EAST MEON HUNDRED 



EAST MEON 



The king accordingly laid the matter before Ralph de 

 Hereford, John de Scures, and John de Tichborne, 

 when it was decided that Robert le Ewer having 

 only held the manor in right of his wife Margery, it 

 should be restored to her, and in addition she should 

 be awarded 160 damages." It seems probable that 

 shortly after this Margery married, as her third hus- 

 band, a certain Nicholas de Overton, for in 1328 

 Nicholas de Overton and Margery his wife, and John 

 de Thyngdene, chaplain, were parties to a fine where- 

 by the manor of Westbury was settled upon Nicholas 

 and Margery and the heirs of Margery. 76 Margery 

 died before 1342, leaving as her heir a certain Mar- 

 garet, described as ' Margaret who was the wife of 

 James de Molyns,' who in 1342, in conjunction with 

 Sir Aumary de Wykfort, granted the reversion 

 of the manor after the death of Nicholas de Overton 

 to Nicholas le Devenish of Winchester and his heirs 

 male." The latter died seised of the manor in 1350, 

 leaving a son and heir Thomas, aged 1 7," on whose 

 death in 1373 it passed to his son and heir John, 

 aged i o," who died soon afterwards, and was succeeded 

 by his brother Thomas. In 1382 Thomas died while 

 still under age, and the manor passed to his sister and 

 heir Nichola. 80 It is probable that Nichola married 

 first Sir John Englefield of Warwickshire, and secondly 

 John Golafre of Blakesley (Northants). 81 Certainly 

 Sir John, who lived about the reigns of Richard II 

 and Henry IV, married a certain Nichola, 8 ' and John 

 Golafre married as his second wife a Lady Englefield. 83 

 Elizabeth, widow of Thomas Devenish, held the 

 manor in dower and married a certain William 

 Marshal before 1386, at which date the manor was 

 dealt with by a fine, to which John Englefield and 

 Nichola his wife were parties. 84 Nichola died before 

 1428, for in that year her second husband John 

 Golafre was holding in Westbury half a fee which 



Nicholas Devenish formerly held 

 with Greatham to the recusant 

 family of Fawconer, 8 * who held 

 it for about two centuries, 87 

 Katherine Fawconer at length 

 conveying it to John Holt and 

 Katherine his wife, of Ports- 

 mouth. 88 In 1694 Richard Holt 

 of Nursted (Hants), son and'heir 

 of John and Katherine, sold the 

 manor for 4,000 to Richard 

 Markes of Petersfield. 89 After 

 the latter's death his widow 

 Mary and his son and heir 

 Richard became involved in 

 financial difficulties, and in 1722 



75 Coram Rege R. Mich, i Edw. Ill, 

 m. 117. 



" Feet of F. Hants, Mich. 2 Edw. III. 



n Ibid. Mil. 1 6 Edw. III. About 

 six months afterwards the manor was 

 settled by fine upon Nicholas and 

 Edith his wife, with remainder to Thomas 

 on and heir of Nicholas and Matilda 

 (who was probably the first wife of 

 Nicholas) (Feet of F. Hants, Mich. 16 

 Edw. III). 



^ 8 Inq. p.m. 24 Edw. Ill (ist Nos.), 

 No. 61. 



< 9 Ibid. 47 Edw. Ill (ist Nos.), No. 

 10. 



80 Ibid. 5 Ric. II, No. !9 . 



81 See under Sutton Scotney, Buddies- 

 gate hundred. 



sa Hart. Soc. rii, 123. 



Westbury passed 



FAWCOMK. Sabl, 



three falcons argent with 



*'"' "nd jesses 

 were forced to 



sell the manor to their tenant Philip Cavendish, 

 obtaining a sum of 7,400 for it. 90 Philip dealt 

 with the manor by fine in 1737," no doubt on 

 the occasion of his marriage with Anna Isabella 

 Carteret, the daughter of Edward Carteret and Bridget 

 his wife. 91 



Within the next ten years Westbury had been pur- 

 chased by Admiral Sir Peter Warren, K.B., 9S an 

 Irishman by birth. He obtained his commission as a 

 lieutenant in 1722, and from that time his promotion 

 was rapid. He aided the New England colonies in 

 the war with France, and in 1745, with General 

 Pepperell, captured Louisbourg, as a reward for which 

 he was made rear-admiral of the Blue. After the 

 capitulation of Louisbourg Warren captured three 

 French ships valued at 1,000,000, and from his 

 share of the spoils of war realized a large fortune. In 

 1747 he won a great naval victory off Cape Finisterre, 

 and for his gallantry on this occasion was made Knight 

 of the Bath. On his retirement from active service 

 in 1748 he received many civic honours, being elected 

 M.P. for Westminster in 1750. He died of a violent 

 fever in 1752 while at Dublin, whither he had gone 

 to purchase estates. In 1735 he had married Susanna 

 daughter of Stephen de Lancey, a wealthy citizen of 

 New York, and by her he left three daughters and 

 co-heirs Anne, who married Lieut.-General Hon. 

 Charles Fitzroy, first Lord Southampton, in 1758; 

 Susanna, who married in 1767 Lieut.-General 

 William Skinner ; and Charlotte, who married 

 Willoughby Bertie, fourth earl of Abingdon, in 1 768." 

 The manor was at first divided among the three 

 sisters, but in 1772 Charles Fitzroy and Anne and 

 Willoughby, Earl of Abingdon, and Charlotte gave up 

 their moieties to Lieut.-General Skinner and Susanna, 95 

 whose daughter and heir Susanna Maria married her 

 first cousin Major-General Henry, third Viscount 

 Gage, in 1789. Their son Henry, fourth Viscount 

 Gage (1808-77), so 'd tne manor to Mr. John 

 Delawar Lewis, from whom it has descended to 

 Colonel Le Roy-Lewis, the present owner. 



The manor of L4NGRISH (Langerisse xiii cent. ; 

 Langryshe, Langrissh, and Langeryssh xiv cent. ; 

 Langrishe xvii cent.) was a sub-manor dependent 

 upon the manor of East Meon. 96 John Langrish, son 

 of John, who had probably held the manor before 

 him, was holding the manor in the early fifteenth 

 century, and held his first court in 1419. At a 

 court held in May, 1424, John granted certain pre- 

 mises in Langrish to his brother Thomas to hold for 

 the term of his life. The first court of Thomas 

 Langrish was held on 21 December, 1466, and in 

 1473 Robert the son of Thomas, probably on his 



85 Lipscombc, Bucks, i, 394. 



84 Feet of F. Hants, Hil. 9 Ric. II. 



85 Feud. Aids, ii, 358. 



86 V.C.H. Hants, ii, 506*. 



s " Phillipps, Hants Visitations, 1575, 

 1623, and 1686, p. 26. During the reign 

 of Elizabeth, William Fawconer recusant 

 paid 72 41. 4</. a year to the crown for 

 two-thirds of the manor (Gasquet, Hants 

 Recusants, 26). 



88 Close, 6 Will, and Mary, pt. 9, 

 No. 23. 89 i b i d . 



90 Close, 9 Geo. I, pt. 14, m. I, &c.; 

 Recov. R. Mich. 9 Geo. I, rot. 35. 



91 Feet of F. Hants. Mich. 1 1 Geo. II. 

 w Edmondson, Baronagium Geneal. iii, 



209. 



93 It seems impossible to discover the 

 exact date of the sale. It must have been 



6 9 



before 1747, however, for in that year 

 * Sir Peter being attacked by illness was 

 compelled to quit his command and retire 

 to his country seat at Westbury in Hamp- 

 shire ' (The Naval Chron. xii, 271). 



w Rev. Thomas Warren, Hist, of tht 

 Warren Family < y 187. 



95 Feet of F. Hants, Trin. 12 Geo. III. 



98 In an indenture of sale (penes Lord 

 Hylton) the manor was said to be copy- 

 hold of inheritance and held under the 

 bishop of Winchester. From the East 

 Meon court-rolls it appears that the 

 manor fell into the hands of the bishop 

 on the death of the holder, whose suc- 

 cessor paid a fine on taking up his inheri- 

 tance. It was also always surrendered to 

 the bishop prior to settlements and sales. 

 Add. Chart. 27974-89. 



