ELSTED
Elsted is a large parish of irregular shape containing
1,840 acres, 2½ miles from north to south, with an
average width of 1 mile from east to west. Elsted
station on the Southern Railway is in the north of the
parish and from it Elsted Road leads to the village. The
church, now disused and in ruins except for the chancel, is north of the village near the Manor Farm, and
the parishioners attend services at Treyford.
The highest part of the parish is about a mile south-west of the village at Beacon Hill, where a height of
795 ft. is reached inside a supposed British camp.
Near by also, at Pen Hill, 700 ft. is reached, whereas
Elsted Marsh in the north is less than 150 ft. above sealevel.
The parish abounds in scattered copses and moorland. Mill Pond Bottom may possibly mark the site
of the mill which existed here in 1086; (fn. 1) but there is
no trace of a stream there now and it seems more likely
that the mill was on the stream which divides the parish
from Treyford.
Part of the parish was inclosed under an Act of
1797, (fn. 2) the inclosure then made of 272 acres extending
into the parish of Trotton. (fn. 3)
The village is a small group of buildings south of the
church at cross-roads. A cottage, south of the church
on the east side of the road, has stone walls with brick
dressings and a 17th-century central chimney-shaft of
brick with square pilasters on two faces above the tiled
roof. Another east of it has stone walls with 18thcentury brick angles, &c., and a thatched roof, above
which is a 17th-century chimney-shaft with a square
pilaster on each of its four faces. A third, south of it,
on the south side of the road to Midhurst, has flintrubble walls with early-17th-century brick angles and
window dressings. The roof is thatched and has a plain
chimney-shaft. Almost all the others are probably
post-1700.
MANOR
Osbern, Bishop of Exeter, held ELSTED of King Edward the Confessor, and
the manor remained in his hands after the
Conquest. Of the manor Richard held 1 hide, Osbern
the clerk half a hide, and Ralph the priest 1 hide which
pertained to the church. (fn. 4) In the time of King Edward
the manor was assessed for 13 hides, and in 1086 for
5½. Osbern died in 1103, and Elsted manor passed to
the see of Exeter, the overlordship of the bishops being
recognized until 1421. It was held of the manor of
Chidham by the service of 2 knights' fees. (fn. 5) In 1443
it was not known of whom the manor was held. (fn. 6)
Bartholomew, son of Robert de Elsted, in 1230
granted to the priory of Boxgrove pasture for 7 beasts
in his park of Elsted, (fn. 7) for the salvation of himself and
his wife Clemence. In 1240 Bartholomew conveyed to
Philip de Croft a carucate and 4 virgates in Elsted, with
the advowson of the church, at a rent of 2s. (fn. 8) Philip
was holding 2 fees (fn. 9) at Elsted in 1242 directly of the
Bishop of Exeter. (fn. 10) Hugh de Croft, brother and heir
of Philip, gave his interest in
Elsted with the advowson to the
Prior of Boxgrove, (fn. 11) and this
grant was confirmed by Bartholomew de Elsted. (fn. 12) Bartholomew
died before 1249, when Robert
de Croft agreed to pay to
Clemence, widow of Bartholomew, 1 mark yearly for her life
from half of 3 virgates in Elsted
which Clemence claimed as
dower. (fn. 13)
See of Exeter. Gules a sword in pale surmounted by two keys in saltire or.
At some date previous to
1242 Bartholomew had granted
to John de Gatesden 2 virgates and 3 acres of land
and a rent of 8s. from his demesne land of Elsted, (fn. 14)
and John agreed with the prior that all the land of
Elsted which the prior had acquired from the Crofts
should be held by John in fee tail, with reversion in
default of issue of John to the prior. (fn. 15) The church,
advowson, and tithes of 3 acres were to be held by the
prior. (fn. 16) John also agreed to pay Clemence £10 a year
from Elsted as her dower. (fn. 17) She survived John de
Gatesden and the annuity was confirmed to her by the
king in 1262. (fn. 18) Half a carucate of land in Elsted was
part of the jointure of John's widow Hawise, (fn. 19) but
the manor itself appears to have passed with Trotton
before John de Gatesden's death to his son John, as it
was among his possessions when he died in 1258. (fn. 20)
With the other Gatesden estates, Elsted passed to
Margaret, daughter and heiress of the younger John
de Gatesden. She and her husband John de Camoys
in 1280 recognized the right of the Prior of Boxgrove
to certain land and a mill in Elsted which John de
Gatesden had held for his life by a lease from a former
prior, and 17½ acres in Elsted in the vale of Marden.
They also gave him an acre in Tulonde, and the advowson of the church, while the prior recognized their
right to 22½ acres of land in Kerswell furlong and 3
acres of wood lying to the south of this land. (fn. 21)
Sir John Camoys leased the manor in 1279 for 20
years to Henry Husee of Harting, who paid the rent of
£25 to Queen Eleanor on behalf of Sir John de Camoys.
After Henry's death, though there were 9 years of the
lease yet to run, Sir John entered into the manor, and
took fealty of the tenants. Thereupon Sir William
Paynel, who was then in possession of all the Gatesden
manors, (fn. 22) came to Elsted and chased away Sir John's
servants, until he too was ousted by the subescheator
in the king's name. (fn. 23) In 1329 the Bishop of Exeter
wrote to Sir Ralph Camoys (son of Sir John) stating
that the Prior of Boxgrove claimed that he held the
manor of the bishop and that Sir Ralph was his tenant;
the bishop contradicted the prior's claim and told Sir
Ralph that his service should be rendered to himself as
for 2 knights' fees of his manor of Chidham. (fn. 24)
The manor descended with Trotton (q.v) to the
coheirs of Sir Roger Lewknor, (fn. 25) passing with Didling
to the Mills, (fn. 26) and being sold with it in 1791 to Lord
Robert Spencer. (fn. 27) It was probably purchased at the
same time as Didling by Lord Leconfield who was lord
of the manor in 1876. (fn. 28)
The land is now divided into farms.
Elsted Church
CHURCH
The present church of ST. PAUL
(fn. 29)
(officially a chapel of ease to Treyford)
consists of a single chamber, formerly the
chancel; it is built of stone, repaired in modern times
with brick, and is roofed with tile.
The church mentioned in Domesday Book (fn. 30) seems
to have consisted of a single chamber, to which were
added, soon after, a chancel and a north aisle; in the
13th century the chancel was rebuilt; a south porch
was added in 1662. (fn. 31) In 1872 the church was 'in a
dilapidated condition', (fn. 32) but it was restored in 1873,
at which time, apparently, the aisle was destroyed and
the arcade blocked; (fn. 33) and later the porch was destroyed
and the nave unroofed, though most of its walls still
stand.
The chancel has modern diagonal buttresses at both
east corners, and a pair of plain 13th-century lancets
with pointed rear-arches in the east wall. In the north
wall are two similar lancets; this wall has been faced
with brick in modern times, presumably owing to
settlement of the foundations. In the south wall is a
window consisting of a pair of lancets under a common
rear-arch; west of this is a single lancet like the one
opposite. A moulded string-course runs round the
north, east, and south sides of the chancel. The chancel
arch is semicircular, of one order, with square jambs
and plain imposts, of the 12th century; it is now filled
by modern boarding, in which is the present doorway.
The roof has a single moulded tie-beam with a kingpost, braced all four ways, and a collar purlin; the
rafters and collars are ceiled in plaster.
The ruined nave has modern buttresses at all four
corners. The Sharpe drawing shows that it had in the
south wall a two-light window with segmental arched
head and Perpendicular tracery; this has entirely disappeared and the wall is now only about 5 ft. high.
The east jamb of the south doorway (fn. 34) remains; west
of this the wall has been demolished. The north wall is
intact; like the south and west walls it is built of local
greensand laid herring-bone fashion. The two arches
of the arcade closely resemble the chancel arch, with
which they are coeval; each appears to have been inserted separately. They are now blocked; in the blocking of the eastern one has been inserted a single-light
window with pointed trefoil head, perhaps of the 14th
century; this is probably the former east window of the
aisle. (fn. 35) In the blocking of the western arch is a re-used
doorway with a semicircular head, over this is a short
window, in modern brickwork, resembling the head of
a 13th-century lancet. Against the west respond there
has been re-erected a plain doorway with four-centred
arch head, perhaps the former south doorway. In the
west wall is a two-light window with pointed trefoil
heads and no tracery, perhaps 14th-century. The
Sharpe drawing shows a small timber bell-cote over the
middle of the nave; the bell now hangs from a beam
in the north-west corner of the ruin.
The former north aisle was 9 ft. 10 in. wide internally, and had diagonal buttresses at both corners,
besides two others flanking the north door. (fn. 36) It has
now completely disappeared.
The font and other fittings are modern.
There were two bells in 1864, one without any
inscription, the other, inscribed SANCTE PAULE ORA PRO
NOBIS, by John White of Reading, c. 1520. (fn. 37)
The church plate includes a silver chalice and paten
of 1701, and a flagon of 1692. (fn. 38)
The registers begin in 1571.
ADVOWSON
A church at Elsted is mentioned in
1086, and Ralph the priest held a hide
of land appurtenant to the church. (fn. 39)
As already mentioned, the advowson came into the
hands of Boxgrove Priory in the 13th century. It remained in the possession of the priory until the Dissolution (fn. 40) when it passed to the Crown. The church
was never appropriated, and the rectory, which was
valued at £10 in 1291, (fn. 41) was returned in 1535 as
worth £10 0s. 2d., clear of payments of 6s. 8d. to the
archdeacon and 3s. 2d. to the bishop. (fn. 42)
In 1341 the rector held 4 virgates of arable land and
had pasture for 2 horses and 6 oxen with the lord's
animals and pasture for 100 sheep and pannage for
6 pigs. (fn. 43)
The advowson and rectory were granted in 1560 to
Thomas Reve and Nicholas Pynde, (fn. 44) and in 1579–80
Thomas Dering obtained licence to sell the advowson
to Thomas Hanbery, (fn. 45) who presented in 1598. (fn. 46)
Philip Burton of Magdalen Hall, Oxford, presented in
1618 for that turn, and the Crown in 1625 and 1647. (fn. 47)
Mr. Hutchinson presented in 1672, (fn. 48) and in 1709
the Rev. Charles Hutchinson conveyed the advowson
to John Colebrooke, the younger. (fn. 49) Colebrooke presented in 1718, and Walter Rainstorp in 1739. Robert
Islip was patron in 1773 and 1785, (fn. 50) and in 1800
Walter Islip, clerk, and Mary his wife conveyed the
advowson to Lord Selsey. (fn. 51) After the death of the last
Lord Selsey in 1838 the advowson passed to the Vernon
Harcourt family, from whom it was acquired in 1873
by the Marquess of Clanricarde. (fn. 52) He sold it to James
Turvey, who conveyed it in 1881 to Miss Mary
Dorothy Newton, (fn. 53) who appears to have vested the
advowson in trustees. It was acquired before 1915 by
J. A. S. P. Moffatt, the rector, and was held between
1917 and 1934 by Mrs. Moffatt, shortly after which
date it was conveyed to the Bishop of Chichester. (fn. 54)
The churches of Elsted and Treford were united in
1485, but this arrangement lasted only till 1500. (fn. 55)
The living is now a rectory held with Treyford and
Didling, the church being at Treyford until the latter
was pulled down in 1951, Elsted becoming the church
of the united benefice.
The rectory of Elsted was granted by Henry VIII
to Richard Roberts, the incumbent, who leased it to
Richard Durante of Petersfield, Edmund Ford, and
John Randolf in 1549. This lease came into the hands
of Erasmus Ford. Roberts resigned the living in 1550,
and much bad feeling arose between the new incumbent, John Lewes, and Erasmus on account of the lease.
The latter refused to give John possession of the parsonage house, and when the Court of Requests decreed
that John should have occupation of the fairest chamber in the house, Erasmus refused to give him the hall
or parlour, which had been accounted the parson's
chamber, but wanted him to have the chamber over
the hall. The parties were ordered to meet in London
in 1552 for a settlement, but it is not known whether
agreement was ultimately reached. (fn. 56)