TWYFORD
Twyford, one of the most beautiful villages in
Hampshire, often called 'the queen of Hampshire
villages,' is situated on the River Itchen about three
miles south of Winchester, and about a mile distant
from Shawford Station, which is a junction for the
London and South Western and Great Western Railways, both of which run through parts of the parish.
The parish of Twyford is five miles in length and
two miles in breadth, and contains 43 acres of water
and 4,229 acres of land, of which 2,074½ acres are
permanent grass, 1,883 acres arable land and 185½
acres woodland. (fn. 1) Morestead and Owslebury lie on
the east.
Brambridge and Colden Common are in Twyford
and Owslebury civil parishes. The whole of the
north of the parish consists of downlands which
stretch northwards to the foot of St. Catherine's Hill
and are bounded on the east and north-west by the
Roman road, which runs through Chilcomb Without.
Hockley Farm and Down Farm lie under the shelter
of these downs. The River Itchen flows through
the parish of Twyford, forming the western boundary,
and is famous for its trout fishing.
The village of Twyford lies in the west of the
parish; it is long and straggling but very picturesque,
and contains two or three fine houses. On entering
the village from the north, Twyford Lodge, the residence of Mr. Alexander P. Ralli, lies to the right in
the valley of the Itchen, surrounded by beautiful
grounds which slope down to the water's edge.
Further south is Twyford House, a fine mansion built
in the Elizabethan style, in which Dr. Franklin is said to
have written his well-known autobiography while on a
visit to Dr. Jonathan Shipley, then bishop of St. Asaph.
Close to Twyford House stands St. Mary's church
and the vicarage; in the churchyard is a fine yew-tree,
which according to local tradition is between four and
five hundred years old. A little farther down the
village street, surrounded by extensive play-grounds,
stands Twyford School, a large preparatory school for
boys under fifteen. In the centre of the village stands
the institute and reading room, an iron building erected
in 1892. Near to the River Itchen a short distance
below Twyford Bridge is a group of houses called
Seagar's Farm or Seagar's 'buildings,' in which during
1697 Pope received part of his education.
At the southern end of the village lies the old
Manor House Farm, and to the east, surrounded by
wooded grounds, stands Littlebourne House, the residence of Mr. Athol Maudsley. On the edge of this
estate are the remains of a Roman villa.
About three-quarters of a mile to the west stands
Shawford House, once the residence of the Mildmays,
and now the property of Lieut.-Colonel Sir Charles
Edward Frederick, surrounded by beautiful grounds
and a large wooded park which slopes down to the
River Itchen. The estate is almost encircled by
water, the Itchen running along the eastern side, and
a stream from the river to
Itchen Navigation or canal,
on which stands Shawford Mill,
inclosing the southern and
western sides.
Frederick, baronet. Or a chief azure with three doves argent therein.
About a mile south of Twyford is Twyford Moors, the
residence of Mrs. Conway
Shipley. Still further south is
Brambridge House and Park,
once the possession of the
Welles family, and during the
last century the residence of
the Fairbairns. (See Owslebury.) The old house was burnt down in 1872.
The modern house is a long low white building
approached from the east by a double avenue of lime
trees, and situated in a park of about fourteen acres;
the River Itchen flows along the north side of the
park, Brambridge Lock being at the junction of several
of its tributaries. One of the rooms in the old Brambridge House was fitted up as a Roman Catholic
chapel in the latter part of the eighteenth century
by the Smythe family. Later, when the Relief Acts
made it possible, they built a small chapel in the
village, endowed about 1782 by Mrs. Fitzherbert. (fn. 2)
The soil is chalk in the north of the parish, and
loam and clay in the southern part; the subsoil is
chalk. The chief crops are wheat, barley, oats, and
turnips.
Shawford House, Twyford
Twyford Common was inclosed on the 13 December,
1855. (fn. 3)
The following place-names occur: in 1523, 'Jevonesland, Godwynscroft, Germaynelond, and Modyes,' (fn. 4)
and in 1540, 'Blaklond, Medelond, Lokesbridge, and
Coledown Heath.' (fn. 5)
There are certain stones at Twyford lying close to
the River Itchen to the south of the church supposed,
but with little probability, to be druidical remains.
About a mile to the east of Brambridge Park lies the
village of Colden Common, which was formed into a
separate ecclesiastical parish in 1843, with 1,618
acres formerly belonging to the parishes of Twyford
and Owslebury. The church of the Holy Trinity
stands on the borders of the two parishes, and was
only erected in 1844. There is a Bible Christian
chapel in the parish built in 1866.
The chief industry carried on in the village is brickmaking.
MANORS
As early as 964 King Edgar granted
land in Twyford to Winchester Cathedral. (fn. 6) At the time of the Domesday
Survey the bishop himself held Twyford in demesne
as he had always held it; it was assessed at the time
of Edward the Confessor at twenty hides, but in
1086 at only fifteen hides: there were four mills
in Twyford worth £4. (fn. 7) In 1284 the king surrendered
to John, bishop of Winchester, and his successors, all his
right in the manor of Twyford, (fn. 8) and it continued
to belong to the see of Winchester until the middle
of the sixteenth century, (fn. 9) the bishops making grants
of the manor or of land in it from time to time.
When John Poynet was made bishop of Winchester in 1551, he surrendered the manor of
Twyford to the crown in exchange for other lands
(vide Marwell manor), and it was at once granted
by Edward VI to his uncle, Sir Henry Seymour. (fn. 10)
From this time until 1857 the descent of the
manor of Twyford is the same as that of Marwell
in Owslebury parish (q.v.) In 1857 the manor with
land in Owslebury was sold to Mr. Humphrey
Francis St. John Mildmay, from whom it passed to
Mr. Francis B. St. John Mildmay, M.P. for the
Totnes division of Devon, the present lord of the
manor. (fn. 11)
In the grant of the manor to Sir Henry Seymour
in 1551 the bishop's warren of Long Wood, in the
bailiwick of Twyford, was excepted. In 1552–3 John
Williams, who appears to have been granted the
remainder of the non-expired lease of the land held
by the late earl of Southampton, complained that Sir
Henry Seymour had entered a part of his warren,
called Harley in Twyford, and carried off his 'erthes.'
In 1605 Thomas, bishop of Winchester, leased the
warren and lodge to William Brock for the lives of
Anne and Elizabeth, his wife and daughter respectively,
for a yearly rental of £9 6s. 8d. (fn. 12) In 1648 this
warren was sold by the Commissioners for the Sale of
Bishops' Lands to Thomas Hussey for £351 3s. 4d. (fn. 13)
In the Ministers' Accounts for 1323 mention is made
of another park in Twyford called Suthnolnesmed,
the sale of the pasture from which produced 18s. 6d.,
'as all the park was mown in that year.' 19s. 7½d.
was paid in wages to the park keeper at the rate of
1½d. per day. (fn. 14)
At the time of the Domesday Survey there were
four mills in Twyford parish; (fn. 15) and for some time
there are entries in the Court Rolls for the farm of
four mills in Twyford, called 'Cumton Mill,' Schaldeford Mill, Brambridge Mill, and North Twyford
Mill.' (fn. 16)
In 1323 20s. and five eels were paid for the farm
of the mill of Brambridge; 6s. 8d. for the farm of
the mill of Compton that Robert de Shernecombe
held by charter of the lord Henry the bishop;
13s. 4d. and two quarters of barley were received
from the issues of the mill of North Twyford; the
custom of this mill being 8s., and the miller's portion
of the farm 8s.; 5s. was paid for twenty men for two
days to repair part of the mill which was broken by
the watercourse—i.e., each man 1½d. per day. From
Shaldeford Mill, 6s. 8d. and two quarters; three
bushels of barley were received from the issues of the
mill, price per quartern 6s. 8d.; the miller's portion
of the farm was 4s. Total received from all the
mills, 18s. 2¾d. (fn. 17)
When Sir John Seymour died seised of Twyford
manor in 1618 he also possessed a mill called
'Shalford' Mill, (fn. 18) and in 1824 among the appurtenances of Twyford manor, which then belonged to
Dame Jane St. John Mildmay, was a corn-mill at
Shawford. (fn. 19) At the present day there is a water
corn-mill at Shawford, part of which is so old that
it is believed locally to have belonged to the original
mill mentioned in Domesday.
Besides this mill the Seymours and the Mildmays
claimed free fishery and free warren in Twyford. (fn. 20)
The following entries in the Ministers' Accounts
for the year 1323 are of interest. 18s. from men collecting toll from the river; 181 skins of lambs
received for customs; received from the excutors of the
late lord bishop, according to custom, two cart-horses,
10 horses, 38 oxen, 295 sheep, 4 rams, 250 ewes and
181 lambs. Items of expenditure are: iron and
steel bought for five carts, and wages of smith who
repaired the same, 12s.; binding same with iron, 2d.;
shoeing eleven horses, 10s.; wages of carter, 18d.;
wages of two keepers of horses, 4s.; mending two
broken ploughs, 2d. beyond agreement; one quarter
of oats for provender for horses, 4s.; one quarter
of oats for forage for servants, 4s.; one cloth for
dairy, 5½d; ewers and earthern pans, 3d.; two bushels
of salt, 8d.; wages of one keeper of lambs, 2s. (fn. 21) ;
perquisities of the court, £64 17s. At a court held
in 1526 those tenants who had lands on the watercourse of the river of the lord were requested to
clean out their parts before the next term under
penalty of 4s. each. In 1540 it was presented that
the bridge of Fokesbridge was in decay, whereupon
the whole tithing was ordered to repair it by a fixed
date under a penalty of 6s. 8d., the lord supplying
the timber. At the same court the tenants of
North Twyford were requested to mend their hedges
around (fn. 22) fields sown with barley, while those of South
Twyford were to make hedges in 'Golden Lane.'
CHURCHES
The church of OUR LADY,
TWYFORD was rebuilt in 1876–7,
some features of the former building
being re-used in the new work. The present church
consists of a chancel with north-east vestry and north
and south chapels, nave with aisles, and a tower with a
spire at the north-west. The site falls from east to
west, and the chancel is raised considerably above the
nave level, and is fitted with good oak stalls and
screen, and an elaborate reredos. The nave has
arcades of five bays, with painted arches of two orders,
the round columns which carry them, with their
octagonal capitals and moulded bases, being for the
most part of late twelfth-century date; the capitals
are of several different designs, with scallops, flutes, and
foliage. The clearstory above likewise preserves some
old stonework in its square-headed windows of two
trefoiled lights. The east window of the south
chapel is of the fifteenth century with three cinquefoiled lights and tracery over; it was formerly the
east window of the old chancel.
The monuments from the old church have been
relegated to the north chapel, behind the organ, and
are of no particular note, the most interesting being
that of Dulcibella Welles, 1616, of alabaster with a
bowed front, and black marble panel for the inscription.
In the church is hung a plan of the seating made in
1698, showing the front seats on either side of the
nave assigned as the vicar's pew and the churching
pew; the side seats in the back blocks on the north
side are apportioned to 'poor housekeepers,' and those
corresponding to them on the south to their wives.
In the tower are eight bells, the treble and second
by Taylor, 1899; third by Mears, 1833; fourth, fifth,
sixth, and tenor by Lester & Pack, 1766; and
seventh by Chapman, 1780.
The plate, with one exception, is modern, consisting of two chalices and patens, and a flagon; there is
also an old pewter flagon and almsdish. The old
piece is a paten of 1692, given by Mr. Anthony
Leger; it was sold, together with an old communion
cup, some time since, but has fortunately been recovered, though the cup has not.
The first book of the registers runs from 1627 to
1712, and the second from 1713 to 1812, the marriages ceasing in 1754. The third book contains the
burials in woollen 1714–1812, and the fourth is the
printed marriage register, 1754–1812.
The church of HOLY TRINITY, COLDEN
COMMON, built in 1844, is a small building of flint
with stone dressings in Transition style, consisting of
chancel, nave, south porch, and open bell-turret with
one bell. The register dates from 1843.
ADVOWSON
At the time of the Domesday Survey there was a church in Twyford
worth 5s., which was in the possession of the bishop, (fn. 23) and in 1284 the king surrendered
to John, bishop of Winchester, and his successors all his
right in the advowson of this church. (fn. 24) In 1291
Twyford vicarage was assessed at £10, (fn. 25) and in 1535
it was assessed at £14. (fn. 26)
The advowson of the vicarage was in the hands of
the bishop until 1551, (fn. 27) when John Poynet, bishop
of Winchester, gave up all the episcopal manors to the
crown in exchange for a fixed income of 2,000
marks; (fn. 28) and the manor and advowson of Twyford
were at once granted to Sir Henry Seymour the
king's uncle. (fn. 29)
From this time until about 1825 the advowson of
Twyford followed the descent of the manor (q.v.),
which in 1824 was in the possession of the Mildmay
family.
From 1829 until the present day Emmanuel College, Cambridge, has nominated to Twyford vicarage, (fn. 30)
but the St. John Mildmays have presented to the
living. (fn. 31) The rectorial tithes of Twyford were appropriated to the hospital of St. Cross founded by
Bishop Henry of Blois, founded about 1136, (fn. 32) and
after the dissolution of the monasteries passed into the
possession of the lords of the manor. (fn. 33)
The living of Holy Trinity, Colden Common, is a
vicarage, net yearly value £183, with residence and
2 acres of glebe in the alternate gift of the vicar of
Twyford and the vicar of Owslebury.
CHARITIES
In 1780 Richard Wool directed
his executors to lay out £500 in the
public funds, the dividends to be
paid to a schoolmaster for teaching all the poor children of Twyford. The legacy was invested in the
purchase of £877 3s. 10d. consols.
In 1839 Archdeacon Clark (who died in 1841) by
his will bequeathed (subject to the life interest of his
widow, who died in 1871) £1,000 consols, dividends
to be applied towards the support of the school, in
augmentation of the provisions made by Richard
Wool. The legacy, less duty and expenses, was invested
in £896 5s. 3d. consols. The two sums of stock are
held by the Official Trustees of Charitable Funds. (fn. 34)
In 1855, by an award made on the inclosure of
Twyford Down, 4 acres were allotted as a recreation
ground, afterwards sold to the Didcot Railway for
£150, which sum was laid out in 1891 in the purchase of 4 acres in Hazeley Down, about a mile from
the village.
In 1855, by an award, 2 acres were allotted for
garden allotments (subject to a rent-charge of £3 a
year) for the poor of Colden Common. The allotments produce about £8 11s. 6d. a year, which is
applied in maintaining and improving the same. The
rent-charge has been redeemed out of surplus rents.
In 1897 Mrs. Jane Mary Smith-Dampier, by deed,
conveyed to trustees a house and site as a residence for
a nurse for this parish and Compton. See hundred
of Buddlesgate.