LISS
Lysse (xii cent.); Lys, Leys (xiii cent.); Lyss,
Lyshe, Lisse (xiv cent.).
The parish of Liss lies on the borders of Sussex
4 miles north of Petersfield. It is intersected by the
London and South Western Railway which has a station in the parish. The River Rother entering the
parish at Greatham Bridge flows for some distance east,
and then directs its course centrally through Liss,
dividing it into East Liss on the one side and West
Liss on the other. Further south it is met by Batt's
Brook flowing from the west. By the Rother the
average height above the ordnance datum is 200 ft.,
but both towards the east and west the ground rises,
heights of 500 ft. and 463 ft. respectively being attained at Hill Brow in the east and at Wheatham Farm
in the west. West Liss with the ancient church of
St. Peter and the rectory lies on the main road from
Farnham to Petersfield which runs through the west of
the parish. The modern church of St. Mary and the
Sunday school built on land given by Mr. W.
Nicholson of Basing Park are situated in the centre of
the parish to the west of Station Road which leaves
the main road at Upper Green, and then runs southeast to the station, East Liss and Lower Green. Liss
Place, situated about a quarter of a mile west of West
Liss, is the residence of Mr. H. P. Papillon. Stodham
House in the south of the parish, the seat of Mr. Hugh
Money-Coutts, is a modern mansion built of stone with
grounds of 65 acres bounded by the Rother. The
Wylds in the north is the residence of Mr. Robert
Henderson, and there are many other modern houses
scattered through the parish, particularly at Hill Side
and Hill Brow in the east on the Sussex border.
Woolmer Forest extends into the north-east of the
parish. The area of the parish is 3,595 acres of land
and 24 acres of land covered by water, the soil being
a good sandy loam with a subsoil of gravel and sand.
The chief crop is wheat, and the farmers send large
quantities of milk to the London market. According
to the Agricultural Returns of 1905 the parish contains
784½ acres of arable land, 2,079 acres of permanent
grass, and 385½ acres of woods and plantations. Some
of the place-names occurring in records of Liss are:—La Lamputte (fn. 1) (xiii cent.); Rihullemersche, Cuttelane, Crockerislond (fn. 2) (xiv cent.); Newemylle Brygge,
Whetehamyslond (fn. 3) (xv cent.); Kyppynges, Holmelond,
Pancraslane, Colmannysmore, (fn. 4) Barne Place, (fn. 5) Twyll
Acre, Olde Hall, (fn. 6) Combers, Hyllond, Chesterland,
Hodyslond, Cydyhalefyld, Verny Hill, Pupeholemeade,
Shafterlond, (fn. 7) Harleys Close, The Well House, (fn. 8) Le
Hurst, Middlewood and Wolches (fn. 9) (xvi cent.).
Manors
The manor of LISS, afterwards known
as the manor of LISS ABBAS or LISS
ABBESS, was reckoned in the hundred
of Meonstoke at the time of the Domesday Survey,
and probably formed part of the original endowment
of the abbey of St. Mary, Winchester. (fn. 10) The abbess
and nuns continued in possession of the manor until
the Dissolution, (fn. 11) when it was taken into the hands
of the king, being then of the annual value of
£7 8s. 9d. (fn. 12) From this time it apparently remained
Crown property until 1610, (fn. 13) when James I granted
it to George and Thomas Whitmore, together with
the manor of Liss Turney, which had belonged to the
Earl of Hertford. (fn. 14) After this grant to the Whitmores, Liss Abbess and Liss Turney appear to have
followed the same descent (q.v. infra).
The manor of LISS, afterwards known as LISS
TURNEY, (fn. 15) apparently formed part of the great royal
manor of Odiham until the reign of Henry II, who
granted it as twelve pounds worth of land to William
de Bendeng. (fn. 16) On William's death he was succeeded
by Adam de Bendeng, (fn. 17) who died seised in 1229. (fn. 18)
His heir was his son Walter, who died three years
later, leaving a son William under age, who was
committed to the guardianship of Walter de Faukenberge; (fn. 19) William, however, died while still under age
in 1234, and his lands then passed to his paternal
aunt Maud, who had married Geoffrey Stunny. (fn. 20)
From this date the manor continued in the Sturmy
family (fn. 21) until 1426–7, (fn. 22) when William Sturmy died,
leaving as his heirs a daughter Agnes, married to John
Holcombe, and a grandson John Seymour, son of a
deceased daughter Maud. (fn. 23) The estate of Liss was
thereupon divided into two portions. Agnes, who at
this time had a son of a previous marriage, William
Ryngebourne, still living, held with her husband John
Holcombe the one moiety, (fn. 24) which reverted to Robert
Ryngebourne, her grandson, on the death of John
Holcombe in 1455. (fn. 25) William Ryngebourne, brother
of Robert, was the next to hold, (fn. 26) and as he had no
sons alive in 1511, his grandson Thomas Bruyn
inherited from him. (fn. 27) The estate next appears in the
possession of the Harley family, but in what way this
family acquired it is unknown. John Harley dealt
with it by fine in 1541, (fn. 28)
and was succeeded by his son
of the same name, who sold
it as the manor of Liss or
Liss Harley to Nicholas Dering in 1546. (fn. 29) The Dering
family held for the next sixtysix years consecutively, (fn. 30) and
probably acquired the second
moiety of the manor of Liss
Turney (q.v. infra) and the
manor of Liss Abbess meantime, since the next record is
a sale in 1612 by Henry
Dering to his nephew Thomas Cole of the manor
of Liss alias Liss Harley alias Liss Sturmy, with
all its rights, members, and appurtenances in the
parish of Liss. (fn. 31)
Cole of Liss. Argent a bull passant sable in a border sable bezanty.
The history of the second moiety during the same
period is as follows:— It passed, as has been stated, to
John Seymour, and from that date the descent in the
male line of the Seymour family was probably unbroken till the time of Sir Edward Seymour, who
became Duke of Somerset and Lord Protector. In
1541 Henry VIII granted him the monastery of
Amesbury (co. Wilts.) and various other possessions in
exchange for several of his Middlesex and Hampshire
manors, among which was the manor of 'Listurmy.' (fn. 32)
From this date this moiety continued in the possession
of the Crown until 1610, (fn. 33) when James I granted it
with Liss Abbess to George and Thomas Whitmore. (fn. 34)
So much for the moieties singly. Henceforth the
manor is dealt with as a whole. In 1726 Charles
Cole dealt with it by fine, (fn. 35) and by his will of 1752
he devised the manor of Liss with its rights, members,
and appurtenances, (fn. 36) to Mary his wife for her life,
with remainder to his cousin Herbert Aubrey for life,
with remainder to the four daughters of Herbert Aubrey, Elizabeth, Judith, Arabella and Anne for their
lives, with remainder in fee-tail to Harcourt Aubrey. (fn. 37)
The manor was settled upon Richard Aubrey Cole,
the only son and heir of Harcourt Aubrey, in 1783, (fn. 38)
and continued in the possession of his family until
1807, when it was purchased by Thomas Fitzpatrick.
Sir Charles William Taylor, who became the owner
in 1809, held it until about 1866, when he sold it to
Sir John Hawkshaw, whose trustees are now lords of
the manor. (fn. 39)
Henry Sturmy obtained a grant of free warren in
Liss in 1359. (fn. 40) A mill in Liss was the subject of a
fine between Nicholas Braunche and Reginald de
Pavely in 1304, (fn. 41) and between John Hill and John
Irlond and Alice his wife in 1445. (fn. 42) A water-mill
was included in the sale of the manor of Liss Harley
to Nicholas Dering in 1546, (fn. 43) and its site is probably
marked at the present day by the mill worked by the
stream which flows into the Rother, a short distance
north of the station.
The abbot and convent of Dureford (co. Sussex)
had from an early date an estate in this parish. They
acquired 20 acres of land, 2 acres of meadow, 80 acres
of heath, and 12d. rent in Mapledurham and Liss
Turney from Roger de Petersfield in 1339, (fn. 44) and in
1341 it was stated that they had 100 acres of arable
land in Liss worth 25s. yearly. (fn. 45) At the Dissolution
these lands were taken into the hands of the king, (fn. 46)
who granted them in 1537 to Sir William Fitz
William, (fn. 47) afterwards created Earl of Southampton.
At the death of the earl without issue in 1542, the
estate reverted to Henry VIII, and was granted by
him in 1545 to George Rithe and others. (fn. 48) In 1586
Robert Rithe sold his mansion house in Liss, a messuage called the Well House, and lands in Liss, to Sir
Richard Norton, (fn. 49) who the following year conveyed
them to Richard Kingswell. (fn. 50) There is no further
record of these lands.
Churches
The church of ST. PETER consists
of a chancel 18 ft. 3 in. by 13 ft. 1 o in.
with a recess on the north side for
the organ, a nave 34 ft. by 18 ft. 9 in. with a south
aisle 12 ft. 4 in. wide, and a west tower 10 ft.square;
all the measurements being internal.
The west tower dates from the first half of the
13th century, and was no doubt set centrally with the
nave then existing. An aisle was added on the south
side of the nave late in the same century, and in the
15 th century the nave was widened by pulling down
its north wall and rebuilding it some feet further to
the north. In 1639 the south porch was built, and
the south aisle was probably widened at the same
time. The east and south walls of the chancel have
been rebuilt, and the greater part of the north wall,
in modern times, and the south wall of the aisle was
rebuilt in 1869. Only the lower part of the south
porch is of 17th-century work, the rest being of
considerably later date.
The east window of the chancel is modern, and has
three lancet lights, the centre one being higher than
the others. There is only one north chancel window,
and that is a small plain pointed light, perhaps of
13th-century date, but much restored. The wall in
which it is set is thicker than the east and south walls
of the chancel, and is probably old, in which case it
must date from the 15 th century, when the church
was widened northwards, and the window must have
been reset in it. The organ recess is entirely modern,
and takes up the greater part of the north side of the
chancel.
The two windows in the south wall of the chancel
are modern single-pointed lights in 13th-century
style.
The chancel arch must date from the 15th-century
widening of the church, and has square jambs, the
southern one having been cut back just below the
springing, in corbel fashion; the arch is two-centred,
and has two chamfered orders which die into the
jambs.
The eastern window in the north wall of the
nave has three lights under a two-centred head, and
is 15th-century work, a good deal altered. The
middle light is trefoiled, but in the two side lights the
cusping is destroyed.
The second window, also of 15th-century date, is
better preserved, and has three cinquefoiled lights and
a traceried head, and between the two windows is a
15th-century blocked doorway which has moulded
jambs and a two-centred head with a label.
The arcade between the nave and the aisle is of
three bays with octagonal columns which have splayed
bases and moulded capitals of late 13th-century date,
and arches of two chamfered orders.
The east window of the aisle has three lights with
moulded jambs and mullions, with four-centred uncusped heads under a square lintel; the west window
is similar to this, but has square-headed lights and a
transom, which is a modern restoration. Both are of
17th-century date, while the two south windows are
single trefoiled lights, and date from 1869. Between
them is a late 13th-century south doorway, which has
filleted engaged shafts and wave-moulded jambs with a
two-centred arch. The shafts have moulded capitals
and modern bases, the arch-mouldings dying out on a
vertical face above the capitals.
The tower opens to the nave by a small doorway
having chamfered jambs and drop arch, and has in its
north wall a small, square-headed 13th-century light,
and above it a small pointed light of the same date.
In the west wall is a modern doorway with a wooden
frame, the head of which cuts into another small 13th-century lancet window.
The tower walls are mostly built of a dark-brown
ironstone, and the modern top stage is of timber with
a low shingled octagonal spire, and makes a very
pretty finish to the tower.
The chancel walls and the west wall of the aisle are
faced with the same ironstone as the tower, while the
east wall of the aisle is faced with chalk. The north
wall of the nave is of plastered flint-work, and all the
modern walling is of local stone. The roofs are tiled
and their timbers for the most part modern, but midway in the centre of the nave is an old tie-beam,
which projects right through the wall above the
arcade. The internal fittings are modern except the
octagonal font, which is of 15th-century date, with
quatrefoils in each face of the bowl, and an octagonal
stem and moulded base.
At one time there were galleries at the west ends
of the nave and aisle, but they have been removed.
In the churchyard are a number of mediaeval coffin
slabs, most of them having double hollow-moulded
edges, and all of them have crosses with foliate ends to
the arms, and stepped bases. The churchyard is inclosed with oak palings, and is entered on the east
and south sides. Besides a very large yew tree on the
north side, there are many small fir, cypress, and yew
trees.
The tower contains six bells, the treble of which
was added in commemoration of the 1897 Jubilee,
and was cast by Mears & Stainbank; the others are
by Lester & Pack, 1753.
The plate consists of a silver chalice of 1876; a
paten of 1875, another of 1828 the gift of the Bishop
of Carlisle, another of 1761 given with a flagon of
the same date by Mary Cole widow of Charles Cole
of Liss in 1762; a chalice, paten and flagon of 1892,
and two glass cruets.
The first book of the registers contains all entries
between 1599 and 1737; the second contains baptisms from 1737 to 1786; the third burials from
1681 to 1785; the fourth marriages from 1754 to
1812: and the fifth baptisms and burials from 1785
to 1813.
Liss also possesses another church, or chapel of ease,
of ST. MARY, which was built in 1892 from the
designs of Sir A. Blomfield. It consists of a chancel
with a north transept for the organ and a vestry, and
a nave with north and south aisles and a north porch.
The west end of the nave is temporary, and its extension is intended at some future date.
The building is in plain 13th-century style, built
of local stone with dressed quoins, &c, and lined
inside with brick. The arcades have circular brick
columns, and the roofs are tiled.
The bells are hung over the west gable.
Advowson
Liss Church was probably one of
the two churches held by two priests
of the manor of Odiham at the time
of the Domesday Survey. (fn. 51) It was granted by King
Stephen, with the churches of Bentworth and Odiham,
to the use of the master of the Choristers' School of
Salisbury and the chancellor of the cathedral, whose
duty it was to superintend the schools of the chapter. (fn. 52)
At a subsequent date Liss was attached to the church
of Odiham, and although so far distant was served
from there until 1867, (fn. 53) when the benefice was
declared a rectory in the gift of the Bishop of Winchester. (fn. 54) The living is now of the net yearly value
of £230, with 6¾ acres of glebe and residence.
There is an iron mission hall at Hill Brow. The
Wesleyans have a chapel at East Liss, and the Plymouth Brethren a meeting-house at West Liss.
The Board Schools were erected in 1872, and
enlarged in 1878 and again in 1888.