Building of Church and Manor House. 259 



who in the days of King John held in trust for the King the entire 

 county of Wilts. He appears first of all as one of the puisne judges 

 on circuit in 1203 at Reading and "Winchester. He held one knight's 

 fee (or perhaps some SOO to 901) acres) at Thomeycroft, a name still 

 to be seen in the terrier of the parish. In the early part of John's 

 reign he also served as Under Sheriff of York to Geoffrey Fitz-Peter, 

 and was an active agent in the despoiling of the Archbishop's lands 

 and goods, when that prelate refused to pay certain exactions levied 

 by the crown, for which act James of Potterne was formally ex- 

 communicated by the Archbishop. A short time afterwards the 

 county of Wilts was placed under his charge. He seems to have 

 had a difficult part to play, for an entry in the close rolls relating 

 to the proposed grant of an estate at Wallop, which was however to 

 be withheld, " si Jacobus de Poterna non sit ad serviciutn nostrum'' 

 i.e., in plain English, unless he could be trusted, seems to throw a 

 passing cloud over his loyalty.^ He seems however to have tided 

 over the difficulty, like many others in those difficult times, for the 

 estate was certainly in his possession a few years afterwards, and 

 early in the reign of Henry III. he was filHng important and re- 

 sponsible offices. 



One most important work must have been carried out during the 

 thirteenth century — viz., the building of the present church, a fit 

 daughter for the singulary beautiful mother church at Sarum, and, 

 like it, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. To whose zeal we are in- 

 debted for this beautiful structure we know not : perhaps in part to 

 James of Potterne, who would seem to have been living in 1255, 

 and in part to the Bishop of the time, who rightly made his pre- 

 bendal church at Potterne in some degree a reflection of his cathedral 

 church at Salisbury. 



Possibly also during this century a manor house was built as a 

 residence for the Bishops, for a mandate was issued by Henry III., 

 dated from Potterne, on July 12th, 1255, ordering the Sheriff of 

 Wilts to make a " chimney in the Queen's Chamber in the Castle 



* Waylen's •' Devizes," p. 61. 



