CHILCOMB
Ciltecumbe (xi cent.); Chiltecumbe (xiv cent.).
The parish of Chilcomb, chiefly divided into down
and arable land, lies on the eastern outskirts of Winchester and contains 2,667 acres of the sweep of chalk
down country which rises south and east of the city.
Of the whole parish 947½ acres are arable land, 1,131¾
are pasture land, and 3 acres only are woodland.
Owing to the growth of the city over the north-west
corner of the parish on the estate called Highcliff
and on Magdalen Hill after the year 1881, Chilcomb
was in 1894 divided into two civil parishes, Chilcomb
Within being this north-west part, included in the
municipal borough of Winchester, and Chilcomb
Without the rest of the parish (fn. 1) with the addition in
the same year of the rural parts of Milland, St. John,
St. Peter Cheesehill, and Winnall. (fn. 2) In November,
1900, part of Chilcomb Without was annexed to
Chilcomb Within. (fn. 3) Chilcomb Within is necessarily
the most populous corner of the parish, forming quite
a suburb to Winchester, with its new red-brick
houses and shops, and with the recent laying-out of
the 'Highcliff Park Estate' off the Petersfield Road
the houses are extending east to the borders of Chilcomb Without. Owing to the increase of population
and the distance of the old parish church in the
narrow valley away over the downs, the new church
of All Saints was erected and completed in 1891, the
modern rectory was built near by in 1892, and the
schools, given by the bishop of Guildford, in the
next year. While thus Chilcomb Within has become a modernized suburb, Chilcomb village, or as it
is locally called Upper Chilcomb, the nucleus of
Chilcomb Without, remains unchanged, a calm oldworld village.
About half a mile or so from Highcliff a lane
branching south from the main road to Petersfield,
which cuts across the parish, climbing the down-land,
leads through thick luxuriant hedges to the low-lying
village. As the lane approaches the village it joins
with another lane which comes from the south-west
from Winchester and then curves slightly west past
the picturesque outbuildings of Chilcomb Farm
which, lying to the left, mark the beginning of the
village. A few yards beyond the farm the lane forks
south and south-west, the two branches curving to
meet again some yards further on. In the north of
the island so formed by the two lanes are two or three
groups of low thatched and timbered cottages, some
lying back behind typical cottage gardens, while the
old rectory, now a private residence known as
'St. Kilda,' stands in a wide garden almost in the
middle. South of the island the lane rises steeply
southwards to the small church of St. Andrew, which
lies to the left with a background of high down and
woodland, since Beacon Hill rises to the south to a
height of nearly 500 ft. above the sea level.
Skirting this high down-land Chilcomb Lane continues south as a rough pathway to meet the Roman
road from Bishop's Waltham to Winchester on the
southern border line of the parish. From here the
Roman road runs for some distance between the two
parishes, then turning to the north and west enters
Winchester at Bar End. As it turns north a rough
road known as Bull Drove branches off westward
through down-land and arable land to the River
Itchen, and crossing the bridge leads through a shady
lane between the flooded water meadows into Winchester. South of this road rises St Catherine's Hill,
a well-known landmark, encircled by traces of an
ancient fortification, and crowned by a clump of fine
trees (fn. 4) which mark the site of the ancient chapel
dedicated in honour of St. Catherine. This chapel,
once annexed to the rectory of Chilcomb, had been
suppressed before Leland visited Winchester (1536–42).
Thus he says 'Ther was a very fair chapelle of
S. Catarine on an hill scant half a mile without
Winchester town by south. This chapel was endowid with landes. Thomas Wolsey, cardinal, causid
it to be suppressid, as I hard say.' (fn. 5)
On the summit of the hill also, east of the supposed site of the chapel, is a maze which, with the
school song 'Domum,' College tradition ascribes to
the ill-fated Winchester scholar who, having cut the
maze and written the song, died of a broken heart
and pointed a moral against depriving boys of holidays. At least the maze is of some considerable age,
dating back to the early seventeenth century, since
such mazes are of Dutch origin and came to England
with the Stuarts. On the south side of the hill
immediately rising from the narrow valley are the
Twyford Downs, while away to the west over the
Itchen valley and the quiet meadows and village of
St. Cross, with its square-towered Norman church, is
down-land sweeping away to a group of trees silhouetted against the sky line, known as Oliver's
Battery. To the north and west over the stretch of
low-lying water meadows appear the roofs and towers
of Winchester, the square cathedral tower and the
delicately-turreted college tower rising behind a thick
foreground of trees. To the north-east runs the railway bank of the Great Western Railway, east of which
are sweeps of rolling arable land, in the distance the
houses of Chilcomb Within, and rising behind them
St. Giles's Hill, and again stretches of down-land.
Of the other hills in Chilcomb, both St. Giles's
Hill (which is only partly in the parish) and St. Mary
Magdalen Hill (locally known as Magdalen or Morn
Hill) are in the north. The road from New Alresford, cutting through wonderful down-country, rises
steadily over Magdalen Hill, and skirting the northern
slopes of St. Giles's Hill enters Winchester. On the
summit of Magdalen Hill a large group of tumuli
can be seen to the south of the road, while to the
north is the Victoria Hospital for infectious diseases,
behind which is the site of the original hospital of
St. Mary Magdalen. This hospital, founded probably
in the twelfth century, (fn. 6) was used for Dutch prisoners
of war by Charles II, who in 1665 ejected the
master and inmates, obliging them to seek lodgings in
Winchester. The hospital was not pulled down
until 1788, but it had been entirely spoilt and the
inmates never returned. The charity still exists, the
houses now occupied by the recipients being a group
of small, low houses in St. John's parish, Winchester.
Twice in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries Magdalen Hill was the scene of historic incident. Henry de
Blois, bishop of Winchester, went out to meet Empress
Maud on Magdalen Hill 2 March, 1141, and from
thence conducted her into the city in solemn procession. (fn. 7)
In 1214 the downs of Magdalen Hill were the meetingplace of Archbishop Langton and other of the bishops
and clergy with King John, who 'at the sight of
them fell on his knees and shed many tears.' From
thence the king was conducted to the cathedral, though
he could not enter there until he had been absolved. (fn. 8)
The site of the ancient chapel of St. Giles is without the boundaries of Chilcomb parish, which only
contains the southern portion of the hill, including
the site of the celebrated St. Giles's Fair of old days.
The soil of the whole is calcareous loam with a
subsoil of chalk, difficult of cultivation, but producing
most kinds of grain and green crops. Hence the chief
employment of the inhabitants is agriculture, while
the lime works at Bar End and west of the village
of Upper Chilcomb have become quite an industry.
MANORS
Before the time of the Domesday Survey CHILCOMB was the name given to
a large tract of country round Winchester, comprising nearly 100 hides, and called 'the
Hundred Hides of Chilcomb,' (fn. 9) the whole of which
is said to have been granted to the cathedral church
of Winchester by Kinegyls between the years 608
and 634. (fn. 10)
The manor was evidently taken away from the
church afterwards, but was restored about 856 by
Athulf, king of the West Saxons, who also granted a
confirmation of certain privileges to Winchester
Cathedral for the land at Chilcomb, (fn. 11) and land and
privileges alike were confirmed to the church by subsequent kings. (fn. 12) The origin and early history of this
vast estate has been discussed by Professor Maitland,
who rejects as spurious all the royal charters relating
to it earlier than Ethelred's writ, which Kemble accepted as genuine, but the details of which as to the
constituents of Chilcomb the Professor questions. (fn. 13)
At the time of the Domesday Survey Bishop
Walkelin held the manor of 'Barton and Buddlesgate' in Chilcomb, Winnall, Morestead, St. Faith,
Compton, Weeke, Littleton, and Sparsholt (fn. 14) for the
support of the monks of St. Swithun. (fn. 15) Chilcomb
was assessed at one hide with land for sixty-eight
ploughs; seven tenants held land of this hide from
the bishop. (fn. 16) The whole manor of Chilcomb was
valued in the time of Edward the Confessor at
£73 10s.; in 1086 the amount held by the monks
was worth £80, and that held by the tenants £24. (fn. 17)
The manor of Chilcomb, together with many other
manors and lands, was confirmed to the prior and
monks of St. Swithun in 1205, (fn. 18) and again in 1285, (fn. 19)
and remained in their possession until the time of the
Dissolution. (fn. 20)
In 1535 the manor of Chilcomb was included
among the St. Swithun's temporalities, and was
assessed at £48 11s. (fn. 21) Upon the dissolution of the
priory Chilcomb manor was granted to the dean and
chapter of Winchester, (fn. 22) and remained in their hands
until about the year 1893, when it was purchased by
Mr. George Parker of Winchester, the present
owner. (fn. 23)
At the time of the Domesday Survey there were
four mills in Chilcomb worth £4, but there seem to
be no later records concerning them. (fn. 24)
CHURCHES
The church of ST. ANDREW is a
small building with chancel 17 ft. 4 in.
by 13 ft. 6 in., and nave 30 ft. 6 in.
by 17 ft. 8 in., with south porch, and a wooden bell
turret over the west end of the nave. It is a plain
little country church of about 1130–40, standing on
the side of the down above the village, and in its
essential features not much altered from its original
condition. The chancel arch is semicircular of one
square order with chamfered strings at the springing,
ornamented with zigzag on the vertical faces. The
north window of the chancel, a plain, round-headed
light, remains untouched, but on the south is a tall
and narrow thirteenth-century lancet and a squareheaded fifteenth-century window of two cinquefoiled
lights, with a little old white and gold glass in the
heads. The east window, of two square-headed lights
with a quatrefoil over, is probably of no great age in
its present condition, and at the west end of the north
wall is a low-set round-headed opening, now blocked.
At the north-east angle is a plain recess with a pointed
arch, and the chancel arch is filled with a wooden
screen of very rough Gothic design, perhaps of early
seventeenth-century date. In the chancel floor are
some good fifteenth-century glazed tiles with impressed slip patterns of usual types, lions, griffins,
eagles, fleurs-de-lis, &c.
The nave has two small round-headed north windows, with internal rebates, the western of the two
being set higher in the wall than the other, and its
sill cut off by a late mural monument. In the south
wall is a single round-headed window, widened and
modernized, and a plain, round-headed south doorway
of original date. The north doorway is of the same
character, but blocked, all the twelfth-century work
being in Binstead stone.
The west window is of the fifteenth century with
two cinquefoiled lights and a cinquefoil in the head,
and over the chancel arch are two pointed openings
cut square through the gable, which probably held
bells. The walls are of flint rubble, originally plastered over, but now stripped and pointed, the chancel
walls being still plastered, and the roofs are red-tiled,
the nave roof being hipped at the west. On the
south-east quoin of the nave is an incised sundial.
The south porch is modern.
The roofs of nave and chancel are old, with trussed
rafters, as are the main timbers of the bell-turret,
which has weather-boarded sides and a red-tiled roof.
All internal fittings are modern, the font, with a
small bowl on an octagonal shaft, standing on a
marble coffin-lid with a much damaged cross of
fourteenth-century date.
There are two bells, but pits for three, in the
turret. The treble is of 1628, inscribed 'In God is
my hope,' with the founder's initials I H (possibly
for John Higden) and G R on the waist, and the
tenor is a fifteenth-century bell from the Wokingham
foundry bearing the characteristic cross, groat, and
lion's face, but no inscription.
The plate consists of a communion cup and cover
paten of 1569, a paten of 1683 bought with a
bequest of 40s. made in 1680, and a pewter flagon
and two alms dishes. All Saints' church possesses a
silver gilt set of plate, consisting of two chalices, two
patens, and a flagon, of modern date.
The first book of the registers contains all entries,
1556–1798, the second has baptisms and burials, and
the third marriages, 1799–1812.
The modern church of ALL SAINTS already mentioned is of rough flint and brick, in thirteenthcentury style.
ADVOWSON
At the time of the Domesday
Survey there were nine churches in
Chilcomb, seven of which evidently
belonged to the seven smaller manors which were
included in Chilcomb, and the remaining two to
Chilcomb itself. (fn. 25) Of these one became the parish
church, and the other a dependent chapelry attached
to it. In 1284 the king gave up to John bishop of
Winchester and his successor all his right in the
advowson of Chilcomb with the chapel of St. Catherine. (fn. 26)
At the time of Pope Nicholas's taxation the church
of Chilcomb, together with a chapel attached, was
assessed at £6 13s. 4d., (fn. 27) and by 1535 the value of
the rectory of Chilcomb had risen to £10. (fn. 28) At the
same date St. Swithun's prior owned a pension of
£1 6s. 8d. from Chilcomb church. (fn. 29)
In 1657, in accordance with the Act providing
that no living should have a stipend less than £100 a
year, the parishes of Chilcomb and Morestead with
benefices of the value of £60 and £40 respectively
were united for a time under one incumbent, the
presentation being made jointly by the patrons of the
two churches. The services were held alternately at
either church. (fn. 30)
Since 1284 the advowson of the church of St.
Andrew has been in the hands of the bishop of
Winchester. (fn. 31)