A HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE 



ft 



JOHN DI DROHINS- 

 roRi>, Bishop of Bath and 

 Wells. Quarterly axure 

 and or with four (?) heads 

 ofcroziers counterchanged. 



Here as elsewhere in the parish the land is level and 

 the chief feature is the wide expanse of the harbour, 

 with Portchester Castle as its most conspicuous land- 

 mark. Beyond Bedenham Farm are the Foxbury 

 Brick and Tile Works. 



Bedenham was evidently originally parcel of the 

 manor of Alverstoke, but was held in 1303 by John 

 de Drokensford, Keeper of the Wardrobe, who was 

 consecrated bishop of Bath and Wells in 1308. The 

 manor of Bedenham was held of 

 the bishop of Winchester," and 

 is possibly identical with the 

 half hide at Alverstoke held be- 

 fore the Conquest by Sawin and 

 in 1086 by a certain knight." 

 In 1303 John de Drokensford 

 granted the manor together 

 with the advowson of Beden- 

 ham church to Roger Lan- 

 celeue for life with reversion 

 to John and his heirs." By 

 1316 it had reverted to John, 

 who died 9 May, 1329," 

 leaving a brother and heir, 

 Philip de Drokensford, then aged forty." He 

 twice obtained licence for the celebration of divine 

 service in the oratory of his house at Bedenham 

 in Alverstoke,* 6 a fact which favours the possibility 

 that the 'church' granted with the manor to 

 Roger Lanceleue was no more than a private chapel 

 attached to the manor-house. Philip de Drokensford 

 died in 1356 and is said to have been succeeded by 

 a son and heir John.* 7 In 1370 Margaret, then wife 

 of Maurice le Brun, was holding the manor of 

 Bedenham in dower, perhaps as widow of Philip of 

 Drokensford, of the inheritance of Margaret, then 

 wife of Walter Mildecombe. Walter and Margaret 

 then granted it for life to Maurice le Brun.' 8 Later 

 a moiety of the manor was in the possession of Mar- 

 garet, granddaughter of Philip de Drokensford. 

 Her husband, Peter Courtenay, held a moiety of the 

 manor in her right at his death in 1404,* but she 

 urvived him and her lands descended to her daughter 

 Elizabeth by a former husband, Sir John de St. Lo." 

 Elizabeth married Sir William Botreux, on whom the 

 moiety of Bedenham was settled in 1417.'* Their son 

 and heir Sir William Botreux, knight, held the whole 

 manor jointly with his wife Margaret at the time of 

 his death in 1462." The latter, with her second 

 husband Thomas Burgh, conveyed it in 1464 

 to certain feoffees,* 4 probably in trust, for a moiety 



WHITE or FARNHAU. 

 Six pieces azure and or, 

 in the chief a Han't head 

 raxed gules between two 

 roundels argent) each 

 having rwo ban wavy 

 vert upon if, and in the 

 foot a likt roundel be- 

 rween two of tht like 

 lions' heads. 



was purchased from Margaret Hungerford, daughter 

 and heir of Sir William Botreux, by Robert 

 White of Farnham." After the death of his son John 

 the possession of this moiety was disputed by Robert 

 and Richard White, sons of John, since Richard, the 

 younger son, claimed that it should descend to him 

 according to the terms of the 

 will of his grandfather Robert. 36 

 The termination of this quarrel 

 is unknown, but in 1535 

 Henry White died seised of a 

 moiety of the manor, leaving a 

 son and heir Robert," who 

 settled it in 1546 on Agnes 

 wife of Richard Bennett. 38 

 She conveyed it to her daugh- 

 ter Margaret Tichborne, at 

 whose death it reverted to 

 John Marriner, son and heir 

 of Agnes." John died in 

 1593," and his son and heir 

 Peter Marriner together with 

 his wife Dorothy purchased 

 the other moiety from Robert 

 White. 41 The whole manor 

 thus reunited was bequeathed by Peter Marriner 

 to his only daughter and heir, Mabel wife of 

 Edmund Plowden, who was aged seventeen at her 

 father's death in March, 1613-14." Within a few 

 years she had parted with it, for in 1624 Robert 

 Bold of Portsea was in possession of it. 43 In 1628 

 his son William Bold conveyed the manor to his 

 kinsman John Mason, 44 in whose family it remained 

 until 1654, wnen Robert Tufton otherwise Mason 

 and Anne Gibbon widow were dealing with it, 4 * 

 probably for purposes of sale. Before 1683 it was 

 devided into the two farms of Upper and Lower 

 Bedenham. The ' manor ' was settled by Thomas 

 Beverley on his son Thomas and the latter's wife 

 Anne in 171 3." This Anne survived her husband 

 and was in possession in 1729," after which it appears 

 to have been inherited by coheiresses, Anne wife of 

 John Bonham Smith and Susannah wife of John 

 Carter. 48 Fanny wife of Daniel Carter Hobbs quit- 

 claimed a third of the manor to Anne Bonham in 

 I782. 48a Upper Bedenham was bequeathed by Owen 

 Bird to James White of Portsmouth in 1766. In 

 1774 he bequeathed it to Sir John Carter, who in 

 1 808 held one-sixth, while his son John Bonham 

 Carter had the remaining five-sixths. Lower Beden- 

 ham had been mortgaged by Andrew Wall in 1683 



n Chan. Inq. p.m. 6 Hen. IV, 38. But 

 in 1349 the overlordship was accounted a 

 possession of Hugh de St. John and as 

 such assigned to one of his coheiresses, 

 Margaret wife of John de St. Philbert; 

 Cal. Close, 1 349-54, p. 68. 



V.C.H. Hants, i, 466*. 



85 Feet of F. Hants, 32 Edw. I, file 15, 

 No. 36. 



14 Reg. of Jobn de Drokensford (Somer- 

 set Rec. Soc.), 303. 



* Chan. Inq. p.m. 3 Edw. Ill (ist Nos.), 



4'- 



" Egerton MS. 2032, fol. 91 ; 2033, 

 foL 46. 



" Exch. Inq. p.m. (Ser. i), file 14, 

 No, 27. According to which John was 

 son of Philip ; but in a later pleading 

 John is said to be grandson of Philip, i.e. 

 son of Philip's daughter Mary. De Bane. 



R. No. 514 (Trin. 12 4 13 Ric. II), 



m. 95. 



88 Feet of F. Hants, 44 Edw. Ill, file 

 27, No. 32. 



29 De Bane. R. 514, m. 95. She was 

 daughter of John son or grandson of 

 Philip. If it may be assumed that Mar- 

 garet wife of Maurice le Brun was widow 

 of Philip of Drokensford (he is said to 

 have left a widow Margaret), it would 

 appear that Margaret wife of Walter 

 Mildecombe was daughter of Philip, 

 possibly identical with the daughter 

 ' Mary ' named in the plea. The possi- 

 bility that Margaret Mildecombe was 

 identical with Margaret Courtenay is 

 lessened by the fact that her former hus- 

 band Sir John de St. Lo died in 1375. 



*> Chan. Inq. p.m. 6 Hen. IV, 38. 



81 Feet of F. Somerset, 14 Ric. II, 20. 



2O4 



M Close, 5 Hen. V, m. 14 d. 



m Chan. Inq. p.m. 2 Edw. IV, 15. 



84 Feet of F. Div. Cos. 4 Edw. IV, file 

 74, No. 25. 



K Chan. Inq. p.m. 9 & 10 Edw. IV, 25. 



M Early Chan. Proc. lii, 43, Ac. 



7 Chan. Inq. p.m. 27 Hen. VIII. 



* Feet of F. Hants, Trin. 38 Hen. VIII. 



Chan. Inq. p.m. Eliz. (Ser. 2), rol. 

 124, No. 159. Ibid. 36 Eliz. 



" Feet of F. Hants, Hil. 44 Eliz. 



4 " Chan. Inq. p.m. Jas. I (Ser. 2), ToU 

 345, No. 120. 



4 Ibid. 2 Chas. I (Ser. 2), ii, 90. 



44 Feet of F. Hants, Trin. 4 Chas. I. 



45 RCCOY. R. Hil. 1654, m. 109. 

 48 Ibid. Hil. 12 Anne, m. 146. 



V Feet of F. Hants, East. 2 Ceo. II. 

 48 Ibid. East. 7 Geo. III. 

 " Ibid. Trin. 23 Geo. HI. 



