A HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE 



the parish, with the Test River as its western and 

 southern boundary. 4 



In 908 King Edward confirmed the manor to 

 Bishop Frithstan in a charter confirming the grants of 

 his ancestors to the church. 6 King Ethelred made a 

 similar confirmation in 984- 6 In both these grants 

 the 5 hides at Nursling were included in what was 

 then the very large district of Chilcomb, comprising 

 I oo hides to be assessed as one manor. 7 How long 

 the manor was so included is doubtful, but by the 

 time of Domesday it seems to have lost all connexion 

 with Chilcomb and to be included in the hundred of 

 Buddlesgate. The bishop held the manor, still rated 

 at 5 hides, and it is said to have always belonged to 

 the monastery. 8 In 1167 the prior of St. Swithun 

 rendered account for the manor, 9 and in 1207 the 

 pope confirmed him in his possession. 1 " Edward I 

 granted the prior and convent free warren in their 

 demesne lands in Nursling in 1300," and in 1330 

 they were licensed to acquire certain lands in Nursling 

 from Robert de Wytton and Thomas le Boys." 



Although Bishop Tunberht had originally granted 

 Nursling to the refectory of the monastery, by the 

 fifteenth century the profits of the manor were diverted 

 to the office of warden of the works (ctutos operuni), 

 and appear on the two extant rolls of the office of 

 1409 and 1532-3. In 1409 John Hurst, warden 

 of the works, received 30 l$s. l^d. from the manor 

 and paid the prior 4 from meadows in Nursling." 

 Walter Frost, warden of the works in 1532, received 

 zo 5/. yd. from Nursling and 8 js. 6d. for the 

 farm of the manor with the farm of Ware in Nun- 

 ling." On the surrender of the monastery in 1540" 

 the manor passed in the natural course of events into 

 the king's hands, and was entered in the Ministers' 

 Accounts. 16 In 1541 it was granted to the newly- 

 founded dean and chapter, 17 being made specially 

 chargeable, with four other manors, for the mainten- 

 ance of twelve university students, six at Oxford and 

 six at Cambridge. 18 However, in 1545 the king 

 evidently compelled the dean and chapter to execute 

 a deed of surrender, by which Nursling and the four 

 other manors were given up into the king's hands. 19 

 In the same year the king granted away the manor to 

 John Mill, with land and wood in Nursling called 

 ' Londswood.' * John Mill outlived his eldest son 

 Richard, and died in 1551, leaving the manor to his 

 second son George. 11 The latter held the manor for 

 seventeen years, but died without issue in 1568." 

 Before his death he had settled the manor upon his 

 brother Thomas in fee-tail on the occasion of his 

 marriage with Alice daughter of Robert Coker. 



Thomas and Alice had issue one son called Richard 

 and several daughters. As Richard was ' very sickly 

 in his youth,' George was often minded to settle the 

 reversion of his lands after his death on his younger 

 brother John in fee-tail, so as to continue the same 

 in his own name, but refrained from doing so on 

 account of the former settlement." On the death 

 of George the estate therefore passed to Richard, 

 who some time afterwards married Mary daughter of 

 Sir John Savage. ' He used his sisters very kindly 

 oftentimes affirming that the possibility of his lands 

 would be a preferment for them in marriage he 

 having no issue nor likely to have any,' and although 

 his wife Mary often entreated him to disinherit his 

 sisters he steadfastly refused, saying that the lands 

 should descend to them in accordance with the wish 

 of his uncle. However, Mary prevailed upon him 

 to settle a part of his estate upon her for life, although 

 he persisted in his determination of settling the greater 

 part upon his sisters. Shortly afterwards ' he grew 

 weak both in body and mind by reason of a dread 

 palsey which he had,' and while in this state his wife 

 Mary and her nephew Sir Thomas Savage, who 

 waited upon him and ' mynistered phisicke ' to him 

 during his long illness, seemingly gained complete 

 ascendancy over him, so much so that he finally con- 

 veyed the greater part of his estates to Mary about 

 1609," and by his will left only .300 to his sisters, 

 Anne the wife of Thomas Bilson, Alice the wife of 

 Sir John Bingham, Elizabeth Collnett, and Bridget 

 the wife of Thomas Barnes." After her husband's 

 death in 1 6 1 3 16 Mary used ' faier words ' to her 

 husband's sisters, but nevertheless previous to her 

 marriage with Thomas Wroughton in 1616 executed 

 a deed granting the reversion of her property to her 

 nephew. 17 The sisters of Richard appealed to the 

 Court of Chancery, but the case was dismissed in 

 i6i9. 88 Sir Thomas, afterwards Viscount Savage, 

 who had succeeded to Nursling on the death of his 

 aunt in 1 623," sold the manor to Sir Thomas Corn- 

 wallis, groom porter to James I, John Scrivener, and 

 others in December, 1624,* and made the first con- 

 veyance by fine in the spring of l6z5. 31 In July, 

 1630, Cornwallis and Scrivener sold the manor to 

 the king,* 1 who granted it in August of the same year 

 to Henry Knollys, controller of the king's house- 

 hold. ss Henry Knollys died in 1638, leaving his son 

 Henry as his heir." The latter was created a baronet 

 in 1642, but died without issue in 1648, and the 

 baronetcy became extinct. 34 The manor then passed 

 to his brother Thomas Knollys, and remained in the 

 Knollys family until i/Si, 36 when, on the extinction 



* The boundaries in the charter run 

 thus : ' Aerst fram $aem hlidgate icioteS 

 se mere on gearnes egae. "S.mne be sutJ/n 

 hriod eg on terstan. Sonon andlangtestan 

 on mercfrot (probably the Black-water 

 brook, a branch of the Test, now a part 

 of the western boundary of Nursling 

 parish) ftonon anlang fliotes on bodding- 

 med. tSonon on boddanstan. S.mon ut 

 on acleih. tf onon on stemnes pitf. Vonon 

 on grindanbroc. tSonon on heslea on 

 tJ^ere byri hyrne. tSonon ut on hedenes 

 dene. suftut on tS.'t hlid gaet.' 



Harl. Chart. 43, C. I ; Kemble, Codex 

 Difl. ii, 153. The genuineness of this 

 charter is doubtful. Ibid, iii, 203. 



1 Ibid, ii, 154 ; iii, 203. 



8 V.C.H. Hants, i, 4643. 



9 Fife R. (Pipe R. Soc.), 1167. 



10 Cal. of Pap. Litters, i, 21. 



u Chart. R. 29 Edw. I, No. 94, m. 12. 

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

 18 Obedientiary R. of St. Sivitbun (Hants 

 Rec. Soc.), 210, 214. 

 14 Ibid. 215. 

 14 L. and P. Hen. fill, xv, 139 (i). 



16 Dugdale, Man. i, 217. 



17 Pat 33 Hen. VIII, pt. 9, m. 5-11. 



18 Documents of tie D. and C. of ' Winton. 

 (Hants Rec. Soc.), i, 71. 



19 Ibid. 



80 Pat. 37 Hen. VIII, pt. I, m. 27. 



81 Inq. p.m. 5 Edw. VI (Ser. 2), xciv, 

 No. 47. 



22 Exch. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), file 1006, 

 No. 2. 



28 Chan. Enr. Dec. R. 1286. 



84 Feet of F. Div. Cos. Trin. 6 Jas. I ; 

 Close, 6 Jas. I, pt. 18, No. 8. 



24 Chan. Enr. Dec. R. 1286. 



434 



86 Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), cccxxxiv, 

 No. 76. 



97 W. and L. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), bdle. 35, 

 No. 92. 



88 Chan. Enr. Dec. R. 1286. 



89 W. and L. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), bdle. 35, 

 No. 92. 



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

 pt. 2, No. 97. 



81 Feet of F. Hants, East. 22 Jas. I. 



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

 pt. 2, No 97. 



88 Pat. 5 Chas. I, pt. 18, No. 2. 



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

 pt. 2, No. 97. 



85 G.E.C. Complete Baronetage, ii, 170. 

 85 Recov. R. Hil. 7 Geo. I, rot. 26 ; 



Close, 7 Geo. I, pt. 19, No. 3 ; Recov. R. 

 Hil. 21 Geo. II, rot. 223. On the death 

 of Thomas Knollys in 1679 it passed to 



