BISHOP'S WALTHAM
Waltham Woolpit (xv–xvii cent.); Waltham
Westputt (xvii cent.); also called South Waltham
to distinguish it from various other places of the
same name.
The parish of Bishop's Waltham, together with the
former tithing of Curdridge, comprises the whole of
the Hamble valley from its source to the head of the
estuary at Fairthorne, and also those spurs of the
South Downs at the foot of which the two branches
of this river rise. The transition from the down
lands to the woods of the valley is very marked, and
divides the county into two distinct geological portions, the downs being of chalk formation and the
valley chiefly clay. The meeting of these two
formations is the cause of some curious springs close
to the town. (fn. 1)
Entering the parish from the north or east (that
is to say, over Stephen's Castle Down or Bishop's
Down), the slope down to the valley is steep, the town
lying not more than 120 ft. above sea-level, whereas
Stephen's Castle Down attains at one point a height
of 389 ft. The name Stephen's Castle Down is
supposed to date from the days of King Stephen,
during whose war with the Empress Maud some
earthworks are said to have been here erected. Over
this down runs the old road from Waltham to Winchester; the new one (opened in 1830) strikes west
from the town and approaches Winchester up the
Itchen valley. A continuation of the old Winchester
road leads through Curdridge to Botley, and maintaining a fairly high level gives a good view of the
Hamble country, with the Hamble itself on the right
hand and one of its tributaries on the left. The
whole valley is well wooded, the road being bordered
by oaks and pines, through which fields of wheat, oats,
barley, and occasionally strawberries, may be seen.
As the road approaches Botley station, Curdridge
church is passed on the right hand. Here a few
cottages behind the church constitute the village of
Curdridge. 'Curdridge Common' consists of a few
fields with patches of furze and heath, sloping up
from the road opposite the church. In 1894 Curdridge was constituted a civil parish, 2,174 acres being
deducted from the original 8,325 acres of Bishop's
Waltham. Of these, 2,189¾ in Bishop's Waltham
and 715¼ in Curdridge are arable land; 1,641½ in
Bishop's Waltham and 730½ in Curdridge are
permanent grass; and 160¼ in Bishop's Waltham and
267¼ in Curdridge are woods and plantations. (fn. 2) The
chief crops are wheat, barley, oats, and clover; and
the cultivation of fruit is on the increase.
Botley station in this parish was opened by the
London and South Western Railway Company in
1832. A single line of railway from Botley Junction
to Bishop's Waltham, with a station at the latter
place, was opened in 1863. A steam rail-motor has
recently replaced the ordinary train service for
passengers on this line.
The best view of the town of Bishop's Waltham,
which stands on the left bank of the Hamble stream
about half a mile below its source, is from the hill on
the opposite side of the valley. Immediately below
lies the station, the head of the single line which runs
up the valley. Beyond the station is the Abbey
Pond and Mill, and beyond these again rise the ruins
of the old palace of the bishops of Winchester. To
the north of the palace lies the little town, red-tiled
and compact, with the church at its east end. On
the west side of the valley, facing the town, is a large
clay-pit, and the brick and tile works which are the
chief industry of the place. Terra-cotta used to be
included, but, like the matting and tanning trades,
has been discontinued of recent years.
On the west side of the valley the groups of houses
known as 'Newtown' have arisen within the last
thirty years, chiefly along the Winchester road.
The principal street of the town is the High
Street, running north and south, and ending southwards in the square. Two streets run parallel to it
on the east, Houghten Street and Basingwell Street,
and at the north of the town Bank Street meets them
at right angles, a narrow street in continuation of
Houghten Street leading to the church. There are
no buildings of unusual interest in the town, but a
good many examples of eighteenth-century brickwork,
and a few timber fronts of older date, notably a gabled
house in the west of the square with a moulded
beam below the gables, an almost exact replica of
which, dated 1613, is to be seen in Petersfield. The
Crown Inn is an old house, with latticed windows,
and a picturesque yard behind it. (fn. 3) Near the entrance
to the churchyard is an early eighteenth-century
house with good detail.
There used to be stocks at the entrance to
St. George's Square, (fn. 4) standing back from the road on a
little plot of grass which may still be seen. Until
about thirty years ago a maypole stood behind the
church on a plot of grass which still bears the name,
but the old dances were discontinued in the seventeenth century. Tradition says that the present High
Street runs through what was once the village green.
The old market-house, which used to stand in the
centre of the square, was pulled down about the year
1841, a good deal of the material being used in the
construction of the present fire-engine house. Under
the market-house, which was built on arches, was the
cage or lock-up for prisoners.
Dr. Samuel Ward, one of the translators of the
authorized version of the Bible, was buried at Bishop's
Waltham in 1629, and several other interesting
persons have been connected with the town and
neighbourhood. Vernon Hill House, which stands
on the hill of the same name to the north-east of
Bishop's Waltham, was built by Admiral Vernon just
after the capture of Porto Bello, and Emerson once
visited here. Northbrook House was the residence
of Parry the Arctic explorer, and here Lieutenant
Cresswell brought him the news of the finding of the
north-west passage. The Priory, a large red-brick
house at Newtown on the hill overlooking the valley,
was built some fifty years ago for an infirmary, the
land being given by Sir Arthur Helps, a great benefactor to the neighbourhood. Prince Leopold laid
the foundation stone in 1864, and Sir Frederick
Perkins presented a statue of the Prince Consort.
But owing to the circumstances in which Sir Arthur
Helps died, the building was claimed by his creditors
and sold as a private house. Sir Frederick Perkins
therefore sent to take back the statue, but the villagers
objected strongly, and a fray was fought which came
to be called the 'Battle of Bunker's Hill.' The
statue is now in Southampton.
A particularly beautiful seat, in what is now the
parish of Curdridge, is Fairthorne Manor. Miss
Mitford, after visiting Cobbett here, wrote: (fn. 5) 'Cobbett showed the same taste in the purchase of his
beautiful farm at Botley—Fairthorne. To be sure he
did not give the name, but I always thought it unconsciously influenced his choice in the purchase. The
fields lay along the Bursledon River, (fn. 6) and might have
been shown to a foreigner as a specimen of the richest
and loveliest English scenery.' The place is also interesting as having been the site of a Roman villa. (fn. 7) At
high tide barges are punted up here as far as Botley
Bridge. Charles II contemplated making the river
navigable for vessels right up to Bishop's Waltham, and
an Act was passed in 1664 (fn. 8) with this intent, but
never carried into effect.
The Inclosure Act for the open fields of Bishop's
Waltham was passed in 1759. (fn. 9) The inclosure of Curdridge Common was effected under the Act of 1856, (fn. 10)
and that part of Wintershill Common which lies in
this parish was inclosed in 1870. (fn. 11)
The following place-names occur, among others, in
this parish: (fn. 12) Gyves, Playstones, Cokes Croft, Paine
Meade, Downers, Penny Acre.
MANORS
The manor of BISHOP'S WALTHAM formed parcel of the lands
of the see of Winchester from the
year 904, when King Edward the Elder effected an
exchange of lands with Denewulf, bishop of Winchester. (fn. 13) The king acquired Portchester, and granted
to Denewulf in return 'that part of the lands of the
king called by the people Waltham; to have, hold,
and possess it with fields, woods, meadows, fisheries,
and everything belonging to the same.' The land
was to be held by the bishop and his successors of the
king and his heirs. (fn. 14) King Edgar renewed the grant
shortly before the Norman Conquest. (fn. 15) The Domesday Survey states that 'the bishop himself holds Waltham in demesne; it has always belonged to the
bishopric,' assessing it at 20 hides, 'though there be 30
hides in number,' with a rateable value of £30. (fn. 16)
The bishops of Winchester continued to hold the
manor among the other possessions of the see until
1551, (fn. 17) when Bishop Poynet conveyed the property to
Paulet the lord treasurer (as representative of the
crown) in return for a fixed annual income. (fn. 18) The
king granted the manor to
William earl of Wiltshire the
following month. (fn. 19) Queen
Mary, however, restored it to
John White bishop of Winchester in 1558, (fn. 20) and his
successors continued to hold
the manor until the sale of
the bishops' lands in 1647.
Bishop's Waltham was then
purchased by one Robert
Reynolds for the sum of
£7,999 14s. 10¼d. (fn. 21) Reynolds's name appears as the
holder of a court at Waltham manor in 1653. (fn. 22) At
the Restoration, Bishop's Waltham was restored to
the bishops of Winchester, who retained their hold
upon it until the Bishops' Resignation Act of 1869
vested all the 'lands, tithes, hereditaments, and
endowments then belonging to the bishopric of
Winchester' in the hands of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. (fn. 23)
See of Winchester. Gules St.Peter's keys crossed with St. Paul's sword.
The palace of Bishop's Waltham (fn. 24) was originally
built by Henry de Blois bishop of Winchester during
the twelfth century, (fn. 25) and was shortly afterwards the
scene of two important councils: in 1182 when the
barons met Henry II and granted him supplies for the
second crusade; and in 1194 when Richard I held
a council here preparatory to his last expedition to
France. (fn. 26) The palace seems to have been a favourite
residence of the bishops, and to have been frequently
visited by royalty. The wills of both Henry II and
William of Wykeham are dated at Waltham, and
Wykeham spent his last days here. Cardinal Beaufort
in his will bequeathed to Queen Margaret of England
his 'blue bed of gold and damask at his palace at
Waltham, in the room where the Queen used to lie
when she was at that palace, and three suits of the
arras hangings in the same room.' William of
Waynflete also made his will and died at Bishop's
Waltham palace. (fn. 27) The State Papers of the reign of
Henry VIII contain many references to the visits of
that king and of Wolsey and Thomas Cromwell to
Bishop's Waltham palace; (fn. 28) and in 1512 it was the
scene of the convention between king and emperor
which came to be known as the Treaty of Waltham. (fn. 29)
Within a few years of this date Leland described the
palace as 'a right ample and goodly Maner Place moted
aboute, and a praty Brooke renning hard by it.' (fn. 30)
Later in the sixteenth century, when the manor and
palace of Waltham were in the hands of the crown,
Edward VI described the palace as 'a fair old home,
in times past of the bishops of Winchester, but now
my Lord Treasurer's.' The great Civil War saw the
destruction of Bishop's Waltham palace, which after a
gallant defence by 200 cavaliers under Colonel Bennett
surrendered to General Brown, on 9 April, 1644.
On the 11th a cavalier wrote: 'Waltham House in
ashes.' Bishop Curll, who was resident in the palace
at the time, is said to have effected his escape in a
dung cart. For some time after this anyone who
required building stone helped himself from the
palace ruins. In 1869 the property passed into the
hands of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, who sold
the site and ruins of the palace to Sir William Jenner.
Since the latter's death in 1898, his widow Lady
Jenner has owned the place.
The ruins of the palace are still imposing, though
little is left but the shell of the north wing. The
house was probably foursquare, with an inner court,
and a gateway in an outer court on the north-east,
round which the offices were built. The whole was
defended by a moat, which remains very perfect on
the north and east, and a large space south and west
of the moated site is inclosed by a picturesque brick
wall, built by Bishop Langton (ob. 1501), with a
square two-story garden-house remaining at its southeastern angle. Through it a stream runs northwest towards the Hamble, leaving the inclosure at
a second red-brick garden-house in the north-west
angle, which has served as a latrine. In the
western part of the inclosure stands the house known
as Place House, owned by Lady Jenner, part of
which may be of seventeenth-century date, but its
chief attractions are its garden and the view of the
ruined palace.
Part of the arrangement of the palace building is
still to be made out, though the site is much overgrown and heaped with fallen rubbish. The south
front is 180 ft. long, with a square tower at each end,
projecting beyond the line of the main wall. The
general appearance of the work is that of a fifteenthcentury building, but in reality a great deal of
twelfth-century walling and detail exists, especially in
the western part. In the centre of the range stands
the hall, with tall two-light windows on the south,
the inner or north wall being in this part entirely
destroyed. At the east end are the kitchen and
offices, and at the west of the hall are living rooms.
Along the west wall of the hall are remains of a
twelfth-century wall arcade, and in the room immediately adjoining it a large twelfth-century window
remains in a fair state of preservation. The other
wings of the house are completely ruined, but the
remains of the chapel, a small twelfth-century apsidal
building, were excavated some years since, and are
still to be seen, though much overgrown, to the south
of the hall. Parts of the outer gatehouse exist at
the north-east angle of the inclosure, the side walls
only being left, with fireplaces in what must have
been the porter's lodgings. At the south-east angle
of the inclosure is a long building standing east and
west, and formerly of two stories. At the east end
is a large fireplace, and the building was probably a
bakehouse, brewhouse, or the like, and is of late
fifteenth-century date.
The large pond to the south of the palace, separated from the southern arm of its moat by the high
road, is an artificial pool made to work the mill at its
west end. Below the mill are the banks of a second
pool, now dry, and there seems to have been a third
bank further down stream. All the pools no doubt
served as stew-ponds for the use of the palace.
PARK
The park of Bishop's Waltham, which was
attached to the palace, formerly extended for
over 1,000 acres. (fn. 31) It was bounded by the
'Lug,' a mound 16½ ft. broad and some 6 ft. high, with
trees planted on the top to form a barricade. (fn. 32) After the
destruction of the palace, Dr. George Morley (bishop
of Winchester 1662–84), being in need of money
for the repair of Farnham Castle, (fn. 33) conceived the
idea of dividing up the park into farms. He therefore obtained the royal assent to an Act enabling him
to lease out 'the two parks and other demesnes at
Bishop's Waltham,' in July, 1663. (fn. 34) A year later
the place was spoken of as 'the great disparked park
of Bishop's Waltham,' (fn. 35) which very accurately describes it at the present day.
The land known as Waltham Chase was probably
included in the original tenth-century grant to the
bishopric, but the Chase is only specifically mentioned
at the time of its acquisition by the Lord Treasurer
in the sixteenth century, and the subsequent grant
to the earl of Wiltshire and regrant to Bishop White. (fn. 36)
It stretched away to the south and east of the park,
and was practically an outlying portion of the Forest
of Bere. Originally the hunting-ground of the
bishops, the chase became famous in the eighteenth
century as the haunt of a gang of deer-stealers, who
were known from their blackened faces as 'The
Waltham Blacks.' It was in consequence of their
doings, and at the instigation of Bishop Trimnell, that
the Black Act of George I was passed in 1722,
though apparently it was never enforced. Some
twenty years later, Bishop Hoadly, on being asked
to re-stock the chase with deer, refused, saying that
it 'had done mischief enough already.' Waltham
Chase was inclosed in 1870, (fn. 37) since when the timber
has been entirely cut down, (fn. 38) though the name forest
still clings to the locality.
The earliest reference to a market at Bishop's
Waltham is in the reign of Edward I, when it was
reported by some inquisitors that 'the market of
Titchfield and Waltham is to the damage of the
market of … . which is held on a Saturday.' (fn. 39)
This was in all probability a joint market, held alternate weeks at either place, and dropped in consequence
of the inquisitors' report, which would account for the
entirely new grant by Elizabeth in 1602 to the
bishop of Winchester and his successors of the right
to hold a market at Bishop's Waltham on Friday in
each week. (fn. 40) When the main line through Botley
was opened in 1832, Botley became a more convenient centre than Bishop's Waltham, and the
market was transferred thither, where it was held
alternate weeks with Fareham.
Queen Elizabeth's grant to the bishop in 1602
included the right to hold two fairs in Bishop's
Waltham, one on the vigil of St. Philip and St. James,
and the other on the first Tuesday in Lent. By 1792
there were four annual fairs, viz.: the second Friday
in May, the thirtieth day of July, the first Friday
after Old Michaelmas, and the tenth day of October. (fn. 41)
The last-named appears to have lapsed before the
year 1848, (fn. 42) and by 1888 all had ceased with the
exception of a small pleasure fair which is still held
annually in August.
Of the three mills mentioned in the account of
Waltham in Domesday Book, (fn. 43) two are in the present
parish of Waltham, (fn. 44) viz.: Abbey Mill on the palace
pond, (fn. 45) and Waltham Mill on the Fareham road.
The former was rebuilt in 1862 after a fire. On a
court roll of Queen Anne's reign mention is made
of 'one mill called a paper mill in the tithing of
Curdridge.' (fn. 46) This was the 'Frog Mill' on the
Hamble River, just below Durley Mill. Having long
been disused, it was pulled down some twelve or
fifteen years ago, with the exception of a small portion
now used as a barn.
There is no indication that the so-called manor of
FAIRTHORNE (fn. 47) (Fayerthorne, Fayrethorne, xvi
cent.) was ever anything more than an estate included
in Bishop's Waltham manor. The land is possibly to
be first traced in the 'one messuage and one carucate
of land in Hulle' acquired in 1296 by William de la
Hulle and Agnes his wife, (fn. 48) but the name Hulle or
Hill is so common in Hampshire that this identification cannot be more than conjectural. In 1332
William de Overton and Joan his wife held 'one
messuage and one carucate in Hulle and Titchfield,' (fn. 49)
and in the following year this same tenement is
described as lying 'in Southwaltham and Hulle near
Botley,' (fn. 50) which clearly identifies it with the Hulle or
Fairthorne of later times.
From this date the descent of
the property can be fairly
traced. In 1361 Thomas de
Overton, son of the above
William de Overton, died
seised of 140 acres of land in
Hulle. (fn. 51) His heir was his son
William, presumably the father
of that Isabella whose marriage with Sir William Tanke (fn. 52)
brought the Hulle property
into the hands of the Tankes. Hull is not mentioned
by name in 1393 and 1394 among the lands 'in
Waltham' held by Robert Tanke and Elizabeth his
wife, (fn. 53) but a Robert Tanke was holding the 'Manor of
Hylle beside Botley' in 1431. (fn. 54) This date is noticeable as the first occasion on which the term manor is
applied to the tenement. In 1504 William Tanke
died seised of 'lands in Bishop's Waltham held by the
bishop of Winchester.' (fn. 55) He left two daughters, the
elder of whom, Joan, became in turn the wife of
Richard Ryman and Edward Bartlett, (fn. 56) and under a
settlement of 1542 Joan and her second husband were
to hold the manor during their lives, with reversion
to the children of Joan by her first husband. (fn. 57)
Joan died in 1561, (fn. 58) and Humphrey Ryman her
elder son in 1568. (fn. 59) John, the son and heir of
Humphrey, succeeded to the property on the death
of his uncle William Ryman, who had only had a life
interest in it. John Ryman was still holding in
1573 (fn. 60) and 1579, (fn. 61) but in 1600 Francis Serle was in
possession. (fn. 62) The Serles seem to have been closely
connected (probably by marriage) with the Bartlett
and Ryman family, for the name appears on family
settlements of the years 1542 (fn. 63) and 1576, (fn. 64) and John
Serle and Francis Serle apparently acted as successive
trustees of the manor. (fn. 65) The descent of Fairthorne is
very obscure in the seventeenth century, but by 1684
the manor was in the hands of Wriothesley Baptist
Noel, descendant of Thomas first earl of Southampton, who acquired the
manor of Titchfield after
the Dissolution. Wriothesley's
daughter Elizabeth married
Henry first duke of Portland,
and the Portlands were holding Fairthorne with their
Titchfield property in 1734 (fn. 66)
and in 1762. (fn. 67) When they
parted with it is uncertain. (fn. 68)
The next known fact concerning Fairthorne is that
about the year 1806 William
Cobbett 'purchased Fairthorne
Farm of about 300 acres, and around it he planted
a broad belt of trees.' (fn. 69) On the site of Cobbett's
summer-house, as it was called, the present house was
built about fifty years ago. It is now the residence
and property of Mr. R. A. Burrell, who purchased
it from Sir Thomas Freke in 1878.
Tanke. Argent a text T gules and three wreaths vert in the chief.
Bentinck, Duke of Portland. Azure a cross moline argent.
CHURCHES
ST. PETER'S CHURCH, BISHOP'S WALTHAM
ST. PETER'S CHURCH, BISHOP'S WALTHAM, has a chancel,
nave of four bays with aisles and south
porch, south-west tower, and at the west end of the
north aisle a vestry with gallery over. There is also
a large gallery in the west bay of the nave. The
repairs and alterations of the last three centuries have
been extensive, and little early work remains. The
capitals and arches of the north arcade of the nave
date from the beginning of the thirteenth century,
and from the evidence of windows discovered in 1868
in the north wall of the chancel it appeared that the
chancel was also of thirteenth-century date. It was,
however, remodelled in the fifteenth century, or in the
late fourteenth, and to that time its earliest features
now belong. The tower is recorded to have fallen
31 December, 1582, and to have been rebuilt in
1584–9; the north aisle was rebuilt in 1637, and the
south aisle in 1652. The south arcade of the nave
was destroyed in 1798 to make place for a gallery
over the aisle, the wooden posts carrying this
gallery and the nave roof being replaced in 1822 by
Tuscan columns in Portland stone. In 1894 these
in their turn gave way to a modern arcade in fourteenth-century style, and the gallery was removed.
The church generally was restored in 1864–8, and
again in 1894, and in 1849 the west end of the nave
was rebuilt. The nave roof was 'new made' in
1669, and the west gallery was set up in 1733 to hold
the organ. The chancel has a three-light east window
with fifteenth-century tracery, and a rose on the
crown of the rear arch, a fifteenth-century north
window of two lights at the west, and two like
windows on the south, the eastern of which has
modern tracery; between them is a plain priest's
doorway. The roof is old, low-pitched, and opentimbered, with arched braces, and the altar-rails are a
pretty example of seventeenth-century work with turned
balusters and a carved top rail. The altar-table is also
of the seventeenth century, with carved legs. The quire
seats and marble pavement date from 1894. In the
same year the chancel arch, which is of two continuous
chamfered orders, was made symmetrical, its south
jamb having been at some time cut back and the arch
widened in a clumsy manner on one side only. The
extent of the widening is still to be seen, as the lower
part of the cut-back jamb is preserved, a space being
left between it and the new jamb, and the result
might easily be mistaken for a mediaeval squint.
The north arcade of the nave has plain octagonal
capitals and pointed arches of two chamfered orders in
Bonchurch stone, with half-round responds in chalk
at either end. The circular columns were of the
same material till 1894, but being out of the perpendicular they were then rebuilt as they now appear,
with new bases on a slightly different line from the old.
Of the capitals only those to the responds are old.
At the east end of the north aisle is preserved a large
late twelfth-century scalloped capital, perhaps from
the old south arcade, and worked to fit a round
column. With it is the stem of a twelfth-century
pillar piscina with zigzag ornament, which has been
re-used in the fifteenth century as part of the shaft of
a canopied niche.
The north aisle, known as the Ashton aisle, and
said to have been built with the stones of Ashton
chapel, which stood near Chapel Farm, has a three-light east window with a curious and clumsy attempt
at fifteenth-century tracery, doubtless dating from the
rebuilding of 1637, and is lighted on the north by
three square-headed windows each of three cinquefoiled lights of better style. The gallery over the
vestry at its west end was formerly used as the school,
and is reached from the west by a stair in a projecting
buttress, dated 1637. It is lighted on the north by a
four-light window with uncusped four-centred lights,
and gives access on the south to the west gallery of the
nave. This preserves its panelled front of 1733, a
good specimen of its kind, but no longer holds the
organ, which is now in the east end of the south
aisle.
The south aisle has an east window of the same
kind as that in the north aisle, and in its south wall
three three-light windows, also like those in the
north aisle. It is faced with wrought stone externally,
a good deal of which looks like twelfth-century
material re-used. Over the east window is a stone
dated 1652, with the initials of the churchwardens,
then as now four in number. Before 1894 there
were dormer windows on the south with stone tracery,
set up in 1867 to light the south gallery, and replacing
wooden dormers. In the west bay of the aisle is the
south door and porch, with detail of sixteenth-century
character, and a panelled door dated 1613, while on
its large key is the date 1681. The doorway may
perhaps be of the same date as the door, as the west
wall of the porch, which is also of late Gothic character,
is built against and is therefore later than the southeast buttress of the tower, and this latter is recorded
to have been rebuilt in 1584–9. The rebuilding,
however, may not have been from the foundations.
In any case, there must have been a re-use of old
material in the seventeenth-century work, and it is not
likely that the whole of the window tracery is of the
same date as the poor stuff in the heads of the east
windows of the two aisles.
The tower is of three stages, with square-headed
windows of two uncusped four-centred lights in each
stage on the west face, and in all four faces in the
belfry stage. At the south-west angle is a newel stair,
with a plain circular turret, probably of eighteenth-century date, rising above the parapet of the tower.
The tower opens to the south aisle by a four-centred
doorway, and has a west doorway of brick to the
churchyard. In the south wall of its ground story is
a locker rebated for a door and with a groove for a
shelf, removed from the chancel in 1867, and in the
north wall is a second recess, probably in situ, and
dating from the rebuilding of the tower. A list of
ringers' rules, dated 1766, and renewed in 1835, is
kept here.
The west front of the nave, dating from 1849, has
a four-light window of fifteenth-century style, and
below it a west doorway.
The nave roof, as already noted, was 'new made'
in 1669, and the aisle roofs are probably of the same
date, though both may contain older timbers re-used.
The pulpit in the north-east angle of the nave is a
great ornament to the church, and dates from c. 1600.
It is hexagonal with a panelled body on a stem, the
panels inclosing arches with strapwork borders, under
pediments. Over the pulpit is a very fine tester,
relegated to the tower in 1867, but repaired and
replaced in 1894, with strapwork cresting and pendants, and a panelled soffit, in the centre of which is
a rose.
The font, at the south-west of the nave, is modern,
and has a square bowl worked with shallow tracery
patterns.
There are no monuments of importance, the best
being that of Thomas Ashton, 1629, on the north
wall of the north aisle. It is said to have been
brought from Ashton chapel, and is a pretty alabaster
panel with a half-length figure under a pediment; it
has lately been redecorated. Below it is a marble
panel, with the arms of Kerby, to the 'much lamented
pious charitable good catholic' Mary Kerby, 1716,
and on the north wall of the chancel is a black
marble tablet in an alabaster frame, to Anna Cruys,
1634.
A few mediæval tiles, found during repairs, are
kept in the north aisle.
There are six bells, the treble recast 1901, formerly
dated 1724, the second of 1712, the third of 1651,
the fourth formerly of that date, but recast in 1901,
the fifth of 1599, and the tenor of 1597. The two
last bear the initials of John Wallis of Salisbury.
The church possesses a fine set of silver-gilt plate;
an Elizabethan communion cup without hallmarks,
having two bands of engraved ornament on the bowl,
a small paten and a flagon of 1747, a second flagon
of 1629, and a large standing almsdish of 1669,
though recorded to have been given in 1665.
The first book of the registers, 1612–68, contains
a note of the fall of the tower and the rebuilding of
the aisles; the second goes from 1669 to 1736, and
the third from 1736 to 1812, the marriages ending
in 1754 and being continued to 1812 in two more
books.
Parish accounts are preserved from 1759, and there
are notes of briefs down to 1823. The record of
a curious disturbance in 1688 is preserved at length,
and tells how the parish clerk and one churchwarden
being excommunicate, for some reason not set down,
withheld the key of the church from the parishioners,
who eventually defeated the adversary by getting
episcopal permission to break open the church door
and have a new lock made.
A homily book of 1683 is kept in the vestry, which
having been originally the property of the church,
was lost in course of time, but in 1869 was discovered
by Mr. A. V. Walters, who bought it and gave it back
to the church.
The church of ST. PETER, CURDRIDGE, replacing an older building near the same site, was
erected in 1887, its tower being added in 1894.
It is of flint, with stone dressings. The register dates
from 1835.
ADVOWSONS
It is recorded in Domesday Book
that 'Ralf the priest holds the two
churches of this manor, with two
and a half hides.' (fn. 70) The first of these two churches
was the parish church of Bishop's Waltham, in the
gift of the bishop of Winchester, lord of the manor.
Henry de Blois (bishop of Winchester, 1129–71)
granted the advowson of this church to the hospital
of St. Cross, Winchester, some time during his tenure
of office. (fn. 71) The hospital had, however, lost it before
1284, in which year, under an agreement between
the bishop of Winchester and the monks of St.
Swithun concerning certain advowsons, the monks
gave up their claim to Bishop's Waltham in favour
of the bishop. (fn. 72) The living, which is a rectory,
subsequently remained in the bishop's hands. (fn. 73) In
1533 the curate of Bishop's Waltham wrote a pathetic
letter to Lady Lisle to ask for a gown cloth which she
had promised him: 'you have so many whelps
pertaining to you that poor Thomas Gylbert shall be
forgotten.' (fn. 74) In 1551 Bishop Poynet surrendered
the advowson of Bishop's Waltham, together with the
hundred and manor, to the crown. (fn. 75) They were
granted to William, earl of Wiltshire, the same year, (fn. 76)
and eventually restored to the bishopric by Queen
Mary. (fn. 77) Since this latter date the living has remained
in the gift of the bishop. (fn. 78) Bishop's Waltham was
a peculiar benefice. The first reference to this is in
the fourteenth century, (fn. 79) and it is again recorded in the
reign of Henry VIII. (fn. 80) There is also an entry in
the parish registers of the year 1736, saying that
mortuaries are due from Bishop's Waltham, Hamble,
and Bursledon, to the minister of Bishop's Waltham,
'as having a peculiar jurisdiction there.' (fn. 81)
Several theories have been put forward for the identification of the second church recorded in Domesday.
Of these the principal are: (fn. 82) (1) That the second
church was at Ashton, where the road to Upham
meets Ashton Street, on the spot now occupied by a
smithy; the site was at one time occupied by a little
chapel of ease. (2) That Bursledon was this second
church, the old Waltham registers showing that at one
time the rector of Waltham exercised a peculiar
archidiaconal jurisdiction over Bursledon. (fn. 83) (3) That
this second church was at Upham or Botley.
Curdridge was formed into a district chapelry, out
of the parish of Bishop's Waltham, in 1838. (fn. 84) The
patronage of the living, which is a vicarage, was
transferred in 1880 from the rector of Bishop's
Waltham to the bishop of Winchester, in consideration
of a further endowment of Curdridge out of the
revenues of Bishop's Waltham. (fn. 85) Between 1892 and
1893 the advowson passed from the bishop to the
dean and chapter of Winchester. (fn. 86)
There is a Congregational chapel (built 1862) at
Bishop's Waltham, and a Primitive Methodist mission
room. There is a mission hall at Ashton, and an
iron chapel at Curdridge.
CHARITIES
The charities in the ancient parish
of BISHOP'S WALTHAM were by
a scheme established by an order of
the Charity Commissioners, dated 14 February, 1896,
consolidated under the title of 'The Combined
Charities,' whereby—as modified by a further order
of 14 October, 1898—provision was made for their
future administration, in equal parts, as educational
and eleemosynary. By an order of the said Commissioners the following charities were specifically
allocated for educational purposes, viz.:—
1. The Educational Institute in Bank Street,
erected with moneys arising from accumulations and
from a grant of the Hampshire County Council on a
site conveyed by deed of 30 September, 1898.
2. Bishop Morley's Charity, deed, 1679, being an
annuity of £10, part of a fee-farm rent of £51, issuing
out of the site of the late priory of the Holy Trinity
of Mottisfont, and other manors and lands.
3. Mary Bone's Charity for education, will, 1732,
a rent-charge of £20 issuing out of a farm and lands
known as Lomer in the parishes of Corhampton and
Warnford.
4. A sum of £500 consols with the official trustees
of charitable funds to an account entitled 'The Hampshire County Council Repayment Fund,' which may
be claimed in certain contingencies by the County
Council; and
5. A sum of £1,360 Great Eastern Railway Company £4 per cent. consolidated preference stock,
which includes £1,195 stock representing investment
of proceeds of sale in 1882 of land belonging to Robert
Kerby's charities.
The income of the educational branch, amounting
to £96 18s. a year is applied in support of the
institute, which is open without distinction of creed
to all young persons of the civil parishes of Bishop's
Waltham and Curdridge, and so much of the civil
parish of Swanmore as was included in the ancient
parish of Bishop's Waltham upon payment of such
fees as the trustees may fix; but the buildings are by
the scheme reserved to the free use on Sundays by the
rector for the purposes of religious education in respect
of Mary Bone's charity.
The Combined Eleemosynary Charities consist of
the following charities, viz.:—
1. The Almshouse Charity, almshouses sold in
1882, now £44 of above-mentioned railway stock.
2. Poor's Stock Money, being £854, other part of
said railway stock.
3. Mary Bone's Charity for poor widows, will,
1732, formerly rent-charge of £6 out of Stakes Farm
in this parish, redeemed in 1902 by transfer to the
official trustees of £240 consols, forming part of
£1,237 17s. 8d. consols mentioned below.
4. Bishop's Palace Charity, consisting of rentcharge of £8 on Palace House, Bishop's Waltham,
and of £28 of said railway stock.
5. Thomas Grant's Charity, rent-charge of £2
issuing out of a messuage in the High Street.
6. Elizabeth Penford's Charity for poor of Bishop's
Waltham, £372 of said railway stock.
7. Elizabeth Penford's Charity for poor of Curdridge, will, 1842, £186 like stock.
8. Unknown Donor's Charity, £81 like stock.
9. £1,400 Great Eastern Railway £4 per cent. preference stock, forming part of £2,760 like stock with
the official trustees, which comprises the several sums of
railway stock above-mentioned; and £1,237 17s. 8d.
consols, also with the official trustees representing
balance of accumulations, and £240 consols, Mary
Bone's charity for poor widows above-mentioned.
The income of the Eleemosynary Branch, amounting to £96 18s. 8d. a year, is applicable under the
scheme for the benefit of necessitous poor in the area
above mentioned in such manner as the trustees may
consider most conducive to the formation of provident
habits, in aid of the funds of provident clubs or
societies, contributions towards provision of nurses,
&c., also in pensions to old people. In 1905 £80
was expended in providing parish nurses, and six old
persons received pensions.
Poor's allotments consist of 8 acres, deed, 1832;
the rents, about £12 16s., a year, are carried to the
poor rate.
By an award, 1870, 4 acres were acquired as a recreation ground, the rent of 'feed' being carried to
the highway rates.
The Wheat Charity.
5½ sacks of wheat to poor
yearly charged on the rectory.
The National Schools.
See article on schools,
V.C.H. Hants, ii, 396.
Curdridge
The Combined Charities.
See Bishop's Waltham.
Gravel Pit Allotment consists of 3 acres acquired by
award, 1856, rent applied in aid of highway rate.
The National Schools.
See article on schools,
V.C.H. Hants, ii, 398.
Sir Henry Jenkin's Memorial Scholarship Fund
consists of £304 10s. 4d. London County Consolidated
Stock which the official trustees raised by subscription.
By scheme of 31 August, 1901, the dividends are
applicable for maintenance of a scholarship for a boy
or girl who has been a scholar in a public elementary
school in Curdridge or Botley.
Poor's Allotment consists of 3 acres award, 1856,
subject to a yearly rent-charge of £3.
Recreation Ground.
By an award, 1856, 4 acres
were acquired for this purpose, regulated by schemes
of the Charity Commissioners of 25 August, 1885,
and 9 March, 1887.
Reading Room.
By deed, 1884, a site and building thereon, together with a cottage, were dedicated
for the use of the parishioners—an income of about
£12 16s. is derived therefrom.