A HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE 



the premises.' 5 Richard le Beel died in 1346, seised 

 of a messuage, 60 acres of arable land, 4 acres of 

 rrea low, i ijs. loJ. rent from free men and villeins, 

 and pleas and perquisites of court worth 6J. per 

 annum in Weston in the manor of Mapledurham. 9 * 

 It has been shown that he had acquired a moiety of 

 the premises from Margaret de Radyng. He pro- 

 bably held the other moiety in right of his wife Joan." 

 In the inquisition it was stated that Richard held the 

 premises of the king in chief by the service of attend- 

 ing the view of frankpleclge twice a year at Maple- 

 durham. Before the year 1400 the manor had passed 

 to the abbot and convent of Dureford who had gradu- 

 ally been acquiring lands in the tithing of Weston 

 during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, 98 and 

 in that year John the abbot of Dureford obtained an 

 indult from Pope Boniface IX to retain for life and 

 to convert to his own uses, 'even if he should resign 

 or renounce the rule of the said monastery, the grange 

 or manor of Weston, united to the monastery, and 

 not valued at more than 20 marks." The manor 

 remained the property of the priory until its dissolu- 

 tion 10 when King Henry VIII granted it in tail male 

 to Sir William Fitz- William 101 whom a day later he 

 raised to the peerage as earl of Southampton. The 

 earl was seised of the manor until his death without 

 issue in I 542 "" when it reverted to the crown. 103 

 In 1545 Henry VIII, by letters patent, granted the 

 manor to Frances Palmer, to hold for the term of 

 her life with remainder on her decease to William 

 Stone and his issue by Frances, with contingtnt 

 remainder to the right heirs of William. 104 William 

 Stone died seised of the manor in I 549 leaving a son 

 and heir Henry aged one year and five months. 104 

 Both Henry and his younger brother William died 

 without issue, 106 and consequently the manor was 

 divided between their two sisters and coheirs 

 Catherine and Mary, the former of whom married 

 Christopher Willenhall of Willenhall, near Coventry, 

 -and the latter Stephen Vachell. 107 In 1571 Christopher 

 and Catherine having obtained royal licence, 108 alienated 

 half the manor of Weston to Stephen and Mary to 

 hold to them and the heirs and assigns of Mary. 108 In 

 a charter of 1579, settling a dispute between Stephen 

 and Mary, and Henry Shelley of West Mapledurham 

 concerning the bounds of a down, the two former are 

 described as lords of Weston. 110 In September, 1600, 

 Stephen forfeited two-thirds of his lands and posses- 

 sions for recusancy, and in December of the same 

 year the queen granted the capital messuage called 

 Weston Farm and lands in the parish of Buriton to 

 Arthur Hide, for a term of twenty-one years, if the 

 premises should remain in the hands of the queen or 

 her successors so long. 111 It is doubtful, however, 

 whether Arthur Hide ever gained possession of the 



manor, for in 1598 Richard Willenhall, Stephen 

 Vachell and Mary his wife had conveyed it to 

 Nicholas Hunt and Mary his wife the owners of the 

 manor of Anmore in the parish of Catherington. 11 * 

 Nine years later Thomas Bilson, bishop of Winchester, 

 purchased Weston from Nicholas Hunt and Edmund 

 Marsh, lls to the last-named of whom Stephen Vachell 

 and Mary his wife and Thomas Vachell had con- 

 veyed messuages and lands in Buriton and Petersfield, 1 " 

 and at the same time Sir George Cotton and Cassandra 

 his wife quitclaimed to him rents of 50 issuing from 

 the manors of Weston and Anmore. 114 After the 

 purchase Weston formed part of the manor of West 

 Mapledurham. 1 ' 6 Weston Farm, as it is now called, 

 still belongs to the Legge family, the present owner 

 being the Rev. Augustus George Legge, vicar of North 

 Elmham (co. Norfolk). 



BOLINGEH1LL F4RM, situated about a mile 

 north from the village of Buriton, and a little to the 

 south-east of Weston Farm, seems from early times 

 to have been a parcel of the manor of West Maple- 

 durham. In the fine conveying West Mapledurham 

 to the Rogers in 1426 ' Bonelynche ' is mentioned, 11 ' 

 no doubt representing the modern Bolingehill. Again 

 Bowlinch Farm is mentioned in a deed of 1678 

 between Leonard Bilson of West Mapledurham and 

 Thomas his son, and George and William Legge."* 

 Bolingehill Farm still belongs to the Legge family. 



DITCH AM (Dicham, xiii cent.; Dycheham, xvi 

 cent.) was probably included under the heading of 

 Mapledurham in the Domesday Book, as in subse- 

 quent grants the land of ' Dicham ' is described as 

 being situated in the manor of Mapledurham. 1 " In 

 the reign of Henry III Henry Hoese or Hussey, lord 

 of the neighbouring manor of Harting (co. Sussex), 

 received from Richard de Ditcham a grant of all his 

 land of Ditcham, and about the same time gained 

 possession of a tenement in Ditcham formerly held by 

 Richard le Bel. After acquiring this property he 

 granted it in free alms to the abbot and convent of 

 Dureford," and his grant was confirmed by Richard le 

 Bel himself in 1272."' The abbot of Dureford seems 

 to have held one court for the two manors of Ditcham 

 and Sunworth, and at the time of the dissolution the 

 two manors had coalesced. 1 " Henry VIII in 1537 

 granted Ditcham and Sunworth as the manor of 

 ' Beriton ' formerly belonging to the late monastery 

 of Dureford, with appurtenances in Buriton, Peters- 

 field, Winchester, Langrish and Liss', in tail male to 

 Sir William Fitzwilliam." 1 On his death without 

 issue the manor reverted to the crown, and on 

 1 6 April, 1544, the king granted the site of the 

 manor of Ditcham and Sunworth and all mes- 

 suages and lands belonging to the site to Edward 

 Elrington and Humphrey Metcalf and the heirs of 



96 Close, 20 Edw. Ill, pt. 2, m. 3 ; 

 Pat. 20 Edw. Ill, pt. 3, m. 16 ; Abbrpv. 

 Rot. Ong. ii, 184. 



96 Inq. p.m. 20 Edw. Ill (lit Noi.), 

 No. 38. 



W Joan may possibly have been the 

 daughter and heir of Nicholai de Sever- 

 yngton and Isabel hii wife. 



98 Cott. MS. Vesp. V, passim. 



99 Cal. Pap. Let. v, 327. 



100 Mins. Accts. Sussex, 109, m. 17 d. 



101 Pat. 29 Hen. VIII, pt. I, m. 22. 

 lua Add. R. 28235. The earl died at 



Newcastle-upon-Tyne in October, 1542, 

 while on his march into Scotland, leading 

 ithe van of the English army commanded 



by the duke of Norfolk. He had married 

 in 1513 Mabel, daughter of Henry Lord 

 Clifford, but by this lady, who died in 

 153;, he left no issue. 



103 Mini. Accti. Sussex, 188, m. 16 

 1M Pat. 37 Hen. VIII, pt. n, m. 14, 

 &c. 



105 W. and L. Inq. pm. (Ser. 2), v, fol. 

 114. 



106 Harl. Sac. xxi, 259. 



W Ibid. This Stephen Vachell was the 

 ion and heir of Oliver Vachell of Buriton 

 who died in 1564, seised of the manor of 

 North Marston, in Bucks (Lipscombe, 

 Bucks, i, 336). 



l(a Pat. 13 Eliz. pt. 8, m. 38. 



90 



8 9 . 



109 Feet of F. Hanti, East. 13 Eliz. 



110 Add. Chart. 28026. 



111 Pat. 43 Eliz. pt. 4, m. 17, 18. 



112 Feet of F. Hants, East. 40 Eliz. 



113 Ibid. Mich. 4 Jai. I. 

 > Ibid. 



115 Ibid. 



116 Vide deeds penes Lord Dartmouth. 

 u < Feet of F. Hants, Hil. 4 Hen. VI. 



118 Deed penes Lord Dartmouth. 



119 Cott. MS. Vesp. E. wiii, 17 and 



120 Ibid. 17. 



121 Ibid. 89. 



22 Mins. Accts. Suss. 109, m. 17^. 

 123 Pat 29 Hen. VIII, pt. I, m. 22. 



