A HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE 



John Arthur, by will 1722, gave to the poor of 

 the tithings of Droxford and Hill 30 ; John Dee, 



by will 1749, S ave to th* P oor f this P ar ' s h ^5 > 

 and the Rev. James Cutler, formerly rector of the 

 parish, by will 1782, left 50. These sums, with 

 accumulated interest, were laid out in the purchase of 

 215 is. consols, now held by the official trustees, 

 the dividends, amounting to 5 "js. 4</., are applied 

 with the next mentioned charity. 



In 1850 James George Boucher, by will, bequeathed 

 to the rector and churchwardens a sum now represented 

 by 190 iSs. id. consols, with the official trustees, for 

 the benefit of the poor of the parish. The dividends, 

 amounting to 4 1 $s. \d., were together with the 

 charities of John Arthur and others applied in 1905 

 as follows : to the vicar of Shedfield 4. 3/. 8</., to 

 the vicar of Swanmore 3 $s. 6J., to be distributed 

 in those districts, and 2 l $s. 6J. was given in money 

 to ten poor persons of Droxford. 



Poor's Allotments. By Inclosure Award of 9 May, 

 1855, two allotments of 4 acres each (numbered 



respectively 213 and 284) were allotted for the use 

 of the poor of Shedfield, the rents whereof, amounting 

 to about 2$ a year, are applied for public uses, 

 subject, however, to a yearly rent-charge of 3 $s. and 

 of ^3 respectively. Under the same award 5 acres 

 of land were allotted as a recreation ground. 



By deed of 1880 a site and buildings thereon were 

 conveyed for the purpose of reading and recreation 

 rooms. 



For the school and its endowments see article on 

 'Schools,' V.C.H. Hants, ii, 404. 



Swanmore. For the combined charities see 

 Bishop's Waltham. 



Poor's Allotments. By the Inclosure Award of 

 1855 an allotment of 7 acres was allotted for the use 

 of the poor of Swanmore, producing about 10 a 

 year, which is subject to a yearly rent-charge of 6. 

 Under the same award 5 acres were allotted as a 

 recreation ground. 



For the school and its endowments see article on 

 ' Schools,' V.C.H. Hants, ii, 405. 



DURLEY 



Durlye, Durle (xiv cent.) ; Dyrle (xvi cent.). 



Durley is a parish of 2,497 acres, lying between 

 the upper waters of the Hamble River and its tribu- 

 tary Ford Lake, the latter forming its western boun- 

 dary. The levels fall from 250 ft. at the north to 

 60 ft. at the south. In the north-east corner of the 

 parish, where the boundaries of Durley, Upham, and 

 Bishop's Waltham meet, is the old Robin Hood post- 

 ing-house, on the southernmost point of the hill on 

 which Wintershill stands ; it commands a fine view 

 of the Hamble valley. About half a mile south-east 

 of the Robin Hood is another piece of high ground, 

 on which is Durley Manor Farm, but except at these 

 two points the parish nowhere rises to more than 

 200 ft. above sea level. It is intersected by winding 

 lanes, their surface covered in many cases with a 

 loose shingly sand, which in wet weather has earned 

 for the parish the nickname ' Dirty Durley.' The 

 only road of any size or definite direction is Durley 

 Street, which strikes north-east across the parish, with 

 a gradual rise to the Robin Hood Inn, whence it 

 dips sharply to meet the new Waltham to Win- 

 chester road at the foot of Wintershill. Along Dur- 

 ley Street, between the schools at the west and the 

 inn at the east, lies the village, in scattered groups of 

 cottages, its two extremes more than a mile apart. 

 At a short distance to the east of the school, a road 

 turns southwards to a group of newer-looking houses 

 and some saw-mills, quite a modern growth in com- 

 parison with the rest of the village. 



The church and rectory stand near each other to 

 the north-west, quite half a mile away from the near- 

 est point of the village, and approached by a narrow 

 lane which leads northwards from Durley Street and 

 eventually joins the Waltham to Winchester road at 

 Lower Upham. To the north of the church is 

 Greenwood, the residence of Lady Jenner. In the 



field now used as a playground, across which a short 

 cut can be taken from church to school, the old stocks 

 are said to have stood. South of Durley Street, 

 where the road falls quickly to the River Hamble, a 

 lane leads to Durley Mill, one of the prettiest parts of 

 the district. 1 The stream has here been widened, 

 and the lane crosses it by a low bridge above the mill, 

 passing under the branch railway line to Bishop's 

 Waltham, and continuing southwards to join the 

 Botley road. 



From its position in a low-lying valley, sheltered by 

 the South Downs on the north-east, the parish of Dur- 

 ley is very fertile, the surface soil being a sandy loam. 

 There are 1,102 acres of arable land, the chief crops 

 being wheat, oats, and barley ; 1,046^ acres are 

 occupied by permanent grass, and 328$ acres by 

 woods and plantations.' The saw-mills tell of plenti- 

 ful timber in the district. That part of Wintershill 

 Common which lies in this parish was inclosed in 

 1858.' 



Gilbert White, the naturalist, became curate of 

 Durley in September, 1753, and held the curacy for 

 a year and a half. He did not, however, reside at 

 Durley, but had lodgings at Bishop's Waltham, paying 

 to Mr. Gibson, the rector of that place, zo for one 

 year's board. His biographer notes that during his 

 tenure of this curacy White's expenses exceeded his 

 stipend by nearly 20* 



The earliest mention of DURLET is 

 MANORS in a grant of land to the abbey of New- 

 minster by Edward the Elder in 900.* 

 In this grant the boundaries of Durley (then called 

 Deorlaage) are given, and it is interesting to note that 

 these are in part identical with the boundaries of the 

 parish at the present day. 6 Whatever rights over 

 Durley were signified in this grant, they soon became 

 obsolete, for Durley became the property of the bishops 



1 It seems not unreasonable to suppose 

 that this is one of the three mills men- 

 tioned in Domesday as belonging to 

 Waltham Manor ; for though without 



the park boundary, Durley was within 

 the manor lands. 



' Statistics from Bd. of Agric. 1905. 



8 Part. Blue Bks. Inclosure A-wards, 

 158. 



288 



4 R. White, Life and Letters of Gilbert 

 White, i, 48. 



' Birch, Cart. Sax. ii, 245. 



8 Durley Parish Mag., July 1900, 

 March 1901. 



