228 HISTORY OF HARTING. 



field road) a double beech tree is passed near a stile 

 called Pitt's stile, on the left-hand of a little hill on 

 the Petersfield side of Tarberry. About six feet from 

 the ground the divergence of the stems forms a natural 

 bowl, so deep and &> ensconced in shade that it is a 

 never-failing well, there being always fifteen inches of 

 water in it (Mr. Tickner assures me) even in the dryest 

 summer. It may just be reached by a person standing 

 on the stile : and Mr. Tickner says that in the recent 

 Tichborne trial, it was stated that the putative Sir 

 Roger used to lift up his dogs to give them water at 

 this tree on the road between Harting and Petersfield. 

 The present road, however, between Harting and 

 Petersfield is new nearly to Hurst, and the late Sir" 

 Roderick Murchison used to say that for many years 

 of his acquaintance with Harting, the carriage road to 

 Petersfield lay through Rogate. It appears by the 

 Parish Records that there were 24^ miles of roadway 

 in Harting in 1845. Now there are more than 30. 



In 1782 the four bells of the Harting Church peal 

 were recast, together with those of Westbourne, by 

 Mears and Co., when an exact duplicate (a beautiful 

 peal of six) was produced. The Church spire, anciently 

 of shingle, was covered with copper about 1825 ; and 

 the weathercock has served as a target for some wild 

 riflemen, as appears by some holes in the metal on 

 the north side, which can be detected by curious eyes. 

 Sparrow heads and hedgehogs cost the Church rate in 

 1827 about $. The Fast of 1808, after Austerlitz, 

 and the Prayer "Books for Peace," in 1813, are duly 

 chronicled in the old Vestry Book. 



Some among us still remember the fear of a French 

 invasion in the early part of this century, which was, 

 of course, very sensibly felt here in the neighbourhood 

 of Portsmouth and the South Coast. These good 

 gossips tell, not without a thrill even now, how ovens 

 were measured to see how much bread each village 

 could bake, how waggons were appointed to take the 



