A HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE 



traces of the arrangements of a drawbridge and port- 

 cullis, the castle ditch having been doubtless continued 

 from one end of the west side of the fortress to the 

 other. This gate is now the only inhabited part of 

 the castle, being occupied by a caretaker. 



The southern ward of the royal forest 

 FOREST of Bere, which extended northwards from 

 the Portsdown Hills, was known in early 

 times as Portchester Forest. There are frequent 

 records of gifts of oak timber from the forest, chiefly 

 for the purpose of repairs. In 1232 an order was 

 issued for repairs to two of the king's galleys with 

 timber from 350 oaks in the forest of Portchester. 8 * 



In i 269 Master Henry Wade was licensed for the 

 term of his life to hunt with his own dogs the fox, 

 hare, cat, and badger through the forest of Port- 

 Chester; 85 and in 1297 a similar grant was made to 

 Thomas Paygnel. 86 The wood of ' Chalghton ' within 

 the forest of Portchester is mentioned in 1 3<D7. 87 



In 1 341 the forest of Portchester was worth nothing 

 because ' the oaks were old and short, and for the 

 most part rotten and bear nothing.' M Therefore, in 

 1347, an order was issued for the re- afforestation of 

 Portchester, with a proviso saving the rights of 

 commoners, 89 the proviso being confirmed in I466. 90 



Portchester Forest was under the control of the 

 warden of the castle till the fifteenth century, when 

 it was attached to the forest of Bere. 



It seems possible that Portchester 

 BOROUGH was a royal borough growing up 

 round the castle, and granted with 

 the castle and manor. Nevertheless, evidence of 

 any borough is very scanty ; there is no charter of 

 incorporation, and no members were ever returned to 

 Parliament. As early, however, as HJJ, Portchester 

 rendered an aid of 10 marks, which was about as 

 much as Andover or Basingstoke, 90 * and in 1258 

 Hugh de Camoys was holding land in chief in 

 Portchester for annual rent and for such serjeanty as 

 he and ' all the other burgesses of the town of 

 Porchester were bound to pay ' ; namely, to find 

 twelve men to serve for fifteen days in time of war at 

 Portchester Castle. 91 



In 1233 a command was issued to the constable of 

 Portchester Castle that the ' men of Porchester ' 

 should be allowed to have the same common of pasture 

 for beasts in the wood of Kingesden which they had 

 had before the king took the wood into his custody. 9 ' 



The ' men of Porchester ' were granted free turbary 

 in Southmore in 1260 ; 93 and in 1273 an order was 

 issued to the bailiffs and men of Portchester to pay 

 their rents to Eleanor, the king's mother. 91 The 

 town of Portchester was assigned in dower to 



Margaret, sister of Philip, king of France, in I299, 95 

 and in 1316 the liberty 96 of Portchester was 

 ' Domini regis sed in manu Margarete regine.' 97 



The king granted the custody of Portchester town 

 to Hugh le Despenser in 1 320;" but after the 

 rebellion of the Despensers in 1327 and the conse- 

 quent forfeiture of their lands, Portchester was granted 

 to Queen Isabella for life in furtherance of a resolu- 

 tion of Parliament that for her services in the matter 

 of the treaty with France, and in suppressing the 

 rebellion of the Despensers, the lands assigned to her 

 by way of dower should be increased in value to 

 2,000 a year. 99 Richard earl of Arundel was 

 holding the custody of Portchester town in I34I, 100 

 but he afterwards granted it to John de Edynton, 

 which grant the king confirmed in I36l. 101 



Robert de Assheton was granted the custody of 

 the town in I376. 101 He was followed by Robert 

 Bardolph, and Robert by Roger Walden. 103 



Ralph de Camoys was holding the town of 

 Portchester at the time of his death in 142 1. 101 



After Edward IV's marriage with Elizabeth Wood- 

 ville, he granted titles and lands to many of her 

 relations. Among other grants the custody of 

 Portchester town was entrusted to Anthony Woodville, 

 the queen's brother, for life ; 105 and afterwards to 

 Edward Woodville. 106 



From this time onwards the descent of Portchester 

 town seems to follow that of the manor (q.v.). 



In the reign of Edward the Confessor 

 MANORS there were three manors in PORT- 

 CHESTER, held by three freemen of 

 the king, but at the time of the Domesday Survey 

 William Mauduit held them as one manor."" Mr. 

 Round has thrown fresh light on its early history and 

 connexion with the chamberlainship of the treasury and 

 exchequer 107 " by showing that it passed to William's 

 son and heir Robert, after whose death it was 

 promised to his younger brother William by a re- 

 markable charter of Henry II, issued in 1153, before 

 his accession, in which Portchester Castle and its 

 appurtenant lands are definitely mentioned ; but evi- 

 dently Henry did not fulfil his promise, 1071 " as in 

 1230 the king granted two-thirds of the manor to 

 Peter des Roches, bishop of Winchester, who gave 

 them to the abbey of Titchfield. 108 The remaining 

 third part was granted by Edward I to his mother 

 Eleanor in dower in I272. 109 



John Randulf was granted the custody of the king's 

 manor and castle of Portchester in 1330 for the pay- 

 ment of a rent to the king of 25 marks. 110 



The abbey of Titchfield m continued to hold their 

 part of the manor of Portchester until the Dissolution, 



84 Cat. of Close, 1231-4, p. 206. 

 5 Pat. R. 53 Hen. Ill, m. 5. 

 86 Cal, of Pat. 1292-1301, p. 290. 

 8 " Inq. a.q.d. i Edw. II, No. 102. 



88 Cal. of Close, 1341-3, pp. 178-9. 



89 Cal. of Pat. 1345-8, p. 264. 



90 Ibid. 1461-7, p. 495. 



Wa Pi fe R. (Pipe R. Soc.), 23 Hen. II, 

 174. 



91 Plac. Abbrev. (Rec. Com.), 146. 

 The defence of the castle was further pro- 

 vided for by granting small estates in the 

 neighbourhood to be held by the serjeanty 

 of providing an armed man there in time 

 of war. 



n Cal. of Close, 1231-4, p. 215. 

 88 Inq. p.m. 53 Hen. Ill, No. 31 

 94 Cal. of Close, 1272-9, p. 31 



96 Cal. of Pat. 1292-1301, p. 452. 

 99 Apparently the only time that Port- 

 chester is called a liberty. 

 17 Feud, Aids, ii, 323. 



98 Abbrev. Rot. Orig. (Rec. Com.), i, 

 254. 



99 Cal. of Pat. 1327-30, p. 69. 



100 Inq. p.m. 15 Edw. Ill, No. 70. 



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

 266. loa Ibid, ii, 345. 



108 Cal. of Pat. 1391-6, p. 572. 



104 Inq. p.m. 9 Hen. V, No. 29. 



105 Cal. of Pat. 1467-77, p. 41. 



106 Ibid. 1476-85, p. 180. 



10 7 V.C.H. Hants, i, 492. 



Wa Round, The Commune of Lond. 82-3; 

 ' Mauduit of Hartley Mauduit, 1 Ancestor, 

 v, 207-10. 



I 5 8 



107b < Reddidi eidem camerariam meam 

 thesauri . . . cum omnibus pertinentibus 

 castcilum scilicet de Porcestra . . . et 

 omnes terras ad predictam camerariam et 

 ad predictum castcilum pertinentes sive 

 sint in Anglia sive Normannia sicut frater 

 suus.' 



M" Chart. R. 15 Hen. III. pt. I, m. 2; 

 Plac. de Quo ffarr. (Rec. Com.), rot. 37. 

 A perambulation of the boundaries was 

 ordered to be made by jury in 1233. 

 (Cal. of Close, 1231-4, p. 186.) 



10J Cal. of Pat. 1272-81, p. 27. 



110 Abbre-v. Rot.Orig. (Rec.Com.), ii,4i. 



111 The abbey and convent were granted 

 protection with clause nolumus in their 

 manor of Portchester in 1324 (Cal. of Pat. 

 13 H-7 P- 2+)- 



