MAINSBRIDGE HUNDRED 



The church (? dedication unknown), 

 CHURCH built by Peter Serle in 1812, the first 

 stone being laid on 1 6 September, has 

 a chancel, shallow transepts, nave and west tower in a 

 dull and plain ' Gothic ' style, the whole covered with 

 Roman cement outside and plaster inside, and having 

 a wood and plaster vault. The transepts were built 

 to contain the comfortable pews of the period, and 

 had fireplaces, and the fittings generally were such 

 as might be expected. The stained glass of the east 

 window, representing the four evangelists, cost 160. 

 Nothing of the former church is preserved except the 

 font, which has a square shallow bowl of Purbeck 

 marble, of late twelfth-century date, and formerly 

 much deeper ; on the underside are the capitals of 

 the four angle shafts on which, with a central shaft, it 

 stood. The shafts are lost, and the bowl is now 

 balanced on a wooden post. 



In the tower are two small bells, both blank, but 

 of very early type, with domed crowns, straight sides, 

 and a sound bow of angular section on the inner face. 

 They may date as far back as the twelfth century, and 

 are probably the two oldest bells in the county. Bells 

 of this early type are to be met with here and there at 

 very wide intervals all over England, but that two such 

 bells should have survived together is an event of the 

 greatest rarity. 



The plate, given by G. F. Pitts about the time of 

 the rebuilding of the church, consists of two cups, a 

 flagon, a standing paten, and an almsdish, all plated. 



The first book of the registers begins in 1721, and 

 contains the baptisms to 1 800, the marriages to 

 1769, and the burials to 1799. The second has the 

 baptisms and burials 1760 to 1812, and the third the 

 marriages 1 7441 8 1 1 . 



HAMBLE-LE- 

 RICE 



The church of Chilworth is 

 mentioned in Domesday among the 

 lands of Bernard Pauncefoot. Prob- 

 ably the church passed into the possession of the 

 Bohuns in the same way as the manor of Chilworth. 86 

 It was certainly held by Humphrey de Bohun in the 

 reign of Edward I, for he then confirmed the gift 

 made by his father of the church of Chilworth, with 

 its appurtenances, to St. Denys' Priory, Southampton. 17 

 The priory continued to hold the church until the 

 Dissolution, after which, in 1550, it was sold by the 

 crown to Nicholas and Roger Prideaux, 88 and before 

 the year 1591 had passed into the possession of 

 Thomas Dowse, lord of the manor. 19 Since that date 

 the advowson and manor of Chilworth have always 

 been held together. 30 



In 1828 George Frederick Pitts by 

 CHARITIES will left 100, interest to be applied 

 in the distribution of bread on Easter 

 Day and Christmas Day. After payment of legacy 

 duty and expenses the balance of the legacy was 

 applied in the purchase of an annuity of 4. charged 

 upon a close known as Smith's Close, now belonging 

 to Mr. John Edward Arthur Willis-Fleming, of 

 Chilworth Manor. The annuity is duly paid and 

 applied. 



In 1853 the Hon. Richard George Quin by his will 

 left j8oo stock now represented by ^781 i8/. lod. 

 consols with the official trustees one moiety of 

 the dividends to be applied in the distribution of 

 clothing, and the other moiety in providing medical 

 aid for the poor of the parish. The dividends, 

 amounting to 19 los., are applied one-half in 

 clothing and the other half in payment of a doctor's 

 fees. 



HAMBLE-LE-RICE 



Hamele, xiii cent. 



The parish of Hamble-le-Rice, one of the smallest in 

 Hampshire, comprising nearly 950 acres, of which more 

 than half is tidal water or foreshore, lies in the ex- 

 treme south of the county. It is roughly triangular 

 in shape, and occupies the tongue of land between 

 the mouth of the Hamble River and the eastern bank 

 of Southampton Water. The southern extremity, 

 called Hamble Spit, is a long mud-bank which is com- 

 pletely covered at high tide. Behind the spit lies the 

 common, a flat and barren stretch of about 20 acres. 



The village itself, situated in the north-east of the 

 parish, consists of a single street of small river-side 

 cottages, which rises abruptly from the river landing- 

 place to the top of the hill, on which are the church 

 and a few modern villas. The church and vicarage 

 are situated close to the site of the ancient priory, 

 while opposite is Hamble House, the residence of the 

 Rev. Joseph Curling, M.A. 



As far back as the fifteenth century the place was 

 famous for its oysters, 20,000 of which the prior of 

 Hamble rendered at mid-Lent to the monks of St. 

 Swithun's as a corrody. 1 An extensive trade is still 

 carried on in shellfish principally lobsters and crabs 



which are imported from Devon and Ireland, and 

 fattened for the market. The majority of the in- 

 habitants are employed in the yacht-building yard 

 situated on the river just above the landing place. 

 The industry is a growing one, the place being pecu- 

 liarly suitable, for, besides being perfectly sheltered, 

 there is ample accommodation for the laying-up of 

 boats on the excellent mud-berths, where they can be 

 left safely without any fear of their becoming foul. 



There is a little general farming, and the soil, 

 which is light, on a gravel subsoil, is suitable for 

 growing small crops of wheat, oats, and barley. There 

 are 380 acres of arable land, and 297 acres of per- 

 manent grass in the parish. 8 Hamble, however, is 

 residential rather than agricultural, owing to its 

 salubrity. 



A little higher up the river than the village is 

 anchored the Mercury, a training ship financed by 

 Mr. C. A. R. Hoare, one of the well-known banking 

 firm, in which boys are trained for the navy and 

 army or the mercantile marine service. 



On the Netley road, which connects Hamble with 

 the parish of Hound, stands Sydney Lodge, the seat 

 of the earl of Hardwicke, while the Hon. Mrs. Eliot 



M Cf. Hist, of mamr. 



" f. C.H.Hants, ii, 160. 



Pat. 3 Edw. VI, pt. 5, m. 18- 



21. 



89 Feet of F. Div. Cos. East. 33 Eliz. 



80 Ibid. Mich. 1664, 16 Chas. II ; ibid. 

 12 Anne ; Recov. R. Mich. 12 Geo II, 

 rot. 16. 



469 



1 Arch. Jaurn. vii, 158-9. 

 a Statistics from the Bd. of Agric. 

 (1905). 



