TITCHFIELD HUNDRED 



TITCHFIELD 



trefoiled piscina with a modern projecting bowl, and at 

 the west a thirteenth-century priest's door. The rest 

 of the south wall is taken up by an arcade of two 

 bays, c. 1320, with clustered shafts and foliate capitals, 

 that of the central shaft having four winged beasts 

 among the foliage. The arches are of two orders 

 with wave-moulds, and the bases rest on a dwarf 

 wall, not coming down to the floor level. 



The chancel arch is pointed, of one order with 

 chamfered angles, springing from half-round responds, 

 the southern capital having plain foliage, while that 

 on the north has been mutilated and repaired without 

 ornament. The chancel has a fifteenth-century roof 

 with arched principals and trussed rafters, its other 

 woodwork being entirely modern. 



The south chapel, which is of the same length as 

 the chancel, and slightly wider, has an original east 

 window of three trefoiled ogee lights, and three two- 

 light south windows of a similar type, a later four- 

 centred doorway having been inserted under the 

 second window from the east. At the south-east are 

 three trefoiled sedilia, also original, the eastern of 

 which is higher than the rest, and has a rounded 

 back, and to the east is a trefoiled piscina of the 

 same date. At a little distance from the east wall are 

 large corbels in the north and south wall, 7 ft. from 

 the floor, to carry a beam at the back of the altar ; a 

 moulded string over the piscina stops at this line, and 

 this space at the east was evidently screened off to 

 serve as a vestry. The centre of the chapel is occupied 

 by the splendid Wriothesley monument described 

 below. 



The south arcade of the nave, of three bays, and 

 the south aisle, are modern, in fourteenth-century 

 style ; but the north arcade, of four bays, with tall 

 and slender clustered piers, moulded arches, and 

 octagonal moulded capitals and bases, is a pretty piece 

 of fifteenth-century detail. The east window of the 

 north aisle, of five lights under a segmental head, is 

 flanked by elaborate contemporary canopied niches, 

 and there is a third niche set against the north face of 

 the east respond of the arcade. There are in this 

 aisle four three-light windows on the north and one 

 on the west, all contemporary with the arcade, and 

 the roof is probably plain work of the same date. 

 The nave roof is old, with trussed rafters, but the 

 tie-beams are modern, and at the east end is a rood 

 beam set up in 1889 with a wall painting of the 

 Crucifixion over it. On the west wall of the nave is 

 a large wall painting of the miraculous draught of 

 fishes, and above it, high in the wall, a blocked round- 

 headed window, now opening to the top stage of the 

 tower, but, before its building, to the open air, above 

 the roof of the early porch. 



The west doorway is a fine specimen of the latter 

 part of the twelfth century, of three ornamented orders 

 with nook shafts. It opens to the west porch or 

 ground story of the tower, whose walls are only 2 ft. 

 3 in. thick. The western arch of the tower is plain 

 and roundheaded, in large blocks of Binstead and 

 iron stone, like those used in the Roman east gate of 

 Portchester Castle. The angle quoins are of the 

 same character, the walls being of rubble, and above 

 the arch a bonding course of Roman bricks, three deep, 

 runs round the tower, and is continued across the 

 west end of the nave. At a late repair it was found 

 to go right through the wall. The belfry stage of the 

 tower has single lights, probably c. 1200, and the 



tower is finished with a rather heavy wooden spire. 

 Its upper stages are reached by an external stair on 

 the north, leading to a doorway in its north-east 

 angle. 



The font at the north-west of the nave is modern, 

 and the only monument of much interest, except that 

 of the Wriothcsleys, is a small tablet on the north 

 wall of the chancel to William Chamberlaine of 

 Beaulieu, 1608, showing a man and his wife kneeling 

 under a cornice with heraldry, and two sons and two 

 daughters below. 



The Wriothesley monument, commemorating the 

 first earl and countess of Southampton, and their son 

 the second earl, was set up in accordance with the 

 will of the latter, proved 7 February, 1582, by which 

 the enormous sum of 1,000 was left for the making 

 of ' two faire monuments ' in the ' chapel of the 

 parish church of Tichell, co. Southampton.' The 

 directions for two monuments were however ignored, 

 and one only was made, on which the three alabaster 

 effigies rest. It is a raised rectangular tomb, with 

 projecting pilasters at the angles, which carry tall 

 obelisks ; the central part of the tomb is raised some 

 feet above the rest, and on it lies the effigy of Jane 

 countess of Southampton, 1574, that of her husband 

 the first earl, 1551, lying at a lower level on the 

 north, and that of her son the second earl, 1582, in 

 like manner on the south. The whole is of alabaster 

 and marble most elaborately and beautifully worked, 

 carved, and panelled, the inscriptions being on black 

 marble panels at the feet of the three effigies. In the 

 vault beneath are also buried Henry third earl of 

 Southampton and his son James Wriothesley, 1624, and 

 the fourth and last earl, Thomas, 1667. 



In the north-east angle of the south aisle is an 

 inlaid wood panel with the Wriothesley arms, with 

 a pediment supported by caryatides, and below it the 

 motto VNG PARTOUT. It was formerly in the Bugle 

 Inn. 



There are six bells, the first two of which were 

 added and the rest recast in 1866. The fifth wrs a 

 Salisbury bell, c. 1400, inscribed AVE MARIA PLENA ; 

 the fourth of 1628, inscribed IN GOD is MY HOPE I. i. ; 

 the third by Francis Foster of Salisbury, 1675, and 

 the tenor by Wells of Aldbourne, 1769. There is 

 also a small bell uninscribed of some antiquity 



The plate is a very fine silver-gilt set, consisting of 

 two cups with cover patens, inscribed THE GIFT OF 

 THO CORDEROY GENT AND DOM 1673, with the arms 

 of Corderoy a cheveron between two molets and in 

 base a lion, all with a border the crest being a 

 crowned heart (cceur de rot) ; in spite of the inscrip- 

 tion, the date letter on the cups is that of 1675 ; 

 two flagons of the same date and gift ; two alms 

 dishes of 1670 of the same gift; and a standing 

 salver of 1679, given by William Orton. 



The first book of the registers contains entries from 

 1589 to 1634, and is of paper ; the second covers 

 the years 1634-78, and the third 1678-1762. The 

 fourth, fifth, seventh, and eighth books contain the 

 marriages from 1754 to '812, and the sixth the 

 baptisms and burials, 17621812. In these registers 

 there are twelve entries of burials of soldiers between 

 27 November and 16 December, 1627, probably men 

 wounded in the disastrous expedition to La Rochelle. 

 In August, 1628, the duke of Buckingham's murder 

 is very fully chronicled : ' The Lorde Duke of Buck- 

 inghame was slayne at Portesmouth the 23 day of 



231 



