Parishes: Donhead St Andrew

DONHEAD ST. ANDREW

Donhead St. Andrew (fn. 1) is 5 km. east of Shaftesbury (Dors.) in the south-west corner of Wiltshire. (fn. 2) Most of its lands and most of those of its neighbour Donhead St. Mary were for long part of a single estate called Donhead, (fn. 3) but c. 1200 Donhead St. Andrew had a church and was almost certainly a parish: the suffix 'St. Andrew' was in use in 1240. (fn. 4) The parish included three small detached portions, a total of 48 a. in Donhead St. Mary, and itself contained several small detached portions of Donhead St. Mary, a total of 154 a. To the south-east the detached lands of Easton Bassett, estimated at 811 a. in 1839, which were nearly surrounded by those of Berwick St. John, were part of the parish and are included in the present account. Under an Act of 1882 and an order of 1884 Donhead St. Andrew and Donhead St. Mary exchanged their detached portions, an additional 9 a. were transferred from Donhead St. Andrew to Donhead St. Mary, and Easton Bassett was transferred to Berwick St. John. The area of Donhead St. Andrew parish was reduced from 3,540 a. in 1881, an estimate which did not include c. 20 a. of water, to 1,153 ha. (2,848 a.). (fn. 5)

The boundaries of Donhead St. Andrew's land were recited in the later 11th century. (fn. 6) The long west boundary with Donhead St. Mary, unmarked by prominent physical features, the north boundary to the east with Tisbury, marked by a stream which flowed intermittently, and to the west with Semley, following a ridge, and the east boundary with Berwick St. John may have been roughly on their present courses. The boundary with Semley was redefined in 1241 when the lords of Donhead and Semley manors agreed to cease intercommoning. (fn. 7) The boundary with Donhead St. Mary bisects the farmhouse of Lower Berry Court farm and that with Tisbury runs diagonally through the old Wardour castle. Those divisions suggest that both buildings stood before the boundaries were drawn and that the boundaries were drawn through them as the result of a compromise over the right to receive tithes. More land around old Wardour castle, where the boundaries have been drawn straight, may have been part of Donhead St. Andrew parish in the Middle Ages than was so when the boundary was first mapped in 1768. (fn. 8)

The parish is in the south part of the Vale of Wardour. Its highest land, over 229 m., is in the east and south where, as respectively White Sheet Hill and the downs north of Win Green in Donhead St. Mary and Berwick St. John, chalk outcrops. Upper Greensand outcrops over most of the parish, including the high ground at St. Bartholomew's Hill on the border with Semley. The river Nadder, which flows northwards across the west part of the parish, and tributaries which flow north-west to it have exposed the Gault and deposited small amounts of alluvium. The north is the lowest part of the parish, at c. 100 m., where Calcareous sand and limestone of the Portland Beds outcrop. (fn. 9) Most of the parish is suitable for arable or pasture, and the greensand can support dense woodland. The chalk downland was long used to pasture sheep. Around Wardour castle, built c. 1393, much land was imparked in the Middle Ages. A string of five ponds fed by a tributary of the Nadder was constructed before 1753 and possibly before c. 1700, and another pond immediately west of Wardour castle is partly in the parish. A broad belt of woodland, partly in Ansty, follows the contours around the southern end of the park. Part of the medieval park was used for agriculture from the 18th century. In the early 19th century more land was imparked around Ferne House at the south end of the parish. (fn. 10) The parish was within the outer bounds of Cranborne Chase. (fn. 11) When the chase was disfranchised in 1829, only Rotherley Down in Easton Bassett was within it. (fn. 12)

The ridge way called Ox Drove which marks the boundary with Berwick St. John was in 1958 given to the National Trust by Mr. A. J. W. Stancomb as a path to Win Green. (fn. 13) The main London-Exeter road in 1675 entered the parish on White Sheet Hill, ran in a cutting westwards down the hill, and followed the course of the present road to Shaftesbury. (fn. 14) From the bottom of the hill the road was turnpiked westwards in 1753 and disturnpiked in 1877. The section to the east, for failure to repair which the parish was indicted in 1717, was turnpiked in 1762. The trust lapsed when a lower lying road from Barford St. Martin to the foot of White Sheet Hill was turnpiked in 1788. That stretch of the Salisbury-Shaftesbury road was disturnpiked in 1864. (fn. 15)

The network of lanes which in 1768 linked the scattered settlements of the parish (fn. 16) existed as roads and tracks in 1985. St. Bartholomew's Street, so called in 1886, links Donhead St. Andrew and Semley villages by way of St. Bartholomew's Hill. (fn. 17) South-east of the church its course was continued by Green Lane, a track in 1985, as far as the Salisbury-Shaftesbury road. Scotts Hill, Hernsham Street, so called c. 1807, (fn. 18) and Sands Lane lead south-east from the direction of Hindon to the Salisbury-Shaftesbury road. Pigstrough Lane, so called in 1661, (fn. 19) linked St. Bartholomew's Street and Scotts Hill. The lane linking the three main settlements in the parish, Donhead St. Andrew, West End, and Milkwell, diverged from Scotts Hill at Hernsham Street. In the later 18th century, New Road was made on lower, flatter ground west of it. (fn. 20) From 1886 or earlier the south part of the lane has been called West End Lane, at the south end of which Overway Lane provides an alternative route over higher ground to the Salisbury-Shaftesbury road. Of two lanes which ran to Donhead St. Mary, one called Fortis Hill, Dengrove Hill, and Shepherds Lane in Donhead St. Andrew in 1886, (fn. 21) was a rough track in 1985. The other, running west from West End, was metalled and tarred. South of the Salisbury-Shaftesbury road lanes run from Whitesand Cross south-east to Berwick St. John and south to Tollard Royal. They are joined by two others at, respectively, Ferne Wall Corner and Rowberry Cross. No public road crosses Wardour park in the north-east part of the parish.

Apart from at Easton Bassett, (fn. 22) there is little evidence of prehistoric activity in the parish. Remains include a Celtic ditch which straddles the boundary with Berwick St. John and is perhaps the Brydinga Dic named in the later 11th century. (fn. 23)

The two Donheads were together assessed highly for taxation in the Middle Ages and the 16th and 17th centuries. (fn. 24) There were 607 inhabitants of Donhead St. Andrew in 1801. The population had fallen to 535 by 1811 and by 1841 had risen to 900. Numbers fell steadily in the later 19th century, partly because of the transfer of Easton Bassett to Berwick St. John, and in the 20th. In 1981 the population was estimated at 373. (fn. 25)

St. Andrew's church was built on the west bank of the Nadder on a site which, in relation to the nearby church and village of St. Mary, gave rise to the epithet Lower or Nether Donhead by which the settlement round the church was known in the 17th century. (fn. 26) In the later 18th century buildings stood near the church, but most of the village was scattered on the east and west sides of the lane north-east of it and beside Hernsham Street. (fn. 27) The pattern of settlement in 1985 was similar, except that by then the village had spread north-westwards along St. Bartholomew's Street. Most buildings in Donhead St. Andrew village and in the hamlets of St. Bartholomew's Hill, West End, and Milkwell, are of local sandstone and some have thatched roofs.

The strung-out village of Donhead St. Andrew contains several large houses. Donhead House near the church and Beauchamp House north-west of it were successively rectory houses. (fn. 28) Donhead House was c. 1969 (fn. 29) converted to a residential training centre for the Brewers' Society. Also near the church, the buildings of the village school were in 1977 adapted for use as a rural studies centre. (fn. 30) Two former mills, Kelloways Mill and Donhead Mill, stand on the Nadder, (fn. 31) and Leigh Court is a manor house on high ground beside Hernsham Street. In St. Bartholomew's Street, Donhead Lodge was built on the site of a farmhouse south-east of the church in the early 19th century, (fn. 32) and in the late 19th century and in the 20th extensive farm buildings, apparently associated with Donhead House, were erected immediately north of the church. (fn. 33) In the north part of the village, Thorn House is a farmhouse north of Donhead Mill: it was built in 1700 (fn. 34) and, although much altered in the 19th century, retains a five-bayed south front with stone-mullioned windows. North-west of it in Pigstrough Lane, Collins Farm, so called in 1768, (fn. 35) was built in the 17th and 18th centuries and altered in the 19th. Beside the lane through the village, between New Road and St. Bartholomew's Street, the older buildings include the Forester's inn, called the New Inn between 1875 and 1966, (fn. 36) which consists of an east-west range of the early 17th century altered and extended in the 20th. In a lane leading north-west to Kelloways Mill, where Mansfield Farm stood in 1962 and later, (fn. 37) and near the junction of New Road and the lane through the village private houses and bungalows were built in the 1970s and 1980s. West of Hernsham Street, Dengrove Farm was built beside a tributary of the Nadder in the early 17th century: the small house, of one storey and attics, was raised to two storeys and extended in the early 19th century.

On high ground at the Semley boundary, a small settlement was apparently called Bartholomew's Hill in 1773, (fn. 38) St. Bartholomew's Hill in the 19th century, (fn. 39) and sometimes Barker's Hill in the late 20th. Most of the settlement is in Semley. Cottages which stood in the later 18th century at the north end of St. Bartholomew's Street (fn. 40) were rebuilt in the 19th and 20th centuries. A few houses were built at St. Bartholomew's Hill in the 20th century. A Roman Catholic chapel was built there in Donhead St. Andrew parish in the late 19th century. (fn. 41) Britmore House, which stands on the north side of the lane from St. Bartholomew's Hill to Gutch Common in Semley, is a 19th-century cottage which was altered and enlarged c. 1970.

The hamlet called West End contains West End Mill and three large farmhouses. Goulds Farm in West End Lane was built in the later 16th century or earlier 17th. It has a north-south range of one storey and attics and a later cross wing. It was altered and raised to two storeys c. 1930. (fn. 42) West End Farm, on the south side of the lane leading to Donhead St. Mary, is of the early 18th century and has a symmetrical east entrance front and a steeply pitched tiled roof which was formerly thatched. The house was extensively restored c. 1932 for O. C. G. Leveson-Gower. (fn. 43) A late 18th-century barn is southeast of the house. The Firs, formerly called West End Farm and West End House, is at the junction of West End Lane and the lane to Donhead St. Mary. In 1768 it comprised a main north-west and southeast range from the south-west side of which a long and narrow range extended. The house was altered in the 19th and 20th centuries. Other settlement at West End in 1768 was on the west side of West End Lane north of Goulds Farm and near the junction. (fn. 44) Six council houses were built between 1919 and 1939 (fn. 45) on the west side of West End Lane.

Settlement in the lane linking West End to the Salisbury-Shaftesbury road had begun by 1773, (fn. 46) and increased before c. 1807. (fn. 47) The hamlet, consisting in the early 19th century of cottages beside the lane, was called Milkwell in 1886. The settlement has since grown, and between 1839 and 1886 houses were built in Overway Lane linking West End and Whitesand Cross. (fn. 48) Thirteen council houses were built in Overway Lane c. 1950. (fn. 49) A group of houses at the junction of the Salisbury-Shaftesbury road and the lane from West End has taken the name Brook Waters.

In the Middle Ages tenements of Wardour manor may have stood on land now part of Donhead St. Andrew parish, and part of the castle built c. 1393 is in the parish. Wardour House and other buildings outside the bailey near its south wall are in Donhead St. Andrew. At the south-west corner of Wardour park, Park Gate Farm incorporates buildings on both sides of the Nadder. The farmhouse was built in the 17th century as a T-shaped house of one storey and attics. The main north-south range stands west of the Nadder and west of that range is the east-west wing. The house was raised to two storeys, and the wing was extended and made into the entrance front, in the 19th century. The wing and the main range were separate houses in 1985. Most of the extensive farm buildings are east of the river.

Two inns stood beside the Salisbury-Shaftesbury road. The Castle was built at Brook Waters in the earlier 19th century: it was open as an inn until 1956 or later. (fn. 50) East of it the Glove was so called in 1773 and was later the Arundell Arms: it was open until 1859 or later. (fn. 51) A friendly society which had 114 members may have met there in 1803, (fn. 52) and another, the Victoria Society, met there from 1839. It presumably met elsewhere after the inn closed, and was wound up in 1906. (fn. 53) Petty sessions were held at the Arundell Arms monthly in 1848, fortnightly in 1855. (fn. 54) The inn, which also served as a farmhouse, (fn. 55) was replaced in the earlier 19th century by a new square house, mainly of sandstone but having a redbrick north-west entrance front, with a south-east service wing and extensive cellars. Numerous farm buildings, mostly of the 20th century, have been built near it and in 1985 a stone stable block and other buildings were south-west of it. In the 19th and 20th centuries several houses were built at Brook Waters and at Whitesand Cross, mentioned as a crossroads in 1608; (fn. 56) between 1811 and 1839 a house was built at the junction of the Salisbury-Shaftesbury road and the old road over White Sheet Hill; (fn. 57) and in the 19th century Sands Farm and cottages were built north of the Salisbury-Shaftesbury road near the site of a barn and cottages which stood in 1773. (fn. 58) Between 1974 and 1985 a large fishpond was dug north-west of Brook Waters.

South of the Salisbury-Shaftesbury road a few buildings stood at Rowberry Cross c. 1807. (fn. 59) A new farmhouse, Rowberry House, was built near them in the mid 19th century, with farm buildings, Rowberry Farm, south-east of it. South-east of Rowberry Cross, Ferne House was built on the site of an older house in 1811 and demolished c. 1966. (fn. 60) On the north edge and at the south-west corner of its park two lodges built in 1868 (fn. 61) of stone with red-brick dressings stood in 1985.

Easton Bassett.

Easton Bassett was part of Shaftesbury abbey's estate called Donhead in the 10th century. Its boundaries were described in the later 11th century (fn. 62) but not mapped before 1839: (fn. 63) to the north they are marked by a road through Berwick St. John village and by the stream beside Water Street in that village, to the south by two long and deep dry valleys, Malacombe Bottom and Rotherley Bottom, and in the middle they cross downland. Chalk outcrops over most of the land, which reaches c. 250 m. where Ox Drove follows the ridge on the south of the Ebble valley. An outcrop of Upper Greensand in the north-west corner provided a site for Anglo-Saxon settlement. (fn. 64)

Easton Bassett is rich in prehistoric remains. They include two bowl barrows, parts of an early Iron-Age enclosure called Winkelbury Camp and of a PaganSaxon cemetery south of it, and the site on Rotherley Down of an early Iron-Age and Romano-British settlement. (fn. 65) Not only the site but the name 'Easton' suggests its Anglo-Saxon origin and implies that it originated as a farm linked from early times to the estate called Donhead. (fn. 66) No tenurial connexion to explain the suffix 'Bassett', which occurs from the 16th century, (fn. 67) has been found. There was a chapel at Easton Bassett in the Middle Ages. (fn. 68)

In 1773 the hamlet consisted of Easton Farm and buildings on the east side of Water Street, (fn. 69) so called c. 1807. (fn. 70) Its population was 41 in 1891. (fn. 71) Easton Bassett Farm, so called in the 16th century, was near the site of the chapel (fn. 72) on rising ground east of the south end of Water Street. A new Easton Farm, in which stone from the old house was used, was built at the north end of Water Street c. 1680. (fn. 73) Farm buildings on the site of the chapel in 1886 were called Chapel Farm, (fn. 74) and a new farmhouse was built there in the earlier 20th century. (fn. 75) In 1985 the houses on the east side of Water Street were all of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Manors and other Estates.

Most of Donhead St. Andrew parish lay within the estate called Donhead which King Alfred granted to Shaftesbury abbey in the period 871–7. As part of the manor of DONHEAD the lands of Donhead St. Andrew were, with most of those of Donhead St. Mary, held by Shaftesbury abbey until the Dissolution, were granted by the Crown in 1544 to Sir Thomas Arundell, and descended in the Arundell family. (fn. 76) In 1768 the lands of the manor in Donhead St. Andrew parish amounted to 1,606 a., of which 703 a. were in 14 farms based in the parish and 903 a., including 323 a. of demesne, in farms based in Donhead St. Mary parish. (fn. 77) In 1808 James, Baron Arundell, may have sold c. 120 a. south of the Salisbury-Shaftesbury road with similar land in Donhead St. Mary to Thomas Grove: (fn. 78) in 1839 Grove owned the land which was then, and has since remained, part of Higher Berry Court farm. (fn. 79) Among the 14 farms based in Donhead St. Andrew in 1768 were Park Gate, Dengrove, Goulds, West End, and Mansfield. (fn. 80) West End farm, 70 a. in 1839, (fn. 81) was apparently broken up c. 1930 and its farmhouse and 3 a. were sold in 1932 to O. C. G. Leveson-Gower. (fn. 82) In 1946 Dengrove farm, 111 a., was sold to the tenant F. Isgar. Mr. R. F. C. Isgar owned the 250–a. farm in 1985. (fn. 83) Goulds farm, 78 a., was sold to the tenants, Coward Bros., in 1946. It was broken up after 1963. (fn. 84) Mansfield farm, 56 a. in 1938, was broken up in 1974. Most of its land was sold to Mr. R. Coward. (fn. 85)

Some of the land which was in Wardour manor in the Middle Ages is almost certainly in Donhead St. Andrew. The descent of the manor is traced below. (fn. 86) The park around Wardour castle, which included c. 344 a. in the parish in 1768 (fn. 87) and 619 a. in 1839, (fn. 88) presumably included part of Wardour manor and much of the Arundells' manor of Donhead. The park descended as part of the Wardour estate until c. 1946. Park Gate farm, c. 200 a. including land in the park, and c. 270 a. of woodland were retained by R. J. A. Arundell (d. 1953) and in 1985 belonged to his son Mr. R. J. R. Arundell. Other parts of the park which were in Donhead St. Andrew were sold, a total of c. 170 a. in 1947 as parts of Ark farm and Westfield farm based in Tisbury, (fn. 89) and c. 200 a. in 1949 as part of Horwood farm based in Ansty. (fn. 90) The descents of all three farms are given under those parishes.

Donhead manor evidently included 2 hides of demesne at FERNE which Eulalia, abbess of Shaftesbury from 1074 to 1106 or later, seems to have demised to her kinsman Thomas, against whom the abbey's rights were confirmed in 1136. (fn. 91) The abbey held the estate in demesne in 1205 (fn. 92) and remained overlord until the Dissolution. (fn. 93)

Ferne was held of the abbey before 1256 by Walter le Despenser, and in 1256 by Walter of Middlemarsh who in that year granted a life estate in it to Philip of Ferne. (fn. 94) The Walter of Ferne who held the estate in 1287 may have been Philip's nephew. (fn. 95) It passed from Walter of Ferne (fl. 1297) to his son Walter, (fn. 96) who held it in 1338–40, and to that Walter's son Philip who held it in 1351–7. (fn. 97) From that Philip the manor passed to his nephew Alan of Ferne or Poulshot, who held it in 1371 (fn. 98) and 1392. Before 1402 (fn. 99) Ferne passed to Alan's daughter and heir Joan, who married first Richard Fairsong and secondly, probably c. 1450, Edmund Martin. The manor passed after the death of Joan and Edmund to Joan's and Richard's daughter Edith, wife of John Brookway. (fn. 100) Edith held it in 1471, and afterwards it passed to her son John Brookway (fn. 101) (d. 1514), to John's son David (fn. 102) (d. 1552), (fn. 103) and to David's relict Anne (fn. 104) (d. 1570). (fn. 105) David Brookway's nephew and heir, George Brookway, (fn. 106) sold the reversion of Ferne in 1561 to William Grove, (fn. 107) who had entered on the manor by 1574. (fn. 108)

William Grove (d. 1582) was succeeded by his sons John (fn. 109) (d. 1629) (fn. 110) and Robert (fn. 111) (will proved 1643), (fn. 112) from whom Ferne descended in the direct male line to Thomas (will proved 1693), (fn. 113) Robert (d. 1695), (fn. 114) Thomas (d. 1739), (fn. 115) and Thomas (d. 1750). That last Thomas was succeeded by his brother John (fn. 116) (d. 1769), (fn. 117) from whom the manor again passed in the direct male line to Thomas (d. 1847), (fn. 118) John (d. 1858), and Thomas (cr. a baronet in 1874, d. 1897). Sir Thomas's son Sir Walter Grove, Bt., c. 1901 sold Ferne House and park, 370 a., (fn. 119) to A. H. Charlesworth (d. 1914). (fn. 120)

The estate was bought from Charlesworth's executors in 1915 by Alfred Douglas-Hamilton, duke of Hamilton and Brandon (fn. 121) (d. 1940), whose wife Nina (d. 1951) (fn. 122) in 1939 established an animal sanctuary there. (fn. 123) After 1951 the estate belonged to the Animal Defence and Anti-Vivisection Society. In 1956 and 1959 respectively Mr. A. J. W. Stancomb bought 70 a. and 115 a. which became part of Higher Berry Court farm. The animal sanctuary was transferred to Chard (Som.) in 1970. In 1985 the Animal Defence Trust owned c. 175 a.

Ferne House was standing in 1582 or earlier and was the home of the Groves. (fn. 124) A new Ferne House was built on the same site in 1811. (fn. 125) An extension in classical style was built c. 1850 when the house became square. The house was again enlarged in 1903: c. 1959 it had a north front of seven bays and a balustraded parapet with ball finials. (fn. 126) It was demolished c. 1966. (fn. 127) Its stables stood in 1985. (fn. 128)

In the 1320s Cecily Plaistow granted to Walter of Ferne the younger a house near Donhead St. Andrew church and some lands. (fn. 129) The estate, called PLAISTOW'S place or Brookway's, 70 a. in 1629, descended with the manor of Ferne to Robert Grove (d. 1695). (fn. 130) In 1768 Henry, Baron Arundell, owned 34 a. of the land and a farmhouse on it. In 1803 he sold the house and 12 a. to Capt. John Cooke, (fn. 131) who commanded H.M.S. Bellerophon and was killed at the battle of Trafalgar. (fn. 132)

The farmhouse, possibly early 18th-century, may have been incorporated in the two-storeyed villa built on its site c. 1830 and later called Donhead Lodge. In the late 19th century and early 20th the new house, which had a north entrance front with segmental bows, was enlarged and altered for W. E. King (d. 1917). (fn. 133) Stables built east of West End Lane c. 1883 (fn. 134) were on the site of the parish workhouse. (fn. 135) Landscaped and wooded gardens, bordered on the north-west by the Nadder, and a walled kitchen garden are north of the house. A small park south of the house was part of the estate. (fn. 136)

The manor of LEIGH COURT may have been part of Donhead manor of whose lords it was held in the later 16th century and in the 19th. (fn. 137) Leigh Court manor was held in 1412 by Nicholas Leigh (fn. 138) (d. 1420) (fn. 139) and descended, presumably like Norridge manor in Upton Scudamore, to Nicholas's relict Elizabeth (fl. 1440), to his son John, and to that John's son Sir John Leigh (fn. 140) (d. 1524). (fn. 141) From Sir John the manor passed to his daughter Anne, wife of Sir James Worsley, and to Anne's and Sir James's son Richard (fn. 142) (d. 1565), who devised it to his relict Ursula for life. (fn. 143) From Ursula (d. 1602), who married Sir Francis Walsingham, (fn. 144) the manor passed to her nephew Thomas Worsley (d. 1604). From Thomas it descended in the direct male line to Richard (fn. 145) (cr. a baronet in 1611, d. 1621), Sir Henry (d. 1666), Sir Robert (d. 1676), and Sir Robert (d. 1747), who sold it in 1706 to the Revd. Gabriel Barnaby. (fn. 146) Leigh Court manor was owned in 1758 by William Brotherton, (fn. 147) perhaps the William Brotherton (d. 1759) who was sheriff of Berkshire, (fn. 148) and passed to T. W. B. Brotherton, who sold the 304–a. farm to James, Baron Arundell, in 1819. (fn. 149) In 1830 Lord Arundell sold it to his brother and heir Henry Arundell. Leigh Court manor descended with Donhead manor to Gerald, Baron Arundell, (fn. 150) who sold the farm, then c. 250 a., in 1935 to J. C. Collett. Leigh Court and 40 a. were owned in 1985 by Mr. and Mrs. M. Mostyn-Owen-Jodrell. (fn. 151)

The house called Leigh Court stood in the later Middle Ages. A buttress and doorway of it were incorporated in the centre of the principal northeast and south-west range of a new stone house built in the later 16th century. The north-east cross wing of that house was rebuilt in the 18th century and extended south-east c. 1970. The house was restored c. 1935.

From 1801 an estate, later called ARUNDELL farm, belonged to James Arundell (d. 1817), from 1808 Baron Arundell. It measured 40 a. and included the Glove inn, later the Arundell Arms. (fn. 152) The estate descended with Donhead manor and, greatly enlarged, partly with the land of Sands farm, it was sold in 1946 as Arundell farm, 580 a., to J. G. Jeffery. The farm had been increased to 800 a. by 1985 when it belonged to Jeffery's son Mr. J. C. Jeffery. (fn. 153)

What was later the manor of EASTON BASSETT was probably included in the estate called Donhead granted by King Alfred to Shaftesbury abbey, (fn. 154) and 6 hides at Easton were expressly in cluded in King Edwy's confirmation of Donhead to the abbey in 956. (fn. 155) The abbey's overlordship was last mentioned in 1386. (fn. 156)

Easton may have been held by lease from Shaftesbury abbey in 1066. In 1086 Turstin held under Shaftesbury abbey 6 hides (fn. 157) which were presumably those confirmed in 956, and c. 1130 Roger son of Turstin held Easton. Roger was probably identical with Roger of Hazeldon who held Hazeldon in Tisbury. (fn. 158) Turstin of Hazeldon held Easton in 1166, (fn. 159) Sir Richard of Hazeldon (d. c. 1250) held it in 1242–3, (fn. 160) and his nephew Reynold of Hazeldon in 1275. (fn. 161) Reynold of Hazeldon, perhaps another, and his wife Isabel settled Easton on themselves and their son Reynold in 1307. (fn. 162) Isabel held the estate in 1316. (fn. 163)

The manor was bought before 1381 by Sir Thomas West (fn. 164) (d. 1386). From Sir Thomas it descended like other estates in Dunworth and Chalke hundreds to his son Thomas West, (fn. 165) Lord West (d. 1405). (fn. 166) It was settled from 1408 on Lord West's younger son Reynold, (fn. 167) from 1416 Lord West and from 1427 Lord la Warre (d. 1450). From Reynold the manor descended to his son Richard, (fn. 168) Lord la Warre (d. 1476), and to Richard's son Thomas, (fn. 169) Lord la Warre (d. 1525). That Lord la Warre in 1517 settled Easton Bassett manor on his son Thomas and Thomas's wife Elizabeth, (fn. 170) who in 1537 sold it to Sir William Shelley. (fn. 171)

From Sir William Shelley (d. 1549), Easton Bassett manor descended to his son John (fn. 172) (d. 1550), (fn. 173) to John's son John (fn. 174) (d. 1592), and to that John's son John (fn. 175) (cr. a baronet in 1611, d. 1641), (fn. 176) who in 1637 conveyed the manor to Henry Hilton, (fn. 177) later Lord Hilton. Hilton (d. 1641) (fn. 178) devised money from the estate for poor relief and apprenticing, and the remainder to his brothers Robert, Lord Hilton (d. 1641), and John, Lord Hilton (d. 1655). The manor was sequestered c. 1650 and redeemed in 1654 by John, Lord Hilton, whose title to it was challenged by Sir Charles Shelley, Bt., grandson of Sir John Shelley (d. 1641). (fn. 179) By 1657 Sir Charles Shelley had entered on the manor, (fn. 180) which descended in the direct male line to Sir John Shelley (d. 1703), Sir John Shelley (d. 1771), and Sir John Shelley (d. 1783). (fn. 181) That Sir John sold it in 1773 to Henry Herbert, earl of Pembroke and Montgomery (fn. 182) (d. 1794). (fn. 183) The manor, represented in 1839 by Easton farm, 449 a. in the north part of Easton Bassett, (fn. 184) passed with the Pembroke title to Robert, earl of Pembroke and Montgomery, who in 1850 sold it, with land in Berwick St. John, to John Grove. (fn. 185) Easton farm descended with Feme House to Sir Walter Grove, Bt., (fn. 186) who sold it in 1920 to William Follett (d. 1931). Follett devised a third of the farm to each of his children, Horace, William, and Edith Follett. In 1964 the entire farm was divided between Horace Follett's sons, Norman and Bryan Follett, who in 1985 owned the land as, respectively, Easton farm and Chapel farm. (fn. 187)

In 1773 Henry, earl of Pembroke and Montgomery, sold 60 a. of downland in the south part of Easton Bassett to James Arundell. (fn. 188) In 1839 all the downland and woods in that part, 362 a., belonged to George Pitt-Rivers, Baron Rivers (d. 1866). (fn. 189) The lands passed like Rushmore House in Berwick St. John to Henry, Baron Rivers (d. 1867), who was succeeded by his uncle Horace Pitt, from 1867 PittRivers, Baron Rivers (d. 1880). That Lord Rivers was succeeded by his kinsman A. H. Lane-Fox, who assumed the additional surname Pitt-Rivers, by which he was afterwards generally known. After the death of A. H. Lane-Fox Pitt-Rivers in 1900, the lands passed in the direct male line to A. E. L.-F. Pitt-Rivers (d. 1927), G. H. L.-F. Pitt-Rivers (d. 1966), and Mr. M. A. Pitt-Rivers. (fn. 190) In 1985 Mr. Pitt-Rivers owned 470 a. of what had been Easton Bassett manor as part of Higher Bridmore farm in Berwick St. John. (fn. 191)

Economic History.

In 1066 and 1086 all the land which became Donhead St. Andrew parish, except the part of the manor of Wardour within it, was in the 40–hide estate called Donhead held by Shaftesbury abbey. The 40 hides included the land of Easton Bassett and of Feme, assessed at 6 hides and 2 hides respectively. (fn. 192)

Of the 131 tenants of Donhead manor in 1225, fewer than half may have held land in Donhead St. Andrew. The numbers of oxen, sheep, and cows held by the tenants indicate mixed farming in the parish. Robert of Ferne owned 80 sheep and Philip of Ferne owned 60. (fn. 193) In 1235 that Philip or a namesake was among the freemen of Donhead manor who were granted pasture rights in the northern commons of Donhead St. Mary. (fn. 194) Donhead manor included customary land and almost certainly demesne in Donhead St. Andrew parish. The customary tenants may have had open field between the Salisbury-Shaftesbury road and White Sheet Hill and possibly more in Donhead St. Mary, where they may also have used common pasture in the north. They also had common pasture in the north part of Donhead St. Andrew. The open fields in Donhead St. Andrew had been inclosed by c. 1575. There were apparently 14 farms of the manor then based in the parish. A holding of 2 yardlands included land in Donhead St. Mary and may have been that later called West End farm. The others included one of 1½ yardland, three of 1 yardland, seven of ½ yardland, one of 28 a., and one of 18 a. All consisted of inclosures of arable, meadow, and pasture. The tenant of ½ yardland which included land in Donhead St. Mary was bound to provide two men to mow a demesne meadow, Long mead. (fn. 195)

Those 14 farms were identifiable in 1768. The two largest were based at West End: a farm of 130 a. included the farmhouse later called the Firs; West End farm, 116 a., included land in Donhead St. Mary. Five, including Barker Street, based in St. Bartholomew's Street, Dengrove, Goulds, and Mansfield, each had between 50 a. and 100 a., and seven, including Collins, Home, and Park Gate, were of 40 a. and less. Of the demesne farm, Berry Court, half its farmstead and 323 a. of its land were in Donhead St. Andrew in 1768. The land included Berry Wood Copse and Privett Copse, and closes of meadow west of Feme brook, but much of it may have been south of the Salisbury-Shaftesbury road. (fn. 196) After the division and rearrangement of the demesne farm in the early 19th century, (fn. 197) Lower Berry Court farm in 1839 included in Donhead St. Andrew, east of the farmhouse, only c. 30 a.; Higher Berry Court farm had no land in the parish. Berry Wood Copse, 33 a., and other lands formerly part of Lower Berry Court farm, were leased separately. By 1839 Dengrove farm, 102 a., and Park Gate farm, 61 a., had grown, and a new farm of 85 a., Glove, later Arundell, had emerged. Leigh Court farm was 304 a. in 1819, 332 a. in 1839. There were 17 other farms in 1839: three, including West End and Lower Mill, were of 65–70 a. and 14 were of fewer than 50 a. (fn. 198)

From 1383 or earlier there were customary tenants of Feme manor with lands in both Donheads. One or more owed a day's autumn boonworks. The manor had North and South fields, presumably south of the Salisbury-Shaftesbury road, in 1389. (fn. 199) In 1686 most of the manor was in a farm of 455 a., of which 169 a. were arable, 150 a. downland, 53 a. meadows, 75 a. cow pastures, and 8 a. copses. (fn. 200) The farm was of 387 a. and worked from Ferne House in 1768. (fn. 201) Most of it was afterwards laid down to pasture to create a park for the Feme House built in 1811. The park was 323 a. in 1839 (fn. 202) and 370 a. in 1901, of which 64 a. were woods and 7 a. were plantations. (fn. 203) The breeding flock of 900 Hampshire Down sheep, including 831 ewes and lambs, kept in it was dispersed by sale c. 1897. (fn. 204)

Most of the land of the small manor of Wardour, which in the 14th century included open fields and customary tenants, may have become part of Donhead St. Andrew parish. Presumably c. 1393 when the castle was built that land and possibly some outside the manor was imparked. (fn. 205) In the early 17th century there were parks for red deer and for fallow deer, largely in Donhead St. Andrew, (fn. 206) and other parts of the parkland were later called Lawn park and Wildbuck park. Land in Wildbuck park was ploughed c. 1660 and in Lawn park and the park for fallow deer c. 1700. In 1704 other land there was mown for hay and used as cattle pastures. (fn. 207) A pond, possibly that west of the castle, contained carp c. 1700. (fn. 208) The chain of five ponds made before 1753 were all embanked on their north-west sides, and there was further landscaping of the park in Donhead St. Andrew in the later 18th century. (fn. 209) Apart from the extensive woodland, much of the park in Donhead St. Andrew was thereafter returned to agriculture. An arc of 160 a. south and east of the castle was worked from Horwood Farm in Ansty in 1768. (fn. 210) In 1839 there were 619 a. of parkland in Donhead St. Andrew. (fn. 211) Land there was later part of Ark farm, based in Tisbury, and of Park Gate farm. (fn. 212) The 160 a. in Horwood farm in 1768, and c. 40 a. more, were part of that farm in 1949. (fn. 213)

The arable in the parish, over 1,000 a. in the period 1838–76, declined after 1876 as more land was laid down to pasture, and in 1916 only c. 420 a. were under crops. Wheat, the main cereal crop in the years 1876–96, had been replaced by oats by 1906. In the period 1876–1916 a high proportion of the remaining arable was used for root crops, chiefly turnips and swedes. Pasture land increased from c. 675 a. in 1876 to c. 1,343 a.in 1916 The number of cows which it supported increased in the same period from 180 to 263, while the number of sheep declined from 2,187 to 885. (fn. 214)

In 1906 there was one farm of more than 300 a. and seven of between 50 a. and 300 a., and in 1916 there were two of more than 300 a. and eight of between 50 a. and 300 a. (fn. 215) In 1938 the farms included Arundell farm, 776 a. of which 82 a. were in Ansty, Dengrove farm, 131 a., Park Gate farm, 157 a., Mansfield farm, 56 a., and Goulds farm, 73 a. Lower Berry Court farm and Glyn farm based in Donhead St. Mary had 44 a. and 18 a. respectively in Donhead St. Andrew. (fn. 216) Leigh Court farm, c. 250 a. in 1935, was of only 40 a. in 1985. (fn. 217) Some of the land of Goulds farm was added to Arundell farm c. 1963, (fn. 218) and in 1985 Arundell farm was an 800–a. mixed farm, (fn. 219) the largest in the parish. Dengrove farm, in 1985 a dairy farm of c. 250 a., supported a herd of c. 200 Friesian cattle. (fn. 220) In 1985 Park Gate farm, c. 200 a., was principally a dairy farm. Ark farm, 221 a., was based in Tisbury but included 148 a. of former parkland in Donhead St. Andrew: it was an arable and dairy farm. (fn. 221) Horwood farm, based in Ansty, also included c. 200 a. of former parkland. (fn. 222) The parkland of Feme House was reduced in the later 1950s when 185 a. became part of Higher Berry Court farm based in Donhead St. Mary. In 1985 the park contained 175 a. of pasture and woods. The woods were leased to the owner of Higher Berry Court farm and the pasture to the owner of Dengrove farm. (fn. 223)

Some of the woodland which in 1086 was in Shaftesbury abbey's estate called Donhead (fn. 224) was presumably in what became Donhead St. Andrew parish. Leigh Court farm had a 9–a. wood in 1819. (fn. 225) There were 315 a. of woodland in the parish in 1839: most of it was around the parkland south-west of the old Wardour castle, some was in Ferne park, and 33 a. were in Berry Wood Copse west of the church. (fn. 226) In 1985 Mr. R. J. R. Arundell owned 262 a. of wood land, of which 138 a. were leased to the Forestry Commission and 124 a. were in hand and used for commercial forestry. (fn. 227)

R. W. Williamson made watercress beds on a tributary of the Nadder south-east of Dengrove Farm between 1900 and 1914. (fn. 228) Watercress growing was revived c. 1944 by the firm of H. and W. Lawrence & Sons, which bought the 5–a. beds in 1946. (fn. 229) From 1968 to 1977 members of the Williamson family used the beds to grow watercress. Beds of c. 2 a. south of Brook Waters, fed by Feme brook and made by H. Hitchings c. 1900, were bought in 1973 by Mr. R. W. Williamson, who cultivated watercress there in 1985.

A brickyard had been opened by 1839 north of Scotts Hill. (fn. 230) Job Snellgrove made bricks and tiles there 1839–55, Catherine Snellgrove 1859–80, and William Woodrow 1885–99. (fn. 231) Between 1839 and 1886 chalk quarrying and lime making were begun south of the track marking the old London—Exeter road up White Sheet Hill. (fn. 232) The 9–a. quarry was in use in 1946. (fn. 233)

In 1086 there were presumably mills on the Nadder at Donhead St. Andrew among the eight on Shaftesbury abbey's estate called Donhead. (fn. 234) A mill granted in 1256 by the abbess to William de Camera (fn. 235) was perhaps Donhead Mill, otherwise called Ricketts Mill or Lower Mill, which belonged to John Barrett in 1839. (fn. 236) Donhead Mill was owned and worked by members of the Sharp family in the earlier 20th century. (fn. 237) It was bought in 1985 by Mr. M. Sanderson, whose firm Innovate employed c. 5 people at it to make parts for model buildings. The present mill building is of later 18th-century construction. Part of an iron undershot wheel made in 1887 by E. S. Hindley of Bourton (Dors.) was removed in 1985. (fn. 238) The mill house, which adjoins the west end of the mill, was reconstructed in the 19th century and incorporates part of an earlier building.

West End Mill was part of Donhead manor from c. 1575 (fn. 239) or earlier until 1946. The present mill was built on the Nadder in the later 17th century. In 1946, by which time it had ceased to work, it was of three storeys and incorporated a breastshot wheel. (fn. 240) The thatched mill house, built on the east side in the 18th century, has a three-bayed north front with mullioned windows. The mill was reduced to two storeys, and incorporated in the house, before 1959.

Kelloway's Mill, sometimes called Donhead Mill, was also part of Donhead manor from c. 1575 (fn. 241) or earlier to 1946 or later. (fn. 242) Milling ceased between 1900 and 1923. (fn. 243) A new building, possibly incorporating more than one mill, was built of red brick in the later 18th century. The initials JK picked out in black headers on the south side suggest that the builder was either John Kelloway, lessee in 1763, or his brother James Kelloway, lessee from 1791. (fn. 244) A mill house was built on the west side of the mill in the early 19th century. The house was doubled in size by the addition of a range on the north side, possibly in the later 19th century or early 20th, and both mill and house were extensively altered in the mid 20th century.

Easton Bassett.

Although there were several tenants of Easton Bassett manor in 1669 and in the 18th century and earlier 19th, (fn. 245) most land of the manor was c. 1539 and later a single farm. Its downland was leased separately for a short period in the later 16th century. The farm supported 1,911 sheep c. 1539 and in its woolhouse were 66 weighs of wool. (fn. 246) It was divided by sale, possibly in the later 18th century. Downland and c. 55 a. of woodland all south of Ox Drove were thereafter worked as part of farms on the Rushmore estate based in Berwick St. John. In 1985 the land, 415 a. excluding the woodland, was in Higher Bridmore farm, on which corn was grown and sheep were reared. (fn. 247) Easton farm, 449 a. north of Ox Drove in 1839, (fn. 248) was divided in 1964: in 1985 the land was worked as two mixed farms, Easton and Chapel. (fn. 249)

Local Government.

As part of Donhead manor, Donhead St. Andrew was in the 12th century in the abbess of Shaftesbury's liberty of Donhead. (fn. 250) Ferne manor and St. Bartholomew's Hill hamlet, and possibly most of Donhead St. Andrew, were within Winsford tithing. (fn. 251) The Winsford tithingman attended the law hundreds and views held twice a year for the liberty (fn. 252) and was present at a court leet held in 1922. The matters most frequently presented by the tithingman were overcharging by millers and badly maintained roads. In 1517 William Brookway was presented for entertaining whores in his house to the annoyance of his neighbours.

Except for the owners of Easton Bassett manor and, until the mid 17th century, of Feme manor, all the freeholders in Donhead St. Andrew were suitors of the Donhead manorial courts held twice a year, on the same days as the courts leet, from the later 14th century or earlier until the earlier 20th. Besides the normal business associated with copyholds and the regulation of pasture rights, manorial affairs which concerned only Donhead St. Andrew included, in 1518, a view of the boundary on St. Bartholomew's Hill between the common pastures of Donhead St. Andrew and Semley, and, in 1606, 1643, and 1656, orders to the inhabitants of Donhead St. Andrew to repair gates between Semley common and Donhead St. Andrew.

Courts were held twice a year for Feme manor in the later 14th century. (fn. 253) Records of courts for Easton Bassett manor which survive for 1534, 1669, 1720, 1723, and 1730, suggest that courts were convened only to deal with surrender of, and admission to, a cottage and a small farm called Collingbourne's place which the lord of the manor owned in Charlton in Donhead St. Mary. (fn. 254) Two courts for Leigh Court manor were held in 1588, apparently to deal with copyholds, but there is no record of a later court of that manor. (fn. 255)

Vestry meetings were held from 1654 but were not so called until 1714. They were held in the church in 1725. At them overseers of the poor, way wardens, and churchwardens were elected. In 1694 the waywardens were enjoined to survey the gates between Donhead St. Andrew and Semley common, and in 1717, after the parish had been indicted at Salisbury assizes, to repair the road across White Sheet Hill. (fn. 256) A church house was leased to the parish c. 1575 or earlier, (fn. 257) and paupers were lodged in it in the period 1699–1714. (fn. 258) In 1768 the workhouse was east of West End Lane at its junction with St. Bartholomew's Street. (fn. 259) Expenditure on the poor increased between 1654 and 1744 from £22 to £85 yearly, (fn. 260) and in the years 1783–5 was, after that of Tisbury and Donhead St. Mary, the highest in Dunworth hundred. In 1803 a total of 67 paupers was relieved: 26 were in the workhouse. (fn. 261) Sums spent yearly had risen to £1,396 by 1813 but had fallen to £603 by 1815, a decrease reflected in the numbers relieved, 119 in 1813 and 62 in 1815. (fn. 262) Yearly expenditure had risen to £1,234 by 1819, fallen to £528 by 1823, and risen to £905 by 1829. Average yearly expenditure, £980, in 1830, 1832, and 1834 was second only to that of Tisbury in the hundred. (fn. 263) Part was spent in the 1820s in employing a parish surgeon. (fn. 264) The workhouse and other parish property were sold after Donhead St. Andrew was included in Tisbury poorlaw union in 1835. (fn. 265) The parish became part of Salisbury district in 1974. (fn. 266)

Church.

In the 12th century a church stood at Donhead St. Andrew with a chapel of ease at Easton Bassett. (fn. 267) The living was a rectory in 1240 and earlier. (fn. 268) It was united with the rectory of Donhead St. Mary with Charlton to form the benefice of the Donheads in 1980. (fn. 269)

The abbess of Shaftesbury presented candidates for institution to the rectory until the Dissolution except in 1302 when the king presented because the abbey was vacant. (fn. 270) In 1544 the Crown granted the advowson to Sir Thomas Arundell (fn. 271) and it descended like the manor of Donhead. (fn. 272) It wras leased in the period 1564–96. Hugh Hawker (d. 1575) presented and in 1593 Jasper Moore, the husband of Hawker's relict, did so. (fn. 273) After 1606 the Barons Arundell, as recusants, leased the advowson. Joseph Bower presented in 1631, and Anthony Ashley Cooper, Baron Ashley, in 1670. Exceptionally, Henry, Baron Arundell, presented a rector in 1684. (fn. 274) William Thomas, vicar of Tisbury, presented in 1742, Thomas Benett in 1781, William Fletcher in 1808, and F. C. Wilson in 1809. (fn. 275) Thomas Warburton apparently bought the advowson and in 1820 presented his son-in-law William Dansey and conveyed the advowson to him. In 1853 Dansey sold it to R. B. Bourne, who in 1856 presented himself. (fn. 276) Bourne sold the advowson to D. B. Chapman (d. 1891) who in 1875 presented his son H. E. Chapman. (fn. 277) At or before his father's death H. E. Chapman became patron. He resigned in 1891 (fn. 278) and presented his successor. From Chapman (d. 1907) the advowson passed to his relict Adelaide (d. 1926), (fn. 279) whose trustees presented in 1932, and in 1934 transferred the advowson to the Salisbury diocesan board of patronage. (fn. 280) From 1980 the board was entitled to the first and to alternate presentations to the benefice of the Donheads. (fn. 281)

The church was taxed at £13 6s. 8d. in 1291 (fn. 282) and at the same in 1535. (fn. 283) A pension of 6s. 8d. paid from the rectory to the rector of Semley in 1291 (fn. 284) was not mentioned after 1428. (fn. 285) The benefice's net average yearly value, £814 after the deduction of outgoings of £250 in the period 1829–31, made it, like Donhead St. Mary, one of the richer livings in Wiltshire. (fn. 286)

Either before or after the Dissolution a division of the tithes from Shaftesbury abbey's demesne in Donhead St. Andrew and Donhead St. Mary was made between the rectors of the two parishes, (fn. 287) a division which may explain the division of the abbey's demesne farmhouse, Lower Berry Court, between the two parishes. (fn. 288) After the Dissolution the tithes from 198 a. in Donhead St. Andrew and of 395 a. in Donhead St. Mary were shared between the two rectors, and each rector took all tithes from some land in the other's parish. (fn. 289) In 1608 a modus of £1 was being received by the rector of Donhead St. Andrew in place of tithes from the Donhead St. Andrew parts of the parks around Wardour castle but nothing from additional land imparked c. 1578. (fn. 290) The modus was afterwards increased to £3 8s. (fn. 291) and Henry, Baron Arundell (d. 1694), gave the rector the right to pasture a horse in a close in the park each summer. (fn. 292) Both modus and horse pasture were confirmed to the rector in 1709 after litigation. (fn. 293) The horse pasture was afterwards exchanged for a yearly payment, 5s. in 1838. (fn. 294) In 1839 the tithes of the rector of Donhead St. Mary were valued at £34 and those of the rector of Donhead St. Andrew at £728, and all were commuted. (fn. 295)

In 1341 the rector of Donhead St. Andrew had 1 carucate, pasture worth £2 yearly, and a meadow worth 6s. 8d., an estate similar to that held by the rector of Donhead St. Mary in his parish. (fn. 296) The glebe was 71 a. in 1608: it afterwards absorbed the 35 a. with which a chantry in the church had previously been endowed. (fn. 297) The enlarged glebe farm, which, inexplicably, had c. 170 a. in the 18th century and earlier 19th, included, from 1704 or earlier, Sands barn built east of Sands Lane on the former chantry glebe. A cottage stood beside the barn in 1783. (fn. 298) The rector sold 11 a. of glebe in 1832, (fn. 299) and may afterwards have sold more. In 1892 H. E. Chapman, rector 1875–91, bought 107 a., including 4 a. in Easton Bassett, of the 123–a. glebe farm. (fn. 300) A further 12 a., all that then remained, were sold in 1939. (fn. 301)

Donhead House, (fn. 302) perhaps built in the later 16th century or earlier 17th (fn. 303) and so called after 1892, was the rectory house in 1704 and presumably from when it was built. It is of stone, and in 1704 included a hall and wainscotted parlour. It was extended in the mid 18th century by the addition of a symmetrical south entrance front which had two panelled rooms flanking an entrance hall. (fn. 304) In the later 19th century those rooms on the ground floor were enlarged by the addition of canted bays. The house was bought c. 1892 by H. E. Chapman who altered it, and built extensions on the west and north in the years 1892–3. The south elevation became a garden front when in 1893 Chapman had what may have been the hall of the original house made into an entrance hall with an east doorway and a porch. (fn. 305) Walled and landscaped gardens, featuring two ponds west of the house and the Nadder east of it, may have been made for Chapman. A large new rectory house, later called Beauchamp House, was built east of St. Bartholomew's Street in red brick to designs by C. E. Ponting in 1893. (fn. 306) It was sold in 1939 (fn. 307) and was replaced between 1952 and 1955 by a house on the west side of West End Lane (fn. 308) where the rector of the Donheads lived in 1985.

A chantry in honour of St. Mary and All Saints was endowed before 1279 with a total of 24 a. in Donhead St. Andrew and Sixpenny Handley (Dors.). It was kept irregularly, apparently because the income from the land was insufficient. In 1327 the rector added stock and equipment to the endowment, with the income from which future rectors were to support a resident chantry priest. (fn. 309) The land belonged to the rector after 1548 and the income from it may have been used to pay a stipendiary priest who assisted the rector in 1553. (fn. 310) The lands, then 35 a., were distinct from the glebe in 1608 but were afterwards merged with it. (fn. 311)

The chapel at Easton Bassett which stood in the 12th century was first expressly mentioned in 1327. (fn. 312) It may have been the chapel which in 1341 was said, presumably wrongly, to be the property of the rector of Berwick St. John. (fn. 313) A pension of £2 13s. 4d. said in 1535 to be paid by the rector of Donhead St. Andrew to the 'prior of Easton' (fn. 314) was possibly the stipend paid to a chaplain to serve the chapel. The chapel, which contained bells c. 1540, stood near the south end of Water Street on the east side. (fn. 315) Parishioners complained in 1585 that no service was held there. (fn. 316) The chapel fell into disuse and in 1783 what remained was used as a barn. (fn. 317) Part of a later 12th-century arch from the chapel was found near Chapel Farm in 1966, and in 1985 was in Berwick St. John church. (fn. 318)

The rector in 1304 was a subdeacon. (fn. 319) Peter of Romsey, rector 1321–5 and possibly after 1330, (fn. 320) held the benefice while master of St. Nicholas's hospital, Salisbury. (fn. 321) In 1553 parishioners complained that only one sermon had been preached during the year. Certain prescribed books were lacking in the church in the later 16th century and the 17th. (fn. 322) On the deprivation in 1646 of the royalist James Whitney, rector 1631–70, (fn. 323) John Legg, who signed the Concurrent Testimony in 1648, was intruded. (fn. 324) From 1684 to 1781 there were only two incumbents, Matthew Bowles (d. 1742), who, although a pluralist, probably resided, and his son William Bowles (d. 1781). (fn. 325) The rector preached at Sunday morning and afternoon services in 1783, held weekday services on holy days, and celebrated communion four times a year for an average of 25 communicants. (fn. 326) Curates, who included the poet and antiquary William Lisle Bowles in 1792, assisted the rectors from the 16th century to the later 19th. (fn. 327) Men of distinction, ability, and energy served the church in the 19th century. William Dansey, rector 1820–56 and a canon of Salisbury, was an historian whose works included Horae Decaniae Rurales, published in two volumes in 1835. (fn. 328) Robert Bourne, rector 1856–75, (fn. 329) recorded his systematic monthly visits to every house in the parish in the period 1858–60 in a book which he called 'Speculum Gregis'. (fn. 330) H. E. Chapman, rector 1875–91, introduced Ritualistic practices in an attempt to 'uproot Protestantism, and spread the Catholic faith' in the parish, and published a pamphlet on Ritualism in 1877. (fn. 331) In 1878 Sir Thomas Grove of Ferne House failed in an attempt to prosecute Chapman under the Public Worship Regulation Act of 1874 for practices including the concealment of the act of consecration, elevation of the consecrated elements, and the use of wafers, a mixed chalice, and altar lights. (fn. 332) Chapman resigned in 1891, became a Roman Catholic, and published a justification of his actions in 1898. (fn. 333) The pastoral ability of the three incumbents is reflected in the consistently high church attendance figures in a parish where nonconformity and Roman Catholicism flourished. (fn. 334) On Census Sunday in 1851 morning and afternoon congregations numbered 225 and 300 respectively. (fn. 335) There were 126 communicants in the years 1858–9. (fn. 336) Two Sunday services, attended by congregations which averaged 130 in the mornings and 150 in the afternoons, were held in 1864. Weekday services held twice a week and at other times were less well attended. An average of 63 received communion at the four principal celebrations, 49 at other celebrations. (fn. 337) At Easter 1875 Chapman claimed that there was a greater number of communicants than ever before as a result of rigorous Lenten preparations. Communion was received by 140 people on Christmas morning 1875. (fn. 338) From 1955 until c. 1979 the rectory was held in plurality with that of Berwick St. John. (fn. 339)

The church of ST. ANDREW, so called before 1240, (fn. 340) is built of local greensand ashlar and comprises a chancel with north vestry, an aisled and clerestoried nave with south porch, and a west tower with north-west stair turret. Walling in the northeast corner of the nave may survive from a church which stood in the 11th century or earlier 12th. In the 14th century the chancel was reconstructed and a south transept was built (fn. 341) as a chapel for the chantry endowed before 1279. (fn. 342) The north aisle, the porch, and the tower were built, and new windows were inserted in the chancel and south transept, in the 15th century. A west gallery was erected in the 17th century and new windows were inserted above the west doorway and in the south wall of the nave. The south transept and porch were replaced in 1826 (fn. 343) by the south aisle, which has an arcade similar to that of the north aisle, and a new porch. The vestry may have been built at the same date. (fn. 344) The chancel was rebuilt in 1838 (fn. 345) and 15th-century glass, including a fragment depicting the arms of Shaftesbury abbey, was reset in the east window. During a restoration undertaken in 1875 to plans by N. Tate, the piers of the nave arcades were restored, the west gallery was removed, an organ chamber was built above the vestry, and a tall round-headed arch in a style of the nth century or earlier 12th was inserted in the east end of the north wall of the nave. (fn. 346) Fragments of stone tracery from what may have been the chancel screen were reset in the north wall of the tower when the tower was rebuilt under the direction of J. A. Reeve in 1895–6. (fn. 347)

In 1553 the king's commissioners left a chalice weighing 13 oz. for parish use and took 3 oz. of plate. A new chalice and other items of plate were given at various dates in the later 19th century. (fn. 348) There were four bells in 1553. Of the peal hanging in the church in 1985 the treble was cast by William Cockey in the earlier 18th century and recast in 1953 by Mears & Stainbank; the second was cast in 1613 by John Wallis; the third was cast in the 15th century, possibly by John Walgrave; and the tenor was recast in 1831 by Wasbrough Hale & Co. (fn. 349) Registrations of baptisms, marriages, and burials are extant from 1646. (fn. 350)

Roman Catholicism.

John Grove (d. 1629), lord of Feme manor, was a recusant and may have lived at Waterford (Irel.) in the period 1591–9. He conformed in 1606. In the years 1593–6 members of the Brooke family (fn. 351) and in 1662 members of the Foyle, Wilson, and Mercer families, all of Donhead St. Andrew, were recusants. (fn. 352) Members of the Foyle and Mercer families were among 15 recusants in 1674. (fn. 353) In 1676 there were 20 recusants, (fn. 354) one of whom was still being prosecuted in 1686–7. The Barons Arundell, who were prominent Roman Catholics, kept Jesuits at Wardour and presumably encouraged the practice of their religion. Two houses in the parish may have been used as mass centres in 1717. (fn. 355) Numbers had increased to 47 by 1767 but had fallen, inexplicably, to 29 by 1780. (fn. 356) After 1776 the Roman Catholics in Donhead St. Andrew, described as 'of no rank' in 1783 and estimated at 122–3 including children in the period 1858–64, heard mass in the chapel at Wardour Castle. (fn. 357) H. E. Chapman, the rector who c. 1891–2 resigned the living, bought the rectory house, and became a Roman Catholic, (fn. 358) may also have encouraged them. It was perhaps on Chapman's initiative that a chapel dedicated to St. Bartholomew was opened, in 1887, at St. Bartholomew's Hill. The chapel was served from Wardour, and mass was said each Sunday from 1938 or earlier until the chapel closed in 1960. (fn. 359)

Protestant Nonconformity.

Ministers ejected in the years 1660–2 and sheltered at various times in the period 1669–72 by Thomas Grove and his son Robert at Feme House, a licensed meeting place, included Compton South from Berwick St. John, Samuel Clifford and Enoch Gray from East Knoyle, Thomas Rosewell from Sutton Mandeville, Joshua Churchill from Fordington (Dors.), and, from Donhead St. Mary, Peter Ince, (fn. 360) who died at Feme House in 1683. (fn. 361) Conventicles at which one or more of them preached included a meeting in Berry Wood Copse in 1663 (fn. 362) and a Presbyterian meeting in 1669 at Feme House attended by 100– 200 people 'of ordinary rank' from Donhead St. Andrew and other parishes. (fn. 363) The c. 45 dissenters in the parish c. 1675 (fn. 364) were presumably Presbyterians or Independents and members of the meeting for which Birdbush chapel in Donhead St. Mary was built. (fn. 365) They certified meeting houses in Donhead St. Andrew in 1689 and 1698. (fn. 366) Although the sect had apparently declined by 1783, (fn. 367) Independents certified meeting houses in Donhead St. Andrew in 1791 and 1820. (fn. 368) Neither meeting flourished and Independents, 37 in 1858–9 (fn. 369) and 93 including children in 1864, attended Birdbush chapel. (fn. 370)

Methodists certified five meeting houses in the parish between 1811 and 1834, one of them at Rowberry Cross, and in 1846 a house for Wesleyans at Easton Bassett. (fn. 371) There were 52 Methodists in the parish in 1858–9. (fn. 372) A stone chapel replaced the house at Easton Bassett in 1875. (fn. 373) It was closed before 1964, (fn. 374) and stood derelict in 1985.

Baptists from Easton Bassett attended a chapel in Berwick St. John in 1858–9. In that period there was also a Quaker family in Donhead St. Andrew. (fn. 375)

Education.

A licensed schoolmaster taught in the parish in 1584. (fn. 376) William Bowles (d. 1781), rector from 1742, gave by will £200 for successive rectors of Donhead St. Andrew to support a charity school. His successor refused to use the income because he considered 'that the poor were better without information than with it', but after 1788 transferred accumulated income of £98 to Bowles's grandnephew, Charles Bowles, who in 1798 employed a teacher. The yearly income of c. £11 was afterwards used as Bowles had directed, (fn. 377) in 1818 to pay for 20 children to be taught to read, (fn. 378) and in 1833 to pay a teacher, who, in her own house, taught reading to 16 children and needlework to the girls among them. In 1833 there were four other schools in the parish with a total of 36 pupils. (fn. 379)

A school built north-east of the church in 1835 was endowed with Bowles's charity, the income of which was £5 10s. in 1858 and £9 in 1867–9. There c. 1858 the parish clerk taught 80 children, and a woman taught the 35 girls to sew. (fn. 380) A room for the younger children was built in 1870. (fn. 381) On return day in 1871 the school, which was a National school, was attended by 80 children. (fn. 382) The buildings of 1835 were replaced in 1880. (fn. 383) The income from Bowles's charity, £8 in the years 1901–3, was assigned by Scheme of 1905 half for the upkeep of the school and half for grants to Donhead St. Andrew children at secondary schools or employed as pupil teachers. (fn. 384) Average attendance figures rose from 107 in 1906–7 to 120 in 1909–10 but by 1938 had declined to 58. (fn. 385) The school was closed in 1970. The buildings were sold and since 1977 have been owned by the Henrietta Barnett School for Girls, Hampstead, and used as a rural studies centre. (fn. 386) From 1970 the income of Bowles's charity has been allowed to accumulate and from it donations are made to Semley school. (fn. 387)

A school for Roman Catholic children in the parish supported in 1808 by Mary, Baroness Arundell, may not have flourished. (fn. 388)

Charities for the Poor.

By will proved 1840 Philippa Grove gave a third of the income from £1,000 to a clothing club in Donhead St. Andrew. In 1901 the income of the charity, £8, was used to add 3d. to each 1s. deposited, (fn. 389) and in the period 1904–52 the yearly income of £7 10s. was used as the donor directed. (fn. 390) In 1985 no distribution had been made for several years and there was accumulated income of £50. (fn. 391) Poor people in Donhead St. Andrew were entitled to share in the eleemosynary charity established by will of John, Baron Arundell, proved in 1945. (fn. 392)