A HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE 



SOUTH WARNBOROUGH 



Wergeborne (Domesday), Waregeburnae Widonis 

 (xiicent.); Suthwarneburne (xiii-xivcent.); Sutwarne- 

 burn, Southwargheborgh alias Southwargheburn 

 (xiii cent.) ; Warneburn or Warnborne (xiv cent.) ; 

 Warborne, Suthwarborne, Suthwermborowe or South- 

 warmbourne (xvii cent.) ; South wanborow Southwarme- 

 borne (xvii cent.) ; South Warmborough (xviii cent.). 



South Warnborough is a long narrow parish cover- 

 ing 2,654 acres of undulating country which rises to 

 its greatest height as the road from Upton Grey enters 

 the parish from the north-west. The village, the 

 only populated part of the parish, lies towards the 

 north where the main road from Odiham to Alton 

 running south-east meets the road from Upton Grey. 

 South of the village the whole parish is one long stretch 

 of open field and meadow land, the only woodland 

 being a few copses running along the western border. 



After entering the parish the road from Upton Grey 

 runs south-east for nearly half a mile, and then curving 

 slightly east between two or three outlying cottages and 

 farm buildings descends sharply between high banks, on 

 either side of which houses and thatched and tiled cot- 

 tages are grouped, into the centre of the village, where 

 are the railed-in village pond, an elm tree surrounded 

 by a wooden seat, and the smithy. A plain low 

 house, on the left hand as the road descends, in front 

 of which are quaintly-clipped yew trees, representing 

 a cock and hen, is the village police station, south of 

 which are the modern schools, dated 1880. Opposite 

 the schools are two groups of the most picturesque 

 cottages in the village, with deep overhanging thatch, 

 standing behind a long low brick wall. The big elm 

 tree stands in the centre where the main road from 

 Odiham to Alton crosses that from Upton Grey as it 

 leads south-east circuitously to Long Sutton. At the 

 north-west corner formed by the junction of the roads 

 is the village pond, and opposite, at the south-west 

 corner, is the low tiled smithy. Two or three 

 thatched cottages fill up the north-east corner and 

 continue up the north side of the road running uphill 

 towards Long Sutton, while round the south corner, 

 and some yards up the opposite side of this road, runs 

 the high brick wall of the garden of South Warn- 

 borough House. A few yards up the village to the 

 north, on the east side of the Odiham to Alton road, 

 is the Plough Inn, a new red-brick building which 

 replaces the old and less pretentious inn bearing the 

 sign in former days. Opposite the inn a high brick 

 garden wall, behind which rises a high yew hedge, 

 shuts in the grounds of the rectory, a square red-brick 



house. As the Odiham to Alton road goes south 

 along the village, a house standing close to the smithy 

 serves as the post office, south of which are two or 

 three cottages and houses. 



On the opposite side a row of fine horse-chestnut trees 

 edges the footpath running along before South Warn- 

 borough House, the residence of Sir Arthur James 

 Walmesley, which stands in its fine grounds back from 

 the road. South-west of the house is the church, 

 approached over a small triangular green, round which 

 a gravel path leads up to the lychgate, and thence 

 through an avenue of horse-chestnut trees to the north 

 door. Behind the church begin the trees of Warn- 

 borough Park, those near the church seeming to be 

 specially chosen out by a large band of rooks who 

 resort there every year. 



South Warnborough Park stretches about a quarter 

 of a mile in every direction, its western boundary 

 being formed by the Odiham to Alton road as, leav- 

 ing the village, it continues its south-easterly course 

 through the parish. The soil of the parish is chalk 

 with a subsoil of chalk and clay, and good crops are 

 produced on the 1,934. acres of arable land. Only 

 376 acres are given up to permanent grass, while only 

 I58f acres are woodland. Of the latter Venny or 

 Fenny Oaken Copse and Swenchetts, now Swanshott 

 Copse, date back their names at least to the seven 

 teenth century. 



The manor of SOUTH WARN- 

 M4NOR BOROUGH belonged to the crown, 1 and 

 was held of the king by Hugh son of Baldric 

 at the time of the Domesday Survey. It passed to his 

 daughter on her marriage with Guyde Craon," whose 

 son, grandson, and great-grandson, Alan, Maurice, and 

 Guy de Craon held the manor in succession.* Pet- 

 ronilla, daughter and heiress of the last-named Guy, 

 was first married to William de Longchamp, 4 secondly 

 to Henry de Mara, and thirdly to Oliver de Vaux, 5 

 and held the manor jointly with her respective hus- 

 bands until her death in 1280. Henry de Long- 

 champ, her son by her first marriage, became her heir," 

 and did homage for his manor about 1261.' During 

 his lifetime he alienated South Warnborough to 

 Philip Basset and Ela his wife * for the sum of 200, 

 which was to redeem certain of his lands, 9 the aliena- 

 tion being for the term of Henry's life. 10 



Alice the only child and heir of Henry de Long- 

 champ, a minor at her father's death," married Roger 

 de Pedwardyn," and settled the manor on herself and 

 her husband and their heirs male." Roger Ped- 



1 Testa de Ncvitt (Rec. Com.), 233-5 i 

 Chan. Inq. p.m. 46 Hen. Ill, No. 5 ; 

 ibid. 20 Edw. I, No. 1 5 ; Ibid. 43 Edw. 

 Ill, pt. 2, No. 13 ; ibid. 6 Hen. IV, No. 

 22 ; ibid. (Ser. 2), vol. 44, No. 112. 



* y.C.H. Hants, i, 496(1, 438. 



* De Binco, Trin. 20 Edw. Ill, m. 

 5 5 d. The second Guy de Craon held 

 the manor in 1167, when South Warn- 

 borough bore his name Waregeburna 

 Widonis. Rot. Fife 13 Hen. II (Pipe R. 

 Soc.), 187. 



4 Dugdale, Baronage, i, 412. 



* Testa de Nevill (Rec. Com.), 2 3 5 ; Dug- 

 dale, Baronage, \, 526. Account was ren- 

 dered of payment by Oliver de Vaux for 



right to marry Petronilla in 1211. Rot. 

 Pip. 1 3 John, Norf. and Suff. 



Chan. Inq. p.m. 46 Hen. Ill, No. 5. 



7 Rot. Fin. 46 Hen. Ill, m. 14. 



8 She is called countess of Warwick, 

 her title by n earlier marriage. 



9 Chartul. of Pedwardyn Family. Add. 

 MS. 32101 ; Cat. Chart. K. 1257-1300, 

 p. ii 6. 



10 De Banco, Mich. 12 Edw. II, m. 

 29 d. Against this Ela, Sibyll wife of 

 Henry de Longchamp, after her husband's 

 death, brought a suit respecting a third 

 part of the manor (De Banco, Mich. 

 3 Edw. I, No. n, m. .yi d.), evidently 

 without success, as Ela was holding the 



park of South Warnborough three years 

 later, in 1278 (Cal. of Pat. 1272-8, 

 p. 287). 



11 Chan. Inq. p.m. 4 Edw. I, No. 91 ; 

 De Banco, Trin. 5 Edw. I, m. 1 1 ; ibid. 3 

 Edw. I, No. 11, m. 71 d. She is variously 

 stated to have been in wardship of Robt. 

 Burnell, Walter de Betheward and of 

 Walter and Roger Pedwardyn ; -vide as 

 above. 



la Dugdale, Baronage, i, 594. 



11 Feet of F. Hants, Mich. 10 Edw. II ; 

 Cal. of Pat. 1313-17, p. 391. According 

 to statements made in the suit of Sibyll 

 de Longchamp, Nicholas Malemayns 

 held a carucate of land in the manor, 



