn. 13) and two
years later a grant of free warren in all his lands in
Hampshire. (fn. 14) Sir John stood high in favour with
Henry III, who heaped preferments on him with so
lavish a hand that at one period he was holding no
fewer than seventy benefices of different kinds. When
Simon de Montfort became supreme the king was
forced, though much against his will, to deprive his
favourite of his possessions, granting them by letters
patent in 1263 to Simon de Montfort the younger. (fn. 15)
After the battle of Evesham, Meonstoke escheated to
the king, who granted it to Geoffrey de Percy, probably the heir of William de Percy, who in 1268 sold
it to Robert Waleraund. (fn. 16) The latter died seised of
the manor in 1272, his heir being his nephew, Robert
Waleraund, son of his younger brother William. (fn. 17)
Meonstoke, however, was for some time held in dower
by Maud widow of Robert Waleraund, the uncle, (fn. 18)
and never seems to have been delivered over to
Robert Waleraund, the nephew, who died without
issue about the end of the thirteenth century. His
heir was his brother John, who died seised of the
manor at the beginning of the reign of Edward II. (fn. 19)
By an inquisition taken after his death the following
were returned as his heirs: (1) His cousin, John de
Eddeworth, second son of his aunt Alice, who was the
eldest surviving sister of his father William; (2) his
cousin Alice de Everingham, second daughter of his
aunt Cecily, who was his father's second surviving
sister; (3) his cousin's son Bevis de Knoville, son of
Joan, who was the eldest daughter of his aunt Cecily;
(4) his cousin's son Alan de Plunkenet, son of
Alan de Plunkenet, who was the eldest son of his
aunt Alice; (5) his cousin's daughter Maud de Croupes
alias Bret, eldest daughter of Cecily, who was
the third daughter of his aunt Cecily; and (6)
her younger sister Cecily wife of Peter de Hulyon.
The question as to the succession was finally decided in favour of Alan de Plunkenet, (fn. 20) who died
before 1325, in which year the king assigned to his
widow Sybil the third part of the manor of Meonstoke of the yearly value of £10 10s. (fn. 21) Joan de
Bohun of Kilpeck, sister and heir of Alan, without
licence, quitclaimed the manor to Nicholas de Useflete,
who had obtained a lease of it some years before, (fn. 22)
and the manor escheated to the king, who, however,
in 1328 pardoned Nicholas, and restored the manor
to him. (fn. 23) Joan de Bohun died without issue in 1327,
her heir being her cousin's son Richard de la Bere,
grandson of Richard de la Bere, brother and heir of
her father, Alan de Plunkenet, (fn. 24) to whom Thomas de
Useflete, parson of the church of Meonstoke, some
four years later, quitclaimed two-thirds of the manor
and the reversion of the remaining third after the
death of Sybil, wife of Henry de Pembrigge. (fn. 25)
Richard de la Bere, while lord of the manor, alienated parts of it at various times without licence, (fn. 26)
finally granting a life-interest in the whole manor to
Robert de Hoe and Lucy his wife, who in 1347
obtained licence to retain it for that term in return
for the payment of 1 mark. (fn. 27) Robert and Lucy were
still living in 1353, in which year they acquired other
premises in Meonstoke, (fn. 28) and while still in possession obtained licence from William de Edendon,
bishop of Winchester, to celebrate mass in the
oratory of their dwelling-house in the parish of
Meonstoke. (fn. 29) Some time afterwards the manor
seems to have escheated to the king, who granted
it to trustees to the use of the celebrated Alice
Perrers, (fn. 30) from which circumstance it was commonly called the manor of Meonstoke Perrers. In
1376 the Good Parliament sentenced Alice to banishment and forfeiture, but in the following year the
Bad Parliament reversed this sentence, (fn. 31) and she
regained her possessions. However, in the first
Parliament of Richard II she was brought before
the lords at the request of the commons, and the
sentence against her was confirmed. (fn. 32) Meonstoke
accordingly escheated to the crown, and for two years
was in the hands of stewards, Thomas Illeston being
appointed in 1378, (fn. 33) and John Barell the following
year. (fn. 34) On 14 December, 1379, the sentence against
Alice was revoked, and on
15 March, 1380, the manor
was granted in fee-simple to
her husband, William de Windsor, (fn. 35) who in the following
June obtained licence from the
king to sell it to William of
Wykeham, bishop of Winchester, (fn. 36) by whom it was
granted to Winchester College
in 1385. (fn. 37) The manor still
forms part of the possessions
of the college.
Winchester College. Argent two cheverons sable between three roses gules.
MEONSTOKE FERRAND
MEONSTOKE FERRAND
was in origin the land worth
100s. granted by Henry III from his manor of
Meonstoke to his Gascon cross-bowman Ferrand. (fn. 38)
He was seised of it as late as 1233, when he obtained
licence to lease it for six years. (fn. 39) His successor is
unknown, but in 1280 Sir Peter Ferrand, most probably his grandson, was holding 100s. worth of land in
Meonstoke. (fn. 40) He continued seised of it until 1305,
in which year he sold it to John de Drokensford,
bishop of Bath and Wells (1309–29), (fn. 41) who died in
1329 seised of 100s. rents coming from certain free
tenants in the vill of Meonstoke, his heir being his
brother Philip, aged forty and more. (fn. 42) The date of
the death of the latter is uncertain, (fn. 43) but his son and
heir Philip (fn. 44) died in 1355, leaving a son and heir
John, (fn. 45) who seems to have died without issue before
1357, in which year Maurice le Bruyn and Margaret
his wife sold twenty-two messuages, one mill, lands,
rents, and the third part of a mill in Meonstoke and
Droxford to William de Edendon, bishop of Winchester. (fn. 46) William of Wykeham purchased Meonstoke
Ferrand from the executors of his predecessor, (fn. 47) and
granted it to Winchester College, (fn. 48) since which time
it has become merged in Meonstoke Perrers.
MEONSTOKE TOUR
MEONSTOKE TOUR was in origin the 40s. worth
of land granted by Henry III from his manor of
Meonstoke to Geoffrey Peverel. (fn. 49) In 1240, however, it was again in the hands of the king, who in
that year granted it to his serjeant Henry de la
Tour. (fn. 50) On the death of Henry it passed to his
brother and heir Hugh, (fn. 51) who died seised of a free
tenement in Meonstoke in 1283, leaving a son and
heir Thomas aged twenty-six. (fn. 52) The latter died ten
years later leaving a son and heir Thomas, aged five, (fn. 53)
who died without issue, his heir being a minor, Hugh
de la Tour, son of William de la Tour. (fn. 54) It is doubtful, however, whether Hugh succeeded to his inheritance, for in 1316 a certain Thomas de la Tour was
holding lands in Meonstoke. (fn. 55) He was succeeded by
William de la Tour, who died in 1350 seised of six
messuages and six virgates of land in Meonstoke,
leaving as his heir a daughter Alice, wife of John de
Roches, aged forty and more. (fn. 56) From them Meonstoke
Tour passed by sale to William de Edendon, bishop
of Winchester, who was seised of it in 1353. (fn. 57) Its
subsequent history is identical with that of Meonstoke
Ferrand (q.v.).
Other lands in the parish known as COSTARDS (fn. 58)
and WESTONS (fn. 59) were bought up by the agents of
William of Wykeham in 1388, (fn. 60) and granted by
them to Winchester College three years later. (fn. 61)
In an assize roll of 1280 it is stated that Walter de
Cumbe, parson of Meonstoke, had the fines of the
assize of bread and beer from his tenements in the
vill of Meonstoke and did not permit his men to be
on the king's assize. (fn. 62) This points to the existence
of a MANOR OF THE RECTORY which still
survives.
The lord of the manor of Meonstoke Waleraund
had free warren, assize of bread and beer, pillory,
tumbril, a market every Monday, and an annual fair in
Meonstoke.
At the time of the Domesday Survey there was
one mill in Meonstoke worth 10s. (fn. 63) In later times
there were two, one appurtenant to the manor of
Meonstoke Waleraund (fn. 64) and the other to Meonstoke
Ferrand. (fn. 65) The last mention of the latter is in 1357,
and it seems to have fallen into decay before 1385, for
there is no mention of it in the grant of Meonstoke
Ferrand to Winchester College in that year. (fn. 66) The
mill-race west of the village still marks the site of the
other mill, which gradually fell into disuse, no doubt,
owing to the close proximity of Corhampton Mill.
CHURCH
The church of ST. ANDREW,
MEONSTOKE, has a chancel 31ft.
10 in. by 16 ft. (16 ft. 3 in. at the
west end), nave 52 ft. 9 in. by 18 ft. 7 in. with
north aisle 8 ft. 2 in. wide and south aisle 8 ft. 4 in.,
north and south porches, and west tower 11 ft. 2 in.
square, all measurements being internal.
The main fabric of the church dates from the
thirteenth century, with no trace of earlier work, but
the tower is a later addition. The details of the
clearstory windows in the nave point to c. 1260, and
the chancel may be some thirty years older than this.
It has an early fifteenth-century east window of three
cinquefoiled lights with tracery, flanked by tall niches
for images, with cinquefoiled crocketed canopies and
embattled cornices over; below the southern niche is
a trefoiled recess fitted with a modern drain. The
chancel was originally lighted on the north and south
by three lancets, but the middle window on either side
has been built up. Between the second and third
windows on both sides is a fourteenth-century tombrecess under a segmental arch, in each of which a
marble coffin lid, also of fourteenth-century date, has
been placed. A thirteenth-century string runs at the
level of the window sills within the chancel. The
wooden fittings are modern, and there is a coved
plaster ceiling with a moulded eighteenth-century
cornice.
The chancel arch is, in spite of considerable repairs,
a very pretty piece of thirteenth-century detail, of two
moulded orders, with a label and three shafts in each
respond with moulded capitals and bases. The arch
is semicircular with a good deal of modern stonework
at the crown, and the capitals and upper parts of the
shafts are new. The outer order of the arch towards
the chancel is of plainer detail than that towards the
nave, and has a rather unusual section.
The nave is of four bays, the arcades having pointed
arches of two chamfered orders, with columns alternately round and octagonal, the responds in each case
being half-octagonal, and moulded capitals and
bases. Over the arches are circular clearstory windows
inclosing quatrefoils, with an outer rebate for the
glazing; they are now unglazed, as the roof runs in
one span over nave and aisles. Marks of a former
steep-pitched nave roof are to be seen on the east
wall of the tower, and below the roof-line is part of a
circular window in the former west gable of the
nave as it was before the addition of the tower.
Its lower half has been destroyed by the head of a
small arched opening to the second stage of the
tower, now glazed, but originally open to the nave.
The north aisle has a fifteenth-century east window
of two cinquefoiled lights with a quatrefoil over, and
three similar windows in the north wall, between
the second and third of which is a thirteenthcentury north doorway, now opening into a vestry,
and having a single moulded order and a label. The
west window is a lancet, but has been inserted within
the lines of a wider window of uncertain date. At
the north-east of the aisle is a plain square locker,
and parts of two fourteenth-century coffin lids are
placed in the aisle. The windows in the south aisle
are like those in the north except that there is no
west window. The aisle has been refaced (fn. 67) except
the east wall, and all the window tracery of the south
windows is modern. The south doorway has a
pointed arch of two continuous hollow-chamfered
orders, and is probably late thirteenth-century work
while the south porch is modern.
The tower is finished with a wooden stage open on
all sides, and covered with a low red-tiled roof. This
is a recent addition, the rest of the tower being of
flint rubble with angle buttresses, probably of fifteenthcentury date. The west window is a tall lancet,
which seems to be of the thirteenth century, and may
have been moved here from the west wall of the nave.
The tower arch is modern.
The tower was repaired and the present red-tiled
roof put on the nave in 1900. The corbels of the
former aisle roofs are still to be seen. The pulpit
belongs to the latter part of the seventeenth century,
and is hexagonal, with modern carved panels but old
twisted columns standing free at the angles and carrying an arcade under a projecting moulded cornice. In
the north aisle are the arms of one of the Georges, and
a wood-carving of Jacob wrestling with the angel,
German work of the seventeenth century, and inscribed
'Du solt nicht mer Jacob sondern Iserael heisen.'
On the north-east side of the first pillar of the north
arcade is a deeply-cut cross, as if to take a metal inlay.
The font at the west end of the south aisle is
of a late twelfth-century type, with a square bowl on
a central shaft, formerly flanked by four shafts at the
angles. Its material is probably Purbeck marble, but
it is covered by a coat of dark grey paint mottled with
white spots in imitation of such a marble, and its real
surface cannot be seen. The bowl has arcades on the
east and north faces, and zigzag patterns and what
seem to be trefoiled leaves on the west.
There are pits for six bells, but only three remain,
the treble and second by Robert Catlin, 1749; and
the tenor by Pack & Chapman, 1773.
The plate consists of a cup of 1682, with a cover
paten by the same maker and doubtless of the same
date, though without the date letter; a modern box
for bread, two small flagons (1899), and a brass
alms dish.
The first book of the registers begins in 1599, the
entries down to 1678 being copied from an older book
not now in existence, and ends in 1812; the second
book contains the marriages from 1754 to 1812.
ADVOWSON
There is no reference to a church
in Meonstoke at the time of the
Domesday Survey, (fn. 68) and the earliest
mention of one seems to be in 1284, when Edward I
quitclaimed to John bishop of Winchester the advowson of the church of Meonstoke with a chapel annexed, (fn. 69)
whereof he had recently impleaded the bishop. (fn. 70) The
advowson has remained in the hands of the bishop up
to the present day. (fn. 71)
In 1291 the church of Meonstoke, with a chapel
annexed, (fn. 72) was assessed at £33 6s. 8d. (fn. 73) In the reign
of Henry VIII the annual value of the rectory was
£46 13s. 4d. (fn. 74)
William of Wykeham, on 7 March, 1401–2, deputed Thomas bishop of Chrysopolis to dedicate two
portable altars for Thomas Lavington, rector of
Meonstoke. (fn. 75)
There is a Primitive Methodist chapel in the parish,
built in 1864. The elementary school was built in
1842 for seventy children.
CHARITIES
This parish is entitled to benefit
from Collins School at Corhampton (q.v.).