106 History of the Parish of Stockton, Wilts. 



to the See of Winchester. It may possibly have passed to the 

 King in exchange, as it is valued in a Roll in the Augmentation 

 Office, 33rd Henry VIII. It does not appear how it came into 

 the possession of the Topp family, who are said by Sir Richard 

 Hoare to have been resident at Stockton, as tenants of the manor 

 under the Monks of St. Swithin, before the Reformation. It was 

 their property soon after that period, as it belonged to the father 

 of John Topp the founder of the manor house, who died in 1635. 

 The family of Poticary were settled and had property at Stockton 

 before the year 1590, but subsequently the whole parish became 

 the estate of the Topps. From them it passed to Robert Everard 

 Balch, Esq., of St. Audries, in Somersetshire, who married Susan 

 Everard, daughter and heir of Robert Everard and Susan Topp, 

 sister and at length heir of John Topp who died in 1745, the last 

 of the male line of the Stockton branch of the family. This John 

 Topp had two sisters; Susan mentioned above, and Christiana, the 

 wife of Mr. Lansdown of Woodboro' near Bath, who had a portion 

 of the estate at Stockton which he sold to Mr. Pinchard. After 

 the death of Mr. John Pinchard, solicitor, of Taunton, grandson of 

 the purchaser, this freehold, consisting of a house and premises, 

 and 201a. Ir. and 8p., was bought of his executors by Harry Biggs, 

 Esq. Mr. Balch sold his estate here about the year 1773 to Henry 

 Biggs, Esq., father of the present lord of the manor who is owner 

 of the whole parish, containing about 2100 acres, excepting the 

 Rector's glebe of 632 acres and 23 perches. 



The surface of the parish rises gradually from the south bank of 

 the river Wyly, and contains meadow, pasture and arable land, with 

 a large extent of down and some wood. The downs are broken up, by 

 nature, and by British and Roman earthworks, into very picturesque 

 forms ; the upper part of them is bounded by Stockton wood, being 

 varied with groups of old thorns and plantations, the latter made 

 by the present lord of the manor. The old thorns on the glebe down 

 were unfortunately destroyed by Mr. John Chisman, the tenant in 

 1837, The parish is unenclosed ; the lands were divided and an 

 allotment given to the Rector in lieu of tythes by Act of Parlia- 

 ment, in 1815. An open district like the parish of Stockton can- 



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