TICHBORNE
The parish of Tichborne, containing 3,049 acres
of land, rises from north to south from the valley
through which the River Itchen wanders to the high
downland rising in the far south, and stretches down
to the borders of Morestead and Owslebury.
As the two main roads from Winchester to New
Alresford, the one coming through the Worthies and
Itchen Abbas, and the other over Magdalen Hill and
through Avington and Ovington, meet about a mile
from New Alresford, a branch road turns off south
towards Tichborne, and following the course of the
River Itchen, which runs through the meadows on the
east, leads circuitously to the picturesque village.
Along the east side of the road, which now begins
to leave the river, are the grounds of Tichborne House
sloping up from the river to the east, while on the
west side are thatched cottages and farm buildings,
behind which the ground rises up to the squaretowered church of St. Andrew, which can be seen from
the entrance to the village standing on high ground
to the west. Beyond the first group of cottages,
having passed Tichborne House, which stands close
down by the river on the east, the road makes a still
greater divergence from the river, turning uphill to the
south-west. Here on the left up the hill is the low
thatched 'Tichborne Arms,' opposite which is a group
of four half-timbered thatched cottages, the first one
being the village post-office, perhaps one of the most
picturesque cottages in the district. Beyond these is
another group round which a rough road curves northwest, crossing the fields into Ovington parish, while the
main road turns south-east, and passing by several
thatched cottages and farm buildings, branches southeast to Sevington Farm and south-west uphill to
Gander Down.
Tichborne House, the seat of Sir Henry Doughty
Tichborne, was built in the beginning of the last
century in place of the old house, which is known to
have existed as early as the time of Henry III. It is
surrounded by a well-wooded park of 116 acres. A
Roman Catholic chapel is attached to the house. In
the south-west corner of the park is a large fish-pond
which is formed by the River Itchen. Vernal Farm,
Goodwin Farm, and the Home Farm lie to the north;
and Grange Farm and Sevington Farm are situated
south of the village. The north-east corner of the
parish is composed of downland called Tichborne
Down, on which lies Tichborne Down Farm. In the
centre of the parish is Gander Down, on the southern
slopes of which stands Gander Down Farm; still
further to the south lie Warren Farm and New Warren
Farm. Altogether there are 1,762¼ acres of permanent
grass as compared with 1,341¾ acres of arable land.
The extreme south of the parish is thickly wooded
country, comprising most of the 281¼ acres of woodland, in the midst of which stand Honeyman Farm and
Longwood Farm.
There is no inclosure award for the parish. The
soil is clay and chalk; the subsoil chalk. The chief
crops are wheat, barley, and oats.
The following place names occur: in 1602 'Wales
and Wickhurst,' (fn. 1) in 1611 'Ewfards,' (fn. 2) and in 1648
'Ruddlersdell, Hasards, Rowdich, and Gorings.' (fn. 3)
MANORS
The descent of the manor of
TICHBORNE is interesting because
it has been held by the Tichborne family
under the bishops of Winchester from the twelfth
century to the present day.
King Edward granted land at
Tichborne to Denewulf, bishop
of Winchester, for three lives
in 909; (fn. 4) Athelstan, however,
did not renew this grant, but
instead gave 25 mansae at
Tichborne to the monks of
St. Peter and St. Paul at Winchester in 938; (fn. 5) and in 964
King Edgar granted Tichborne to Winchester Cathedral. (fn. 6) There is no entry
with regard to Tichborne in Domesday Book; but
it is possible that some of the land at least was
included in Twyford, which was assessed at a very large
amount at the time of the Survey.
Tichborne. Vair a chief or.
Walter de Tichborne held two knights' fees from
Henry, bishop of Winchester, in 1135; and his son
Roger who succeeded him held one and a half fees
from the bishop in 1166. (fn. 7) Bartholomew de Wydehaye
conveyed the manor to John de Tichborne (fn. 8) and his
wife Amice, evidently as a settlement, in 1320; the
reversion was settled on Roger, John's son. (fn. 9)
Roger de Tichborne succeeded his father, and in
1346 was holding one fee in Tichborne which had
belonged to John de Tichborne. (fn. 10) John de Tichborne,
Roger's grandson, held Tichborne in 1428, (fn. 11) and died
seised of the manor in 1499, leaving a son and heir
William. (fn. 12)
Francis Tichborne was holding Tichborne manor
at the time of his death in 1565; before he died he
had settled it on his wife Joan with remainder to his
half-brother Benjamin; (fn. 13) this Joan evidently married
William Page as her second husband, for in 1571
Joan wife of William Page granted her life interest in
Tichborne to Benjamin, (fn. 14) who died in possession of
Tichborne manor in 1631, leaving a son and heir
Richard. (fn. 15)
A few years later, in 1639, Richard Tichborne granted
the manor to his brother Benjamin for the term of his
own life. (fn. 16) After the death of Richard the estate, heavily
burdened with debt, (fn. 17) passed to his son Sir Henry,
who held it until his death in 1689. (fn. 18)
He was succeeded by his son Henry, who made a
settlement of Tichborne manor in 1718. (fn. 19) Henry
died in 1743 without male heirs, and the Tichborne
estates passed to a cousin, Henry Tichborne of
Frimley, (fn. 20) who held it until 1778. (fn. 21)
From 1778 until the present day the manor of
Tichborne has remained in the same family; the
present lord of the manor being Sir Henry A. J.
Doughty Tichborne, of Tichborne Park.
Among the appurtenances belonging to Tichborne
manor in 1654 were a water-mill, free warren, and
free fishery in the waters of Tichborne; (fn. 22) and again
in 1717, when Sir Henry Tichborne held the manor
of Tichborne, free fishery and free warren are
mentioned. (fn. 23)
At the present day there seems to be no trace of a
water-mill in Tichborne.
CHURCH
The church of ST. ANDREW, on the
higher ground north-west of the village,
is prettily situated in a churchyard with
an eastward fall, commanding a beautiful view over
the valley. There is a fine yew tree in the southwest of the churchyard. The church has a chancel
16 ft. by 11 ft. 8 in., nave 29 ft. by 17 ft. 6 in.,
with north aisle 10 ft. wide, south aisle 7 ft. 9 in.
wide, south porch and west tower.
The chancel is an interesting piece of early building,
probably belonging to the middle of the eleventh
century. It has pilaster strips at the eastern angles,
and in the centres of the north, south, and east walls
of Binstead stone in regular courses, and much wider
than the ordinary type of pre-Conquest pilaster, those
at the angles being nearly 2 ft. wide on each face,
and the others 13 in. Their projection from the
wall face, which is of thickly plastered flint rubble, is
2½ to 3 in. The original east window of the chancel
has been replaced by one of three lights with net
tracery, c. 1330, but in the north-east and south-east
are single round-headed lights, double splayed, with a
central stone slab pierced with a narrow round-headed
opening, the masonry being well and accurately
worked, with none of the roughness characteristic of
work of the end of the eleventh century.
The original chancel arch, which was doubtless
narrow, has been removed, and the wall above is now
carried by a plain pointed arch of the full width of
the chancel, perhaps of fourteenth-century date, and
contemporary with the east window. The roof, which
is hidden by a canted plaster ceiling, has a moulded
wall plate of fourteenth-century detail, and is probably
of the same date.
The nave, though having no features like those in
the chancel, probably preserves its eleventh-century
plan. In the latter part of the twelfth century a
south aisle was added to it, and plain-pointed arches
of a single order, with a central octagonal pier, were
cut through the wall. In the north wall similar
arches, probably of later date, but without any detail
of a decisive character, open to the north aisle, which
is the chapel of the Tichborne family, and is inclosed
by modern cast-iron railings. It has a square-headed
east window of three lights with engaged nook-shafts
in the jambs, of early fourteenth-century date, but
much modernized, having a stone image bracket to
the north of it, and a piscina with projecting bowl on
the south. Below is a seventeenth-century altar, with
a thick wooden slab, moulded on the front and sides.
The roof is of seventeenth-century date, and there is
a small north doorway. The south aisle has a twolight window at the east, originally of fourteenthcentury date, but with the west and two south
windows here it is much modernized. The south
door and porch are also of eighteenth-century date,
and the red-brick west tower is dated 1703 on a castiron slab let into its south face, on which is also a
modern sundial.
On the outer face of the east gable of the nave two
blocked pointed arches are to be seen, which may
have held bells, like those at Chilcomb. In the west
face of the east respond of the south arcade is the
doorway to the rood stair, which is continued in the
thickness of the wall; the door itself is probably
original, and of fifteenth-century date.
The font at the west end of the south aisle has
a large bowl originally octagonal, but cut back to
circular form; it is ancient but of uncertain date,
and stands on a modern shaft and a plastered brick
base. In the nave are some good seventeenth-century
pews, with the Tichborne arms on those at the southeast, and the Tichborne chapel contains several monuments of the family, the oldest being a brass plate to
Anne wife of Richard Tichborne, 1519. Against the
north wall is a fine alabaster monument to Sir Benjamin Tichborne, 1621, and Amphillis, his wife, with
their effigies in alabaster and figures of four sons and
three daughters on the panelled base. Above are the
Tichborne arms quartering Azure three bars wavy
argent (Martin); Gules a saltire between four boars'
heads or (de Racke); and Party gules and sable a
crosslet fitchy between four fleurs de lis or (Rythe).
To the west is the monument of Richard son of
Sir Richard Tichborne, 1619, and there are others of
later date, several hatchments, a helm and a bracket
for carrying a helm.
There are six bells, the treble and tenor by Thomas
Mears, 1799 and 1798, the second, third, and fifth by
Richard Phelps, 1737, and the fourth by Warner, 1887.
The plate consists of a cup of 1569 with cover
paten of 1567, with a band of ornament at the lip
and three scrolls below it; a paten of 1874, two
glass cruets, one of which is silver-mounted, and a
plated dish given 1859.
The earliest register book, dated 1704, contains an
entry of 1667 and one of 1670, and runs to 1812,
with marriages to 1744. The second book is the
marriage register 1754–1813.
ADVOWSON
The chapel of St. Andrew at
Tichborne is annexed to Cheriton,
and the descent of the advowson,
therefore, is the same as that of Cheriton rectory
(q.v.).
The joint net yearly value of the living is £530,
with 150 acres of glebe, now in the gift of the crown.
There was also a chapel belonging to the manor in
the sixteenth century, (fn. 24) and at the present day there
is a Roman Catholic chapel attached to Tichborne
House, with a chaplain and missionary priest.
The chapel of Tichborne is reputed to have been
the scene of one of Henry VIII's marriages.
A chantry was founded in the manorial chapel of
Tichborne by Roger Tichborne, son and heir of John
Tichborne, 'to the intent to have a priest to celebrate and do the divine service in the chapel of
Tichborne, and to have for his stipend yearly £4 out
of the manor of Bromden in the county of Southampton, which manor is parcel of Maudelyn College in
Oxford.' (fn. 25)
It was described as 'within a chapel situated within
the manor place of Tichborne a quarter of a mile
from the parish church,' (fn. 26) and was maintained at the
cost of the Tichborne family. (fn. 27)
The chapel of Monk Sherborne held some land
belonging to the Tichborne chantry; the profits of
which 'the warden of the Queen's College in Oxford
receiveth, yet by what right it is unknown.' (fn. 28)