NORTHINGTON
Northametone (x cent.); Northampton and Nuthampton (xiii cent.); Nonehampton and Northampton
(xiv cent.); Northington and Norrington (xviii cent.).
The parish of Northington, which was incorporated for ecclesiastical purposes with the neighbouring
parish of Swarraton in 1849, has an area of 2,414
acres, which are still distinct from Swarraton for civil
purposes. Yet locally, the two villages, separated
only by the narrow Candover stream, which forms
the eastern boundary line of Northington parish, seem
to be one; Northington, with its commanding modern
church, its school and scattered cottages, lying on the
hill-side sloping down to the river from the west,
meeting the cottages and houses of Swarraton, among
which is the vicarage for both parishes, as they lie
along the opposite bank of the river on a lesser slope.
The high down called Northington Down, on the
slope of which Northington village lies, is now for
the most part inclosed in Lord Ashburton's estate,
Grange Park, which includes about 530 acres, covering
nearly the whole of the south-east portion of the
parish, and extending into Swarraton. Cobbett, in
his Rural Rides, speaks of the inclosure and subsequent
planting with trees of a 'pretty little down called
Northington Down,' by Mr. Alexander Baring
(created Lord Ashburton in 1835), as a sort of outwork to his park. 'But Mr. Baring,' he continues,
'not reflecting that woods are not like funds, to be
made at a heat, has planted his trees too large, so that
they are covered with moss, are dying at the top, and
are literally growing downward instead of upward
… so that the down … is now a marred, ragged,
ugly-looking thing.' Cobbett may have been right
in his day, but the sight of the finely-wooded down
as the steep road descends into Northington village
justifies Lord Ashburton rather than Cobbett. The
Grange, the house of the estate, lies almost in the
centre of the park, close to the river, which here
broadens out into a long narrow lake. The old
mansion, the nucleus of the present house, was a
seventeenth-century square brick building, the work
of Inigo Jones, without any external ornament, but
cased in stone, with a magnificent portico and other
classic decorations. (fn. 1) Both house and park, according
to Duthy, owed their origin to the family of Henley,
who resided there for many generations. Carlyle,
among other of the great men of the early nineteenth
century, was a constant visitor at the Grange. Thus
in 1844 he wrote to Lady Ashburton, 'I am in ugly
drudgery and sorrow, and shall not see the beautiful
face of "The Grange" or any beautiful thing, for I
know not what long months or years.' (fn. 2)
Apart from the north-west corner of the parish,
which includes a part of Micheldever Wood, and
covers the greater part of the 501 acres of woodland,
the rest of the parish is mostly composed of arable and
pasture land, covering respectively 1,331 and 684¾
acres. When Duthy wrote, early in the nineteenth
century, the work of draining the water meadows
was being carried on by Lord Ashburton with excellent results. Thus, though, as Duthy stated, the land
with its chalk soil and subsoil is 'for the most part
thin and weak in quality,' since there are 'tracts of
a stronger description on some of the hills, and since
the water meadows can now be turned to use as
pasture land, farming is in a comparatively flourishing
state in the parish, good crops of wheat, oats, and
turnips being grown.' Many now disused chalk and
gravel-pits are still to be seen in the fields.
There is no inclosure award.
MANORS
Six hides at NORTHINGTON were
named in the almost certainly spurious
charter of Edward the Elder to the New
Minster. (fn. 3) In the Domesday Survey it is difficult to
distinguish Northington from the other lands of the
abbey in Micheldever Hundred. It may, perhaps,
have been identical with the six hides held by Alsi
and his father before him. (fn. 4) In the fourteenth century
three distinct holdings can be traced in Northington.
These were the demesne lands of the abbey, known
later as the Grange, and two reputed manors held by
under-tenants, and known respectively as Northington
and Totford.
The GRANGE, as its name denotes, was kept under
the immediate control of the abbey. In 1263 Alice wife
of Henry le Frankelyn released all her right in 36 acres
of land in Northington to the abbey, (fn. 5) and in 1346
the abbot of Hyde was said to hold there a moiety of
a hide which had been in the tenure of Henry le
Frankelyn. (fn. 6) It seems, therefore, that this land was
part of, or was added to, the Grange. Amongst the
lessees of the Grange was Thomas (or William) (fn. 7)
Turner, who obtained a thirty years' lease from the
abbey, 24 May, 1519. He also farmed the glebe
lands and the tithes of Northington chapel, paying
for the whole £8 10s. yearly. (fn. 8) After the surrender of
the abbey in 1538, the Grange fell to the crown
with the rest of the monastic lands, and was leased
successively to William Ryth and Richard Pigot.
Finally, in January, 1589–90, Queen Elizabeth sold
it to Richard Thekeston and Henry Best, (fn. 9) who were
probably speculators, for they parted with it almost
immediately to James Hunt of Popham, (fn. 10) who died
seised of it in 1605. (fn. 11) His grandson of the same name
sold Northington Grange and chapel, together with
two mills, (fn. 12) 464 acres of land, meadow, wood, and
heath in Northington and Kingsclere, and the tithes
of Northington, to Sir Benjamin Tichborne in 1641. (fn. 13)
Northington Grange was evidently purchased by Sir
Robert Henley before 1665, (fn. 14)
and added to his estate in
Swarraton, which was also
known as the Grange. He
was buried at Northington in
1692 and was succeeded by
his eldest son Anthony, whose
grandson Robert was Lord
Keeper and was created earl
of Northington by George III.
Henley. Azure a lion argent with a crown or in a border argent and thereon roundels gules.
The title became extinct
on the death of his son and
heir Robert, whose sisters and
co-heiresses sold the Grange in
1787 to Henry Drummond, a
wealthy banker. (fn. 15) Drummond's grandson and heir, the
famous follower of Irving, sold the estate in 1817 to
Alexander Baring, a cousin of Sir Thomas Baring of
Stratton. He also was a leading banker, and was
created Baron Ashburton in 1835. In 1842 he
negotiated the settlement of the boundaries between
the United States and the British Territory in
America, and during his lifetime many distinguished
guests visited the Grange. The estate was inherited
in 1848 by his son William Bingham, second Lord
Ashburton, a noted philanthropist, who was succeeded
by his brother in 1864. The latter's son and heir,
the fourth Lord Ashburton, greatly improved the
Grange estate. (fn. 16) He died in 1889 and was succeeded
by the present Francis Denzil, fifth baron.
The tenement known later as NORTHINGTON
MANOR
(fn. 17) was held of the successive lords of
Micheldever, and apparently had no manorial rights
attached to it. It evidently included land lying near
the site of the present village of Northington, its
appurtenances extending into Totford and Swarraton.
The tenant in 1167 seems to have been a certain
Richard, (fn. 18) and late in the following century Herbert
Butler (Pincerna) was holding three hides in Northington of the abbot of Hyde, while Richard son of
Ralph also had four and a half virgates there. (fn. 19) In
1346 Henry of Northington was holding with the
abbot a part of the land which had been Henry le
Frankelyn's. (fn. 20) Northington was a few years later in
the possession of Thomas Bifleet and his wife Alice,
who were holding in her right two-thirds of a messuage, 2 carucates of land, 2 acres of meadow,
100 acres of wood, besides other land in Totford,
Northington, Swarraton, and Burcot. In 1357 they
granted these lands to Richard Burton and his wife
Alice, together with the remainder of the other third
due to Alice Bifleet at the death of John Hungerford, to hold of them and the heirs of Alice Burton
for a yearly rent. (fn. 21) The grant stipulated that, failing
heirs of the bodies of Richard Burton and his wife
Alice, the lands should revert to Thomas and Alice
Bifleet, and this seems to have occurred, for in the
following century the Bifleets were seised of considerable lands in Northington. (fn. 22) Robert Bifleet
held two messuages and certain land called Northington at his death 20 July, 1488. (fn. 23) He left an
infant son and heir John, who evidently did not live
to inherit the estate, for two years after Robert
Bifleet's death a certain Thomas Bifleet died seised of
land in Northington, and was succeeded by his
brother John Bifleet, then aged thirty. (fn. 24) In May,
1635, Robert Bifleet, perhaps a grandson or greatgrandson of this John, settled the 'manor of Northington,' in Northington, Swarraton, and Totford, on
his son Thomas at the time of his marriage with
Mary Speake. (fn. 25) In 1707 Francis Dickens and his
wife Rachael sold the manor of Northington, with
Totford and Swarraton, to Anthony Henley, (fn. 26) with
whose estate at the Grange it has since descended.
TOTFORD
TOTFORD (Totteford xii cent.) (fn. 27) is not mentioned by name in the Domesday Book, but since it
was assessed at five hides in the thirteenth century it
may perhaps be identical with the five hides held of
the abbey in 1086 by Odo the Steward, which
were then worth 50s. (fn. 28) William de Totford witnessed a charter to Hyde Abbey in 1191, (fn. 29) and was
probably the William de Totford referred to in an
inscription (fn. 30) which has been taken from the north
wall of the old church. William was probably
succeeded by Robert de Totford, who witnessed a
grant to Roger Abbot of Hyde (1248–63), (fn. 31) and who
had a son John living in 1262. (fn. 32) These were evidently members of a family which held part of the
land now known as Totford. Later in the thirteenth
century the whole of Totford, consisting of five hides,
was held by Philip de Totford, Philip Butler, Peter
de Fraxino and Henry le Frankelyn by service of
one knight's fee to the abbot of Hyde. (fn. 33) Of these
five hides Philip Butler held one, which was apparently annexed to the Butlers' neighbouring manor of
Brown Candover (q.v.); (fn. 34) another, which was held
by Peter de Fraxino, was acquired from his descendant John de Fraxino (fn. 35) before 1346 by Philip of
Micheldever and Richard de Bordene, the former of
whom doubtless added his moiety to his manor of
Mottisfont (q.v.); Henry le Frankelyn's hide was
afterwards divided between the abbot and Henry of
Northington, while the remaining two hides formed
the portion of Philip de Totford, and were probably
inherited from him by Robert de Totford, who was
living in 1272. (fn. 36) In 1314–15 John de Totford paid
scutage for two hides in Totford; (fn. 37) he was living
in 1341 when his name appears in the list of jurors
in an inquisition concerning lands in Brown Candover and Northington. (fn. 38) He was succeeded by his
son John de Totford, whose daughter and heir,
Christine, was taken into the abbot's custody in
1349 (fn. 39) when she was only four years old. The
abbot immediately sold the marriage of Christine,
together with the custody of her inheritance, to
Thomas Warner of Southampton, then receiver in
Winchester Castle, for 20 marks. (fn. 40) She married
Richard son of Richard de Candover, clerk, who did
homage for her inheritance in February, 1364–5, (fn. 41)
and joined with his wife in 1387 in granting 10
marks rent from the manor of Totford to John
Maydeford, clerk, and his heirs for ever. (fn. 42) Totford
seems to have passed to the Tichborne family, for in
1571 Elizabeth Tichborne, widow, joined with
William Rythe and his wife Margery in conveying
'Totford manor,' with its appurtenances, including a
dove-cote to Richard Lee and William Sutton, (fn. 43) and
in February, 1584–5 Benjamin Tichborne of Tichborne sold the capital messuage called Totford with
its appurtenances in Northington and Swarraton, late
the inheritance of Ambrose Tichborne of West Tisted
to William Waller of Stoke Charity, saving only the
estates made for life to Mary Tichborne and to Mary
wife of William Rythe. (fn. 44) One-third of this property was apparently retained by the Tichbornes,
while probably the other two-thirds were purchased
(with the Grange estate) by Sir Robert Henley. In
July, 1670, Susan Tichborne of Stoke Charity, with
the consent of Sir Robert Henley, knt., of Northington Grange, conveyed to John Henley of Crawley
one-third of the manor and demesne lands of Totford,
then late in the occupation of Robert Soper, and
one-third of Totford Inn in Brown Candover, during
the life of Richard Hunt the elder of Popham. (fn. 45)
This was probably the same third of Totford that was
in the possession of Joseph Tichborne in 1717, (fn. 46)
but the main part of the tenement was annexed to
the Grange park estate, with which it has since
descended.
The priory of Christchurch had two virgates of
land in Northington which had been granted to it
in 1249 by Matilda Breton, sister and heir of Roger
Breton, in exchange for a corrody equal to the
allowance of one brother granted to her for life. (fn. 47)
These lands were granted after the dissolution of
the priory to Sir William Berkeley, 'the king's
servant,' and then included a field called 'Northclose,'
in the immediate occupation of the prior, together
with other lands in Northington in the tenure of
John Tucker. (fn. 48)
CHURCH
The church of ST. JOHN THE
EVANGELIST is a fine modern building by T. G. Jackson, R.A., standing
well on a site which has a considerable fall to the
east.' It is of flint with stone dressings, and has a
chancel with an octagonal east end, a nave with south
porch, and a tall western tower with pinnacles and
battlements. It is of fifteenth-century style, the
treatment of the upper parts of the tower and the
parapets in chequer work of flint and stone being
very effective. The site of the old church is to the
north-east, a little lower on the hill-side, marked by
the tombstones of the old churchyard and a cross on
the place where the church stood.
There are three old bells by William Cor, 1700,
John Clarke, 1611, and John Wallis, 1602.
The plate of Northington and Swarraton disappeared in 1850 during a fire at the parish clerk's
cottage, and the present plate is entirely modern.
There are, however, two old pewter flagons with
hinged lids which belong to the joint parishes.
The oldest register commences in 1579, but the
first book is merely a collection of entries without
order of date. (fn. 49) There are also churchwardens' books
dating from 1769. (fn. 50)
ADVOWSON
For many years Northington was
a chapelry attached to Micheldever
vicarage. A chapel was in existence
at the time of the appropriation of Micheldever to
Hyde Abbey, i.e. in 1308, (fn. 51) and was not separated
from that church till 1847, when it was annexed to
the vicarage of Swarraton. (fn. 52)
The elementary school, which lies in the village,
was founded in 1864.
CHARITIES
George Harding, by will proved
1879, left £200 to be invested
and income applied in the distribution of bread among the poor of this parish
and Swarraton. The legacy was invested in
£205 7s. 10d. consols (with the official trustees).
The dividends amounting to £2 5s. 8d. were in 1905
applied in the distribution of 112 half gallons of flour
and in 112 half gallons of bread to fifty-six families.