A HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE 



1566"* and Sir Richard White in i6i3. 70 He 

 left a son and heir, Thomas, then aged six. In 

 1629 Thomas White of Farnham conveyed the 

 manor to Richard Manning of Norton Green in 

 order that a recovery might be suffered to the 

 use of the said Thomas and his heirs. 71 



From the Court Rolls, which begin in 1690, 

 in possession of the present lord of the manor of 

 Anstey, it appears that the manor was then held by 

 Edwin Fisher. In 1719 it was held by James 

 Field. Thomas Eyre dealt with the manor by 

 fine in 1725 and 1736." In 1798 Ann Dowden 

 (widow of John Dowden) was in possession, and 

 sold it, in 1 807, to William Lee, whose widow, 

 Ann Lee, sold it in 1822 to William Barlow, who 

 sold it in 1832 to General Sir John Sigismund 

 Smith. From General Smith it was acquired by 

 the Misses Elizabeth and Sarah Miller, and it 

 was sold in 1878, under their will, to Henry 

 Hall, father of Gerald Hall, now lord of the manor. 



The present manor house of Anstey was erected 

 about twenty years ago on rising ground above 

 the hamlet of Anstey, near the site of the 

 original manor house, from the foundations of 

 which an avenue of ancient elms extends down to 

 the north side of the road from Farnham to Alton. 



The manor of TRENCHANTS or WASH- 

 DELLS takes its name from William Trenchant, 

 who in the thirteenth century acquired a messuage 

 and carucate of land in Alton, held of the king 

 in chief, a messuage called Toteshall, and a wood 

 called Kingeswood near Alton. He married 

 Alice, co-heir of Elias de Roucestre, and left a 

 son and heir, Edward, who left a daughter and 

 heir, Alice, married to William Fyfhide, who was 

 found to have occupied it without due title, 

 whereupon Edward III. granted the property in 

 1371 to William Wightman. 73 Twenty years later 

 claim was made to it by Sir John Sondes, who 

 had married Joan, heiress of the Fyfhides, who 

 alleged that it belonged to 

 William Trenchant's wife 

 Alice, and that it descended 

 to her sister and heir, Mar- 

 gery, wife of Richard Chanyn, 

 who sold it to William Fyf- 

 hide. 74 



In 1379 William Serle 

 was paying rent to the lord 

 of Alton for lands and tene- 

 ments late Edward Tren- 

 chant's. 76 



In 1413 Sir Henry de 

 Beaumont died seized of the 

 property, called ' Trenchauntes Place.' 78 His 



widow died in 1 42 8 holding a third part in dower. 77 

 He left a son and heir John, aged four, whose 

 son and heir William, Viscount Beaumont, died, 

 in 1507, seized of the property 78 described as 

 Trenchant's manor in Alton. Viscount Beaumont's 

 widow, Elizabeth, afterwards Countess of Oxford, is 

 stated to have held it in 1519, paying a chief rent 

 of 4 to the lord of Alton. 79 On her death 

 Trenchants came to the Crown, and was leased, 

 in 1538, to Sir Richard Lyster for 21 years. 80 

 In 1555, Philip and Mary 

 granted it to Sir John Gage 

 of Firle, 81 who, the following 

 year, had licence to alienate 

 it to his son Robert Gage of 

 Hailing, Surrey, 82 who held 

 his first court 3 October, 

 I559- 83 In 1572 Sir John 

 White obtained a Chancery 

 decree, ordering Robert Gage 

 to pay to him as lord of 

 Alton the chief rent of ^4, 



GAGE. Farted salttre- 



,; 



BEAUMONT. Azure 

 po-wdered -with four, de 



lys gold with a lion gold. 



which had been paid before a talnre gula. 

 Trenchants was granted to 

 Sir John Gage. 84 



On 24 November, 1583, an indenture of 

 bargain and sale of the manor was made by Robert 

 Gage and John Gage, his son and heir apparent, 

 to Nicholas Knight of Chawton and Elizabeth his 

 wife. 85 In 1598 John Knight undertook to levy a 

 fine of the manor by which it should remain, in 

 default of heirs of his own body, to his brothers 

 Stephen and Nicholas Knight. 88 In or about 1600 

 rent was paid to the lord of Alton from the Lord 

 Chief Justice ' for lands, late Lady Oxford's, re- 

 covered from my lord called 

 Trenchins and Washedells,' 

 40/. 87 The title of the 

 manor was, about 1617, 

 called in question by com- 

 missioners appointed by the 

 Crown, whereupon John 

 Knight, son of Nicholas, 

 compounded with the com- 

 missioners and took a new 

 grant from the king and his 

 patentee. 88 The manor of 

 Trenchants has remained in 

 the family of Knight of Chaw- 

 ton down to the present day. 89 



In 1 740 George Inwood was rated for ' Tron- 

 chont's farm.' " 



The Court Rolls in the possession of the present 

 lord of the manor begin in 1539. 



The manor house stands at the foot of Normandy 



KNIGHT. Vert a tend 

 engrailed gold -with a 

 cinjfoil silver in the 

 foot. 



* 9 Inq. p.m. scr. 2, cxlv. No. 9. 



70 Ibid. ser. z, i 1 Jas. I. pt. 2, No. 103, 

 & Wards & Liveries, bdle. 18, No. 221. 



71 Close, 4 Chas. I. pt. 3, No. 32. 



7) Feet of F. Hants, Trin. 1 1 Geo. I. 

 and Hil. 10 Geo. II. 



Inq. a.q.d. 45 Edw. III. No. 5. 



74 Inq. p.m. 15 Rich. II. pt. 1,117 

 and pt. *, 139. 



7 B. M. Add. R. 27,820. 



1* Inq. p.m. i Hen. V. No. 45. 



TT Ibid. 6 Hen. VI. No. 49. 



78 Ibid. scr. 2, xxiv. 34. 

 7 " Ibid. 



80 Pat. 29 Hen. VIII. pt. 4, m. 16. 

 Pat. R. i & 2, Ph. & Mary, pt. 9. 

 Ibid. 2 & 3, Ph. & Mary, pt. 9. 



83 Information supplied by the pre- 

 sent lord of the manor from documents 

 in his custody. 



84 Chan. Decree Roll 39, No. 4. 



85 Deedt in possession of the lord of 

 the manor and Inq. p.m. ser. 2, Chan, 

 vol. 2 1 6, No. 98. 



478 



8 Com. Pleas Recov. R. Deeds en- 

 rolled Easter, 40 Eliz. m. 17. 



87 Add. R. 27,893. 



88 Information from the present lord 

 of the manor. In 1617 the Crown 

 granted the manor to Sir Thomas 

 Middleton. Pat. 14, Jas. I. p. 17. 



89 Feet of F. Div. Co. East. 30 Geo. 

 II. 



80 Parish Records quoted in Curtis's 

 Hist, of Alton, p. 87. 



