THE HAMPSHIRE ANTIQUARY > NATURALIST. 



his predecessor had, such as wardship, primier seizin, 

 escuage, reliefs, fines, escheats and others for the benefit 

 of his feudal lords. Its early history therefore affords one 

 of the best examples in this county of the changa in 

 tenure introduced by the Normans. 



In the latter part of the reign of Henry III the Manor of 

 Westbury was held as a knight's fee by John of Westbury 

 as part of the barony of Robert de St. John and by him of 

 the king. 



The entry of this occurs in the record known as the 

 Testa de Neville, compiled by Neville, one of the officials 

 of the Exchequer in the i3th century. 



In the next reign the manor was held by Robert Levver, 

 or Robert le Ewer. In the Nomina Villarum or return of 

 manors and their holders, ordered in the gth Edw. II, 

 Westbury is stated as held by Robt. le Ewer and the 

 Charter Rolls of the isth Edward II contain a record of 

 the grant of free warren made to him in Westbury and 

 Pekelond. 



There is another ancient record relating to this possessor 

 of Westbury. After the time when castle building was 

 prohibited and many of them destroyed, licenses were 

 sometimes granted to knights and others to kernellate 

 their houses, i.e., place embattlements on them for defence. 

 In the i5th Edw. II Robert Lewer was allowed by Royal 

 Patent to kernellate his house at Westbury. (Patent 

 Rolls.") Some remains of the medieval house which Robert 

 Lewer was allowed to kernellate may still be seen in the 

 cellars of this mansion. 



In 1334, at the time of the taxation of the loth and ijth in 

 Hampshire the amount of tax which this manor was 

 assessed to pay was 4-25. 46. 



The entry in the record of this assessment couples West- 

 bury with a place called Stocke ; both Westbury and 

 Stocke being included within the Hundred of Meonstoke. 

 Stocke was, I suppose, what is known as Stock farm, north 

 of Peak farm, some three miles away. 



This assessment in 1334 is interesting, seeing that it 

 remained in force as the amount this manor would be 

 required to pay as a tax on moveables or personal property 

 for nearly 300 years the amounts each hundred and manor 

 was assessed at in 1334 not being revised for so long. 



In the 27th year of Edward III an Inquisition was held 

 which probably placed the tenure of Westbury manor on a 

 different basis, and this appears to have been brought 

 about by the death of Edmund de St. John, son and heir *of 

 Hugh de St. John, without issue. In that year an Inquisi- 

 tion was held for the partition of his lands among his two 

 sisters, Margaret Philberto and Isabella de Ponynges and 

 it may be noted that this occurred a few 

 years after the king had granted a licence 

 to Robert Lewer to kernellate his house. 

 The most interesting historical event connected with the 

 manor of Westbury is one of national importance, for there 

 is I think every reason to believe that it was the place of 

 meeting- of Henry I and his brother Robert, Duke ot 

 Normandy, early in the year 1102. You will find no 

 mention of Westbury in connexion with the event in any 

 books on the history of England, and so I will mention 

 the evidence on which this supposed event rests. The 

 old French chronicler, who is quoted by Professor Free- 

 man in his history of the reign of William Rufus, narrates 

 the circumstance that Robert Duke of Normandy landed 

 at Porchester with his army and marched towards Win- 

 chester, intending to besiege that city, but hearing that 

 the queen Matilda was there lying ill, and that his brother 

 was elsewhere, he from motives of chivalry turned from 

 Winchester and directed his march towards London. 

 Henry was at Pevensey in Sussex apparently not knowing 



where his brother would land, but hearing of this and his 

 march towards Winchester he moved his army also towards 

 that city. In the meantime Robert had turned from Winches- 

 ter eastward, and passed through the forest of mid-Hamp- 

 shire, the wood of Hantone as the chronicler mentions 

 twice, or the wood of Altone as he mentions once ; he, hear- 

 ing bis brother was on the other side of the wood, arranged 

 an amicable meeting, and a treaty was made 

 between them early in February, 1102. Freeman 

 puts the place of meeting at Alton, but acknow- 

 ledges that he has not studied the country. 

 Henry came, no doubt, as quickly as he could with his 

 troops from Pevensey, through Lewes and Midhurst, on 

 the shortest way to Winchester, and under these circum- 

 stances the place of meeting could not fail to have been in 

 the valley of the Meon and if Professor Freeman had 

 studied the geography of this campaign, which he acknow- 

 ledges he did not, I think he would have come to this con- 

 clusion. 



In this doubtful state as to where the meeting actually 

 took place, this matter remained until about 1880, when 

 Mr. Chester Waters discovered a charter granted by 

 Henry I in the chartulary of the Abbey of Colehester, dated 

 Feb. 1102, and stated as " made on the first day of the week 

 after the Purification of the Blessed Virgin, after the 

 concord made between me and my brother Robert at West- 

 bury." The significant words are " apud Westbian," or 

 " Wesbrian," and this place, I think, must be this manor 

 of Westbury, where we are now assembled, and where we 

 have been so hospitably received. 



References to the discovery of this charter of Henry I, 

 tested " apud Wesbian " or Westbrian, may be found in 

 Notes and Queries, Jan. 3, 1880, and in the Athenceum, 

 Dec. 19, 1885. 



Following this the Rev. G. N. Godwin gave some 

 account of the incidents of the Civil War connected 

 with this place. This is a subject which Mr. Godwin 

 has made his own, and the result of his researches will 

 be found in his book upon the subject. 



In Westbury Park are the ruined walls of an 

 ancient chapel, to which the party was next con- 

 ducted by Mr. Lewis. This consists now only 

 of the four ivy-clad walls, with windows 

 of the early Decorated age. Inside are an old plain 

 round stone font and a broken tombstone, which Mr. 

 Greenfield thought was of the time of Henry III or 

 Edward I or II. If ot the time ot the last-named 

 king, Mr. Shore suggested that it might have 

 belonged to some member of the Lewer family. 

 Through the grounds close to the chapel flows the 

 upper course of the Meon river, and this 

 led to a discussion of the intermittent 

 character of this and other streams. It appears 

 that below this park the bed of the stream. 

 is sometimes dry. Mr. Whitaker explained this as 

 due to the variation of the underground water levels 

 or rather slopes in the chalk, the water finding an 

 outlet higher or lower according as the ground was 

 saturated. Mr. Shore added some details about other 

 intermittent streams at Ludgershall (theCollingbourn), 

 at Church Oakley, &c. The President then expressed 

 the thanks of the club to Mr. Lewis for his kind 

 entertainment, and this gentleman in response ex- 

 pressed a wish to receive the club there again. 



