ALTON HUNDRED WEST WORLDHAM 



windows have a square outer order, carried by 

 nook shafts like those within. The south door- 

 way resembles the north, but has been largely 

 ' restored.' It has a large ' consecration ' cross cut 

 in each jamb and several small crosses on the east 

 jamb. This doorway is covered by a modern porch. 



There are three bells in a wooden turret sur- 

 mounting the west end of the nave. 



The communion plate consists of a large silver 

 flagon, with an inscription that it was given to 

 East Worldham by Edward Heighes, gent, (whose 

 arms it bears), who died 16 December, 1723, and 

 a silver chalice inscribed with the same date. 

 There are also two silver patens, one inscribed as 

 the 'gift of John Eggar, Gent., 10 August, 1829,' 

 and the other with the date 1843. 



The parish registers commence in 1690 and 

 previous to 1812 consist of two volumes : i. 1 690 

 1811, ii. 1754-1812. 



The churchwarden's book, a parchment bound 

 volume, commences 1623, but is inscribed 'the 

 Church Book of Account for the Parish of East 

 Worldham, purchased by Henry Heighes (price 3), 

 1663.' It contains some interesting entries. Ini6a4 

 payment is made of ' smoke money ' and 5/. ^.d. was 

 paid for the whole year for the maimed soldiers and 



Marshalsea. In 1628 and after, two supervisors as 

 well as two churchwardens are chosen, and in that 

 year the churchwardens are summoned to Winches- 

 ter and ' charged for reparations of our church.' 

 Considerable repairs to the church are then men- 

 tioned, and i ot. lod. is entered as provided by 

 the rate of ' the Park ' ; ' King's Land ' and ' Chantry 

 Mead ' are also mentioned. In 1654 the justices 

 of the peace ordered that the sum which remained 

 in the old churchwardens' hands should be em- 

 ployed towards the making of a whipping post 

 and a pair of stocks. 



There is a Wesleyan chapel in the parish. 



A reading room was erected in 1893 at the cost 

 of John Baigent. 



The National Church of England Schools were 

 built in 1864, on land given by Lord Selborne, at 

 a cost of about 700 for the school and school- 

 house, and an infants' class-room was added in 1897 

 at a cost of 185. 



There is a charity of i a year charged on land 

 in East Worldham and directed to be paid to the 

 poor by the will of William Dunce, who died 

 20 December, 1761; and 4 a year, for the same 

 purpose, left to the parish in 1902 and called 

 ' ChristmasV 



WEST WORLDHAM 



West Worham (xiii. cent.), West Wordham 

 (xiv. cent.), Parva Worldham or Worldham Minor 

 (xv. cent.). 



The parish of West Worldham, which contains 

 a little over 400 acres, is now and, so far as we are 

 able to judge, always has been, very thinly popu- 

 lated ; in 1428 there were not ten ' domicilia 

 tenentes' in 'Worldham Minor.' 1 The parish of 

 East Worldham forms its northern and eastern 

 boundaries, Hartley Mauditt its southern boundary 

 and Alton its western. A road from Binsted to 

 Faringdon passes through it, and on this the few 

 cottages which form the village are built, about a 

 mile after that road passes East Worldham. The 

 ancient church of St. Nicholas stands a little to 

 the east of the same point. West Worldham at 

 the time of the Conquest appears to have had no 

 separate existence from East Worldham, but when 

 the parishes come to be separately mentioned they 

 are found described as East and West, or Great 

 and Little, Worldham. West Worldham was pro- 

 bably made a parish towards the end of the 

 twelfth century, when Richard de Annecy en- 

 dowed a church there. 8 In 1291 however the 

 parish of West Worldham is not mentioned under 

 the deanery of Alton, but it had then presumably 

 acquired a distinctive name, because East World- 

 ham appears as Worldham Major. 3 

 MANOR In October, 1277, we have mention 



of a messuage, garden and rents in WEST WORLD- 

 HAM, formerly in the tenure of Godfrey le Clerc 

 and then in the hands of Thomas Paynel. 4 In 

 1316 the vill of West Worldham was held by 

 William Paynel. 5 In 1317 John Paynel died 

 seized of the manor which he held of Alton. 

 Maud, the wife of Nicholas de Upton, was his 

 daughter and heir, but Eve, William's widow, 

 then the wife of Edward St. John, held a third 

 of the manor in dower. 6 



In 1346 John Wace or Wasse held the fourth 

 part of a fee in Little Worldham, which had be- 

 longed to Amice Shotesbroke and John Berwik. 7 

 After this date the manor passed to Thomas 

 Chaucer of Ewelme, who had married Maud, 

 daughter and coheir of John de Burghersh, lord 

 of the manor of East Worldham, as we find he 

 was in possession in 1416 and I43I. 8 In the in- 

 quisition on the death of Thomas Chaucer in 1435 

 he is described as having acquired the manor con- 

 jointly with Maud his wife by gift of Henry Semer. 

 It was held not of the king in chief, but of whom 

 the jury knew not. 9 Maud died in 1437 seized 

 of the manor held as last described, leaving Alice, 

 wife of William de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk, 10 her 

 daughter and heir, aged thirty. 11 They had a grant 

 of a court leet in this manor in 1445. 18 The Earl 

 of Suffolk was beheaded in 1450, and his wife died 

 in I475- 13 The manor early in the next century 



1 Feud. Aids, ii. 342. 



* Hants Notes and Queries, v. 15. 



3 Taxation of Pope Nicholas (Rec. 

 Com.), p. 210. 



* Inq. p.m. 5 Edw. I. No. 46. 

 Feud. Aids, ii. 315. 



11 



8 Inq. p.m. 11 Edw. II. No. 50. 

 1 Feud. Aids, ii. 333. 



8 Feet of F. Div. Cos. Mil. 3 Hen. 

 V. and Feud. Aids, ii. 357, 363. 



9 Inq. p.m. 13 Hen. VI. No. 35. 



521 



10 Alice had married, previously, (i) 

 Sir John Philip and (2) Thomas, Earl 

 of Salisbury. 



11 Inq. p.m. 15 Hen. VI. No. 53. 



Chart. R. 21-24 Hen. VI. No. 21. 

 I 3 Complete Peerage, vii. 306. 



66 



