30 HISTORY OF HARTING. 



of Gloucester, to the burgesses of Petersfield, is wit- 

 nessed by Henry Hussey, whose name stands between 

 those of Gwidon, Prior of Sanwich (Sandwich) and 

 William, Abbot of Durford ; sixteen witnesses in all. 

 So early was the friendship between Harting and 

 Petersfield, that the former may be said to have had 

 the honour of standing godmother for the gallant little 

 borough. 



The next document to be cited is one of yet more 

 considerable interest. It is nothing less than a cheque 

 of King John's, written in the fourth year of his reign, 

 1203, and drawn upon a certain William de Wilek, his 

 banker, for 20 in favour of Henry Hussey. Norman 

 Roll, 4 John, m. 6 : " The king to Richard de Willek, 

 We command you to make Henry de la Huse secure 

 (quietum) of 20, which he owes to the Jews, and that 

 ye cause the bond for the same debt to be given up to 

 the said Henry without delay. Witness the king at 

 Sage (Sagium), 28 January (1203)."* This cheque 

 was no doubt a Magna Charta to Henry Hussey, and 

 it must have been a stupendous wrench to have raised 

 20 from King John. Professor Stubbs contrasts 

 Henry III. with his father, King John, in these words: 

 " Unlike his father, who was incapable of receiving any 

 impression, Henry was so susceptible of impressions 

 that none of them could last long. John's heart was 

 of millstone, Henry's of wax." 2O in King John's 

 reign may be taken as worth twenty-six times as much 

 now, or 520 of our money, a royal gift. It is likely 

 that the building of Durford, and the commencement 

 of the Church, and repairs of the mansion at Harting,f 



* Norman Roll, " Rex Ricardo de Wilek, Mandamus vobis 

 quod quietum esse faciatis Henricum de la Huse de 20 quas 

 debet Judasis, et cartas de eodem debito ipsi Henrico reddi 

 faciatis sine dilatatione. Teste Rege apud Sagium 28 Januarii." 



t Letter of Rev. W. Morgan, Vicar of Harting, to Sir. W. 

 Burrell, 1777, describes Harting place as a dwelling at even an 

 earlier date. " In the time of Henry II. Henry Hussey lived at 

 Harting place, the house near the Church." Burrell MSS., 5689, 

 p. 187,' B. M. 



