BISHOP'S SUTTON HUNDRED 



MAGDALEN COLLEGE, 

 OXFORD. Lozcngy er- 

 mine and table a chief 

 table viith three garden 

 liliei therein. 



present day. The manor house was probably on the 

 site of the modern ' Manor Place Farm,' which is at 

 present occupied by Mr. George Anthony Dowling, 

 to whom the college lets all its property in Bramdean 

 except its woodland as one hold- 

 ing. The college has still certain 

 manorial rights at Bramdean, 

 particularly in regard to the 

 common, but it no longer holds 

 a court there as it does at Sel- 

 borne. 



The manor of ITOODCOTE 

 (Wudecote, Wcdecota, Wode- 

 cot, Wutecot, Woodecote, and 

 Woodcot, xiii cent. ; Wodekote, 

 xiv cent. ; Woodcott, xvi cent.), 

 as has been shown, owed its 

 origin to the neglect of the 

 family of Bramdean to perform 



the service of keeping Winchester Gaol. King 

 Richard I granted the manor to a certain William de 

 Hoe to hold by this service. 81 As soon as King John 

 came to the throne, Henry de Bramdean disputed 

 William de Hoe's claim to the custody of the gaol, 

 though not to the ownership of Woodcote.* 3 John, 

 however, disregarded the claims of both Henry 

 and William, and in 1 204 bestowed the custody 

 of the gate of the castle and gaol of Winchester, 

 together with the land of Woodcote, appertaining 

 to the custody, upon Matthew de Wallop to 

 hold to him and his heirs for ever." In return, 

 Matthew and his heirs were to mew the royal hawks 

 within Winchester Castle, finding one servant at their 

 own cost to mew them and to keep them throughout 

 the whole mewing season. They were also to find 

 the cost of three harehounds in the same castle 

 throughout the same season. It is clear from the 

 patent rolls that Matthew was still holding the office 

 of warden of the gaol in 1 207 " and 1 2 1 5.*" In the 

 latter year he evidently wished to resign, but the 

 king ordered that, if he did so, Henry de Bramdean 

 should receive the office with its appurtenances upon 

 the payment of 20 marks.* 7 Soon after the accession 

 of Henry III, William de Hoe pressed his claim 

 anew, this time against Matthew de Wallop.* 8 He 

 does not seem to have been successful, however, for 

 Matthew was seised of the custody of the gaol with 

 its appurtenances at the time of his death ten years 

 later." After his death the king committed the 

 custody of the gaol to Warin Fitz-Geoffrey,* and 

 ordered the sheriff of Hampshire to deliver over to 

 Warin, without delay, the lands in Woodcote which 

 appertained to the custody. Warin evidently 

 neglected his duties as warden, and owing to the 

 escape of prisoners he was at one time deprived of 



BRAMDEAN 



the custody of the prison and the lands appertaining 

 to the service, but they were eventually restored to 

 him, 31 though not for long. William de Hoe seems 

 to have taken advantage of his adversary's inefficiency 

 to press his claim, and eventually obtained restitution 

 of his rights." He was succeeded by Robert de Hoe, 

 who granted the manor and service to Nigel Fitz- 

 Robert and his heirs. This grant was confirmed by 

 King Henry III in 1246." In 1249 the same Nigel, 

 described as ' son of Robert of Winchester,' re-granted 

 the manor to Robert de Hoe to hold of Nigel and 

 his heirs for the term of his life." In 1270 Nigel, 

 described as ' Nigel Beket, of Southampton/ died 

 seised of the manor and service." 



His heir was his son Valentine, aged eighteen, who 

 died seised of the manor in 1307, leaving a son and 

 heir Richard, aged twenty-seven.* 6 The latter died 

 in the same year without issue, and was succeeded by 

 his brother Valentine, aged twenty-four.* 7 On Val- 

 entine's death in 1336 the manor passed to his son 

 and heir Valentine, aged twenty-three.* 8 In 1344 

 the latter obtained licence to convey the manor to 

 trustees for purposes of settlement on himself and his 

 heirs,* 9 and this was done by fine in the following 

 year. 40 The date of the inquisition taken after Val- 

 entine's death is 1354, but '^ e manuscript is all but 

 illegible, and it is impossible to decipher the date of 

 his death and the name of his heir. 41 His widow 

 Alice died in 1359," and in the inquisition taken after 

 her death it was stated that she was seised of the 

 manor for the term of her life of the inheritance of 

 William Beket, parson of the church of Colemore, 

 the brother and heir of her deceased husband. 

 In 1360, however, the escheator of Hampshire was 

 ordered to take Woodcote into the king's hands on 

 the grounds that certain prisoners had escaped from 

 Winchester Gaol. 4 * In the same document there is 

 mention of the fees which the wardens of the gaol 

 were accustomed to receive, viz. : for every prisoner 

 in the gaol they received \d. and for every prisoner 

 brought up before the king's justices 5</. for irons. 44 

 The manor remained in the hands of the crown till 

 1363, when the escheator was ordered to give full 

 seisin to William Beket upon receipt of a reasonable 

 relief. 44 Two years later, however, the manor was in 

 possession of John, who is described as son of Valentine 

 Beket. It does not seem at all probable that he was 

 the son of Valentine and Alice Beket, for there is no 

 mention of him in the inquisition taken after Alice's 

 death. He may perhaps be identified with John 

 Beket, son and heir of a certain Valentine Beket who 

 died in 1372 seised of the office of door-keeper of 

 Winchester Castle by the service of finding two armed 

 men within the tower of the king's castle of Win- 

 chester to guard it in time of war. 46 John may have 



M The original grant does not cem to 

 be extant, but there are two references to 

 it in later documents. Fine R. i John, 

 m. 19 ; Bractont Note Book, iii, 315. 



28 Fine R. I John, m. 19 ; Rot. Cur. 

 Reg. I John, m. 1 6. 



21 Chart. R. 5 John, m. 7. 



25 Pat. 9 John, m. 6. 



26 Pat. 1 6 John, m. 6. 



27 Close, 17 John, m. 23. 



28 Bracton's Note Book, iii, 315. 



29 Testa de Nc-vill (Rec. Com.), 237 ; 

 Close, ii Hen. III. ms. 17 and 20. 



3 Close, 1 1 Hen. Ill, m. 20. ; Pat. 

 ii Hen. Ill, m. 8. 



81 Close,i I Hen. Ill, m. 5 ; 1 5 Hen. Ill, 

 m. 1 1 ; and 16 Hen. Ill, m. I. 



82 Close, 18 Hen. Ill, m. 33. 



33 Chart. R. 30 Hen. Ill, m. 6. 



84 Feet of F. Hants, Hil. 33 Hen. III. 



85 Inq. p.m. 54 Hen. Ill, No. 3. Pre- 

 sumably Robert de Hoe predeceased him. 

 Nigel's descendants were called Beck or 

 Belcke. His surname is given as Beket, 

 Beck, or Beech. The family was also 

 sometimes called 'de Wodecote' ; Assize 

 R. Mich. 8 Edw. I. 



86 Inq. p.m. 35 Edw. I, No. 12. 

 8 ' Ibid, i Edw. II, No. 39. 



88 Ibid. 10 Edw. Ill, No. 30. 



89 Pat. 18 Edw. Ill, pt. I, m. 21. 



47 



40 Feet of F. Hants, Mich. 19 Edw. 

 III. 



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

 Ibid. 36 Edw. Ill, pt. I, No. 14. 



48 Abbrev. Rot. Orig. (Rec. Com.) ii, 



257- 



44 Custodes gaole predicte percipere con- 

 sueverunt de quolibet prisone vivente ad 

 dictam gaolam quatuor denarios, et de 

 quolibet prisone coram justiciis regis de- 

 liberate pro ferris quinque denarioa nomine 

 feodi. 



45 Abbre-v. Rot. Orig. (Rec. Com.), ii, 

 276. 



Inq. p.m. 46 Edw. Ill (ist Nos.), 

 No. 7. 



