FARLINGTON
Ferlingeton (xi cent.); Farlington (xviii cent.)
Farlington is a parish running northwards from
Langstone Harbour with a nearly uniform width of
about a mile and a quarter, its extreme length being
a little over four miles. The parish included in
1831 the villages of Purbrook, Portsdown, Stakes Hill
or Frendstaple, and part of Waterlooville called
'Wait Lane End' on the north side of Portsdown
Hill, and the hamlet of Drayton, a mile west on the
south.
In the south of the parish is the low-lying expanse
of Farlington Marshes, from which the ground rises
gradually to the foot of the range of Portsdown,
beyond which to the north is the well-wooded
country of Purbrook, Stakes Hill, and Waterloo,
which once formed part of the Forest of Bere. The
parish is crossed about midway by a road which runs
along the downs between the villages of Portsdown
and Bedhampton at a height of 300 ft. above the
sea-level. Parallel to it at the base of Portsdown
runs the main road from Portsmouth to Havant,
along which lie the hamlets of Drayton and Farlington, the former at the western extremity of the
parish and the latter about half a mile to the east.
The church and rectory, with Farlington House,
the residence of Mr. Robert Edgcumbe Hellyer, and
one or two houses to the south of the road, make up
the whole of Farlington village.
To the south of the road between Drayton and
Farlington are the Borough of Portsmouth Waterworks, while to the north on the slopes of Portsdown
are large reservoirs belonging to the waterworks
company. These are used in conjunction with
Havant for supplying the forts on Portsdown and
the towns of Portsmouth, Portsea, and Southsea.
There is a race - course south of the waterworks
between Drayton and Farlington Marshes, and
meetings are held there under the National Hunt
Rules. There is a station near it which is a junction
for the London and South-Western and the London
Brighton and South Coast railways. Fort Purbrook
and Farlington Redoubt are situated in this parish on
Portsdown.
The hamlet of Drayton is now gradually developing into a residential locality. To the north of the
road immediately past the New Inn is the Drayton
building estate, on which new villas are rising steadily.
South of the road is Drayton Manor, the residence
of Lieut.-Col. Alfred Robert William Thistlethwayte,
approached from the main road by Drayton Lane.
The village of Purbrook in the north-west of the
parish lies on the London and Portsmouth road, and
is surrounded by small copses and woods which once
formed part of the Forest of Bere. Along the main
street of the village, which is composed of a few houses
and inns, among them the 'White Hart,' the 'Leopard,'
and the 'Woodman,' runs the Cosham and Horndean
light railway. The church of St. John the Baptist,
built in the last century, stands opposite the junction
of Chalky Road with the High Street. On one side of
it are the schools, and on the other the Primitive
Methodist Chapel erected in 1875. Purbrook
Heath House, the residence of Mr. Thomas William
Harvey, stands to the west of the village on the
borders of the parish of Cosham. Purbrook Park,
the property of Mr. William Deverell, and the
residence of Major Henry Gundry, is about eighty
acres in extent, and through it runs the stream which
gives the village its name. The Portsmouth and
South Hants Industrial School, a rather gloomy-looking building, stands to the south of Stakes on
the Stakes Hill road. To the east of Purbrook is
Morelands, the residence of General Sir John William
Collman Williams, K.C.B., J.P., and near it a lane
leads to Crookhorn farm, probably the remains of the
small manor of Creuquer in Farlington.
The village of Portsdown, also in this parish, lies
on the main road from London to Portsmouth, one
and a half miles north by east from Cosham Station
and four miles north by east from Portsmouth. On
the northern slope of Portsdown to the east of the
road is Christ Church, built in 1874, and opposite to
it is Portsdown Lodge, at present unoccupied. To
the south on the summit of Portsdown are the
George Inn and the Bellevue Tea Gardens.
Stakes Hill or Frendstaple, as it was formerly called,
once the site of a small manor, is now a hamlet in
the northern part of the parish, about a mile southeast of Waterlooville, and is surrounded by woods
known as Stakes Hill Coppice. Stakes Hill Lodge,
with 400 acres of well-wooded land attached, is the
residence of Mr. John Henville Hulbert, while Oaklands, a fine house half a mile to the south, is at
present unoccupied.
Waterlooville, a modern settlement, as its name
implies, lies on the London and Portsmouth road
about three miles north of Cosham, traversed by the
Cosham and Horndean light railway, and provided
with numerous inns, including one with the appropriate name of the 'Heroes of Waterloo.' The church
of St. George, built in the early part of the nineteenth century, stands to the north of the road to
Barn Green on the borders of the parishes of Cosham
and Farlington, and in the main street is the Baptist
Chapel, erected in 1884–5.
The soil varies a good deal; there is a mixture of
clay, sand, and loam along the southern part of the
downs; the subsoil is flint and chalk. The area of
the parish is 2,389 acres of land, 10 acres of water,
56 of tidal water, and 535 of foreshore. Of the
land 878½ acres are arable, 1,205¼ acres permanent
grass, and 206¾ acres woodland. (fn. 1) In Waterloo there
are 32 acres of arable land, 125½ acres of permanent
grass, and 206¾ acres of woodland. The soil around
Waterloo is clay, with a clay subsoil.
MANORS
FARLINGTON seems originally to have
been a royal manor, lands in which were
leased out by the king to various tenants.
On his death in 1312 John de Berewyk is said to
have held the manor of Robert le Ewer, (fn. 2) who was
probably the tenant-in-chief.
William de Curci was holding land in Farlington
in 1187 (fn. 3) ; and in 1200 a suit concerning the presentation to the church was in progress between
Robert de Curci and Roger de Scures, the latter
claiming that Robert, uncle of Robert de Curci, had
given one moiety of Farlington to his father William,
and the other to his uncle Roger, sons of Walter de
Scures, and that he, Roger, ought therefore to have
the whole manor, as heir of his father and uncle. (fn. 4)
Unfortunately it seems impossible to find the termination to this suit.
In 1248 Roger de Merlay granted one and a half
carucates of land and 7s. rent in Farlington to William
son of Alan Stake and his wife Ellen, for which and
for another tenement (fn. 5) William rendered yearly a pair
of gilt spurs or 6d. at the feast of St. Michael. (fn. 6)
Roger de Merlay also gave £20 worth of land in
Farlington as a dower to his daughter Alice or Agnes
on her marriage with Nicholas son of Thomas de
Gimises in 1250, (fn. 7) and by 1286 she was evidently in
possession of the manorial lands, which she sought to
regain from the king's hands for her default against
Hugh de Turbevill. (fn. 8) Agnes evidently gained her suit,
and the lands passed from her to her son John, who
alienated them to John de Berewyk in 1290. (fn. 9) John
de Berewyk died seised of the manor in 1312. His
heir was Roger Husee, his great-nephew; but Roger
de Upton, servant of John de Berewyk, claimed to
possess a charter granting the manor to him and his
wife and their son John, and since Roger Husee made
no claim after his uncle's death, he took possession of
the manor, which he held in 1316. (fn. 10) John son of
Roger de Upton succeeded his father, and conveyed
the manor to Hugh le Despenser in 1320. (fn. 11)
After the death of Hugh le Despenser in 1327,
and the forfeiture of his lands, the king granted the
manor of Farlington, worth £20 a year, (fn. 12) to Alice
late wife of Edmund earl of Arundel, for the support
of herself and her children until other provision was
made for her. (fn. 13) Alice only held the manor for a
short time, for by 1330 it had come into the king's
hands, and was granted to John Montgomerie and his
wife Rose for life. (fn. 14) On the death of John Montgomerie in 1347, (fn. 15) the manor passed, in the next
year, to the prior and convent of Southwick (fn. 16) in
accordance with a grant made to them in 1346 in
consideration of the losses which they had sustained
through the invasion of the king's enemies. (fn. 17) The
manor remained in the possession of the prior and
convent until the Dissolution, (fn. 18) when it was granted,
in 1540, to William Pound of Beaumonds, (fn. 19) whose
father William, son of Sir John Pound and Elizabeth
Holt, had held lands in Farlington of the prior and
convent of Southwick, and had left the same to his
younger son on his death in 1525. (fn. 20) William died
seised of the manor in 1558, and was succeeded by his
son Thomas, then aged twenty. (fn. 21)
In 1663 the Pounds were still holding the manor,
for in that year Henry Pound conveyed it to John
Wolfe, (fn. 22) and again in 1684 to Nathaniel Hunt, (fn. 23)
evidently as settlements. Henry Pound must have
sold the manor about 1684 to Thomas Smith, and it
remained in his family until 1769, when it was sold
by the trustees to Peter Taylor. (fn. 24) In 1815 the manor
was sold by the trustees of the Taylor's estates to Lord
Keith by a private Act of Parliament. (fn. 25) Lord Keith
sold the estate to Mr. John Walker in 1818, from
whose trustees it was purchased by Mr. John Deverell
in 1857. (fn. 26) At Mr. John Deverell's death in 1880
the manor passed to his son, Mr. William Deverell,
the present owner. (fn. 27) At the time of the Dissolution
10s. was returned for the farm of a fishing in the
manor of Farlington. (fn. 28)
In 1316 Thomas de Sandford and John Beaumond
were holding lands in Drayton in Farlington (fn. 29) ; and
the lands of the latter may possibly have been the
tithing of BEAUMONDS (Bemonds, Bermonds)
reputed a manor in the sixteenth century.
There seems to be no separate record, however, of
the property until the year 1511, when Elizabeth
Pound died seised of part of the manor of Beaumonds in 1511, being succeeded by her son and heir
William, then aged thirty-seven. (fn. 30) From this date
the descent of Beaumonds follows that of the manor
of Farlington (q.v.).
Until the beginning of the fourteenth century the
descent of the manor of CREUQUER (Creuker xiv
cent.) is the same as that of the manor of Farlington
(q.v.). Upon the death of John de Berewyk in
1312, and the failure of Roger Husee to claim his
inheritance, (fn. 31) the manor returned to John de Gimises,
and being forfeited for his felony (fn. 32) was granted in
1217 to Hugh le Despenser for life, (fn. 33) and after this
date it again followed the descent of the manor of
Farlington (q.v.).
The earliest mention of DRAYTON (Dreton xiv
cent.) in Farlington seems to be in the year 1250,
when Henry III gave a moiety of the land there to
Roger de Merlay (fn. 34) ; and between 1250 and 1271 he
seems to have given the remaining lands to Richard de
Sandford. (fn. 35) Roger de Merlay apparently gave his
share in the lands which only amounted to four acres
to Ralph atte Brigge from whom they passed to
Henry Wade by fine. (fn. 36)
Richard de Sandford died seised of twelve acres of
land in Drayton in 1289 of the gift of the king, and
the lands passed to his son and heir Thomas. (fn. 37) Henry
Wade (fn. 38) granted his share in Drayton also to Thomas
de Sandford in 1303 by fine (fn. 39) ; so that Thomas
became possessed of the whole estate. Thomas de
Sandford still held Drayton in 1316 (fn. 40) ; and died
seised of lands and rent there in 1327. (fn. 41)
Licence was granted to Richard de Sandford, son
of Thomas, in 1327 to enfeoff Laurence de Pageham
of two messuages, lands, and rent in Drayton; and in
the same year Richard died in possession of lands in
Drayton. (fn. 42) Laurence de Pageham held the eighth
part of a knight's fee in Drayton in 1346, (fn. 43) and died
in 1361 seised of Drayton, for the first time described
as a manor, which he held by the service of finding a
man in time of war to guard the east gate of the
castle of Portchester for fifteen days. Drayton passed
to his grandson and heir John, then aged only six
months. (fn. 44) John Pageham died in possession in 1389
and was succeeded by his son John who was only two
years old. (fn. 45) This John died in 1399 a minor in the
king's wardship; his heir was his brother William
who was twenty-one in 1411. (fn. 46)
William Pageham held Drayton at the time of his
death in 1322, when he left a son Philip aged six, (fn. 47)
who died seised of the manor held of the king in
1442. His heir was Geoffrey Borrard his cousin,
son of Parnel daughter of Laurence Pageham. (fn. 48)
Between 1442 and 1476 Geoffrey Borrard or his
heirs must have conveyed the manor of Drayton to
the Pounds, for Thomas Pound died seised of it in
1476, leaving a son and heir John, aged thirty. (fn. 49)
Drayton was still in the hands of the Pounds in 1542,
for in that year Anthony Pound the grandson of John
Pound (fn. 50) conveyed it to William Wayte. (fn. 51) Anthony
evidently gave the manor to his daughter Honora on
her marriage with Henry earl of Sussex (fn. 52) ; and in
1593 Henry Radcliffe died seised of the manor, which
he held jointly with his wife,
leaving a son Robert, aged
twenty. (fn. 53) Robert earl of
Sussex conveyed it to Richard
Garth in 1592, in whose
family it remained for about
forty years. (fn. 54) Robert Garth,
Richard's son, died seised of it
in 1613, his brother George
being his heir. (fn. 55) Richard,
probably the son of George
Garth, was in possession of
Drayton in 1629 (fn. 56) ; and died
seised of the manor leaving a
son George by his wife Dorothy; and by his wife Beatrice,
who survived him, two sons,
Thomas and William. (fn. 57) The
later descent of Drayton seems to be the same as
that of the manor of Farlington (q.v.).
Pound of Drayton. Argent a fesse gules with three molets argent there-on between two dragons' heads sable cut off at the neck in the chief and a cross formy fitchy sable in the foot.
The descent of FRENDSTAPLE or STAKES
follows that of Farlington manor down to the year
1480, but after that date it passed into the hands of
the Gunters. William Gunter, brother and heir of
John Gunter of Rakton, Sussex, released his rights in
Frendstaple to Thomas Lovell and others in 1480,
probably for a settlement, (fn. 58) for we find Arthur
Gunter holding Frendstaple in 1575. (fn. 59) George
Gunter and Mary Lady Gunter his wife were in
possession of it in 1624 (fn. 60) ; and from them it passed to
their son Arthur who died seised in 1637. (fn. 61) Arthur
was succeeded by his sister Mary Drewry his heir, who
died two years later; her heirs were her cousins
Thomas Bickley, Constance Brigham, and Elizabeth
Lewes. (fn. 62)
After this date no further mention of Frendstaple
or Stakes has been found until 1820, when Stakes
Farm was purchased by Mr. William Taylor for
£5,020; and the hamlet of Stakes Hill by Mr. John
Hulbert for £1,200. (fn. 63) Stakes Hill is now a hamlet
in the parish of Farlington about a mile south-east of
Waterloo, and is still owned by the Hulbert family,
Mr. J. H. Hulbert of Stakes Hill Lodge being the
present owner.
CHURCHES
The church of ST. ANDREW,
FARLINGTON, consists of chancel
with north vestry, and nave with
north aisle and west bell-cot. It is almost entirely
modern, the chancel having been rebuilt by Street in
1872, and the nave in 1875. The lower part of the
west wall of the nave retains some old masonry, the
jambs of the west window, a single lancet, being
probably of thirteenth-century date, with a dwarf
buttress below its sill.
The chancel is a good example of Street's work, of
thirteenth-century style, with a stone-ribbed vault and
elaborate details and fittings. In the north vestry is
an old piscina, a seventeenth-century altar table, and
a small fourteenth-century coffin lid, with a cross
flory having a ring on the stem. It probably covered
the burial of a heart or some other part of a body
rather than that of a child.
The font, at the west of the nave, has an old
octagonal base, of the fourteenth or fifteenth century.
There is a brass plate in memory of Anthony
Pound, 1547, bearing the arms of Pound; or on a fesse
gules three molets argent; in chief two boars' heads
and in base a cross paty fitchy sable. There are two
bells by Thomas Bartlett of Portsmouth, 1767.
The plate consists of a silver-gilt and jewelled
chalice, paten, and flagon of 1853.
The first book of the registers, of parchment,
contains baptisms and burials 1538–1656, and
marriages to 1647, and the second has baptisms and
marriages from 1654, burials from 1656 to 1718,
and entries on paper beginning in 1721 of marriages
to 1750 and burials to 1792. The third book is the
printed marriage register, 1754–1812, and the fourth
begins with copies of the entries of baptisms from
1766 to 1792, the originals having been damaged by
damp, and combines the baptisms and burials to
1812. The tithe map of 1839 is preserved at the
rectory.
The church of ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST,
PURBROOK, is of flint with stone dressings in the
Decorated style, consisting of chancel, nave, south aisle,
vestry, south porch, and western tower. The register
dates from 1858.
The church of ST. GEORGE, WATERLOOVILLE, is of brick, faced with rough-cast, consisting
of apsidal chancel, nave, aisle, and small embattled
western tower containing one bell. The register
dates from 1836.
ADVOWSON
The earliest mention of a church at
Farlington seems to be in the year
1200, when there was a suit between
Robert de Curci and Roger de Scures concerning the
presentation to the church of St. Andrew at Farlington. (fn. 64) In 1231 the church was served by a chaplain
of Philip de Albini and was in need of repairs. (fn. 65)
The rectory of Farlington was valued in 1291 at
£13 6s. 8d., (fn. 66) and in 1535 it was worth £10 4s. (fn. 67) .
The advowson follows the descent of the manor
until the end of the eighteenth century. (fn. 68) . From
1789 until 1803 Charles Williams was the holder, (fn. 69)
and in 1817 Mr. C. W. Taylor presented. (fn. 70) About
1837 the advowson was bought from the trustees of
the Taylor estates by Mr. E. T. Richards, in whose
family it has remained until the present day. (fn. 71) The
living is a rectory, net yearly value £300, with residence and four acres of glebe.
The advowson of Purbrook church in this parish
is a vicarage in the gift of the rector of Farlington.
The advowson of the church of St. George at
Waterlooville is a vicarage in the hands of the bishop
of Winchester.