SELBORNE HUNDRED 



EMPSHOTT 



EMPSHOTT 



Hibesete, Imbesete, Yuleshate (xiii & xiv cent.) ; 

 Impshott (xv cent, et seq.). 



Empshott is a small parish of about 761 acres lying 

 between Selborne and Hawkley. It is on excep- 

 tionally high ground, and is reached by a steep hill, 

 both from Selborne on the north and Hawkley on the 

 south. The village consists only of a few scattered 

 farms and houses, a church, and vicarage. 1 Ellis's 

 Farm is to the west, Reed's Farm and Butler's Farm to 

 the east, Grange Farm to the north, and Brunstable 

 and Burhunt to the far north near the border line 

 between Selborne and Empshott. The road from 

 Selborne enters the parish between the two farms and 

 branches for a second time just below Grange Farm, 

 which is probably on the site of the original manor 

 house. The branch to the west leads to the vicarage 

 and on to Ellis's Farm, while that to the east leads to 

 Holy Rood Church. At the back of the church is 

 the Grange, owned by Mr. A. E. Scott, standing in 

 the midst of well-wooded country. A little further 

 down on the eastern road is the old farmhouse, now 

 almost in ruins, which, according to local tradition, 

 was once a hiding place of Charles II. South-east of 

 the Grange is Lithanger, now tenanted by Lord 

 William Seymour, and still further east is Empshott 

 Lodge, the residence of Mrs. Butler, backing on Emp- 

 shott Terrace. The National school which was en- 

 larged in 1872 and a few cottages are also in this 

 remote corner. The parish lies on marl with a subsoil 

 of rock, and consists of a series of corn and wheatfields 

 with a few hopfields interspersed, nestling among small 

 woods and hangers. The arable land of the whole 

 parish only covers 362^ acres, 244^ acres are pasture 

 land, and 38 woodland.* The River Rother rises in 

 the south and flows along south of the village, otherwise 

 with the exception of a fish-pond near Lithanger there 

 is no water in the parish. 



The manor of EMPSHOTT was held of 

 MANOR the king in the reign of Edward the Confessor 

 by Bundi and Saxi, and at the time of the 

 Domesday Survey by Geoffrey Marescal,* otherwise 

 Geoffrey de Venuz, the king's marshal. 4 From 

 Geoffrey it descended to Robert de Venuz his son and 

 heir, to Robert's son William, 4 to William's son 



Robert, and to Robert's son John who was holding in 

 the reign of Henry III.* During the thirteenth cen- 

 tury the manor remained in the hands of the Venuz 

 family, but by the reign of Edward II it had come 

 into the possession of Aymer de Valence, earl of 

 Pembroke, who died seised of half a knight's fee in 

 Empshott in 1323.' Like Newton Valence, Hawk- 

 ley, and Oakhanger (q.v.) the manor then passed to 

 Laurence de Hastings, grandson of Aymer's sister 

 Isabel, 8 and seems to have been included, though not 

 by name, in the grant made by Laurence to Thomas 

 West in 1339* since in 1532 Empshott was said to 

 be held of Thomas West, Lord De La Warr, as of his 

 manor of Newton Valence. 10 From this date all trace 

 of the overlordship seems to be lost, the tenure not 

 being returned in later inquisitions. 



William Dawtrey (de Aha Ripa) was holding the 

 manor of Empshott in 1291, in which year he 

 settled it on Peter de la Stane (or Stone) 11 for life, 

 with reversion to John Dawtrey (possibly son of 

 William) and Elizabeth his wife, who may have been 

 a daughter of Peter, 1 ' with reversion to the heirs of 

 Peter if John and Elizabeth died without issue. It 

 is just possible that this Elizabeth survived her husband 

 and became the wife of James de Norton who held 

 the manor in the early fourteenth century. 13 By 

 1316, however, William Paynel was holding Empshott, 

 evidently by the right of his wife Eva, who possibly 

 was the direct heir of Peter de la Stane, and succeeded 

 to the manor on the death of Elizabeth because 

 Elizabeth had no children by her first husband. 14 

 William died without issue in 1 3 1 7, 1 * and Eva, who 

 in 1321 was abducted and married by Edward de 

 St. John, ' she being willing and consenting thereto,' 1 ' 

 was holding the manor conjointly with her second 

 husband in 1346." She survived him also and lived until 

 1 354, when the manor passed to her kinsman and heir 

 Roger son of John de Shelvestrode. 18 Joan, the 

 daughter and heir of John de Shelvestrode, and 

 probably granddaughter of Roger, married John Aske 

 of Yorkshire, 19 who in 1428 was holding the half fee 

 in Empshott which Edward de St. John once held. 10 

 From this date the manor remained in the Aske 

 family until it was confiscated in 1537 by reason of 



1 In the fifteenth century it was ascer- 

 tained by an inquisition taken in 1428 

 that Empshott was one of the Hampshire 

 parishes in which there were not ten in- 

 habitants holding houses (Feud. Aids, 

 ii, 342). 



a Statistics from the Board of Agricul- 

 ture (1905). 



y.C.H. Hants, i, 50 1 b. 



4 Ibid. 430-1. 



s This William de Venuz and Alice 

 his wife granted two parts of half a virgate 

 of land with appurtenances in Empshott 

 to the abbots of Godstow (Cart. Antiq. 

 G.G. 6), who in 1250 claimed the same 

 against Thomas de la Dene, who stated 

 that the lands he held had belonged to 

 Adam de la Bretche father of Richard son 

 of Adam who held them at the day of his 

 death (Curia Regis R. No. 143, Mich. 

 34 & 3 5 Hen. Ill, m. 30 </.) In 1253 

 Emma abbess of Godstow conveyed the 

 same by fine to Richard de la Bretche 

 (Feet of F. Hants, 37 Hen. Ill, No. 

 404). 



3 



6 Curia Regis R. No. 143, Mich. 34 

 & 35 Hen. Ill, m. 30^. 



' Inq. p.m. 17 Edw. II,No. 75, m. 118. 



8 Cat. Close 1323-7, p. 277. During the 

 minority of Laurence the estates of John 

 de Hastings were held of Thomas son and 

 heir of William de Roos of Hamlake. 

 Rot. Orig. (Rec. Com.), ii, 232. 



9 Cal. Pat. 1338-40, p. 395. 



10 Exch. Inq. p.m. 23 Hen. VIII, Ser. 

 2, file 983, No. 4. 



11 The family of de la Stane had held 

 lands in Empshott as early as 1219, when 

 John son of Gilbert granted half a vir- 

 gate of land to Isabel de la Stane and her 

 heirs (Feet of F. South. Trin. 3 Hen. III). 

 In 1253 the abbess of Godstow at the 

 petition of Richard de la Bretche granted 

 Osbert de la Bretche and Eva his wife 

 two parts of half a virgate in Empshott to 

 hold for themselves and the heirs of Eva 

 (Feet of F. Hants. Trin. 37 Hen. III). 

 This Eva may have been Kva de la Stane 

 before her marriage or else married a 

 second time into the de la Stane family, 



since in 1275 Henry de Burhunt made 

 claim against Eva de la Stane for two 

 parts of half a virgate in Empshott (De 

 Banco R. Mich. 4 Edw. I, No. 17, m. 88). 



11 Feet of F. South. 19 Edw. I, No. 184. 



u Feud. Aids, ii, 334. James de Nor- 

 ton's first wife Elizabeth died before 1316, 

 in which year he settled the manor of 

 East Tisted (q.v.) on himself and hi* 

 second wife Margaret. 



14 At present this can only be hypo- 

 thesis, but it seems possible that if the 

 Eva de la Stane of the De Banco Roll of 

 1275 was wife or daughter of Peter 

 she may have had a daughter Eva who 

 married Wm. Paynel, and who would be 

 Peter's heir, and so succeed to Empshott 

 if John Dawtrey and Elizabeth had no 

 children. 



15 Inq. p.m. 10 Edw. II, No. 61. 



16 Cat. Pat. 1317-21, p. 559. 

 " Feud. Aids, ii, 3 34. 



13 Inq. p.m. 28 Edw. Ill, No. 54. 

 19 Hurl. Soc. xvi, 7. 

 " Feud. Aids, ii, 358. 



