Parishes: Tichborne

TICHBORNE

The parish of Tichborne, containing 3,049 acres of land, rises from north to south from the valley through which the River Itchen wanders to the high downland rising in the far south, and stretches down to the borders of Morestead and Owslebury.

As the two main roads from Winchester to New Alresford, the one coming through the Worthies and Itchen Abbas, and the other over Magdalen Hill and through Avington and Ovington, meet about a mile from New Alresford, a branch road turns off south towards Tichborne, and following the course of the River Itchen, which runs through the meadows on the east, leads circuitously to the picturesque village.

Along the east side of the road, which now begins to leave the river, are the grounds of Tichborne House sloping up from the river to the east, while on the west side are thatched cottages and farm buildings, behind which the ground rises up to the squaretowered church of St. Andrew, which can be seen from the entrance to the village standing on high ground to the west. Beyond the first group of cottages, having passed Tichborne House, which stands close down by the river on the east, the road makes a still greater divergence from the river, turning uphill to the south-west. Here on the left up the hill is the low thatched 'Tichborne Arms,' opposite which is a group of four half-timbered thatched cottages, the first one being the village post-office, perhaps one of the most picturesque cottages in the district. Beyond these is another group round which a rough road curves northwest, crossing the fields into Ovington parish, while the main road turns south-east, and passing by several thatched cottages and farm buildings, branches southeast to Sevington Farm and south-west uphill to Gander Down.

Tichborne House, the seat of Sir Henry Doughty Tichborne, was built in the beginning of the last century in place of the old house, which is known to have existed as early as the time of Henry III. It is surrounded by a well-wooded park of 116 acres. A Roman Catholic chapel is attached to the house. In the south-west corner of the park is a large fish-pond which is formed by the River Itchen. Vernal Farm, Goodwin Farm, and the Home Farm lie to the north; and Grange Farm and Sevington Farm are situated south of the village. The north-east corner of the parish is composed of downland called Tichborne Down, on which lies Tichborne Down Farm. In the centre of the parish is Gander Down, on the southern slopes of which stands Gander Down Farm; still further to the south lie Warren Farm and New Warren Farm. Altogether there are 1,762¼ acres of permanent grass as compared with 1,341¾ acres of arable land. The extreme south of the parish is thickly wooded country, comprising most of the 281¼ acres of woodland, in the midst of which stand Honeyman Farm and Longwood Farm.

There is no inclosure award for the parish. The soil is clay and chalk; the subsoil chalk. The chief crops are wheat, barley, and oats.

The following place names occur: in 1602 'Wales and Wickhurst,' (fn. 1) in 1611 'Ewfards,' (fn. 2) and in 1648 'Ruddlersdell, Hasards, Rowdich, and Gorings.' (fn. 3)

MANORS

The descent of the manor of TICHBORNE is interesting because it has been held by the Tichborne family under the bishops of Winchester from the twelfth century to the present day. King Edward granted land at Tichborne to Denewulf, bishop of Winchester, for three lives in 909; (fn. 4) Athelstan, however, did not renew this grant, but instead gave 25 mansae at Tichborne to the monks of St. Peter and St. Paul at Winchester in 938; (fn. 5) and in 964 King Edgar granted Tichborne to Winchester Cathedral. (fn. 6) There is no entry with regard to Tichborne in Domesday Book; but it is possible that some of the land at least was included in Twyford, which was assessed at a very large amount at the time of the Survey.

Walter de Tichborne held two knights' fees from Henry, bishop of Winchester, in 1135; and his son Roger who succeeded him held one and a half fees from the bishop in 1166. (fn. 7) Bartholomew de Wydehaye conveyed the manor to John de Tichborne (fn. 8) and his wife Amice, evidently as a settlement, in 1320; the reversion was settled on Roger, John's son. (fn. 9)

Roger de Tichborne succeeded his father, and in 1346 was holding one fee in Tichborne which had belonged to John de Tichborne. (fn. 10) John de Tichborne, Roger's grandson, held Tichborne in 1428, (fn. 11) and died seised of the manor in 1499, leaving a son and heir William. (fn. 12)

Francis Tichborne was holding Tichborne manor at the time of his death in 1565; before he died he had settled it on his wife Joan with remainder to his half-brother Benjamin; (fn. 13) this Joan evidently married William Page as her second husband, for in 1571 Joan wife of William Page granted her life interest in Tichborne to Benjamin, (fn. 14) who died in possession of Tichborne manor in 1631, leaving a son and heir Richard. (fn. 15)

A few years later, in 1639, Richard Tichborne granted the manor to his brother Benjamin for the term of his own life. (fn. 16) After the death of Richard the estate, heavily burdened with debt, (fn. 17) passed to his son Sir Henry, who held it until his death in 1689. (fn. 18)

He was succeeded by his son Henry, who made a settlement of Tichborne manor in 1718. (fn. 19) Henry died in 1743 without male heirs, and the Tichborne estates passed to a cousin, Henry Tichborne of Frimley, (fn. 20) who held it until 1778. (fn. 21)

From 1778 until the present day the manor of Tichborne has remained in the same family; the present lord of the manor being Sir Henry A. J. Doughty Tichborne, of Tichborne Park.

Among the appurtenances belonging to Tichborne manor in 1654 were a water-mill, free warren, and free fishery in the waters of Tichborne; (fn. 22) and again in 1717, when Sir Henry Tichborne held the manor of Tichborne, free fishery and free warren are mentioned. (fn. 23)

At the present day there seems to be no trace of a water-mill in Tichborne.

CHURCH

The church of ST. ANDREW, on the higher ground north-west of the village, is prettily situated in a churchyard with an eastward fall, commanding a beautiful view over the valley. There is a fine yew tree in the southwest of the churchyard. The church has a chancel 16 ft. by 11 ft. 8 in., nave 29 ft. by 17 ft. 6 in., with north aisle 10 ft. wide, south aisle 7 ft. 9 in. wide, south porch and west tower.

The chancel is an interesting piece of early building, probably belonging to the middle of the eleventh century. It has pilaster strips at the eastern angles, and in the centres of the north, south, and east walls of Binstead stone in regular courses, and much wider than the ordinary type of pre-Conquest pilaster, those at the angles being nearly 2 ft. wide on each face, and the others 13 in. Their projection from the wall face, which is of thickly plastered flint rubble, is 2½ to 3 in. The original east window of the chancel has been replaced by one of three lights with net tracery, c. 1330, but in the north-east and south-east are single round-headed lights, double splayed, with a central stone slab pierced with a narrow round-headed opening, the masonry being well and accurately worked, with none of the roughness characteristic of work of the end of the eleventh century.

The original chancel arch, which was doubtless narrow, has been removed, and the wall above is now carried by a plain pointed arch of the full width of the chancel, perhaps of fourteenth-century date, and contemporary with the east window. The roof, which is hidden by a canted plaster ceiling, has a moulded wall plate of fourteenth-century detail, and is probably of the same date.

The nave, though having no features like those in the chancel, probably preserves its eleventh-century plan. In the latter part of the twelfth century a south aisle was added to it, and plain-pointed arches of a single order, with a central octagonal pier, were cut through the wall. In the north wall similar arches, probably of later date, but without any detail of a decisive character, open to the north aisle, which is the chapel of the Tichborne family, and is inclosed by modern cast-iron railings. It has a square-headed east window of three lights with engaged nook-shafts in the jambs, of early fourteenth-century date, but much modernized, having a stone image bracket to the north of it, and a piscina with projecting bowl on the south. Below is a seventeenth-century altar, with a thick wooden slab, moulded on the front and sides. The roof is of seventeenth-century date, and there is a small north doorway. The south aisle has a twolight window at the east, originally of fourteenthcentury date, but with the west and two south windows here it is much modernized. The south door and porch are also of eighteenth-century date, and the red-brick west tower is dated 1703 on a castiron slab let into its south face, on which is also a modern sundial.

On the outer face of the east gable of the nave two blocked pointed arches are to be seen, which may have held bells, like those at Chilcomb. In the west face of the east respond of the south arcade is the doorway to the rood stair, which is continued in the thickness of the wall; the door itself is probably original, and of fifteenth-century date.

The font at the west end of the south aisle has a large bowl originally octagonal, but cut back to circular form; it is ancient but of uncertain date, and stands on a modern shaft and a plastered brick base. In the nave are some good seventeenth-century pews, with the Tichborne arms on those at the southeast, and the Tichborne chapel contains several monuments of the family, the oldest being a brass plate to Anne wife of Richard Tichborne, 1519. Against the north wall is a fine alabaster monument to Sir Benjamin Tichborne, 1621, and Amphillis, his wife, with their effigies in alabaster and figures of four sons and three daughters on the panelled base. Above are the Tichborne arms quartering Azure three bars wavy argent (Martin); Gules a saltire between four boars' heads or (de Racke); and Party gules and sable a crosslet fitchy between four fleurs de lis or (Rythe).

To the west is the monument of Richard son of Sir Richard Tichborne, 1619, and there are others of later date, several hatchments, a helm and a bracket for carrying a helm.

There are six bells, the treble and tenor by Thomas Mears, 1799 and 1798, the second, third, and fifth by Richard Phelps, 1737, and the fourth by Warner, 1887.

The plate consists of a cup of 1569 with cover paten of 1567, with a band of ornament at the lip and three scrolls below it; a paten of 1874, two glass cruets, one of which is silver-mounted, and a plated dish given 1859.

The earliest register book, dated 1704, contains an entry of 1667 and one of 1670, and runs to 1812, with marriages to 1744. The second book is the marriage register 1754–1813.

ADVOWSON

The chapel of St. Andrew at Tichborne is annexed to Cheriton, and the descent of the advowson, therefore, is the same as that of Cheriton rectory (q.v.).

The joint net yearly value of the living is £530, with 150 acres of glebe, now in the gift of the crown.

There was also a chapel belonging to the manor in the sixteenth century, (fn. 24) and at the present day there is a Roman Catholic chapel attached to Tichborne House, with a chaplain and missionary priest.

The chapel of Tichborne is reputed to have been the scene of one of Henry VIII's marriages.

A chantry was founded in the manorial chapel of Tichborne by Roger Tichborne, son and heir of John Tichborne, 'to the intent to have a priest to celebrate and do the divine service in the chapel of Tichborne, and to have for his stipend yearly £4 out of the manor of Bromden in the county of Southampton, which manor is parcel of Maudelyn College in Oxford.' (fn. 25)

It was described as 'within a chapel situated within the manor place of Tichborne a quarter of a mile from the parish church,' (fn. 26) and was maintained at the cost of the Tichborne family. (fn. 27)

The chapel of Monk Sherborne held some land belonging to the Tichborne chantry; the profits of which 'the warden of the Queen's College in Oxford receiveth, yet by what right it is unknown.' (fn. 28)