HINTON AMPNER
Hentune (xi cent.); Henton (xii cent.); Hinton
Ampner or Amner (xiii cent.).
The parish of Hinton Ampner contains 2,378 acres
of land rising gradually from west to east to a height
of more than 400 ft. above the sea level.
Hinton Park, covering an area of 66 acres, in
which is Hinton House, the seat of Mr. Henry John
Dutton, fills up the whole of the north-west of the
parish; immediately east of the park is the village,
and from here the parish stretches eastward in a long
irregular tract away to Brookwood in the south-east.
'Brookwood' is the residence of Mr. Daniel Meinertzhagen, and stands in a finely wooded park of
86 acres through which the house is approached by
two good drives. As the main road from Winchester
to Petersfield sweeps over Lane End Down and leaves
Cheriton parish at Lane End hamlet, the Jolly Farmer
Inn, standing on the south of the road, seeming locally
in Cheriton, marks the beginning of Hinton Ampner
parish. North of the road is the low-lying country of
Hinton Marsh, a few yards south of which the Itchen
tributary, which runs through Cheriton, has its
beginning. Along the south side of the road are the
rising grounds of Hinton Park, up which winds one of
the carriage drives to Hinton House, though the house
itself, standing further south-west among the trees over
the brow of the hill, is hidden from the road. About
a quarter of a mile east of the 'Jolly Farmer' a steep
lane branches south from the main road, and here and
there on either side of this, as it runs uphill between
high banks and overhanging trees parallel with the
grounds of Hinton House, the cottages of the village
for the most part lie. Several, one group especially
which lies back behind long narrow gardens, are half
timbered and thatched and most picturesque in
appearance. At the top of the hill beyond the rectory,
which stands high on the left hand, the road branches
south-east to Brookwood and south-west towards
Kilmeston. Here, close on the road to the west, but
actually within the grounds of Hinton House, is the
church of All Saints, still west of which, half hidden
from view by the thickness of the trees, is Hinton
House itself. From here the ground falls away to the
south, so that the house, standing on the slope nearly
400 ft. above the ordnance datum, commands a wide
view, with Kilmeston immediately in the south, while
away to the south-west beyond Kilmeston rises Millbarrow Down. Several cottages and farm buildings
lie east of the church along the road which runs southeast to Brookwood.
Apart from the main group of houses thus clustered
near the church and manor-house, as the turnpike
road runs east to Petersfield, between wide stretches
of green sward bordered by copper beeches and other
fine trees, or past occasional clearings with high stacks
of brushwood, every here and there scattered along
the road are other cottages belonging to Hinton
Ampner village. Here also south of the road, about
midway between Bramdean and Hinton Ampner, is
the schoolhouse, a red-brick building dating from
1861, near which is the police station, facing a fine
clump of tall pine trees.
The inhabitants are mostly employed in agriculture, since the soil is clay loam with a subsoil of
chalk producing ordinary root and green crops.
The greater proportion of the 1480¼ acres of arable
land are in the centre of the parish intermingled with
the 561¼ acres of permanent grass land. Of the
151½ acres of woodland the largest group is in the
south of the parish close to Kilmeston.
Joan's Acre, Whitehill, Broomwood, and Lamborough Road are still existing place-names which
were mentioned in a Close Roll of 1650, (fn. 1) and undoubtedly date back to a much earlier time.
MANORS
The manor of HINTON or HINTON
AMPNER was held by the bishop of
Winchester at the time of the Domesday
Survey, it had always belonged to the Church; the
manor was assessed at eight hides and was worth 100s. (fn. 2)
Hinton Ampner was among the manors confirmed
to the prior and convent of St. Swithun, Winchester,
in 1205, and again in 1285. (fn. 3) The manor was appropriated to the office of almoner of St. Swithun's
(hence the name Ampner
which is a corruption of
almoner); it defrayed the
expenses of the almoner's office
and the almoner held the
manorial courts either in person or by his bailiff. (fn. 4)
Stewkeley. Checky argent and sable a fesse and a border gules.
The manor remained in
the possession of the priory
of St. Swithun until the Dissolution (fn. 5) when it passed with
the other manors belonging
to the priory to the dean and
chapter of Winchester, by
whom it was leased for a term of 21 years to
Sir Thomas Stewkeley in 1637. (fn. 6) At the sale of
the dean and chapter's lands in 1650 it was
bought by Sir John Hippesley for the sum of
£2,587 17s. 5½d. There was then a capital messuage called Prior's Hinton or the manor-house
consisting of a large hall, two parlours, and twenty-one
chambers, with brewhouse, malthouse, stables, barns,
a hop garden and bowling green. More than 700
acres of land were attached to the manor, including a
common containing 100 acres. (fn. 7) Hinton Ampner was
recovered by the Cathedral Church at the Restoration
and was again held by the Stewkeleys, who must have
obtained the fee-simple of the manor about this date;
although no record of this has been found. (fn. 8) From the
Stewkeleys it passed to the Stawells, by the marriage in
1719 of Mary, daughter and heiress of Sir Hugh
Stewkeley, with Edward, fourth and last Baron Stawell. (fn. 9)
Lord Stawell left a daughter and heiress Mary, who
was created baroness Stawell
in 1759; she married as her
first husband the Hon. Henry
Bilson - Legge, who became
Baron Stawell in right of his
wife; (fn. 10) and from this time
onwards the descent of the
manor follows that of Bedhampton (q.v.). (fn. 11) The manor
was held by paying a septennial fine, which was enfranchised by the Hon. John
Dutton in 1863. (fn. 12) The lord
of the manor at the present
day is Mr. Henry Dutton.
View of frankpledge and rights
of free warren in Hinton
Ampner were granted to the dean and chapter under
the grant of the manor to them in 1542. (fn. 13)
Bilson-Legge. Azure a hart's head argent, for Legge, quartered with Azure a rose argent parted with a pomegranate or having a stalk and leaves vert, for Bilson.
CHURCH
The church of ALL SAINTS has
suffered from 'restoration' more severely than many of its neighbours, (fn. 14)
but is still of great interest as preserving its pre-Conquest plan and a few details of
that date. It has a chancel
15 ft. 8 in. wide by 21 ft.
long, and a nave 21 ft. 10 in.
wide by 47 ft. with walls
2 ft. 6 in. thick of flint rubble
with ashlar dressings. There
is a north-west vestry to the
nave, a west bell-turret, and a
south porch, all being modern.
The chancel shows little traces
of age, all its details having
been reworked. It has a pair
of lancets in its east wall, two
in the north wall, and two
in the south, and at the south-west a priest's door
and a low-set lancet window, all of thirteenthcentury style. At the south-east is a double piscina
with a shelf and a recess in the back below the shelf.
The chancel arch is modern, as are all the windows
of the nave, of which there are four on the north,
three on the south, and two at the west, with a
trefoiled opening between them. The south doorway
is also modern.
Dutton. Quarterly argent and gules, the gules fretty or, with the difference of a crescent.
The remains of pre-Conquest work are as follows:
part of the north-east quoin of the nave, two pilaster
strips in the nave walls, one on the north and one on
the south, set at 6 ft. westward from the eastern
angles, and a doorway now leading to the modern
north-west vestry, and formerly the south doorway of
the nave, its position being further eastward than
the present south doorway. The doorway has square
jambs without a rebate, long and short quoins, and a
round arch with a chamfered label, which may have
been recut, the doorway not being in its original
position. All this early work is in Binstead oolite,
used in pre-Conquest work at Corhampton, Tichborne, Hambledon, and elsewhere. The vestry door
has panels with mitred mouldings on one panel,
with an inscription recording that 'Nicholas Lacy gave
this doore February, 1643.' No other woodwork in
the church is ancient, and the font, near the south
door of the nave, is modern.
The monuments are interesting. On the south
wall of the chancel, east of the piscina, are some
small brass plates to the memory of William son of
Sir Thomas Stewkeley, 1606, Katherine daughter of
Sir Humphrey Drewe of Little Gidding, 1599, and
Edward Drewe, 1601. On the north wall is a brass
plate to Sir Hugh Stewkeley, 1612, with a shield of
arms above it, and others to Thomas his son, 1638,
Elizabeth his daughter, 1667, and Elizabeth, widow
of Sir Thomas Stewkeley, 1648. On the north wall
also is a painted marble and alabaster monument with
the effigy of an infant son of the Stewkeley family,
1638, and on the south wall is the monument of an
infant son of Thomas Stewkeley, 1601. At the
south-west corner of the nave is a large white marble
mural monument to Henry Bilson-Legge, 1764.
There are three bells, the treble inscribed: 'Serv
God I W 1603.,' the second 'Fere God I W, 1603.,'
and tenor 'In God is my hope, 1610.' The latter
is by the unidentified founder I.H. (possibly John
Higden), the other two by John Wallis of Salisbury.
The plate consists of a cup of 1745, with a paten
of 1879, both bought in 1880; a flagon, circa 1704,
and an almsdish of 1740. The old communion plate
was sold in 1880, and is now in a private collection.
The present cup and paten were bought from the
proceeds of the sale.
The first book of the registers contains baptisms and
burials 1541–1774, and the second marriages 1561–
1754. The third continues the marriages to 1813.
ADVOWSON
At the time of the Domesday
Survey there was a church in
Hinton Ampner which was worth
40s., but was assessed at 50s. (fn. 15) In 1284 the king
gave up to John, bishop of Winchester, all his right
in the advowson of this church. (fn. 16) In 1291 the
church was taxed at £6, (fn. 17) and by 1535 the value had
risen to £22. (fn. 18)
The bishop presented to the living of Hinton
Ampner until nearly the end of last century, (fn. 19) when
the dean and chapter of Winchester became the
patrons. (fn. 20)
The living is now a rectory, net yearly value £300,
with residence and 118 acres of glebe.
CHARITIES
Charity of William Blake for
Charity School.
In 1738, William
Blake by his will proved in the
P.C.C. founded and endowed a charity school in this
parish. (fn. 21) The endowments consist of school, schoolhouse and premises in hand; a farm at Sheet in
the parish of Petersfield, of 53 acres of arable land,
and 6 acres of meadow; 11 acres or thereabouts
of common allotted under Sheet Inclosure Award
in respect of the above lands; a farm at Noah Hill
in the parish of Newton Valence, consisting of
81 a. 2 r. 29 p. of arable land, 4½ acres of coppice,
and 5¼ acres of pasture. The farms produce an
annual income of about £145. The official trustees also hold £288 17s. 10d. consols arising in
part from sale of land and in part from investment
of accumulations.
The trust is administered under a scheme approved
1 May, 1890.
Charity of William Blake for Poor.
The same
testator by his will directed that £200 should be laid
out in the purchase of land, the yearly income to be
applied for the benefit of the poor of the parish.
This was laid out in the purchase of 10½ acres at
Rogate, Sussex, let at £15 a year. The official trustees also hold a sum of £120 6s. 10d. consols in
trust for this charity. The income is applied in the
distribution of coal, 5s. being paid to the sexton for
tolling the church bell as per will of donor.
In 1861 the Hon. Honora Legge by will left £100
consols for the benefit of the poor, which is held by
the official trustees. The dividends are given in
equal shares to two poor labourers with large families,
or to two aged widows.
In 1898 Mrs. Honora Augusta Cowper-Coles,
by will and codicil proved this date, bequeathed £120
£2 10s. per cent. annuities, income to be applied
by the officiating minister in the distribution of
warm winter clothing to poor women. The stock is
held by the official trustees.