A HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE 



SIDNEY. Orafheon 



was granted to them by John de Madhurst. 9 It re- 

 mained in the hands of the prior and convent until 

 the time of the Dissolution, 10 and was granted in 1 541 

 to Sir William Sidney ; " from him it passed to his 

 son Henry, who held it in 

 1564." Sir Henry was suc- 

 ceeded by his son, the famous 

 Sir Philip Sidney, who mar- 

 ried Frances daughter of Sir 

 Francis Walsingham ; and their 

 only daughter, Elizabeth, mar- 

 ried Roger earl of Rutland." 

 In 1600 Robert earl of Essex 

 and his wife Frances (Sir 

 Philip Sidney's widow) and 

 Roger earl of Rutland and 

 his wife Elizabeth made a 

 settlement of the manor of Easton, 1 * which they 

 conveyed five years later to Thomas Antrobus. 15 



Thomas Antrobus died seised of the manor in 1612, 

 which passed under a settlement to his son Thomas, 

 and Elizabeth the son's wife. 16 This second Thomas 

 sold the manor to William Rolfe before his death in 

 1624, leaving to his daughters Elizabeth and Mabel 

 tenements in tail male, with remainder to Thomas 

 Antrobus of Clifford's Inn. 17 William Rolfe still held 

 Easton manor in 1 640, and conveyed it in that year to 

 Hugh Windham and Edward Abbott. 18 At a survey of 

 the manor taken in 1647 it was valued at 5 zs. $ti. 

 per annum, there being no timber or woods. 19 



At the sale of the bishops' lands in 1649 Easton 

 manor was sold to Adoniram Byfeild for 352 \<~,s. n 

 At the Restoration, however, the manor was restored 

 to Edward Abbott, who conveyed it in 1673 to 

 Richard Coleman.' 1 Between 1673 and 1741 the 

 manor seems to have been divided among five co- 

 heiresses ; for in the latter year Edward Hooker and 

 his wife, James Battin and his wife Hannah, Anne, 

 Mary, and Dulcebella Hooker conveyed it to John 

 Morgan, evidently for a settlement ; 2! and in 1745 '* 

 and 1751 " James Battin and Hannah made convey- 

 ances of a fourth part in right of Hannah. 



By 1773 the whole manor had passed to James 

 Brydges, duke of Chandos," and from this date Easton 

 follows the descent of Avington (q.v.). 



At the time of the Domesday Survey there were 

 two mills in the parish of Easton worth 30;. ; 16 but 

 there seems to be no trace of a mill at the present 

 day. 



In 1301 a grant was made to the prior and con- 

 vent of St. Swithun of free warren in their demesne 

 lands at Easton." Hugh Rolfe held a free fishery 

 and view of frankpledge in Easton in 1640, and 

 conveyed his rights in that year to Hugh Windham 

 and Edward Abbott." 



The church of OUR LADY is a very 

 CHURCH valuable example of a small parish church 

 of c. ii 70, simple in plan, but of good 

 scale and detail, with a square vaulted chancel and 

 eastern apse, a nave 50 ft. by 20 ft., and a western 

 tower. 



The apse has been too thoroughly ' restored ' and 

 its windows widened, and the transverse arches at 

 east and west of the chancel, owing to insufficient 

 abutment, have spread, but otherwise the chancel is 

 in very good preservation. The transverse arches are 

 pointed, of two orders with keeled edge rolls and 

 chamfered labels, and spring from clustered responds 

 with foliate capitals of excellent design. The vault 

 is quadripartite, with moulded ribs, and the apse 

 vault has similar ribs springing from shafts between 

 its three windows. These have been spoilt by widen- 

 ing and are modernized, but are still of very good 

 effect, with banded shafts in the jambs, and round 

 arched heads with an outer order of large zigzag 

 ornament, and a banded roll on the inner. On the 

 south of the chancel is a similar window, entirely 



EASTON CHURCH : THE TOWER 



9 Cal. of Pat. 1327-30, p. 501. 



10 Feud. Aids, ii, 320. In 1317 Alice 

 de Durncgate, an idiot, was holding a mes- 

 suage and 20 acres in Easton. Inq. p.m. 

 10 Edw. II, No. 47. Cal. of Close, 

 1313-18, p. 420. In 1346 John de 

 Madhurst held one-eighth of one fee in 

 Easton which had belonged to the heir of 

 John de Boulogne and of Robert Poterel 

 (Feud. Aids, ii, 335). 



11 Pat. 33 Hen. VIII, pt. 2, m. 

 28. 



13 Ibid. 6 Eliz. pt. 6, m. 15. 



18 G. E. C. Complete Peerage, iii, 285. 



14 Feet of F. Hants, East. 42 Eliz. 



is Ibid. Hil. 2 Jas. I. Robert earl of 

 Essex died and nis wife Frances married 

 as her third husband Richard earl of Clan- 

 ricarde (G. E. C. Complete Peerage, ii, 

 258), and with him conveyed any right 

 that she had left in the manor of Easton 

 to Roger earl of Rutland (Feet, of F. 

 Div. Cos. Hil. 3 Jas. I), evidently in con- 

 firmation of the title of Thomas Antrobus. 



ie Chan. Inq. p.m. 8*9 Jas. I (Ser. 

 2), bdle 5, No. 234; ibid. 21 Jas. I, 

 vol. 400, No. 77, and Hart. Soc. full. 

 xxii, 123. 



J 7 Chan. Inq. p.m. 21 Jas. I, vol. 400, 

 No. 77. 



M Feet of F. Hants, Trin. 15 Chas. I. 



19 Coll. Top. et Gen. iii, 28. 



10 Close, 1649, pt. 24, m. 6 ; Coll. Top. 

 etGen. i, 289. 



M Feet of F. Div. Cos. Mich. 25 

 Chas. II. 



*> Ibid. Hants, Hil. 15 Geo. II. 



* Ibid. East. 1 8 Geo. II. 



!" Ibid. Mich. 25 Geo. II. 



S 5 Ibid. East. 14 Geo. III.; Recov. R. 

 East. 14 Geo. Ill, m. 59. 



*> V. C. . Hants, i, 460. 



Chart. R. 29 Edw. I, No. 54. 



88 Feet of F. Hants, Trin. 15 Chas. I. 



