A HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE 



There are many scattered groups of houses throughout 

 the parish, which on the whole is well populated. To 

 the south of Brockbridge, near the railway station, are 

 a number of new villas already built, and many more 

 in the course of erection . East Hoe is a tithing one 

 and a half miles south-east, near the source of a small 

 stream which works Rudley Mill. Newtown, in the 

 south, is an ecclesiastical parish formed in 1851 from 

 the parishes of Soberton and Hambledon, and con- 

 sisting of a large part of the West Walk of the Forest 

 of Bere. The church of the Holy Trinity was built 

 in 1850. The schools near by were built in 1851, 

 and have since been enlarged. There is also a 

 reading and recreation room, with a small library. 

 Southend is a hamlet situated one mile north of 

 Newtown church. The parish contains 2,526$ 

 acres of arable land, 1,104^ acres of permanent grass, 

 and i,668J acres of woods and plantations. 1 Soberton 

 Heath, Southend Plain, Great Down and Little Down 

 were inclosed in 1867. The soil is chalk, clay, and 

 loam, the sub-soil gravel, chalk, and flint. The chief 

 crops are wheat and oats. 



Among place names mentioned in records are a 

 pourpresture called La Breche,* a road called Hamele- 

 way, a ford called Maslyngford* (fourteenth century), 

 a messuage and lands called Awbreys, and a messuage 

 and lands called Kyrkebrygge ' (fifteenth century). 



At the time of the Domesday Survey 

 MANORS there were three large estates in 

 SOBERTON one formerly part of 

 Godwin's estates and added to the crown lands by 

 King Harold, 5 the second formerly held by Alnod 

 and then in the possession of Herbert the Chamber- 

 lain, 6 and the third which had belonged to Andrac 

 and then formed part of the possessions of Henry the 

 Treasurer. 7 Owing to later subinfeudation it is 

 difficult to trace the subsequent history of these three 

 estates. 



The family of Clere from early times owned a 

 manor of SOBERTON which was probably in origin 

 part of the royal manor of Soberton. Ralph de 

 Clere granted it to Jordan de Walterville, who in his 

 turn granted it to the abbot and convent of Beaulieu 

 to hold of him and his heirs for a rent of 12 los." 

 In 1230 in the course of a dispute concerning the 

 customs and services which Jordan owed to Ralph for 

 his tenement in Soberton, the sheriff was commanded 

 to take into the king's hands the rent which the 

 abbot and convent paid to Jordan. 9 Some time later 

 Jordan gave up to the abbot and convent all claim 

 to this rent, 10 and his charter was confirmed by 



BEAULIEU ABBKY. 

 Gules a crosier enjiled with 

 a royal crotvn or -within 

 a border sable billetty or. 



Henry III," Ralph de Clere, and Roger de Clere son 

 of Ralph." The rent of \z los. shows the manor 

 to have been a considerable one, and in course of 

 time the property of the abbot and convent in the 

 parish was augmented. John de Windsor in the 

 reign of Henry III granted them loos, worth of land 

 in Soberton." Again in the reign of Edward III 

 the abbot of Beaulieu purchased a so-called manor of 

 Soberton from Richard Bulgy who had inherited it 

 from his grandfather Roger. 14 

 As early as 1229 the woods 

 of the abbot and convent 

 in Soberton were extensive 

 enough to warrant the king's 

 order to them to supply the 

 royal navy with five hundred 

 wickerwork baskets (cltias) and 

 two hundred bridges, 14 and in 

 1291 their grange at Soberton 

 was assessed at ji5- 16 In 

 1359 the abbot and convent 

 obtained a grant of free 

 warren in Soberton," and in 

 1393 the king confirmed the 



right of common of pasture within the Forest 

 of Bere for the animals of their men and tenants, 

 free and bondmen, of the town of Soberton. 18 

 About this time the abbot and convent formed 

 the custom of farming out the manor. Thus in 

 1398 they let it out at farm to Thomas Tauk for 

 thirty years for a rent of 24 marks. Thomas, how- 

 ever, allowed the buildings to fall into bad repair, 

 and fell behindhand with his payments, owing the 

 abbot 40 in 14O4. 1 * The abbot and convent there- 

 upon re-entered the manor, and in 1411 obtained 

 licence to lease the manor to Richard Newport and 

 his heirs for two hundred years. 10 This lease was 

 equivalent to a sale, as no annual payment is mentioned 

 in the indenture. As the lease was in being at the 

 Dissolution Soberton is not included in the possessions 

 of Beaulieu at that date,' 1 and in an inquisition on the 

 death of Richard Newport in 1477 the manor is said 

 to be held of the duke of Buckingham, as of his 

 honour of Clare." A John Newport of Soberton is 

 mentioned in 1451 as owing 600 marks to John 

 Tichborne." Richard Newport, probably his son, 

 died in 1477, leaving a son and heir John, aged 

 twenty-three. Before his death he had conveyed the 

 manor and other premises in Soberton to John Dale 

 and Richard Kingsmill, probably as trustees." John 

 Newport, described as serjeant-at-law, died seised of 



1 Statistic! from B<1. of Agric. (190;). 



* Inq. p.m. 36 Edw. Ill, pt. I, No. 

 65. 



Add. MS. 33284, fol. 196. Mas- 

 lyngford still survives as Meslingford, a 

 ford over the River Meon. 



4 Inq. p.m. 17 Edw. IV, No. 35. 



6 y.C.H. Hants, i, 451 and 452. In the 

 time of Edward the Confessor this had 

 been held as two manors by Godwin of the 

 king in parage and by Leman of Godwin 

 respectively. 



y.C.H. Hants, i, 500. 



^ Ibid. 



Vide Assize R. Mich. 8 Edw. I. 

 Walterville is also spelt Walkyville (Rot. 

 Lit. Claus. i, 180). 



9 Close, 1 3 Hen. Ill, m. 5 d. ; Bracton's 

 Note Bk. 468. 



Harl. MS. 6603, fol. 277. 



Ibid. fol. 266. 



Ibid. fol. 278 and 279. Ralph de 

 Clere was one of the barons who opposed 

 King John. He forfeited his lands in 

 Hampshire, including Lasham and Great- 

 ham, and in 1216 Henry Belet was com- 

 manded not to receive him into the king's 

 peace until further orders (Rot. Lit. 

 Claus. \, 42, 235, 242 and 250). He 

 was restored to favour by Henry III, who 

 in 1217 ordered Fulk dc Breaute to give 

 him full seisin of all the lands he possessed 

 when he withdrew from allegiance to 

 King John (ibid. 310). He is probably 

 identical with the Ralph de Clere who was 

 a benfactor to the nunnery of Gedding- 

 ham (co. Yorks), for this Ralph likewise 

 had a son and heir Roger (Dugdale, Man. 

 iv. 173). 



" Vide Assize R. Mich. 8 Edw. I. 



2 5 8 



" Inq. p.m. 1 1 Ric. II, No. 6. He 

 may have been the Richard Bulgy who 

 was excommunicated in 1369 at the 

 instance of John the abbot of Beaulieu 

 (ffykeham's Reg. ii, 102). 



Close, 13 Hen. Ill, m. 5 d. 



18 Pofe Nich. Tax. (Rec. Com.), 214. 



V Chart. R. 33 Edw. Ill, m. 3. 



18 Ibid. 17 Ric. II, m. 19. 



De Bane. R. Trin. 4 Hen. IV, m. 

 181, and Hil. 5 Hen. IV, m. 107. 



Pat. 12 Hen. IV, m. 29. 



21 Mins. Accts. Hants, 29 & 30 Hen. 

 VIII, rot. 113. 



M Chan. Inq. p.m. 17 Edw. IV, No. 



35- 



Close, 29 Hen. VI, m. i$d. 



M Chan. Inq. p.m. 17 Edw. IV, No. 

 35- 



