WEST MEON
Menes (xi cent.); Meones (xiii cent.).
The parish of West Meon covers 3,772 acres of
hilly country, through the centre of which the River
Meon runs east to west, while the land rises north and
south from the valley, reaching a height of over 600 ft.
above the ordnance datum in the south and of 500 ft.
in the north near the Three Horseshoes Inn. The
main road from Petersfield to Alton runs through the
parish in a south-westerly direction, and crossing the
main road from Petersfield to Winchester in the north,
close by the George Inn, climbs a ridge and comes
down into the low-lying ground of the Meon valley
to become the main street of the village. Along
a branch road from East Meon which approaches the
village by the river bank from the south-east are
several outlying houses and cottages, including Hall
Farm, Hall Place, and Lynch House, which lie south
of the road and river, and Shaft's Farm which
lies to the north. Following the course of this
road as it cuts across the main road, where the
majority of the houses are grouped, and continues
in a north-westerly direction towards Hinton Ampner, the village schools stand on the left close on
the road. Beyond the schools is the church of
St. John standing on high ground, from which the
land falls away to the Meon valley to rise again beyond the river and become a long sweep of downland
and woodland. Past the church the road goes uphill to Lippen Cottages, with their long trim gardens,
and from here passing through fine woodland it reaches
the high ground north of the parish, from which good
views of the village and of the surrounding country
can be obtained.
West Meon: View in Village
In the centre of the village at the junction of the
two roads is a square piece of ground inclosed by a
railing, in the middle of which is a stone cross surrounded by several seats, and shaded by some fine
trees. A stone slab in front of the cross states that
this ground was given to the West Meon Parish
Council for the use of the parishioners for ever by the
lord of the manor, Henry Johnson, 1898. On the
south face of the cross an inscription tells that another
cross (probably a market cross) originally stood on this
spot, and other inscriptions on the east and west faces
relate that the modern cross was put up in 1901 by
the last surviving of the sixteen children of George
Vining Rogers (1777–1846), for more than forty years
medical practitioner in West Meon, and Mary Anne
Rogers his wife (1783–1873). As the main road goes
downhill from here
past the village inn,
the Congregational
chapel, and the various
groups of houses, shops
and cottages composing the village, it
crosses the river close
by the mill, then turns
sharply west near by
the modern Queen
Victoria Institute,
erected in 1887, to
run parallel with the
river through peaceful
pastoral country to
Warnford parish.
Here also, close by
the smithy, a branch
road turns south-east,
past the rectory and
several outlying cottages, to the railway
station on the Meon
valley line. There is
no inclosure award
for the parish. The
soil is various, the
subsoil chalk. The
chief crops on the
1,192½ acres of arable
land are wheat, barley,
and oats. Of the whole parish 680¾ acres are
permanent grass and 296¾ are woodland.
During the Civil War West Meon was the scene of
several skirmishes previous to the battle of Cheriton
(29 March, 1644). Major-General Brown with the
London Brigade was directed by Waller to take up
quarters at West Meon, three miles from the main
body, on the night of 25 March. There they found,
according to an eye-witness who was with the brigade,
'a partee of the enemies horse . . . which occasioned
some action, though not much considerable.' The
next day, Tuesday, 26 March, continues the narrator,
'we lay still, only our scouts brought in some
prisoners, 6 troops incountring with 16 of the enemies,
put them to flight and brought away 3 of them
prisoners.' The day following the enemy took some
few of their men who 'were straggling from their
colours, and soon after appeared in a great body upon
the hill on the left hand, the Town intending (as some
prisoners confessed) to take us at church, it being the
Fast Day.' However, 'this godly body of Londoners'
had already kept the fast on the Wednesday before
and were therefore 'provided to entertain' the enemy
and drew their forces into a body near the town.
Then marching out 'in the Forlorn-Hope expecting
the enemy every hour to fall upon us' they were
'forced to make a stand a mile or so from the town in
extream danger' till joined by Waller's forces coming
from East Meon. (fn. 1)
A Roman building in Lippen Wood has been excavated in 1905–6, and proved to be of an interesting type. In plan it was a rectangle of 140 ft. by
60 ft., standing nearly north and south. The entrance was by a gateway on the east, opening to a
central courtyard, on the north side of which was the
dwelling-house, and on the south the outbuildings.
The principal rooms in the house were arranged from
east to west on either side of a central hall or corridor
11 ft. wide; at the east end the corridor opened to
two rooms with well-preserved mosaic floors, each
room about 21 ft. by 11 ft. The two largest rooms
flanked the corridor immediately to the south of the
first two, and both were about 20 ft. by 18 ft. 6 in.,
but had lost their flooring. At the north-west angle of
the house was a room with a channelled hypocaust, and
opposite to it, on the south of the corridor, were two
small rooms. A good deal of painted plaster was
found, and the house was evidently one of some importance. The south-west corner of the courtyard was at a
lower level than the rest, and in it were three chambers, two of them apsidal, with pillared hypocausts;
all were probably bath-rooms. The remaining buildings, in the south-east part of the inclosure, were too
fragmentary to be identified. (fn. 2)
MANORS
There are several references in the
Anglo-Saxon Charters to grants of land
'on the river Meon to the king's
thegns and relations'; but it is impossible to identify
any of them with the manor of WEST MEON, which
was held by the bishop in 1086, and which according
to the Domesday Survey had always belonged to the
church. (fn. 3)
The manor of West Meon together with other
manors and lands was confirmed to the prior and
convent of St. Swithun, Winchester, in 1205, (fn. 4) and
by a charter of 1284 John, bishop of Winchester, gave
up for himself and his successors all rights in the manor
saving the right of overlordship. (fn. 5) It was numbered
among the St. Swithun temporalities in 1291, being
assessed at £31 16s. (fn. 6)
West Meon was still in the hands of the prior and
convent at the time of the Dissolution; and it was
then assessed at £65 8s. 2d., more than double its
former value. (fn. 7)
After the Dissolution the manor with the other
possessions of the priory was granted in 1541 to the
dean and chapter of Winchester by Henry VIII (fn. 8) for a
yearly rent of £178 16s. 5½d., (fn. 9) West Meon, together
with four other manors, being charged with the
maintenance of six students in theology at Oxford and
six at Cambridge. (fn. 10) The king, however, compelled
the dean and chapter to surrender the five manors in
1545; and the maintenance for the students ceased. (fn. 11)
In consideration of this surrender Queen Elizabeth in
1567 commuted £18 4s. 9½d. of the annual rent paid
by the bishop, and in 1674 Charles II for the sum of
£2,402 9s. 8d. granted £160 11s. 8d., the residue of
the rent, to George, bishop of
Winchester. (fn. 12) In 1544 West
Meon was granted by letters
patent to Thomas Wriothesley,
earl of Southampton, who died
seised of the manor in 1550,
leaving an infant son, Henry,
aged three years, (fn. 13) who as the
second earl of Southampton
held the manor until his death
in 1581. He was succeeded
by his son Henry, third earl
of Southampton, who died in
1624, leaving a son Thomas. (fn. 14)
Sir Thomas Wriothesley, earl of Southampton, became
one of the most trusted advisers of Charles II, and he
remained in close attendance upon him until his death
in 1667.
Wriothesley. Azure a cross or between four falcons close argent.
Shortly before this time, Sir Thomas, who left no
male heir, must have sold the manor of West Meon to
Thomas Neale, for he was holding it in 1664 (fn. 15) (fn. 16) ; and
in 1677 sold the manor to Isaac Foxcroft. (fn. 17)
Nearly a century later West Meon was still in the
possession of the Foxcroft family; for in 1773 Henry
Foxcroft was holding the manor together with all
lands and tenements in West Meon, free warren and
view of frankpledge. (fn. 18) In the same year, however,
he sold it for the sum of £5,350 (fn. 19) to Charles Rennett,
who was still lord of the manor in 1802. He was
followed by John Dunn, formerly his steward, who
held the manor until the marriage of his only daughter
with Captain Aubertin; and by this marriage West
Meon passed to the Aubertins, from whom it was purchased in 1894 by Mr. Henry G. Johnson, the present
lord of the manor. (fn. 20)
At the time of the Domesday Survey there were
two mills in West Meon, worth 10s. (fn. 21) In 1664 when
Thomas Neale was holding the manor there were
three mills. (fn. 22) In 1301 a grant was made to the
prior and convent of St. Swithun of free warren in
their demesne lands at West Meon. (fn. 23) View of
frankpledge was granted to the dean and chapter of
Winchester in 1542, (fn. 24) and the Foxcrofts held view of
frankpledge and rights of free warren in 1773. (fn. 25)
The reputed manor of HALL PARK in West
Meon is first mentioned in 1550, when it was in the
possession of Thomas Wriothesley, earl of Southampton, who also held the main manor of West
Meon. (fn. 26) Hall Park subsequently followed the
descent of the manor of West Meon (q.v.). A fine
house called Hall Place and Hall Place Farm now
stands on the site of the so-called manor.
The earl of Southampton was also holding the socalled manor of COOMBE at the time of his death
in 1550; (fn. 27) it is always mentioned with West Meon
and follows the descent of that manor (q.v.) until
the end of the eighteenth century, after which no
further record of it has been found. It may possibly
have become amalgamated with the main manor,
though there is no place of this name at the present
day in West Meon; or possibly the tithing of
Coombe, now in West Meon, may mark its site.
In 1677 occurs the first separate mention of the
so-called manor of WOODLANDS, (fn. 28) a name given
to a porton of West Meon manor, with which its
history is identical. It subsequently became merged
in that manor; and its site is now occupied by the
Woodlands estate and farm.
The earliest mention of PUNSHOLT (Punsold,
xiv cent.; Poundesolte, Ponsholt, xvi cent.; Punsholes, Punsalls, xvii cent.) is found in 1341,
when Walter de Ticheborne and his wife Agatha
were holding in right of the latter half the manor
of West Tisted and 40s. rent in Bramdean and
Punsholt. (fn. 29)
Again, in 1511 William Tisted, lord of the manor
of West Tisted, died seised of the reversion of two
tenements, forty acres of land, twenty acres of
pasture, and six acres of woodland in Punsholt which
he held of the priory of St. Swithun as of the manor
of West Meon. (fn. 30) It seems probable therefore that
Punsholt followed the descent of West Tisted (q.v.).
On the death of William Tisted's brother and heir,
Thomas, a few years later, these tenements were
divided among his four sisters and co-heirs and their
descendants. (fn. 31) Three of them sold their shares to
Richard Norton, (fn. 32) whose descendant, Richard Norton,
died seised of the so-called manor or capital messuage
of Punsholt in West Meon and Privett in 1584,
leaving a son and heir, Anthony, (fn. 33) who ten years
later granted three-fourths to his sister, Isabel
Norton. (fn. 34)
Isabel married Thomas Lovedean of East Meon,
and owing to his recusancy two-thirds of his lands
and tenements, including a messuage called Punsholt,
were granted in 1608 for a term of forty-one years (fn. 35)
to John Casewell, Christopher Stubbs, and Thomas
Hutchinson.
On the death of Thomas and Isabel, Punsholt
descended to Anthony Lovedean, on whose death in
1635 it was described as a messuage or tenement,
and a virgate of land in the parish of West Meon
held from Thomas Neale as of his manor of West
Meon by a rent of 26s. 8d. (fn. 36) His heir was his son
Sebastian, aged ten and a half years, who was a
recusant like his grandfather. (fn. 37)
After this the only record concerning Punsholt
seems to be in the year 1791, when Thomas
Marchant and John Marchant and Ann his wife
were holding a moiety of the so-called manor of
Punsholt, which they conveyed to Richard Pratt and
John Greene. (fn. 38)
Punsholt Farm in the north of West Meon parish
now indicates the site of the manor of Punsholt.
CHURCH
The church of ST. JOHN was rebuilt in 1843–6 to the north of the
former church, nothing of the older
building being preserved. It is a fine building in
geometrical style, of carefully faced flint with stone
dressings, and has a chancel with north vestry and
organ chamber, a nave of five bays, with an embattled porch, and a tall western tower. The roofs
are covered with blue slates. The old font was
removed at the rebuilding, and is now in St. Edmund's,
Lombard Street; its successor stands at the west end
of the nave, and is octagonal, of thirteenth-century
design. There are eight bells, six of 1850 and two
of 1897.
The plate includes a set given in 1846, consisting
of two chalices and patens, a larger paten, a flagon
and two alms dishes. There is also a gold dish given
in 1844, and a plated chalice and paten given in
1900.
The first book of the registers contains all entries
from 1542 to 1639, the second runs from 1640 to
1688, the third from 1690 to 1733, the fourth from
1675 to 1733, and the fifth from 1733 to 1812.
The sixth and seventh are the printed marriage
registers, 1745–1817.
There are some entries of burials as early as 1536,
two years before the passing of the Act for the
keeping of parish registers.
ADVOWSON
At the time of the Domesday
Survey there was one church in West
Meon to which was attached one
hide of land; the church paid 50s. towards the
farm of the manor. (fn. 39) In 1284 the king gave up to
John, bishop of Winchester, and his successors all
right and claim in the advowson of the church of
West Meon with the chapels. (fn. 40)
In 1291 the church was assessed at £20, (fn. 41) and
by 1535 the value had risen to £31 5s. 4d. (fn. 42)
The advowson, except during the Commonwealth,
has always been in the hands of the bishop of
Winchester. (fn. 43) The living is a rectory.
In 1391 there was a chapel of the Holy Trinity
in West Meon, and an indulgence was granted to
those penitents who visited and gave alms to the
'fabric of the chapel.' The same indulgence was also
granted to those penitents who gave alms towards the
chapel of St. Mary the Virgin in Punsholt. (fn. 44)
CHARITIES
In 1846 William Butterworth
Bayley by deed conveyed to trustees
schoolhouse, master's house, and three
acres of playground, and by a deed in 1853 Miss
Mary Touchett endowed the school with three tenements, blacksmith's shop, and coach-house. In 1897
the blacksmith's shop was pulled down and upon
the site an institute called the 'Queen Victoria
Institute' was built at a cost of £377, provided by
voluntary contribution. The income is about £17
a year. (fn. 45)
In 1867 a village green was granted by the lords
of the manor for the use of the inhabitants.
In 1872 Hannah Batten by will, proved this
date, left £100 consuls, income to be divided yearly
among three poor widows on last day of January
by the rector and churchwardens.
In 1873 Elizabeth Sibley, by will proved this
date, left £5 a year for the daily ringing of the
church bell, to denote certain hours and the day
of the month. The funds consist of £166 13s. 4d.
consols. The sums of stock are held by the
official trustees.