TILSHEAD
Tilshead 1814
Tilshead lies on Salisbury Plain 13 km. WNW.
of Amesbury at the head of the valley of the river
Till. (fn. 1) Its name is first recorded as a form of
'Theodwulf's hide' in the nth century; the
modern form of the name was in use in the 16th
century, and the name of the river is derived
from it. (fn. 2) In 1086 Tilshead was a borough and a
large royal estate. The borough may have been
planted as a collection centre for wool when
sheep farming increased in the late Saxon period, (fn. 3) and the estate was evidently far more
extensive than the modern parish. (fn. 4) Where the
additional lands lay is not clear: lands of most
neighbouring parishes can be otherwise identified in Domesday Book and it is perhaps most
likely that much land worked from Tilshead in
1086 later went out of cultivation and was
absorbed as rough pasture by other settlements
around the plain. (fn. 5) There was extensive early
arable on the downs around Tilshead. (fn. 6) The
parish had two tithings, Tilshead North and
Tilshead South, and measured 1,572 ha. (3,883
a.). Tilshead South tithing was in Whorwellsdown hundred, (fn. 7) but there is no evidence to
support a suggestion that other Tilshead land
was in Rowborough hundred. (fn. 8) Vestiges of a
borough may perhaps be seen (fn. 9) but there was no
reference to a burgess after 1086.
The parish boundary, unchanged since 1814, (fn. 10)
is marked chiefly by man-made features, some
of which are ancient. The southern of the two
lines of the prehistoric Old ditch marks parts of
the south-eastern and south-western boundaries. Three crosses stood on the boundaries: one
was to the south-west in 1623, Cole's cross had
by then been removed from the northern boundary, and the name of Butler's cross, which had
marked an angle in the boundary north of
Tilshead village, (fn. 11) was still in use in the late 20th
century. Mounds marked other parts of the
northern boundary in the late 19th century and
the 20th, and in several other places the boundary is along roads. (fn. 12)
Chalk outcrops over the whole parish. The Till
is no more than an occasional stream or winter
bourne, and it was called the Winterbourne in
the 16th century and earlier: (fn. 13) the name Till was
not apparently used until c. 1900. (fn. 14) The large
number of mills and the great area of meadow
on the 11th-century royal estate called Tilshead
suggest that the flow of the river was then more
regular. (fn. 15) The Till has sometimes flowed with
considerable force through Tilshead village,
most notably in a destructive flood of 1841. (fn. 16) Its
valley, mainly below 107 m. and broadening
towards the southern parish boundary, and dry
valleys which lead north-east and south-west
towards it south of the village are lined with
gravel; another tongue of gravel lies in a dry
valley north-east of the village. The downland
is highest, over 152 m., at the west corner of the
parish and on East down and near Butler's cross
in the northern corners; it reaches c. 140 m. on
Copehill down to the south-west. (fn. 17)
From the Middle Ages arable seems to have
been on the lower slopes of the downs nearer the
village, with the higher slopes and land further
from the village having been used principally for
pasture. (fn. 18) From the early 20th century much of
the parish has been rough grassland used for
military training. (fn. 19) The estate called Tilshead
included woodland 2 leagues long and 1 league
broad in 1086 (fn. 20) but later the parish was sparsely
wooded. In 1886 there was scattered woodland
on the downs, some in the north-east and some
near Tilshead Lodge, all probably planted after
1814. (fn. 21) Most of the plantations survive and some
additional woodland was planted in the later
20th century. (fn. 22)
The parish was crossed by many roads over
the plain, some of more than local importance.
The road from London to Bridgwater (Som.) via
Amesbury and Warminster, a major route in the
later 17th century, crossed the southern tip of
the parish, (fn. 23) the main Salisbury—Bath road,
important until the mid 18th century, (fn. 24) crossed
the south-west corner, and another downland
Salisbury—Bath road, turnpiked in 1758 and
disturnpiked in 1873, (fn. 25) crossed the north-eastern
tip. On the last of those roads the main Devizes—
Salisbury road converged at the parish's
easternmost corner. In 1773 an apparently minor
road linked Tilshead village to West Lavington
to the north and Shrewton and Maddington to
the south-east, other minor roads led from the
village east across the downs to Netheravon,
south-west to Codford St. Mary, and west to
Imber, and there were various other downland
routes. From the Imber road a road leading
south-west to Chitterne All Saints was made
between 1773 and 1814; (fn. 26) it was improved in the
early 19th century. (fn. 27) Military use of the downs
from the early 20th century led to the diversion
or closure of roads, including those from Bath
and Devizes to Salisbury. The route from West
Lavington via Tilshead to Shrewton became
part of a new Devizes-Salisbury road c. 1900. (fn. 28)
The only other roads in the parish in public use
in the late 20th century were one leading east
from the village to join the old Salisbury road at
the Bustard inn in Shrewton and the road to
Chitterne.
Archaeological evidence of much prehistoric
activity survives within the parish. The southern
line of Old ditch, although broken, extends for
c. 3.5 km. within Tilshead and along its boundaries, the northern line for 1.4 km. To the east,
a third ancient ditch runs north-west and southeast, crossing the southern line of Old ditch and
dividing East and West downs. A long barrow
on Old ditch south-west of Tilshead village is
274 m. long and perhaps the largest in England.
Beside the ditch south of the village lies White
barrow, 233 m. long; its site, c. 2 a., was acquired
by the National Trust in 1909. In the extreme
west lies Kill barrow, 52 m. long, and there are
other long and bowl barrows on the southern
and eastern downs. A few artefacts, some associated with the barrows and ditches, have been
found and date from periods from the Neolithic
to the Pagan Saxon. There is evidence of prehistoric field systems on the western downs. (fn. 29)
In 1086, with 66 burgesses among its inhabitants, Tilshead was unusually populous but
taxation assessments suggest that by the 14th
century that was no longer so. In 1377 there were
125 poll-tax payers in the parish. (fn. 30) The population was 327 in 1801, for reasons that are not
clear had risen sharply to 397 by 1811, and had
reached 523 by 1851. Between 1861 and 1871
emigration reduced the number from 500 to 467,
and the population was under 400 between 1891
and 1921. It rose from 395 in 1921 to 610 in
1931, evidently because army camps in the
parish were more fully occupied at the later date.
The total had risen to 989 by 1951 (fn. 31) but, probably because no camp was in residential use, had
fallen to 314 by 1961 and 287 by 1981. There
were 343 inhabitants in 1991. (fn. 32)
Tilshead village lies on the gravel near the
parish's centre. The church stands north of a
triangular open space at a road junction. The
space and the width of the village street west of
it may be evidence of the plan of the borough. (fn. 33)
North and south of the junction stand houses
called North Manor and South Manor: their
sites may be those of the demesne farmsteads of
the two manors in the parish. (fn. 34) In the late 18th
century building extended west from the junction c. 500 m. along the street, later High Street,
and south c. 250 m. along the Shrewton road to
a farmstead east of the road and later called the
Island. East of the church in the Netheravon
road, later Candown Road, there are houses
possibly of the 17th century, and in 1760 there
was a line of settlement along the road. From
the west end of High Street back lanes lead on
the north to the Netheravon road and on the
south to the Shrewton road. (fn. 35) Between 1760 and
1814 a few cottages were built in the centre of
the triangle at the road junction south of the
church. (fn. 36)
Some buildings of 17th-century or earlier origin survive in High Street. West of the church
on the north side the Rose and Crown is a
late-medieval timber-framed house of four bays:
the roof of what was its central hall is smokeblackened and may have a central cruck truss.
In the early 17th century a chimney stack and
an upper floor were built in the hall and the
south front was rebuilt in banded flint and
ashlar: a north wing was added at the west end
in the later 17th century. Further west on the
south side Bell Cottage and the Black Horse may
both be of 16th-century origin. Near the middle
of the street on the north side Dean and Chapter
House, timber-framed, was built in the earlier
17th century and refronted in brick in the early
19th. South Manor, a small house with a north
front of banded flint, and, immediately west of
the Rose and Crown, Hooper's Farm, timberframed and fronted in bands and chequerwork
of flint and ashlar, may also be 17th-century.
The houses possibly of 17th-century origin in
Candown Road are Slades Farm, north-west of
the road, and Lower Farm, south-east of the
road.
North Manor was built c. 1800 and extended
in the early 19th century. Between 1773 and
1814 there was new building in Candown Road,
including a farmstead on the south-east side at
the village's eastern edge. (fn. 37) In 1820 Tilshead
House, a red-brick house of three storeys and
three bays, was built for Richard Norris on the
west side of the Shrewton road: (fn. 38) it was used as
a home for the elderly in 1991. Many cottages
in the village in the early 19th century were
mud-walled (fn. 39) and thus vulnerable to damage by
floods such as that of 1841 in which nine were
destroyed. In 1842 two cottages, paid for by a
national subscription to aid victims of the flood
in Tilshead and neighbouring villages, were
built on the south side of High Street. (fn. 40) New
building of the later 19th century and the early
20th included a nonconformist chapel and, on
the site of a house north of the church, a school. (fn. 41)
Drax House, at the junction of High Street and
Candown Road, and May Villa, near the Island,
bear the dates 1900 and 1901 respectively. At
the village's western end, called Townsend in
1886 and 1957 but later West End, (fn. 42) six council
houses were built north of the Devizes road and
six south of it in 1938–9. (fn. 43) A commercial garage
was later built north of the road and two bungalows south of it. In Imber Place, north-west
of Candown Road, 10 council houses were built
in 1949 (fn. 44) and another 8 and 2 bungalows in the
early 1960s. South-east of Candown Road four
old people's bungalows were built in the late
1970s. Between 1957 and 1982 the buildings in
the centre of the triangle south of the church
were demolished, (fn. 45) and in 1991 there was a
camping and caravan site south of Tilshead
House.
In 1814 the only building in the parish outside
the village was Tilshead Lodge, (fn. 46) built in the
early 18th century, presumably as a sporting
lodge. It was leased to Francis Godolphin (from
1712 earl of Godolphin, d. 1766) in 1704, 1730,
and 1736, (fn. 47) and later to William, duke of Cumberland (d. 1765). (fn. 48) Another tenant may have
been either William Graham, duke of Montrose
(d. 1790), or his son James, duke of Montrose
(d. 1836). (fn. 49) Formal gardens had been made
south of the house by 1760. (fn. 50) The house was
apparently rebuilt c. 1800 (fn. 51) and was demolished
between 1957 and 1982. (fn. 52) Between 1814 and
1841 two downland farmsteads were built, one
of them on Copehill down. (fn. 53) In 1886 there were
farm buildings in the parish's north-eastern and
north-western corners, and cottages in the
south-west corner. All were demolished in the
20th century. (fn. 54)
There were two inns in the parish in the
1750s, (fn. 55) probably the Crown, from 1822 or
earlier the Rose and Crown, and the Bell, which
stood south-east of Candown Road in 1814. (fn. 56)
Friendly societies recorded in the parish 1813–15 (fn. 57) may have met at the two inns. The Rose
and Crown was open in 1991, the Bell was closed
after 1939, (fn. 58) and the Black Horse was open in
1848 (fn. 59) and 1991.
In the early 19th century and the early 20th
racehorses were trained at Tilshead Lodge. (fn. 60)
Hares were coursed in the parish, and a hare
warren straddled the eastern boundary with
Orcheston St. Mary c. 1820. (fn. 61) In 1924 and 1925
the Old Hawking club had its headquarters in
Tilshead, (fn. 62) and in the 1950s the Royal Artillery
(Salisbury Plain) and Wylye Valley hunts met at
the Black Horse. (fn. 63)
Lands in the east part of the parish bought by
the War Department in 1897 (fn. 64) had by 1910
become part of artillery ranges extending northwest from Larkhill in Durrington: later the west
part of the parish was included in the Imber
ranges. The parish was used for training in the
use of tanks for much of the 20th century. In
the First World War there was a kite balloon
school at Tilshead, in the Second a landing
ground was made west of the village, (fn. 65) and there
was a landing strip north of the village c. 1980. (fn. 66)
West Down North camp had been set up in the
parish's north-eastern corner by 1903. It was
replaced c. 1925 by West Down camp immediately east of the village, and temporary camps,
some tented, were set up elsewhere in the parish
between 1918 and 1945. (fn. 67) West Down camp
remained in summer use in the 1990s. (fn. 68) Groups
of military buildings which stood c. 400 m. north
of the village and south and west of Tilshead
Lodge in 1957 had mostly been demolished by
1982: (fn. 69) a brick water tower stood south of the
Chitterne road in 1991.
Manors and other estates.
In 1066
and 1086 the large estate called Tilshead belonged to the king. It had to render to him yearly
the cost of a night's food and lodging for him
and his household. (fn. 70)
What became TILSHEAD NORTH manor
was granted, perhaps before 1113, by Henry I
to Holy Trinity abbey, Caen (Calvados). (fn. 71) The
grant was confirmed in 1131. (fn. 72) The manor was
in royal keeping during wars with France in the
14th century and the early 15th. (fn. 73) It was apparently among Caen's Wiltshire possessions which
in 1416 were granted to Syon abbey (Mdx.),
founded the previous year: (fn. 74) a confirmation of
Syon's endowments in 1424 expressly included
it. (fn. 75) In 1442, however, Henry VI granted the
manor to King's College, Cambridge; in 1444
Syon abbey was pardoned for illegal entry on
that and other manors formerly Caen's, (fn. 76) and the
college's right to it was confirmed. (fn. 77) The abbey
still claimed the manor in 1459, when the college
held it, (fn. 78) and in 1461 Edward IV restored it to
Syon. In 1462 the college conceded the abbey's
right, (fn. 79) which was confirmed by Edward IV in
1465 (fn. 80) and by Henry VI in 1470. (fn. 81) After the
Dissolution the Crown retained the manor until
1583 (fn. 82) or later. By 1593 it had passed, presumably by sale, to Sir Robert Cecil (fn. 83) (cr. earl of
Salisbury 1605, d. 1612). Cecil or his son William, earl of Salisbury, (fn. 84) apparently sold the
manor in portions. (fn. 85)
Giles Tooker (d. 1623) bought the lordship and
demesne and held them in 1616. He was succeeded in turn by his son Edward (fn. 86) (d. c. 1671)
and grandson Sir Giles Tooker, Bt. (d. 1675).
Sir Giles's estate was divided between his heirs,
his sisters Philippa, wife of Sir Thomas Gore,
and Martha, wife of Sir Walter Ernie, Bt. (fn. 87) The
lordship and most of the lands passed to
Philippa's son William Gore and in turn to
William's sons Thomas (d. 1728) and William
(d. 1769). The younger William's heir may have
been his cousin John Gore, (fn. 88) named as owner of
the estate 1780–95. (fn. 89) John's heir was probably
his nephew Montague Gore, whose father the
Revd. Charles Gore apparently held the estate,
c. 800 a., as trustee in 1814 and c. 1825. (fn. 90) Some
of the land had been sold by 1844. (fn. 91) After
Montague's death in 1864 (fn. 92) other land was sold
to W. D. Hulbert (d. 1890). Hulbert's executors
sold Tilshead Manor farm, 344 a., in 1890 to
Joseph Jackson. In 1908 the farm was bought by
John Chamings, (fn. 93) who later bought other land
in the parish. (fn. 94) Chamings sold c. 130 a. to the
War Department in 1911; in 1920, after his
death, his estate of 450 a. was sold, (fn. 95) perhaps to
R. J. Evans who owned 440 a. in 1924. (fn. 96) Those
lands too were later bought by the War Department: the Ministry of Defence owned them and
nearly all the other land in the parish in 1991. (fn. 97)
In 1844 Walter Long (d. 1867) held c. 200 a.
in Tilshead, formerly part of Charles Gore's
estate. The land descended to Walter's son
Richard (d. 1875) and to Richard's son W. H.
Long, who in 1905 sold it to the Cavendish Land
Company. The company sold it in 1906 to R. J.
Farquharson, and it was part of an estate sold
by Farquharson to the War Department in
1933. (fn. 98)
The lands inherited by Martha (d. 1688) and
Sir Walter Ernie (d. 1682) passed with Winterbourne Maddington manor in Maddington in
turn to their grandsons Sir Walter Ernie, Bt. (d.
1690), and Sir Edward Ernie, Bt. (d. 1729), to
Sir Edward's daughter Elizabeth Drax (d. 1759),
and to her son Thomas Drax. Thomas (d. 1789)
was succeeded in turn by his brother Edward (d.
1791) and by Edward's daughter Sarah (d.
1822), wife of Richard Erle-Drax-Grosvenor,
who held c. 160 a. in Tilshead in 1815. Those
lands passed from Richard's and Sarah's son
Richard (d. 1828) to their daughter Jane (d.
1853), wife of John Sawbridge-Erle-Drax, and
in turn to Jane's daughters Maria SawbridgeErle-Drax (d. 1885) and Sarah, wife of F. A. P.
Burton. Sarah (d. 1905) was succeeded by her
daughter Ernie Plunkett, Baroness Dunsany (d.
1916), who sold 78 a. to the War Department in
1911. Ernie's son Reginald Plunkett-Ernle-ErleDrax (fn. 99) sold the remaining 83 a. in 1917 (fn. 100) to John
Chamings: they were part of the estate sold in
1920 after Chamings's death. (fn. 101)
Several estates in the parish traceable from the
late 16th century or the early 17th may have been
derived from copyholds sold by Robert, earl of
Salisbury. (fn. 102) One such estate, comprising 83 a.
and pasture for 220 sheep, was sold in 1603 by
John Eaton to John Long. (fn. 103) It passed from father
to son to a second, third, and fourth John Long, (fn. 104)
the last of whom held it in 1697. (fn. 105) In 1706
Catherine Stockdale sold the estate to Sir William Scawen (fn. 106) (d. 1722). Sir William was
succeeded by his nephew Thomas Scawen (d.
1774), whose estate included TILSHEAD
LODGE. Thomas or his son James (fn. 107) sold the
estate, which may have been dispersed. In 1802
the house and a few acres were sold by Elizabeth
Pratt to Gorges Lowther, (fn. 108) who bought several
estates in the parish c. 1805, including the
Rectory estate. (fn. 109) His combined estate, the Tilshead Lodge estate, 1,026 a. from inclosure in
1814, (fn. 110) was held in 1816 and 1817 by H. P.
Isherwood (fn. 111) and sold in 1819 (fn. 112) presumably to
John Long, who held it in 1820 and 1829. It was
acquired c. 1830 by George Watson-Taylor (fn. 113) (d.
1841) and his wife Anne (d. 1852) and passed as
part of their Erlestoke estate to their son Simon
(d. 1902) and to his son G. S. A. WatsonTaylor. (fn. 114) In 1907 H. W. Hooper bought 292 a.,
which he sold in 1911 to the War Department.
The remainder was bought in 1908 by R. J.
Farquharson and sold by him in 1933 to the War
Department. (fn. 115)
The estate which John Elliott alias Hill inherited from his father and in 1594 devised to his
son John (fn. 116) may have been another former copyhold. It was conveyed with other holdings to
Thomas Naishe in 1654, (fn. 117) and in 1694 was
conveyed by Jonathan Hill and his wife to
Laurence Cooper. (fn. 118) By will proved 1705 Cooper
devised the estate to John Wansborough. (fn. 119) It was
later bought by Joan Harris and passed to her
kinsman James Harris, who held it in 1745. (fn. 120)
James (d. 1780) was succeeded by his son Sir
James (cr. Baron Malmesbury 1788, earl of
Malmesbury 1800, d. 1820), (fn. 121) from whom the
estate was acquired, presumably by purchase, by
W. N. Maton c. 1787. A Mrs. Hayden held it in
1796 and 1804, as did Gorges Lowther from
1805. (fn. 122) It became part of the Tilshead Lodge
estate. (fn. 123)
Peter Crook (d. 1633) sold to John Randall (fl.
1666) c. 100 a. of arable and pasture rights for
80 sheep, perhaps formerly part of Tilshead
North manor. In 1692 Randall's son John sold
that and other estates to Robert Goldisborough, (fn. 124) who in 1699 held c. 170 a. and pasture
rights for 180 sheep in Tilshead. (fn. 125) In 1724 the
Revd. William Aishton sold an estate which may
have included lands formerly Goldisborough's
to the dean and chapter of Salisbury. (fn. 126) The
cathedral owned 94 a. in Tilshead from inclosure
in 1814. (fn. 127) The Ecclesiastical Commissioners sold
the land to the War Department in 1928–9. (fn. 128)
In 1206 Romsey abbey (Hants) held 1 hide or
more in Tilshead: (fn. 129) the estate became TILSHEAD SOUTH manor. (fn. 130) The manor was
presumably part of Steeple Ashton manor
granted in 1539 by the abbey to Thomas Seymour (fn. 131) (cr. Baron Seymour 1547), and on his
attainder in 1549 apparently passed to the
Crown. (fn. 132) As part of Steeple Ashton manor it was
sold by the Crown in 1629 and descended in the
Long family from c. 1630. (fn. 133) It was held by Sir
Walter Long, Bt. (d. 1672), Sir Walter Long, Bt.
(d. 1710), Calthorpe Long (d. 1729), Sir Philip
Long, Bt. (d. 1741), the Revd. John Long (d.
1748), and Walter Long (d. 1807). (fn. 134) Between
1760 and 1780 most of the land was sold (fn. 135) but
Catherine Long was lord of the manor in 1814. (fn. 136)
Of the farms derived from the manor the largest,
South, was held in 1780 by a Mr. Miles and from
1791 by the Revd. Dr. Kent, perhaps Ambrose
Kent (d. 1793), who also had several smaller
holdings in the parish. (fn. 137) What had been Kent's
estate belonged c. 1800 to a Mrs. Norris and c.
1810 to Richard Norris (d. 1826). Norris's estate,
c. 850 a. from inclosure in 1814, was retained by
his relict until c. 1838 and was acquired c. 1840
by Stephen Mills (fn. 138) (d. 1857), (fn. 139) who was succeeded by his sister Martha Mills. Martha (d.
1903) sold 500 a. in 1897 to the War Department
and devised the remainder to her cousin T. L.
Mills (fn. 140) (d. 1909). Most of T. L. Mills's lands
were sold by his executors to the War Department in 1911. (fn. 141)
Lands which had been part of Tilshead South
manor were apparently divided between William
Wallis and Thomas Stevens. Wallis's share was
bought by Joseph Houlton (d. 1720) and
Stevens's by Joseph's son Joseph. The elder
Joseph devised his portion to the young Joseph's
son Nathaniel and in 1723 the younger Joseph
(d. 1731) settled his on Nathaniel (fn. 142) (d. 1754). In
1768 Nathaniel's relict Mary (d. 1770) apparently held the lands. (fn. 143) The estate may have been
that in the southern part of the parish held by
William Cooper in 1781, acquired by Gorges
Lowther c. 1804, and thereafter part of Tilshead
Lodge estate. (fn. 144)
In 1086 four thegns held land at Tilshead.
Alward held 1 hide, Alestan ½ hide, and Alvric
Parvus and Almar 2½ yardlands each. (fn. 145) The
holdings were apparently represented by four
Tilshead estates recorded in 1242–3. Alvric's
was probably the hide held by serjeanty in 1198
by William Spileman (fn. 146) (fl. c. 1212). (fn. 147) In 1242–3
Laurence le Gras was said to hold it of Spileman;
no later reference to the estate has been found.
Hyde abbey (Hants) held 1/5 knight's fee in
1242–3. Herbert of Stoke held the estate of the
abbey and Robert Omedieu of Herbert. (fn. 148) Both
Herbert and Robert were alive in 1249, (fn. 149) and in
1428 an estate was still said to be held by
Robert's heirs. (fn. 150) It may have been that settled
in 1444 on Isabel, relict of John Romsey, for life:
the settlement was acknowledged before the
abbot of Hyde in 1462 (fn. 151) but the estate has not
been traced thereafter. The other estates in
1242–3 were of 1/5 knight's fee, held by Eustace
of Hull of Ellis of Hull who held of Sir Ellis
Giffard, and of 1/10 knight's fee, held by Walter
de Baynton of the honor of Trowbridge. (fn. 152) Either
Hull's or Baynton's estate may have been that
including 62 a. in Tilshead held by Peter of
Middleton in 1315 (fn. 153) and by his son Robert in
1350. (fn. 154) The Middletons' estate was settled in
1414 on Henry Pyres and his wife Christine (fn. 155)
and may have been that claimed. c. 1510 by
Elizabeth, wife of John Tremayle, and Joan, wife
of Thomas Brooke, as daughters and heirs of
John Speke. (fn. 156) Thomas and Joan apparently held
a moiety of an estate in Tilshead in 1527. (fn. 157) That
or the other moiety was held in 1544 by Thomas
Horton (fn. 158) (d. 1549) and passed to his son Edward
(d. 1603), who devised his estates to his grandnephew Edward Horton (d. 1605). The Tilshead
lands, however, passed to William Horton,
nephew of Edward (d. 1603). In 1610 they were
settled by William on his son Toby, who in 1618
conveyed them to Sir John Horton (d. 1667),
brother and heir of Edward (d. 1605). (fn. 159) In 1654
they were among lands conveyed to Thomas
Naishe, (fn. 160) and with Naishe's other holdings later
became part of the Tilshead Lodge estate. (fn. 161)
An estate including what became COPEHILL
farm belonged to William Slade from c. 1780
until c. 1787, James Slade from c. 1788 until
1793, and another William Slade from c. 1794. (fn. 162)
It comprised 221 a. in 1814 (fn. 163) and was sold after
William's death in 1838. (fn. 164) It was conveyed in
1897 to John Coleman. Copehill farm, 143 a.,
was offered for sale in 1909 after Coleman's
death; (fn. 165) it was sold, apparently by Coleman's
trustees, in 1920 to J. C. Henley. In 1934 Henley
sold it to the War Department. (fn. 166)
Tilshead church was appropriated by Ivychurch priory in 1317. (fn. 167) The RECTORY estate,
comprising tithes and 2 yardlands, (fn. 168) passed from
the priory to the Crown at the Dissolution (fn. 169) and
was granted in 1602 to Robert Hopton. (fn. 170) Robert
was succeeded by his son Sir Ralph (cr. Baron
Hopton 1643, d. 1652), (fn. 171) whose estates were
sequestrated in or before 1650. (fn. 172) By 1662 they
had been restored to his coheirs, his sisters
Catherine, wife of John Wyndham, and Mary,
relict of Sir Thomas Hartop, his niece Elizabeth,
wife of Sir Trevor Williams, Bt., and his
brother-in-law Sir Baynham Throckmorton,
who in that year jointly sold the Rectory estate
to Edward Tripp. (fn. 173) In 1678 Tripp sold it to
Edward Halliday (fn. 174) (d. 1701 or 1702), who was
succeeded in turn by his son John (d. 1737) and
by John's son John (d. 1754). The younger
John's relict Mary (will proved 1792) held the
estate for life (fn. 175) and John Hayter acquired it c.
1801, Gorges Lowther c. 1804. (fn. 176) In respect of
the estate 493 a. were allotted at inclosure in
1814: (fn. 177) that land was added to Lowther's Tilshead Lodge estate. (fn. 178)
Tithes worth 4s. from Romsey abbey's demesne in Tilshead were granted in 1252 to the
vicar of Ashton, (fn. 179) presumably Steeple Ashton:
no later reference to them has been found.
Tithes from Tilshead were also due to the abbey
in 1341. (fn. 180)
Before 1317 tithes from the demesne of Tilshead North manor were held by the prebendary
of South Newton. (fn. 181) As an endowment of the
prebend in the conventual church, they were
appropriated by Wilton abbey in 1450, passed
to the Crown at the Dissolution, and were
granted in 1551 to William Herbert, earl of
Pembroke. (fn. 182) They descended with the earldom
and in 1814 were exchanged for 87 a. in Tilshead. (fn. 183) In 1911 that land was sold by Sidney,
earl of Pembroke and of Montgomery, to the
War Department. (fn. 184)
Economic history.
The royal estate
called Tilshead comprised in 1086 land for 40
ploughteams: there were 9 teams with 22 servi
and 10 coliberts on the demesne, and 34 villani
and 32 coscets shared 18 teams. It was said to
include meadow 1 league by ½ league and there
was pasture 1½ league by 1 league. Of the four
smaller estates Alward's was worked by the
single team which the land could sustain and
included 1 furlong of pasture, and Alvric's had
land for ½ team. (fn. 185)
It is probable that each of the two tithings in
the parish had its own open fields and common
pastures: Tilshead North was c. 3,000 a., Tilshead South c. 900 a. (fn. 186) In the 16th century there
were apparently two open fields in each tithing,
in both cases called East and West, (fn. 187) and in the
18th century the lands of the two main manors
were not intermixed. The fields of Tilshead
South tithing in 1760, then called East and
South, lay east and south-west of the village and
beyond them were East and South downs. (fn. 188) In
the 17th century some downland pasture, perhaps on Copehill down, was several. (fn. 189) The two
fields of Tilshead North presumably abutted
those of Tilshead South east and west of the
village. In the late 14th century Tilshead North
manor included downland cattle pasture called
Oxen leaze, (fn. 190) and Horse down west of the village
was so called in 1814. (fn. 191) In the early 18th century
some of the western downland was burnbaked. (fn. 192)
The demesne of Tilshead North manor may
rarely have been in hand in the Middle Ages.
About 1170, when it was worked as a farm by a
group of nine tenants, it had 130 a. of sown
arable, 8 oxen, and 252 sheep and lambs. By
1299 the area sown had increased to 362 a. and
the stock to 18 oxen and 558 sheep. (fn. 193) Later it
was further expanded or better exploited. In
1397 the farmhouse and outbuildings had recently been rebuilt or enlarged and there were
then and in 1562 c. 400 a. of sown arable: the
pasture was sufficient for 1,000 sheep in 1397 (fn. 194)
and 1,300 in 1623. (fn. 195) In the earlier 16th century
the demesne was leased to a single tenant. (fn. 196)
Customary tenants of Tilshead North manor
c. 1170 included 16 who held between them 2
hides and 12 yardlands, 3 who held ½ yardland
each, and 13 cottagers: the 16 each owed autumn
works of carrying corn, the rest owed reaping
services. Other men held 'gafol land', claimed
common pasture in Tilshead, owed rents totalling 10s., and were required to plough 2 a. for
each animal grazed. (fn. 197) The number of customary
tenants had fallen by 1397 to 10, all yardlanders
who still owed autumn works; there were then
12 cottagers and another 2 cottages were in hand
because no tenant could be found. (fn. 198) A freehold,
described as ½ carucate in 1198 and as 5 yardlands c. 1210, (fn. 199) and 2 yardlands, with pasture for
c. 200 sheep, which belonged to the vicarage in
the 14th century but earlier and later to the
rectory, (fn. 200) may also have been in the north part of
the parish. In the mid 16th century the 2
yardlands were leased to the tenant of the demesne. (fn. 201) The 11 customary tenants then shared
c. 700 a. of arable, (fn. 202) and in 1623 tenants, presumably including free tenants, had pasture rights
for c. 1,000 sheep. (fn. 203) In the later 17th century
holdings derived from the customary lands included one of 63 a. with pasture for 125 sheep,
one of 83 a. with rights for 220 sheep, and one
of 107 a. with pasture for 80 sheep. (fn. 204) Between
1706 and 1710 Sir William Scawen complained
of the management of his estate, that of 83 a.:
the land had been inadequately ploughed, some
intended for sowing had been left unbroken, and
unfit seed had been used. Pasture rights on that
and other estates in Tilshead North tithing had
recently been reduced by a fifth. (fn. 205)
An estate of 1 hide, with pasture for 16 oxen
and 200 ewes, held of Romsey abbey in 1206,
may have been the demesne of Tilshead South
manor. (fn. 206) In 1586 the lands of the manor were
leased in two portions: one included 208 a. of
arable, the other 57 a. (fn. 207) The manor may have
had customary tenants earlier but none is recorded. In the late 18th century the largest farm
in Tilshead South was apparently derived from
the demesne: a smaller holding belonged to the
lord of the manor and there were two or more
other holdings. (fn. 208)
Open-field cultivation continued in both tithings until 1814, when the whole parish was
inclosed under an Act of 1811. Allotments were
made for land, pasture rights, and tithes, but no
holding became unified. (fn. 209) For the rest of the 19th
century and in the early 20th the largest farm
was part of the Tilshead Lodge estate. In 1819
and 1907 it measured over 700 a. and was a sheep
and corn farm. A new house and buildings in
the village and a barn on the downs, perhaps
Field barn in the parish's north-western corner,
were built for the farm before 1819. (fn. 210) Although
most farms continued to be worked from the
village, additional farmsteads were built in the
parish's north-eastern corner and on Copehill
down between 1814 and 1886, (fn. 211) presumably to
work downland arable created by burnbaking.
In 1890 Tilshead Manor farm, c. 350 a. worked
from buildings north of the church, was almost
all arable and included 107 a. of burnbaked
downland, and in 1911 Glebe farm, c. 240 a.
worked from buildings on the north side of High
Street, included 132 a. of poor arable and downland called the Bake land. (fn. 212)
Lands north-east and south-west of the new
Devizes—Salisbury road were withdrawn from
cultivation by the War Department before and
after 1925 respectively. (fn. 213) Thereafter much of the
parish was used as rough grazing only when
military activities allowed. There was arable
immediately north and south of the village in the
1930s, (fn. 214) and c. 550 a. remained arable in the
1990s. Approximately half of the remaining
lands was used as pasture, principally for sheep,
in 1991. (fn. 215)
There were 9 mills on the royal estate called
Tilshead in 1086: (fn. 216) if any stood in or near the
village there was more water in the upper reaches
of the Till in the 11th century than in the 19th
or the 20th. In 1341 the vicar was entitled to
tithes of mills, (fn. 217) perhaps indicating that there
was one or more in the parish, and a miller was
a tenant of Tilshead North manor in 1517 and
1518. (fn. 218) Between 1773 and 1785 a windmill was
built on the south-western edge of the village.
When demolished c. 1904 it was a post mill with
a thatched roof: the timbers were then used to
repair Tilshead church. (fn. 219)
The Tilshead pipe company, founded in 1981,
produced hand-made briar pipes in a small
factory in Candown Road in 1991. (fn. 220)
Local government.
In the early 12th
century, when the lord of what became Tilshead
North manor, Caen abbey, may have had rights
over the whole of Dole hundred, Tilshead may
have been the head of the hundred, (fn. 221) and Tilshead North became a tithing of the hundred. (fn. 222)
In the early 13th century the lord of what
became Tilshead South manor also held Whorwellsdown hundred, (fn. 223) which included Tilshead
South tithing from the earlier 14th century until
the 19th. (fn. 224) The boundary between the tithings
ran roughly north-east and south-west; Copehill
down was a detached part of Tilshead North
tithing, and the division of the village between
the two tithings was complex. (fn. 225) In 1377 Tilshead
North had 99 poll-tax payers and Tilshead
South 26; (fn. 226) in 1814 they had respectively c. 45
and c. 10 houses. (fn. 227)
Caen abbey had extensive privileges, (fn. 228) in 1131
including sac and soke, toll and team, and
infangthief. (fn. 229) Although the exemption of all the
abbey's English estates from suit of shire and of
hundred was confirmed in 1189 and 1190, the
exemption of Tilshead North was challenged,
unsuccessfully, in 1267 and 1281. (fn. 230)
View of frankpledge and a manor court for
Tilshead North were recorded for 1517–18,
1612–16, and 1623. Both a view and a court were
usually held in spring and autumn. A tithingman
presented strays, buildings needing repair, and
in 1612 and 1616 the disrepair of the butts.
Orders were made to enforce or vary the rules
of common husbandry, and in 1612 tellers for
sheep and for cattle were appointed. In that year
the right to glean was restricted to those of the
poor unable to work. Then and in 1615 the jury
was ordered to view the bounds and a survey of
the boundaries, apparently of the whole parish,
was recorded in 1623. (fn. 231)
In 1261 and 1262 a tithingman from Tilshead
South presented at Whorwellsdown hundred
court, and a suit between parties from Tilshead
concerning a broken contract to build houses
was heard in the court in 1261. (fn. 232) Romsey abbey
was entitled to hold a Tilshead South manor
court, but from 1457 or earlier Tilshead business
may have come before the court of Steeple
Ashton manor, also held by the abbey, (fn. 233) and no
separate court for Tilshead South is recorded.
Two overseers of the poor were appointed
annually in the 18th century. Between 1711 and
1732 their yearly expenditure fluctuated between
£13 and £28. (fn. 234) The overseers were summoned
at least once in both 1744 and 1745 and twice in
1746 for failing to relieve members of the
Whitley family: only once did they show good
cause for the omission. (fn. 235) The annual cost of poor
relief had risen to £139 by 1776 and to £262 by
1803, when 39 adults and 68 children received
regular relief and 20 people occasional relief.
The level of the poor rate in 1802–3 was about
the average for parishes of Branch and Dole
hundred. (fn. 236) A poor house was recorded in the
parish in 1807 (fn. 237) but not thereafter. Although the
number of recipients had apparently fallen since
1803, expenditure on poor relief was at its peak,
£450, in 1813. From 1815 until 1834 it was
between £200 and £300 a year. (fn. 238) Tilshead became part of Amesbury poor-law union in
1835, (fn. 239) and of Salisbury district in 1974. (fn. 240)
Church.
There was a church at Tilshead in
the early 12th century. (fn. 241) A rector was recorded
c. 1170. (fn. 242) The patron was the king (fn. 243) and the
living, valued at £16 13s. 4d. in 1291, (fn. 244) was rich
although some tithes had already been granted
away. (fn. 245) In the early 13th century the rectors were
evidently absentees, since the church was served
by vicars presented by the rectors. (fn. 246) A vicarage
was apparently ordained, and by 1291 had been
consolidated with the rectory. (fn. 247) In 1317 Edward
II gave the advowson to Ivychurch priory with
licence to appropriate the church. (fn. 248) A vicarage
was again ordained (fn. 249) and in 1991 became part of
the united benefice of Tilshead, Orcheston and
Chitterne. (fn. 250)
Ivychurch priory held the advowson of the
vicarage, the Crown presenting in 1361 when
there was no prior, until the Dissolution. Thereafter the Crown retained the advowson (fn. 251) until it
was bought in 1902 by the bishop of Salisbury, (fn. 252)
who shared the patronage of the united benefice
from 1991. (fn. 253)
The endowment of the vicarage, assigned in
1319, included lands formerly the rector's, pasture for 200 sheep, and small tithes apparently
excluding those of wool and hay. The vicar was
to be responsible for repairing the chancel. (fn. 254) In
1341 the vicar had 2 yardlands as part of his
estate (fn. 255) but by the early 15th century, when he
unsuccessfully sought augmentation of his living, (fn. 256) the lands may have been exchanged with
Ivychurch priory for wool and hay tithes. In the
16th and 17th centuries the vicar had all tithes
except those of corn and only c. 1 a. of glebe; (fn. 257)
responsibility for the chancel had by then passed
to the owner of the Rectory estate. (fn. 258) In 1535 the
vicarage was valued at £7 15s. 8d., (fn. 259) well below
the average for livings in Wylye deanery. In 1806
it was augmented by £200 from Queen Anne's
Bounty and £200 from private donations. (fn. 260) The
money was used in 1814 to buy 8 a. in Beckington (Som.), (fn. 261) and at inclosure in the same year
most of the vicar's tithes were replaced by 241
a. in Tilshead. (fn. 262) In 1830 his income, c. £200, (fn. 263)
was still below average. The remaining tithes,
from the windmill, were replaced in 1853 by a
rent charge of £1 1s. (fn. 264) In 1911 the War Department bought 78 a. of the glebe, and in 1912 a
further 157 a. were sold. (fn. 265) The vicar had a house
from 1319, (fn. 266) in the late 16th century a thatched
house of perhaps three rooms. (fn. 267) A vicarage house
of red brick was built in the early 1820s southwest of the church: (fn. 268) it was sold and a new house
was built in High Street c. 1972. (fn. 269)
John Hobbes, vicar 1529–75, (fn. 270) was presented for
not preaching all the quarter sermons in 1553; the
communion table then lacked a covering. (fn. 271) In 1646
the vicar Richard Foote was said to have deserted
his cure and was replaced by Robert Sharpe,
whose constancy in preaching was commended in
1650. (fn. 272) In the later 18th century and the early 19th
successive vicars were evidently non-resident pluralists, and curates served the church. In 1783 the
curate, Thomas Davies, lived at Chitterne All
Saints and served three cures. At Tilshead he held
one service on Sundays and celebrated communion at Christmas, Easter, Whitsun, and
Michaelmas, but held no other weekday service. (fn. 273)
Henry Gauntlett, a prominent supporter of the
Anglican evangelical revival, was curate from 1786
until c. 1800. (fn. 274) J. H. Johnson became curate c. 1824
and was vicar from 1837 until 1884. He oversaw,
as curate, the building of a new vicarage house and,
as incumbent, the building of a new glebe farmhouse and the restoration of the church, for which
he made some stone carvings and coloured and
fired most of the stained glass windows. He also
prepared and produced in the vicarage house
engravings to illustrate leaflets appealing for
church funds and was an early photographer. (fn. 275)
Each Sunday in 1864 he held either a morning or
afternoon service and an evening service with a
sermon. Services were held on all red-letter days,
with an average attendance of 30; additional services held on winter Wednesday evenings, at which
Johnson preached, had congregations of c. 60.
Communion was celebrated at Christmas and
Easter, on Ascension day, and on Whit and Trinity
Sundays. (fn. 276) From 1966 until 1971 Tilshead was
held in plurality with the benefices of Orcheston
St. Mary and Orcheston St. George. (fn. 277) A chapel
had been opened at West Down camp by 1982 (fn. 278)
and remained in use in 1991. (fn. 279) In 1687 Hugh Cox
gave by will the income from £10 for a sermon on
Ascension day. The endowment had been lost by
the early 20th century. (fn. 280)
A tradition that the early invocation of Tilshead church was of St. James is unsupported by
evidence beyond the holding in the early 20th
century of a feast or fair on or about St. James's
day, 25 July. (fn. 281) A suggestion that the invocation
was altered to ST. THOMAS A BECKET
when the church was given to Ivychurch priory
receives some support from the tradition that the
saint was connected with the priory. (fn. 282) The dedication is first recorded in 1763. (fn. 283) The church is built
of flint rubble and ashlar: some of the walls are
chequered. It has a chancel, a central tower with
north vestry, and an aisled and clerestoried nave
with south porch. (fn. 284) The foundations of a south
transept which were seen in 1846 (fn. 285) suggest that the
church was cruciform. The nave arcades and the
responds of the tower arches are early 12th-century.
The nave was then built or rebuilt with narrow aisles
and no clerestory. In the 13th century the chancel
was rebuilt or, more likely, lengthened, the upper
part of the tower was built, and the south aisle was
altered. The porch may have been built in the 14th
century, and the clerestory was probably made in
the early 16th when hood moulds were constructed
over the windows in the north aisle. Extensive
repairs took place in the 17th and 18th centuries. In
1845–6, to designs by T. H. Wyatt and D. Brandon,
west and south galleries were removed from the
nave, the narrow north aisle was replaced by one as
wide as the nave, the vestry was built, and buttresses
and a parapet were added to the south aisle and
buttresses to the chancel. (fn. 286) The triple lancet east
window in the chancel (fn. 287) was then replaced by one
in 15th-century style. The roof was repaired in 1904,
with timbers from the windmill, and in 1965. (fn. 288)
In 1553 plate weighing 15 oz. was confiscated
from the church, and a chalice of 9½ oz. was left.
A cup and cover of 1787, perhaps incorporating
part of an earlier cup, and a flagon of 1885
belonged to the church in 1991. (fn. 289) Three bells
cast in 1764 by Thomas Bilbie, presumably to
replace the three at Tilshead in 1553, hung in
the church in 1991. (fn. 290) Registers of baptisms,
marriages, and burials survive from 1664. (fn. 291)
Nonconformity.
There was one dissenter in Tilshead in 1676, (fn. 292) none in 1783. (fn. 293) In
1801 a house was certified for Independent
meetings: houses certified in 1816 and 1818 were
probably also used by Independents. (fn. 294) In 1851
a Baptist church or meeting was begun (fn. 295) but in
1864 there was no regular meeting in the village
and only two professed dissenters: they, and
presumably others, attended occasional sermons
given in a cottage. (fn. 296) A small plain brick Baptist
chapel, built in 1882, (fn. 297) was open in 1991.
Education.
A boarding school opened at
Tilshead in the mid 18th century had 63 pupils
in 1779; they included Henry Hunt, the radical
politician of the early 19th century. (fn. 298) The school
was called Tilshead academy in 1819, (fn. 299) apparently flourished c. 1825, (fn. 300) may have had only 6
pupils in 1833, (fn. 301) and was probably closed soon
afterwards.
In 1833 there were two day schools in the parish,
with a total of 37 pupils. (fn. 302) A National school, on
a site south of the church given in 1841, (fn. 303) had
between 30 and 40 pupils in 1859. Three or four
boys from Tilshead then attended Shrewton
school. (fn. 304) A new school built north of the church
c. 1905 (fn. 305) was attended by c. 80 children in
1908–9, 50 in 1935–6, (fn. 306) and c. 28 in 1991. (fn. 307)
Charities for the poor.
Rents from
two cottages built in Tilshead after the flood of
1841 formed part of an endowment to provide
fuel and clothing for the poor of parishes affected
by the flood. Tilshead was entitled to a seventh
of the income, c. £7 in 1901 when it was used
to provide sheets for 45 people. (fn. 308) In the mid 20th
century most of the income was used to maintain
the cottages: (fn. 309) in 1991 it was proposed to convert
them to almshouses. (fn. 310)
By will proved 1876 John Parham gave the
income from £200 to buy blankets for the poor
of Tilshead. Little of the income was spent
before 1899: from then c. £6 a year was spent
on blankets until 1939. Thereafter no distribution was made until 1960 when money was
given. In 1990 four beneficiaries received £5
each. (fn. 311)