A HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE 



In the Salt Library, Stafford, is an invaluable MS. return of the 

 population of the province of Canterbury over sixteen years of age, for 

 the year 1 676, divided into three classes : ' Conformists, Papists and 

 Nonconformists.' It was drawn up by order of Henry Compton, Bishop 

 of London, and was obtained from the clergy at the archidiaconal 

 visitations. The following are the figures for the ten rural deaneries of 



Hampshire : 



C. P. N. 



Andover 8,027 2O 2 55 



Basingstoke ">045 73 2I 4 



Alton 4,785 24 392 



Droxford 13,526 . 188 538 



Southampton 453 26 43** 



Fordingbridge 7,129 . 127 625 



Isle of Wight 8,964 . 7 129 



Winchester 4,545 . 243 177 



Alresford 2,845 .105 8 1 



Samborne 5,578 . 33 865 



70,660 846 3,714 



The proportion of Roman Catholics may not seem large, but it is 

 nearly the largest of any county in England. 1 Although this little known 

 and seldom cited return is probably not exactly correct, and most likely 

 somewhat understates the numbers of both papists and nonconformists, it 

 is found when tested by other returns to be approximately accurate. To 

 form a general total of the whole population, when the numbers given 

 are of those over sixteen years of age, it is necessary to add about forty 

 to every hundred. 



The parishes or chapelries where the proportion of Roman Catholics 

 was the largest were : Bedhampton, where there were 12 papists to 45 

 conformists and 2 nonconformists ; Twyford, where there were 70 

 papists and 430 conformists ; Tichbourne, where the papists numbered 

 24 to the conformists' 79 ; and Otterbourne, where the papists were 54 

 out of a total population (over sixteen) of 189. The proportion of 

 nonconformists was largest at Romsey, where they numbered 777 to 3 

 papists and 1070 churchfolk ; and at Porchester, where they numbered 

 140 to 5 papists and 175 churchfolk. 



Bishop Mews was a remarkable man. He was an Oxford graduate, 

 and for a time president of St. John's College, who took service in the 

 royalist force raised by the university in 1642, obtaining the rank of cap- 

 tain and being one of the numerous prisoners taken at Naseby. He was an 

 active messenger (being an adept in disguises) between the continent and 

 England and Scotland in the royalist interest during the Commonwealth. 

 The date of his ordination is not known. After the restoration he 

 obtained rapid and abundant promotion. Soon after his translation to 

 Winchester the militant bishop had an opportunity of displaying his 



1 The papists of Derbyshire were somewhat higher in proportion ; the figures for that county were : 

 C. 47,151 ; P. 588 ; N. 918. The diocese of London had 2,069 papists, but the conformists were 

 263,000 ; the diocese of Lincoln had 1,244 papists out of 215,000 conformists. 



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