Parishes: Knight's Enham

KNIGHTS ENHAM

Etham (xi cent.); Enham Knights, Enham militis (xiii cent.); Ennam militis (xiv cent.); Enam (xv cent.).

Knights Enham is a parish bounded on all sides by Andover. There are three detached portions, all lying eastwards of the main parish. The total area is 794 acres. The soil is chiefly light loam and gravel, the subsoil is chalk, (fn. 1) and there are several disused chalk-pits. Bilgrove Copse and Little Bilgrove Copse are the principal woodlands. The name occurs in the 14th century. (fn. 2) Nearly the whole of the land is arable. The chief crops produced are wheat, barley, oats, sainfoin and turnips.

Hungerford Lane, which follows closely the site of the Roman road from Cirencester to Winchester, cuts through the south-eastern extremity of the parish. This is crossed at right angles by the road from Andover to Newbury, which passes through the east of the parish and skirts Enham Park.

The highest part of the parish is in the north and stands about 335 ft. above ordnance datum, the southern part of the parish, where rises a tributary of the Anton, being low and swampy.

Enham Place the seat of Mrs. Earle is an entirely modern house lying to the north of the village, which is on the eastern border of the parish, and situated in a park of 70 acres, partly in Knights Enham and partly in Andover.

Manor

At the time of Domesday ENHAM was divided into two equal holdings, each assessed at a hide and a half and held respectively by Sariz and Alsi Berchenistre. (fn. 3) It is difficult to say whether both these entries should be assigned to KNIGHTS ENHAM or one to King's Enham in Andover, but it is probable that they both refer to Knights Enham, as two centuries after Domesday there were still two manorial holdings of equal value in the parish. At the beginning of the 13 th century the overlordship belonged to Avice de Columbers. (fn. 4) From her it descended to Matthew de Columbers, who died in 1273 seised of a knight's fee and a half in Enham and Crux Easton, held of the king in chief. (fn. 5) He was succeeded in his estates by his brother, Michael de Columbers, whose daughter and heir Nichola brought them by marriage to the Lisles of the Isle of Wight. (fn. 8) In 1315 the manor of Enham was held of John de Lisle by service of doing suit at Chute court, (fn. 7) and in 1346 of Bartholomew de Lisle. (fn. 8) At the end of the 15 th century it was said, like so many neighbouring manors, to be held of the freemen of Andover by fealty. (fn. 9)

In 1167 and again in 1168 Geoffrey the son of Morin paid half a mark into the treasury for Enham, (fn. 10) and he was probably at the time holding one of the two Domesday estates. Ralph Sansaver was one of the joint holders of the vill at the beginning of the 13th century, holding under Avice de Columbers, (fn. 11) and it is probable that he had obtained his estate by his marriage with the niece and heir of Richard Morin. (fn. 12) His fellow holder was William de Torney. (fn. 13) In the Assize Roll of 1280 Hugh Sansaver and Roger de Calstone, lord of Calstone (co. Wilts.), are named as holding half a fee in Enham of Matthew de Columbers. (fn. 14) In the same year Hugh Sansaver granted all his manor of Enham, with its appurtenances and his lands, tenements and rents in that manor and in the town of Andover, to Simon Torney, who was probably a descendant of the Testa de Nevill holder, at a rent of £10, (fn. 15) of which he was in receipt at his death in 1283. (fn. 16) Roger de Calstone died a few years later in receipt of rent for his manor from Robert Burnell, Bishop of Bath and Wells and Chancellor of England, who held it in fee. (fn. 17) At his death in 1292 the bishop was found to have held the manor of the heirs of Roger de Calstone, (fn. 18) but his nephew and heir Philip Burnell, who died a year later, was said to have held a moiety from Roger son of Roger de Calstone, and a moiety from Sir Ralph Sansaver, son of Hugh. (fn. 19) If this is a true finding the land of Simon de Torney must have passed by some means to the Burnells, who united the two parts into one manor. After this the manor was held directly of the chief lords, and no further mention is found of the Sansavers; but in 1335 Roger de Calstone quitclaimed a rent of £10 to John de Handlo, (fn. 20) then lord of the manor, who, a few years later, granted an equivalent rent to Queen's College, Oxford (see advowson). Edward son and heir of Philip Burnell died seised of the manor about 1315, (fn. 21) his heir being his sister Maud, widow of John Lovel second Lord Lovel of Titchmarsh. By 1316 she had become the wife of John de Handlo, who held Knights Enham on his wife's behalf. (fn. 22) Handlo had the manor during his life; and in 1322 a commission of oyer and terminer was granted on his complaint that certain persons had broken into it and driven away his horses, cattle and sheep. (fn. 23) He outlived his wife, and died in 1346, when the manor remained to her son John Lovel, third Lord Lovel. (fn. 24) He died in 1347, after demising the manor for life to his cousin Sir Ralph Lovel. (fn. 25) On the death of the latter in 1362 (fn. 26) the king granted the manor, at a yearly rent of £6, to Peter de Bridges, to hold during the minority of the heir John fifth Lord Lovel, (fn. 27) who came of age in the following year, and in 1389–90 granted the manor to Sir John Sandys and Joan his wife. (fn. 28) Walter Sandys is named in 1428 as holding the half-fee which had formerly belonged to John Lovel. (fn. 29) His grandson, Sir William Sandys, died seised of the manor jointly with his wife in 1496, before which date it had been entailed on them and their heirs. (fn. 30) His descendants, the Lords Sandys of the Vyne, continued to hold it until the middle of the 17th century. (fn. 31) From that time evidence fails completely, but the manorial rights seem afterwards to have lapsed. At various dates in the latter half of the following century the Enham estate was acquired by George Dewar of St. Christopher (W.I.), who died in 1794, (fn. 32) and was succeeded by his son David Dewar. His descendants are still lords of the manor of Hurstbourne Tarrant (q.v.), but Enham was sold in 1817 by David Albemarle Bertie Dewar, (fn. 33) subsequently becoming the property of Henry Earle. Mr. Earle's eldest son, Lieutenant-Colonel William Henry Earle, died unmarried in 1887, and the estate came to his brother Thomas Hughes Earle, since whose death in 1891 it has been held by his widow, Mrs. Earle.

There was a mill at Knights Enham divided equally between the two Domesday holders, Alsi Berchenistre and Sariz, each moiety being worth 5s. (fn. 34) Later there appear to have been two mills, one of which Nicholas son of William Siffride conveyed in 1300 to William Siffride to hold for life at the rent of a rose, with reversion to Nicholas and his heirs. (fn. 35) It was doubtless the same mill his right in which John Nugi son and heir of William Nugi, son of Joan late wife of Geoffrey Nugi, daughter and heir of John Siffride, formerly of Andover, remitted to Roland Byris the reeve in 1429–30. (fn. 36) The other was granted by John de Handlo with the advowson to Queen's College, Oxford, in 1345. (fn. 37) There is now no mill in the parish.

Church

The church of ST. MICHAEL AND ALL ANGELS consists of a chancel 14 ft. 5 in. wide by 14 ft. long, nave 34 ft. 1 in. by 14 ft. 8 in., small north vestry and south porch. Externally the walls of nave and chancel are continuous. Some pieces of 12th-century masonry, now in the north window of the vestry, point to the existence of a church here at that time, and the walls of the nave may be of that date. In the 13th century a south aisle was built, and perhaps at the same time a smaller 12th-century chancel gave way to that now existing, which is practically equal in width to the nave. The aisle has since been destroyed, probably at some time in the 17th century, and the south porch may be of that date.

The east window has three modern lancets under a two-centred label; in the north wall of the chancel is a small modern credence recess; and probably a small piscina exists behind the plaster in the south wall. A modern doorway gives entrance to the chancel through the south wall; over it is the upper part of a 13th-century lancet window with widely splayed inner jambs. A thin wall in which is set a plain 17th-century wood screen of three bays divides the nave from the chancel. The screen has a moulded cornice at half height, and three arched openings above, that in the middle being taller than the others. The timbers have plain ovolo moulded angles. The north-east window of the nave is a 13th-century lancet with widely splayed inner jambs and two-centred rear arch. The second window has a 15th-century head of two trefoiled lights fitted to modern jambs and sill; the head was discovered among a pile of rejected stones and placed here in the stead of a wood-framed window which was moved to the south-east of the nave. A small north doorway west of this window is old, perhaps of 13th-century date; it has chamfered jambs and two-centred arch and straight pointed rear arch; in the jambs are the holes for the former wood draw-bar. It now opens to a modern vestry, and west of it is a modern lancet window.

Buried in the south wall of the nave is the arcade of two bays to the former aisle. It has an octagonal pillar and semi-octagonal responds; the capitals are moulded and have hollow-chamfered abaci; the arches are two-centred and of two chamfered orders. Most of the arcade can be traced outside the church, but only the west respond and the upper half of the west arch are exposed inside. Of the three windows in the south wall, the first and third are square openings with wood frames of two lights each, while the middle one is of stone with plain square heads of 17th-century date. The south doorway is contemporary with it. It has a chamfered elliptical head.

The west wall is unpierced, but set low inside is a recess having the head of a cinquefoiled 15th-century light and containing a modern round basin with a drain.

Over the north window of the vestry is an earlylooking human head in Binstead stone, which may have been part of a rood; it may be 12th-century work or earlier, but the roughness of the detail makes an accurate dating a matter of doubt.

The walls outside are for the most part covered with plaster, and at the angles are modern diagonal brick buttresses. The roofs are covered with tiles, and the ceilings are flat and of plaster. Over the west end of the nave is a timber bell-turret with boarded sides and leaded pyramid roof. In it hangs a bell by Thomas Mears, 1837.

The font is modern, with a shallow bowl carved with an imitation of 12th-century detail, and stands near the south door.

The altar table is painted and of 18th-century workmanship; all the other fittings are entirely modern.

The plate consists of a silver chalice of 1649 given by David Kingsmill in 1654, a silver paten given by Thomas Braithwait, rector, in 1655, and a silver flagon of 1872.

The only old volume of the registers contains baptisms, marriages and burials mixed from 1683 to 1812. There is also a vestry book and poor book dating from 1801.

Advowson

The church of Enham is first found mentioned in 1241, when one John was parson. (fn. 38) In 1292 the advowson belonged to Roger de Calstone, the infant son and heir of Roger de Calstone. (fn. 39) In 1335 Roger gave up the advowson to the lord of the manor, John de Handlo. (fn. 40) John de Handlo presented twice, (fn. 41) but in May 1341 had a licence to alienate it in mortmain, together with a messuage, a mill, 20 acres of land, 10 acres of meadow and £10 rent, which he held of John Lovel under Bartholomew de Lisle, to the Dean and Chapter of Salisbury, towards the sustenance of their vicars, so that they might appropriate the church; provided that they should find four of the said vicars to celebrate divine service daily in the cathedral for the donor's good estate in life, for his soul after death, and for the souls of Maud his wife, Thomas Burnell their son, and all their ancestors, and of Edward II and Hugh le Despenser the elder, and should cause all the vicars to distribute to the poor yearly, on his anniversary, 20s. 10d. out of the messuage, mill, land, meadow and rent. (fn. 42) Before this licence took effect, however, Queen Philippa interfered on behalf of her new foundation at Oxford, and John de Handlo consequently transferred his gift to Queen's College, (fn. 43) to which the advowson of Knights Enham belonged until 1871, (fn. 44) when this and four other livings in the diocese of Winchester were given to the Bishop of Winchester, the present patron, in exchange for the rectory of Crawley with the chapelry of Hunton. (fn. 45)

In 1878 the neighbouring vicarage of Smannell in Andover was united with Knights Enham. (fn. 46)

Charities

In 1794 David Dewar, by will proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, gave £25 a year for ever as a teacher's salary for the education of fifteen boys and ten girls of Enham, Little London and Woodhouse, and also 30s. a year for pens, ink and paper for the same purpose. The testator also gave in like manner for the poor of the same places £25 a year, to be given them in meat, drink and clothing quarterly. The trust fund consists of £1,716 13s. 4d. consols in court in a cause of Dewar v. Maitland and others, of which £883 6s. 8d. consols stand to the 'teacher's salary account,' and £833 6s. 8d. like stock to the'poor account,' The income of the former is paid to the school at Smannell and the income of the latter is duly applied by the rector.

In 1887 Lieutenant-Colonel William Henry Earle by will, proved 4 June 1887, bequeathed a legacy, represented by £980 6s. 1d. consols, with the official trustees, the dividends, which amount to £24 10s, to be distributed in fuel and clothing to the poor of Knights Enham, Little London, Woodhouse and Smannell.