A HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE 



early part of the thirteenth century mention is made 

 of the expenses of keeping the king's hounds at 

 Bishop's Sutton, which suggests that the king paid 

 frequent visits to the bishop for hunting, and brought 

 his hounds with him. 8 The bishops also had a park 

 in Bishop's Sutton, 9 covering an area of 250 acres, 

 which in 1649 was sold to Sir John Evelyn, together 

 with ' all that warren of conies within it.' I0 A fair 

 was held at Bishop's Sutton on the Feast of St. Giles 

 and the following days from very early times. It 

 seems to have been a popular one, for as long as it 

 lasted seven men acted as constables (custodinarii)" 

 and two others were employed to guard the woods, 

 presumably against poachers." As late as the middle 

 of the last century two fairs were held one on the 

 Thursday after Holy Trinity and the other on 

 6 November," but they seem soon afterwards to have 

 died out. At the time of the Domesday Survey there 

 were four mills, 14 but there is now only one, situated 

 a little to the north-west of the site of the Bishop's 

 palace, and probably occupying the site of the mill 

 which in the reign of Henry VI was situated near the 

 ' Court of Bishop's Sutton,' " and which in 1 649 was 

 described as ' all that messuage or tenement and mill 

 commonly called Sutton mill, late parcel of the manor, 

 consisting, as the same is now divided, of a dwelling 

 house, two corn-mills, and a malt-mill, being now or 

 late in the tenure of Jane Frost, widow.' ls Among 

 place-names mentioned in local records are ' Swetley, 

 Pylk, Blayputtesthorne, Motynyard, Honeylynch, 

 Windley, Verdelay, Brynkeworth, Mulcrofte, and La 

 Holte.' " 



William Howley, archbishop of Canterbury, 

 1828-48, was the only son of William Howley, vicar 

 of Bishop's Sutton and Ropley, and was vicar of 

 Bishop's Sutton from 1796 to 1813. He published 

 several charges and sermons, and his library now 

 forms part of the Howley-Harrison Library at 

 Canterbury. 



It seems probable that part of the parish 

 M4NOR of BISHOP'S SUTTON was included in 

 a grant made by King Ine to the church 

 at Winchester in 701." The lands are described as 

 having been previously granted to the church by Ine's 

 predecessor, Cynewalh. The northern boundary of 

 the land thus granted started from Candover (Cen- 

 defer), thence to Bogmoor Hill (Bucgan oran), thence 

 apparently along the northern boundary of Old Aires- 

 ford parish, and into Medsted parish as far as Green 

 Lane Farm (Grenmenes stigele). The eastern boun- 

 dary started from Green Lane Farm, going south 

 through Medsted parish, and entered Bishop's Sutton 

 parish. The southern boundary started from Ramps- 

 comb Farm (Hremmescumbers geate), thence to 

 Drayton Farm (Dregtune) in the parish of Bighton, 

 and thence south-west as far as Tichborne (Ticce- 



burnan). The western boundary passed north through 

 Tichborne, Itchen Stoke, Swarraton, and Brown 

 Candover. If the identifications of the place-names 

 are correct, the land thus granted included the 

 parishes of Godsfield, Bighton, Old and New Aires- 

 ford, and Swarraton, and parts of the parishes of 

 Brown Candover, Medsted, Bishop's Sutton, Tich- 

 borne, and Itchen Stoke. The part of the parish of 

 Bishop's Sutton thus granted seems to have been the 

 tongue of land which now separates the parishes of 

 Bighton and Ropley. It seems probable that at the 

 time of the grant this piece of land formed part of 

 the parish of Bighton, from the fact that in the grant 

 of Bighton by King Edwy to Hyde Abbey 19 there is 

 mention of Brennescumbes Geat (probably for Hrem- 

 mescumbes Geat), now probably represented by the 

 modern Rampscomb Farm, which is situated in the 

 north-east of the parish at the south of the tongue of 

 land. 



At the time of the Domesday Survey Bishop's 

 Sutton was held by Count Eustace III of Boulogne. 80 

 In Edward the Confessor's reign it had been held 

 by Earl Harold. Eustace IV, son of Eustace III, 

 married Mary of Scotland, and had a daughter 

 Maud, who became the wife of King Stephen. 

 The manor thus came to the crown. In 1136 the 

 king exchanged it with his brother Henry de Blois, 

 bishop of Winchester, for the episcopal manor of 

 ' Morden ' (co. Surr.).* 1 This exchange was con- 

 firmed by Henry II " and by Edward I." 



Edward II in I 324 confirmed a grant of a messuage 

 and lands in Bishop's Sutton, afterwards called 

 Western Court Farm (f. v. infra), made by Henry 

 bishop of Winchester to William son of William de 

 Overton. 81 The latter after the confirmation en- 

 croached upon the bishop's manor, 15 and in 1357 

 William de Edendon, bishop of Winchester, brought 

 an assize of novel disseisin against William de Over- 

 ton and Isabel his wife and Thomas the son of 

 William and Isabel and others for unjustly disseising 

 him of his ' free tenement in Bishop's Sutton.' " 6 

 The case was decided in favour of the bishop, who 

 recovered his seisin of the premises. The same 

 year the bishop in the King's Court at Westminster 

 recovered his seisin against William de Overton of 

 three messuages, 3 virgates and 2 1 \ acres of land, 

 I o acres of pasture, and 76 acres of wood, in Bishop's 

 Sutton, Twyford, and Cheriton.* 7 



Richard Fox, bishop of Winchester 150028, 

 granted a lease of the manor in 1 5 19 to Lewis Wing- 

 field with the proviso that he should not let over the 

 lease in his lifetime. Lewis on his death willed it 

 to Henry Wingfield, who in his turn granted it in 

 1539 to Henry Norton, 88 who was still holding the 

 site of the manor, in accordance with this indenture, 

 in the reign of Edward VI. 19 



8 Eccl. Com. Ct. R. 159271 and 

 1 59280. King John was at Bishop's Sut- 

 ton three times in 1205, once in 1208, and 

 twice in 1212 (Itinerary of King John). 



8 Wyktham'i Rtg. (Hants Rec. Soc.), 

 ii, 413 ; Pat. 5 Edw. VI, pt. 5, m. 20. 



10 Close, 1649, pt. 15, No. 2. 



11 Eccl. Com. Ct. R. 159280. 

 " Ibid. 159277. 



18 Lewis, Topog. Diet. (1849). 

 " V.C.H. Hants, i, 477. 



15 Mins. Accts. 28 Hen. VI, bdlc. 366, 

 No. 61 15. 



16 Close, 1649, pt. 15, No. 2. 



J 7 Mins. Accts. and Eccl. Com. Ct. R. 

 passim. 18 Birch, Cart. Sax. i, 148. 



19 Liber de Hyda (Rolls Ser.), 176. 



V. C. H. Hants, i, 477. 



41 Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. vi, App. 223. 



M Pipe R. Soc. x, 57 (Anct. Chart.). 



28 Chart. R. 12 Edw. I, m. 5, No. 3. 



2< Pat. 17 Edw. II, pt. 2, m. 23. 

 William de Overton and Isabel his wife 

 were already dealing with lands here in 

 1284 (Feet of F. Hants, 12 Edw. I), 

 more than twenty years before they could 

 have obtained the grant from Henry Wood- 

 lock, bishop of Winchester (1305-16). 



42 



24 Mins. Accts. 28 Hen. VI, bdle. 366, 

 No. 6115. 



26 Duchy of Lane. Misc. bdle. 6, No. 

 14. 



*7 Abbrev. Rot. Orig. (Rec. Com.), ii, 

 246. William de Overton's encroachments 

 seem to have made a deep impression, for 

 as late as 1552 special mention is made 

 of all messuages, lands, tenements, and 

 hereditaments recovered from him (Pat. 

 5 Edw. VI, pt. 5, m. 20). 



28 Duchy of Lane. Rentals and Surv. 

 bdle. 8, No. 22*. 



" Eccl. Com. Ct. R. bdle. 136, No. i. 



