GATCOMBE
Gatecome (xi cent.); Gatecumb, Gadecombe (xiii
cent.); Yatcombe (xvii cent.).
Gatcombe is one of the central parishes of the
Island, inclosing a picturesque wooded valley running
south into the heart of the downs. Under 3,000
acres, it contains some 400 inhabitants, and the
cottages are scattered along the road to Chillerton,
some few being grouped near the mill to the west of
the church. The soil is loam with a subsoil of
chalk and freestone. In 1905 the parish contained
1,300¼ acres of arable land, 1,221¾ acres of permanent grass and 103 acres of woodland. (fn. 1) Gatcombe
is united with Chillerton for secular purposes, the
two being administered as one parish, and the
Gatcombe children attend Chillerton school.
The chief residence is Gatcombe House, the
property of Sir Charles Seely, bart., lying on the
western slope of the valley sheltered by the woods
from the south-west. It was rebuilt by Sir Edward
Worsley in 1750. (fn. 2)
Sheat House lies to the south of Gatcombe, at the
foot of Chillerton Down, and is of the usual E type
of the 16th to 17th century. The entrance was originally to the south, where the walls of a forecourt still
remain. The interior has been a good deal cut up
by later remodelling, but the old parlour with its oak
panelling and fine carved chimney-piece still remains, (fn. 3)
the latter having the Urry arms in a central panel.
In 1882 Whitcombe was transferred from Gatcombe
to Carisbrooke, (fn. 4) and in 1894. Gatcombe was extended
to include parts of the parishes of Carisbrooke and
Wootton. (fn. 5)
The following are place-names: — Cleyhull,
Ouges-doune, les Berghes, Everlond, la Fisacres,
Vytelhull, Bretecombe (xiv cent.). (fn. 6)
MANOR
Before the Conquest GATCOMBE
was held of Edward the Confessor in
parage by three brothers, but in 1086 it
had passed to William son of Stur. (fn. 7)
The overlordship was annexed to Carisbrooke
Castle (q.v.) until it lapsed in the 17th century. (fn. 8)
The lands of William son of Stur passed to his son
Hugh, who was called Hugh de Lisle, (fn. 9) and probably
afterwards passed to Baldwin
son of Stur, (fn. 10) or de Estur, and
after him to William de Estur
(called de Insula). (fn. 11) The
latter had a son William, (fn. 12)
who probably succeeded him
in Gatcombe and left it to
Baldwin de Estur, possibly his
son. Baldwin died c. 1224,
leaving an infant daughter
Maud, (fn. 13) who is said to have
married Baldwin or Walter
de Lisle. (fn. 14) However, she
evidently kept the surname
of Estur, (fn. 15) which was also
assumed by her eldest son William. In 1263 as
Lady Maud de Gatcombe she was holding this manor
and other property in the Isle of Wight by the
service of guarding the Island
when necessary and by suit at
the court of Carisbrooke
Castle, called 'knighten'
court. (fn. 16) She settled Gatcombe on her eldest son
William de Estur, (fn. 17) afterwards
knight, but he died childless
in 1291–2, leaving it to his
brother Geoffrey de Lisle. (fn. 18)
Geoffrey was succeeded in
1293 by his son Baldwin, (fn. 19)
who died in 1307, leaving a
son John, then only four years
old. (fn. 20) The custody of his
lands was granted to Robert de Hanstede the younger, (fn. 21)
who in the same year complained that Ralph de Gorges
and others had entered the manor of Gatcombe,
'wrecked the doors of the houses' and taken away
hay and other goods. (fn. 22) In 1308 the king, at the
instance of Robert de Hanstede, granted free warren
in Gatcombe, Calbourne and Whitwell to John Lisle, (fn. 23)
but in the following year Gatcombe and Calbourne
were taken into the king's hands 'for the default' that
Robert de Hanstede had made. (fn. 24) John Lisle died in
1337, leaving a son John, who was under age, (fn. 25) and
whose marriage, with the custody of his lands, was
granted to the Archbishop of Canterbury. (fn. 26) The last
named John died in 1349 and was succeeded by his son
John, a minor. (fn. 27) One third of the manor was assigned
to his widow Joan in dower, (fn. 28) and in the following
year the custody of the remaining two thirds was
granted to her and to her father John de Bohun of
Midhurst. (fn. 29) John Lisle died childless in 1369, leaving
as heir his sister Elizabeth, wife of John Bramshott. (fn. 30)
He seems, however, to have also left a brother Leonard
or Laurence, whose son Thomas, a minor, was
holding part of the manor in 1390. (fn. 31) He came of
age in 1394 (fn. 32) and was still alive in 1398, (fn. 33) but had
been succeeded before 1428 by John Lisle, probably
his son. The latter, who, with William Bramshott, (fn. 34)
was holding three fees in Gatcombe, Whitwell and
Calbourne in 1428, (fn. 35) left three daughters and coheirs, (fn. 36) but his property in Gatcombe passed to the
Bramshotts. William Bramshott died between 1432 (fn. 37)
and 1444, for at the latter date his son John settled
Gatcombe on his prospective wife Katherine, daughter
of Sir John Pelham. (fn. 38) Katherine, who survived her
husband and afterwards married Thomas Lewknor,
held the manor until her death in 1481, when it was
divided between her daughters, Elizabeth wife of
John Dudley and Margaret (fn. 39) wife of John Pakenham. (fn. 40)
Estur. Argent a cherry tree with its fruit in its proper colours.
Lisle. Gules a leopard argent with a golden crown.
Elizabeth Dudley died in 1498, and her husband
three years later, when her half of the manor passed
to her son Edmund Dudley, (fn. 41)
the notorious lawyer of the
reign of Henry VII, who was
attainted in 1510. (fn. 42) His property in Gatcombe had been
settled on his wife Elizabeth,
daughter of Edward Grey
Viscount Lisle, (fn. 43) and she with
her second husband Arthur
Plantagenet was holding it in
1519. (fn. 44) Elizabeth was living
in March 1538, (fn. 45) but John
Dudley, her eldest son by
Edmund Dudley, had evidently already sold the reversion of the half of the
manor to Sir John Ernley, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, whose son William (fn. 46) made a settlement of
this moiety of the manor in 1538. (fn. 47) He died seised
of the same in 1546, leaving a son and heir Francis,
a minor. (fn. 48) The latter evidently died childless, and
was succeeded by his brother Richard, (fn. 49) who sold his
half of the manor to John Worsley about 1576. (fn. 50)
Dudley. Or a lion vert with a forked tail.
The other half of the manor passed from John
Pakenham and Margaret to their son Edmund, (fn. 51) and
from him to his daughter Constance wife of Sir
Geoffrey Pole and another daughter wife of Richard
Ernley. (fn. 52) Constance with her eldest son Arthur sold
her moiety in 1561 to John and Thomas Tawke, (fn. 53)
from whom it was purchased with the Ernley
moiety (fn. 54) by the above John Worsley in 1566. (fn. 55)
The latter, who thus owned the whole manor,
died in 1580, having previously settled Gatcombe on
his younger son Richard. (fn. 56) However, the latter died
childless and was succeeded by his elder brother
Thomas Worsley, who by his will dated 12 May
1601 left Gatcombe to his younger son John. (fn. 57) The
latter was involved in a quarrel with some of the
other parishioners of Gatcombe about the repair of
the parish church, which was in such a ruinous
condition that it was 'ready to fall,' and the minister
in 'strong weather' had to 'read the service in his
seat.' John Worsley being 'a litigious man and
potent in estate' was accused by the churchwardens
in 1637–8 of refusing to pay the rate levied for
restoring the church and of taking for his own use a
house and garden belonging to the same. (fn. 58) In 1640,
however, he was one of the churchwardens chosen by
the Archdeacon of Winchester to see that the church
was restored, and although this appointment was
opposed by the former churchwardens as illegal, the
rector of the parish sent a petition to Archbishop
Laud asking that 'Mr. Worsley and John Blake may go
on in so pious a work.' (fn. 59)
Sir Edward Worsley, son of
John, was a noted Royalist
and is said to have joined in
an attempt to rescue the king
from Carisbrooke Castle. (fn. 60) His
estates were not sequestered,
but in 1651 he asked to be
allowed to compound, and
paid a fine of only £3 6s. 8d. (fn. 61)
The manor continued in his
family until the end of the
18th century, when his great-great-grandson Edward Meux
Worsley died without issue male. (fn. 62) It was then
divided between the two daughters of the latter,
Elizabeth, who married Edmund John Glynn, (fn. 63) and
Jane, who married Colonel Alexander Campbell. (fn. 64)
In 1805–6 the whole manor was in the possession
of Colonel Campbell and his wife, (fn. 65) who were still
holding it in 1843. (fn. 66) It was afterwards sold to
Alexander Baring first Lord Ashburnham, from
whom it was purchased in 1873 by Charles Seely,
father of Sir Charles Seely, bart., the present lord of
the manor.
Worsley. Argent a cheveron between three falcons sable having beaks, legs and bells or.
A mill worth 40d. in 1086 (fn. 67) probably belonged
to the manor of Gatcombe until the 16th century. (fn. 68)
In 1291 there were two mills worth 20s., while in
1561 there were five mills in Gatcombe and Whitwell.
In the 14th century the lord of the manor had
fish ponds in Gatcombe and fishing rights in the
Pidford. (fn. 69)
A messuage in WHITCOMBE, parcel of the
manor of Gatcombe, passed into the Pole moiety of
the manor on the death of Edmund Pakenham. It
passed with Gatcombe to the Worsleys, was settled by
John Worsley on his second son, David, in 1717, and
was bought in 1825 by the Rev. William Hughes,
whose son in 1879 sold to Charles Seely. (fn. 70) Whitcombe, divided into Great and Little Whitcombe,
was transferred to the parish of Carisbrooke in 1882.
SHEAT was the name of three places in the Isle
of Wight, situated respectively in Gatcombe, Carisbrooke and Brighstone. Sheat in Gatcombe was
perhaps represented in 1086 by the 1 hide in
'Essuete' held by Alvric as he had held it in the
time of Edward the Confessor, and by the half hide
of land in 'Soete' which belonged to the Saxon
tenants Ulnod and Bruning. (fn. 71) It seems to have
afterwards come into the possession of the lords of
Gatcombe, who claimed manorial rights there within
recent times. (fn. 72) Land in Sheat was sold in the 16th
century to the Urrys, (fn. 73) one of whom built the
so-called manor-house, and it continued in their
possession until purchased in 1873 by Charles Seely,
father of the present owner, Sir Charles Seely.
CHURCH
The church of ST. OLAVE lies
in a leafy hollow, just to the north of
Gatcombe House, and was built in the
13th century by one of the Esturs as a manorial chapel.
It comprises an aisleless nave and chancel and a
western tower, and, with the exception of the latter
feature, remains much as it was originally built. Late
in the 15th century transomed windows were inserted
in the north and south walls and a tower erected
at the west end. In 1864 the chancel was pulled
down and rebuilt of a greater length, when buttresses
were added on either side of the lancet window.
The tower was in all likelihood built by the same
masons who erected that at Carisbrooke. It has
angle buttresses from which the corner finials spring
and is banded together at the top by a string enriched
with grotesque carvings. Angels with shields support
the finials on the cardinal faces of the tower. There
has been a start to groin the roof of the ground
stage, but it has evidently been abandoned and only
the springers remain from which the brackets supporting the floor of the ringing stage start. The
shafted responds of the chancel arch (13th century)
start in a curious manner from a stone plinth without
bases, and in the south wall is the only remaining
original lancet window.
In the 15th-century south windows the original
glass still remains in part, the angel figures (fn. 74) in the upper
lights being practically perfect. There is an interesting
13th-century font with octagonal shaft and bowl on
the faces of which are slightly sunk arched panels. (fn. 75)
In the chancel north wall is a sepulchral arched
recess containing a rough wooden effigy (fn. 76) of a recumbent mailed figure bearing a shield. (fn. 77)
There are three bells, inscribed: (i) 'Mathias.
Goldsmith. Rector. Richard. Young. Churchwarden;
Clement. Tosiear. cast. mee. in. the. yea. of.
1700.' (ii)'God. be. our. Guyd. R.B. 1605.'
(iii) 'Benedictum sit ✠
nomen Dni.'
There is a fine silver drinking-cup c. 1540 used as
a chalice. (fn. 78) The cover is of the reign of Elizabeth
and was probably made at the time the cup was
presented.
There is a good Jacobean altar table with the
text 'Prayse. ye. the. Lord' cut on the front panel,
and the upper part of the tower screen is formed
from the old 16th-century oak communion rails (fn. 79)
with their legend 'I will wash my hands in innocency
so will I cumpass thine altar Lord. Create in me a
clean heart O God and renew a right spirit within me.'
The registers date from 1560 and contain many
interesting entries.
ADVOWSON
The advowson of the church of
Gatcombe followed the same descent
as the manor until 1821, (fn. 80) when it
was sold to the University of Oxford according to the
terms of the will of Dr. George Holme, rector of
Headley, near Liphook, who in 1763 bequeathed
£1,000 in trust for the purchase of a living as an increase to the income of the principal of St. Edmund
Hall, (fn. 81) who is now patron.
At the beginning of the reign of Queen Mary
Lambert Peche, rector of Gatcombe, being married,
was obliged to resign the living. A certain Morris
Clinock was appointed in his place and let the parsonage to William Cuffold, who refused to give it up
when Peche was restored on the death of Queen
Mary and 'suffered the Chauncell of the same Church
to fall to the grounde for lack of Repayringe of the
same.' (fn. 82)
CHARITIES
The Worsley Educational Charity
is regulated by a scheme of the Charity
Commissioners, 6 September 1892,
and formerly consisted of an annuity of £8 issuing
out of an estate in the parish of Arreton, presumably
settled upon the school by Sir Edward Worsley, kt.
The annuity was redeemed in 1875 by the transfer
of £267 consols to the official trustees, which with
accumulations eventually reached £366 5s. 1d. consols.
The sum of £118 19s. 2d. stock was sold out and
the proceeds applied towards the erection of a Sunday
school, leaving a balance of £247 5s. 11d. consols
with the official trustees, producing £6 3s. 4d. yearly,
of which £1 12s. constitutes under the scheme 'The
Religious Branch' and £4 11s. 4d. 'The Secular
Branch.'
The parish half acre consists of a piece of land
called North Field, which has been in the possession
of the parish from time immemorial.