WEST WOODHAY
Wideneia, Wydehay, Widihay (xiii cent.).
The small parish of West Woodhay lies at the
extreme south of the county on the northern slope of
the Hampshire downs. It contains 1,432 acres, of
which 359 are arable, 713 permanent grass and 223
woods and plantations. (fn. 1) The soil of the southern
half of the parish is chalk, while that of the remainder
is clay. The chief crops are wheat, barley and oats.
The village lies near the church at the centre of the
parish. The highest part of the parish is in the south
on West Woodhay Down, over 800 ft. above the
ordnance datum. In the north the land falls to less
than 500 ft. No railway or high road traverses the
parish, and the population is purely agricultural.
West Woodhay House, the residence of Mr. Alfred
Clayton Cole, was built in 1635 and is attributed to
Inigo Jones. It faces east and looks over a fine sweep
of lawn with a sheet of ornamental water beyond.
It is a dignified two-story red brick building with
central hall, projecting end wings, and single-story
porch with round-headed doorway flanked by Ionic
pillars. The windows retain their barred sashes and
have rubbed brick architraves. The quoins are also of
rubbed brick, the only stonework being in the porch.
Originally the wings had hipped roofs, the whole
design of the front being quiet and dignified, but in
1881 the house was considerably altered and enlarged,
a new garden-front facing south being added and the
roof of the principal or east elevation being reconstructed, with end and middle gables above a red
terra-cotta cornite. Over the porch doorway is the
date 1635 with the motto, 'Nisi Dominus aedificet
Frustra,' and the old north and south doorways also
bear Latin inscriptions. (fn. 2)
Manor
No manor of this name is mentioned
in the Domesday Survey, but in the 13th
century it was held by Sewal de Osevile
of the Earl of Hereford as of the honour of Plessey, (fn. 3)
and the overlordship afterwards followed the descent
of that earldom (fn. 4) until both passed to the Crown at
the accession of Henry IV.
In 1204 Sewal de Osevile granted a virgate and
2 acres of land with appurtenances here to John son
of Roger. (fn. 5) The manor was called 'Woodhaye Osevile'
in 1221, and in 1227 when it was disafforested by
grant from Henry III, (fn. 6) and Sewal was holding it
later in the 13th century, (fn. 7)
but by 1256 it had passed
to Aumary de St. Amand,
who then obtained a quitclaim of their rights in it
from Mabel the wife of
Thomas de Kedesovere and
Thomas Hemming, apparently
the co-heirs of Sewal. (fn. 8) It
subsequently followed the descent of East Ilsley (q.v.)
until 1433, (fn. 9) when Elizabeth
the wife of William Beauchamp and great-granddaughter of the last Aumary
de St. Amand quitclaimed her right in it to Sir Robert
Shottesbrook, (fn. 10) who had apparently been holding it
since the death of Eleanor St. Amand in 1426. (fn. 11)
St. Amand. Or fretty sable a chief with three bezants therein.
Eleanor daughter and heir of Sir Robert Shottesbrook married Sir John Cheney of Sherland in the
Isle of Sheppey. (fn. 12) At the death of Sir John Cheney
this manor passed under a
deed of settlement to his son
John. (fn. 13) This John Cheney
was a strong supporter of
Henry VII, and both he and
his brother Robert, who seems
to have been then holding
West Woodhay, were attainted
in 1483, and in 1484
Richard III granted the manor
to his nephew, John de la Pole
Earl of Lincoln. (fn. 14) The manor
was, however, afterwards recovered by John Cheney, who
distinguished himself at Bosworth and again at Stoke.
He was elected K.G. shortly
after Henry's accession and
was summoned to Parliament
as a baron in 1487. (fn. 15) He
died without issue on 30 May
1499, and his heir was then
found to be his nephew
Francis, the son of his elder
brother William, (fn. 16) but it was afterwards stated that
by the terms of the settlement West Woodhay
was to remain in tail-male successively to Robert
and Roger, his younger brothers. Sir Robert Chency
died seised of the manor on 6 August 1503,
and, as he had no sons and Sir Roger Cheney was
already dead, the estate should have passed to Sir
Roger's son John Chency, but Francis took possession
of the profits (fn. 17) and brought an action against Margaret,
Sir Robert's widow, for detention of deeds relating to
this manor. (fn. 18) Sir Francis died
childless in 1512 seised of the
estate, which passed to John,
his cousin, (fn. 19) who had livery of
this manor in 1515, (fn. 20) settled
it on the marriage of his son
John with Dorothy daughter
of John Yate of Charney in
1531 and died seised of it in
1545. (fn. 21) John Cheney the
younger about the year 1550
killed Robert Parrys, and his
goods would have been seized
had not the Privy Council
ordered them to be retained by his wife for the maintenance of her
children. (fn. 22) John settled this manor on his wife
Dorothy in 1559 (fn. 23) and died seised of it in 1567,
when his heir was his son Thomas. (fn. 24) It seems
probable that his widow was married again almost
immediately to one William Niell or Personnes, for
in that autumn William with his wife Dorothy quitclaimed her right in the manor to Thomas Cheney
in return for an annuity of £120. (fn. 25) Thomas died in
1582, (fn. 26) and was succeeded by his eldest son Thomas
Cheney, who sold the reversion of this manor, then
leased to Robert Oxenbridge during the life of Anne
widow of Thomas Cheney, (fn. 27) in 1586 to William
Darrell. (fn. 28) Darrell obtained a quitclaim of their
rights in the manor from Robert and Henry Cheney
in 1589 (fn. 29) and died childless in the same year. The
reversion of this manor passed
to his brother Thomas, (fn. 30) who
left it at his death in 1591
to his son John Darrell. (fn. 31)
Anne Cheney was still in
possession of the profits of
this manor in 1594 (fn. 32) and
Thomas Cheney made a fresh
conveyance to John Darrell
in 1598. (fn. 33) John Darrell was
created a baronet on 7 June
1622 (fn. 34) and with Anne his
wife sold this manor in 1634
to Sir Benjamin Rudyerd and
his son William. (fn. 35)
Cheney of West Woodhay. Ermine a bend sable with three martlets, or thereon.
West Woodhay House: East Front
Rudverd. Argent fretty sable a quarter gules charged with a crescent argent.
Sir Benjamin Rudyerd, politician and poet, was
Surveyor of the Court of Wards and Liveries (fn. 36)
from 1618 to 1647, M.P. for Portsmouth in 1620,
1624 and 1625, for Old Sarum in 1626, Downton
in 1628 and Wilton in 1640. (fn. 37) He died here in
1658, (fn. 38) and was succeeded by his son William, who
married Sarah daughter and co-heir of Sir Stephen
Harvey of Northampton. William died in 1661,
leaving as his heir his infant son Benjamin, (fn. 39) who
placed the manor in settlement in 1681 and was
vouchee, together with his son Benjamin, in a
recovery of 1707. (fn. 40) He seems to have sold the
manor a few years later to William Sloper, who was
holding it in 1714. (fn. 41)
West Woodhay Church From The South
William Sloper died in 1743, leaving two sons
William and John. William succeeded to the manor,
and was buried here on 2 August 1789, when he
was followed by his son General Sir Robert (fn. 42)
Sloper, who had been knighted in 1788. (fn. 43) General
Sloper placed the manor in settlement in 1794, (fn. 44)
and was succeeded in 1802 (fn. 45) by his eldest son Robert
Orby Sloper, who was holding it in 1806. (fn. 46) He was
still living in 1821, but seems to have died not long
afterwards, and the manor passed to his son the Rev.
John Sloper, curate of this parish from 1823 to 1850
and afterwards rector. (fn. 47) He was holding it in 1839, (fn. 48)
and died on 1 October 1877, leaving by his wife
Georgina a son Gerard Orby and several daughters.
His will, dated 10 February 1876, states that the
manor must pass under the will of Sir Robert to his
son Gerard Orby Sloper, (fn. 49) and it was sold by Gerard
in 1880 to William Henry Cole.
By his will, which was proved in 1889, William
Henry Cole left the West Woodhay property, subject
to the life interest of his widow, to his elder son
Major William Utting Cole,
who had married in 1879
Mary eldest daughter of Major
Horace de Vere, R.E. Major
Cole died of cholera in India
in 1892, and his eldest son
William Horace de Vere Cole
succeeded to the estate on
the death of Mrs. Jane Cole
in 1906, but sold it in 1912
to his uncle, the present
owner, Alfred Clayton Cole,
Governor of the Bank of
England. (fn. 50)
In 1276 Aumary de St.
Amand claimed the right of
having a gallows in his manor
of West Woodhay, besides
free warren on his demesne
lands and assize of bread and
ale. (fn. 51) His son John de St.
Amand, 28 July 1317, received a grant of a weekly
market on Tuesdays and a
yearly fair on the vigil, day
and morrow of the Purification. (fn. 52)
A windmill is mentioned in 1594, (fn. 53) but there is
none at the present time in the parish.
Church
The church of ST. LAWRENCE is
a modern building of flint rubble with
stone dressings erected in 1882–3 (fn. 54) from
the designs of Sir Arthur Blomfield at the charges
of Mr. W. H. Cole. It replaced an older building
of brick which stood close to West Woodhay House,
nearly half a mile to the west, and which was the
successor of an earlier church on the same site. The
original building is said to have been destroyed by
fire in 1715 or 1716. The brick, church, which is
stated to have been copied from a design of Inigo
Jones, was erected in 1717, (fn. 55) but was pulled down in
1882. The graveyard is now included in the grounds
of West Woodhay House and the outline of the
church is marked out by low box hedges. Ashmole
mentions a black marble monument below the east
window of the original church to Sir Benjamin
Rudyerd, who died in 1658, (fn. 56) but this probably
perished with the building, as it was not in the 18thcentury structure. A large number of mediaeval
encaustic tiles were, however, found in the latter
building and are now set in the west wall of the
tower of the new church.
The present building consists of chancel, aisleless
nave, south porch, and tower on the south side of the
chancel with short spire or tall pyramidal slated roof.
The nave was lengthened 12 ft. at the west end in
1894 and a vestry and organ chamber added on the
north side of the chancel. The building is in the
style of the 13th century and has eaved red-tiled
roofs. An oak screen was erected in front of the
organ chamber and vestry in 1901. The font
and all the fittings are modern and include some
good carved oakwork. There is a mural monument under the tower to Lieut.-General James
Butler (d. 1836).
The tower contains two bells, the smaller without
date or inscription and the larger cast by Robert
Cor of Aldbourne in 1717, the gift of William
Sloper. (fn. 57)
The plate consists of a cup and cover paten of
1570, of the usual type, with band of floral ornament round the bowl of the cup, and a small paten
of 1903 inscribed, 'S. Laurence West Woodhey.'
There is also a pewter cup and paten, the former
inscribed, 'This chalice belonging to West Woodhay
Church was made May 1812.'
The earliest register begins in 1653 and has mixed
entries to 1688, after which there is a gap of four
years, the entries being resumed in 1692.
The churchyard is entered from the road on the
south side through a modern lych-gate.
Advowson
The first reference to the church
that has been found is in 1332, when
Aumary de St. Amand successfully
claimed the advowson from Mary, his aunt, (fn. 58) on the
ground that his father John de St. Amand had presented in the reign of Edward II. Since that date
the advowson has followed the descent of the manor. (fn. 59)
Sir Benjamin Rudyerd seems to have sold the presentation for two turns, as in 1640 John Fowler of
Marlborough and Marcus Fowler of Aldbourne (fn. 60)
presented Christopher Fowler, a Puritan preacher,
who obtained the living of St. Mary, Reading, in
1643, (fn. 61) though he appears to have retained the rectory
here until 1647, when he appointed John Osborne
his successor. (fn. 62) In 1661 the Crown confirmed John
Osborne as rector, and he had been approved for the
cure here by the assembly of divines 17 January 1648. (fn. 63)
Mr. Alfred Clayton Cole is the present patron.
There do not appear to be any endowed charities
subsisting in this parish.