A HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE 



Hattingley Farm with its substantial farm-house and 

 outbuildings. Some yards on are the two other groups 

 of cottages, standing north and south of the road, 

 which compose the rest of Hattingley. Beyond these 

 the road continues towards the few cottages composing 

 the small hamlet of Heath Green, which lie west of 

 it as it branches north and south near the western 

 border line of the parish. 



There are several ancient wells in the village, but 

 owing to the great depth of all they are seldom used, 

 many of the inhabitants being supplied with water 

 from an underground tank. On high ground north 

 of the village are the remains of a circular entrench- 

 ment, and there are several barrows in the parish. 



The soil is chalk and clay with a subsoil of chalk, pro- 

 ducing crops of wheat and oats on the 1,278^ acres of 

 arable land. The parish is sparsely wooded, the whole 

 36^ acres of woodland being covered by Boynes Wood 

 in the north-east. Everywhere, however, between 

 the arable fields is rich meadow land, and this with 

 the down land in north and west makes up the 1,069^ 

 acres of permanent grass. 



There is no inclosure award for Medsted. Goat- 

 acre Farm preserves one of the old place-names, among 

 which, occurring at least in the sixteenth and seven- 

 teenth centuries, are ' Croftpytte,' ' Mayegate, ' ' Tenn- 

 acres,' ' Pitacre,' ' Penland,' ' Layneham Down,' * 

 ' Whitewey,' and ' Greenwayes.' * 



Although there is no separate mention 

 MANORS of MEDSTED either before or at the 

 time of the Domesday Survey, neverthe- 

 less, if the identification of place-names that occur in 

 an eighth-century charter of King Ine be correct, 

 Medsted must have been included in a grant of 40 

 mansae of land at Alresford made by that king to 

 Winchester Cathedral in 701, in confirmation of an 

 earlier grant by Kinewald. 4 It consequently formed 

 part of Alresford Liberty (q.v.) and the manor of Old 

 Alresford (q.v.), and is most probably included in the 

 entry under Alresford in Domesday Book. 6 That 

 this is so is supported by a perambulation of the manor 

 taken in the reign of Edward VI, 6 by the fact that the 

 tithing of Medsted sent a tithing-man to the old 

 Alresford court-leet, 7 and also by the circumstance that 

 Anthony Browne, an agent sent down from London to 

 report on the whole bailiwick of Bishop's Sutton 8 

 previous to its purchase by Sir John Gate in the reign 

 of Edward VI, included in his survey the parish of 

 Medsted, reporting as follows : ' Midsted adjoyning 

 on the sowthest side of Wild and parcell of Old Aires- 

 ford manor is verie well wodded with great beches 

 and some oks onn everie side the greate wodds there- 

 of, which from the village roun a mile and a haulf of 

 Alton, and onn the west side from the ferme of 



Alresford downe to the commen felds of Medsted and 

 on the sowth side to London hieghwaie that leadeth 

 from Alresford to Alton, and onn the northe side to 

 the manner of Wild.' ' 



The parish still forms part of the manor of Old 

 Alresford. 



The history of a holding in Medsted, afterwards 

 known as MEDSTED COURT, can be traced from 

 the fourteenth century. As late as 1 316 the bishop 

 occurs as lord of the vill of Medsted without mention 

 of any sub-tenants of the manor, 10 but in I 346 Richard 

 Houtot, probably a descendant of a family which had 

 held small parcels of land in the parish as early as 

 1 202," was holding a knight's fee here which had 

 belonged to Andrew Houtot," and seven years later 

 Martin de Hertham and Isabel his wife, sister and 

 heiress of Andrew Houtot, conveyed lands, rents, and 

 half a knight's fee in Medsted to William de Overton." 

 He was followed by his son William, who held one 

 fee in Medsted and Tadelyng in 1428 which Richard 

 Houtot had formerly held ; '* and three years later 

 Thomas de Overton, William's son, held the manor of 

 Medsted, a liberty of the bishop of Winchester, by the 

 service of the fourth part of one knight's fee. 14 



In 1501 John Wayte of Titchfield recovered seisin 

 of the manors of Sutton and Medsted against Eleanor 

 Courte ; le and in 1530 this John Wayte conveyed the 

 manor of Medsted to Richard 

 Lyster, 17 who, however, sold 

 all his right in it to Sir John 

 Leigh in ISS6. 1S 



. Sir John Leigh 19 died seised 

 of the manor in 1575,* leav- 

 ing an infant son and heir 

 John, aged one year, 21 who 

 died in 1612, and was suc- 

 ceeded by his son Thomas, a 

 child of six at the time of his 

 father's death." Thomas Leigh 

 died in 1640, leaving a son 

 and heir Philip, aged eleven, 



LEIGH. Gules a cross 

 engrailed and a border 



ngrailed argent. 



who evidently succeeded to the estates on the death 

 of his mother. 13 Philip Leigh still held Medsted in 

 1653,** but between that date and 1699 the manor 

 changed hands, for in the latter year John Henley 

 conveyed it to Joseph Mayor. 25 



In 1748 Edward Rookes was holding Medsted, 

 though whether by purchase or by inheritance is 

 uncertain, and sold it in that year to Sir William 

 Jolliffe for , 1 ,4OO. M After this date no further record 

 of this property has been found. 



In the fourteenth century we have records of 

 another holding in Medsted, which after being leased 

 to various tenants was conveyed to Nicholas de Hany- 



1 Eccl. Com. Ct. R. 155967, bdle. 85, 

 No. 3. 



2 Ibid. 158821, bdle. 136, No. 2. 

 8 Ibid. 155760, bdle. 99, No. 8. 



4 Birch, Cart. Sax. i, 148. 



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



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



7 Ibid. bdle. 85, No. 2, &c. 



8 Consisting of the Liberty of Alresford 

 and the hundred of Bishop's Sutton. 



* Duchy of Lane. Rentals and Surv. 

 bdle. 8, No. 22 a. 



10 Feud. Aids, ii, 320. 



11 Feet of F. Hants, Trin. 4 John ; 

 ibid. 47 Hen. III. 



18 Feud. Aids, ii, 334. 



" Feet of F. Hanti, Trin. 27 Edw. III. 



14 Feud. Aids, ii, 357. 



15 Ibid, ii, 363. 



18 De Banco R. 17 Hen. VII, m. 249. 



J 7 Feet of F.Hants, Trin. 22 Hen. VIII. 

 The property at this date became known 

 as the manor of Medsted Court ; Eccl. 

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



18 Ibid. Hil. 3 & 4 Phil, and Mary. 



19 Edward Fitzgarrett and his wife Agnes, 

 daughter of Sir John Leigh, John Leigh, 

 John Glastocke, and Edward We-lshe con- 

 veyed the manor of Medsted to John 

 More and Richard Bostock in 1565, evi- 

 dently as a settlement (Feet of F. Div. 

 Cos. East. 9 Eliz.). 



28 In 1571 Thomas Wayte, son of John 

 Wayte, sought to regain possession of land 



328 



in the manors of Sutton and Medsted, 

 which ought to have descended to him at 

 the death of his father, but of which Sir 

 William Kingsmill had wrongfully pos- 

 sessed himself (Chan. Proc. 13 Eliz. bdle. 

 195, No. 80). 



81 Chan. Inq. p.m. 18 Eliz. (Sen 2), pt. 

 2, No. 82. 



W. and L. Inq. p.m. 10 Jas. I, bdle. 

 45, No. 97. 



48 Chan. Inq. p.m. 16 Chas. I (Ser. 2), 

 pt. 2, No. 85. 



84 Recov. R. Hil. 1653, m. 65. 



35 Feet of F. Hants, Mich, n Will. 

 Ill; Recov. R. Mich, n Will. Ill, m. 

 243. 



w Feet of F. Hants, Mich. 22 Geo. II. 



