FAWLEY HUNDRED 



OLD ALRESFORD 



and thence to a certain road near the Dell there . . . 

 and then the way stretches south to another angle on 

 the east of Lister's wood called Ron Downe, and 

 abutting upon the way opposite Rede Busshes . . . 

 and then stretches south between Rede Busshes " on 

 the west and the common of Chawton on the east 

 . . . thence even to a void plot of land called Fowre- 

 markes ls near Cookemere and called Fowremarkes 

 because the four tithings abut together there Med- 

 sted, Ropley, Faryngdon, and Chawton, thence west 

 . . . even to the Greane Dene, thence west ... to 

 Gullett Mere 16 and thence between the land called 

 Solrydg " on the north and the land of the warden of 

 New College on the south to the great trench in 

 Ramscombe wood, 18 and thence west over Pyewey to 

 Byckton Down, thence north to the Pounde Post, 

 thence north to Myll Oke, and from Myll Oke to 

 Hangyng Beche, and by a lane leading to Layneham 

 Downe, 19 and thence west by Bykwodd and Byckton 

 Feld even to Cokeslane, and by the said lane even to 

 London wey and over the way to the east of the 

 Nythen, and thence south to Furdley Dyche Corner, 

 and thence west on the south of the great pond even 

 to the bridge where began the perambulation.' 



From these boundaries it is clear that the manor com- 

 prised the whole of the modern parishes of Old Aires- 

 ford and Medsted, and part of the parish of Wield. 

 The bishop derived a large income from his property, 

 his chief sources of wealth apart from the rents of 

 assize being the woods and copses, the great pond, 

 fisheries, and mills. 



In the reign of Edward VI woods and copses in the 

 manor comprised an area of 464 acres made up as 

 follows : Le Lawnde Copys 30 acres, Great Haywodd 

 Copys 36 acres, Peked Haywodd Copys 18 acres, 

 Fyncheley Copys 60 acres, Bradley Copys 7 acres, 

 Burley Copys 3 acres, Stancombe Wood by Hangyng- 

 beche 34 acres, Little Stancombe by Stancombe Gate 

 21 acres, Stancombe Hill 81 acres, Le Holte 96 acres, 

 and Ramscomb 78 acres.* Pannage of pigs in these 

 woods was an important asset. They were looked 

 upon as so valuable that the surveyor sent down from 

 London to survey the whole bailiwick of Bishop's 

 Sutton previous to its purchase by Sir John Gate in 

 the reign of Edward VI advises him as follows : 

 'Thoughe your lordship like not to take the holl baili- 

 wicke, yet I wold you forsooke not Old Alresford and 

 Sutton for the wodds' sake and the comodities and 

 gretness that shall ensew to your tenaunts of Ludshett.'" 

 He adds as a further inducement : ' The tenants at 

 Alresford have no woods in the lords' woods but by 

 byinge for their money and otherwyse they do not 

 medyll there . . . But the tenants desyre to bye some 

 nowe or els they shall dye for could this winter.' " 



The next source of income, the great pond, increased 

 the bishop's revenue in various ways. It was his 

 custom from early times to farm out the reeds and 

 flags growing in it for 8/. a year. 83 An additional sum 

 of l 6s. %J. was paid every year for the privilege of 

 catching eels called ' Srigges ' and water-fowl in the 

 pond.* 4 The fishery in the pond was worth another 

 l a year when it was farmed out." When the 

 bishop failed to find a tenant he committed it to the 

 charge of a servant, who, however, was not allowed to 

 help himself to the fish, a certain John Colson being 

 fined heavily in Elizabeth's reign for appropriating 

 pikes and perches from the pond and giving them to 

 his friends. 8 ' 



The bishop also had various other fisheries in the 

 manor : the fisheries of Boblesham or Bubblesham 

 and Burrow which were farmed out for 6s. %d. and 

 SJ. respectively, a fishery from Dean Bridge to Jening's 

 Mill, and from thence to Broadwater and Mousewater, 

 which was let with the mill, and a fishery called the 

 Compe from the Bonte to the Compehole which was 

 leased together with New Mill." Other fisheries 

 mentioned in the deed of sale of Old Alresford manor 

 to Thomas Hussey in 1648 are the Shittles and a 

 fishery at Andrewes Mills and from them to the 

 borough. 28 These fisheries also indirectly augmented 

 the bishop's income from the manor, the bailiff of the 

 borough of New Alresford paying if. \d. every year 

 for ' lez fysshestalles ' in the market place of New 

 Alresford.* 9 To pass on to the mills, which were 

 another valuable asset. In 1086 there were no fewer 

 than nine in the manor of the annual value of 

 <) zs. 6</., so and there is frequent mention of mills in 

 subsequent documents. Of these the most important 

 were two water corn-mills called Burrowe Mills, two 

 fulling-mills called Andrewes Mills, a fulling-mill 

 called Jening's Mill or Jones Mill or Black Mill, a 

 fulling-mill called the New Mill, and a water-mill 

 called the Weir Mill," and in the ministers' accounts 

 and court rolls there are also mentions of various other 

 mills the names of which are not given. 32 In the 

 course of the seventeenth century the cloth-trade de- 

 clined, and a hint of this is afforded by an entry in a 

 court roll of 161 2 to the effect that Henry Perrin paid 

 a fine for licence to destroy an old fulling-mill called 

 Jening's Mill or Black Mill, and to take the timber 

 thence to his own use. 3 * About the same time Andrewes 

 Mills were converted into corn-mills, and consequently 

 four corn-mills called Burrowe Mills or Town Mills 

 or Andrewes Mills were included in the sale of Aires- 

 ford Liberty to Thomas Hussey in 1 648.** The lord 

 of the manor derived a good income from the various 

 mills, the Town Mills alone being farmed out at 10, 

 but he was sometimes forced to disburse a considerable 



14 In the extreme east of Medsted par- 

 ish are Roe Downs, Redhill Copse, nd 

 Red Bushes. 



16 Now partly in Medsted, and partly 

 in Ropley. 



16 Gullett Wood and Gullett Lane are 

 in the northern extremity of Ropley 

 parish. 



*' Upper and Lower Solridge Farm are 

 in the extreme south of Medsted parish. 



18 Rampscomb Farm in the north of 

 Ropley parish. 



19 Upper and Lower Lanham Copse are 

 in the north of the parish of Old Alresford. 



20 Eccl. Com. Ct. R. bdle. 136, No. i. 



21 Duchy of Lane. Rentals and Surv. 

 bdle. 8, No. 22*. 



22 Ibid. No. 226. 



"Ibid. Eccl. Com. Ct. R. bdle. 136, 

 No. I ; bdle. 85, No. 3 ; bdle. 115, No. 

 10 ; Eccl. Com. various, bdle. 56, No. 

 1594604. 



24 Mins. Accts. bdle. 6112, No. 366 ; 

 Eccl. Com. various, bdle. 57,No. 159460}. 



" Eccl. Com. various, bdle. 56, Nto. 

 1594604. 



26 Eccl. Com. Ct. R. bdle. 90, No. 5. 



2 ' Eccl. Com. various, bdle. 56, No. 

 1594604; Eccl. Com. Ct. R. bdle. 115, 

 No. 10; Close, 24 Chas. I, pt. 3, No. 

 1 6. 



28 Close, 24 Chas. I, pt. 3, No. 16. 



" Eccl. Com. Ct. R. bdle. 136, No. I. 



80 V.C.H. Hants, i, 459. 



35 



81 Eccl. Com. Ct. R. bdle. 115, No. 10; 

 Eccl. Com. various, bdle. 56, No. 159460^; 

 bdle. 57, No. 159460}; Mins. Accts. 

 bdle. 6112, No. 366 ; Eccl. Com. Ct. R. 

 bdle 136, No. i. 



82 For instance, in a minister's account 

 of the reign of Hen. VI there is mention 

 of a mill formerly belonging to Nicholas 

 Miller, a mill recovered from William 

 Overton by the church of Winchester, 

 and two other fulling-mills (Eccl. Com. 

 various, bdle. 57, No. 159460}. See 

 also Mins. Accts. bdle. 1141, No. 8). 



88 Eccl. Com. Ct. R. bdle. 115, No. 10. 

 84 Close, 24 Chas. I, pt. 3, No. 16. 

 86 Eccl. Com. various, bdle. 56, No.. 

 1594604 ; bdle. 57, No. 159460}. 



39 



