CRONDALL

Crundal (ix cent.); Crundelas (x cent.); Corondale (xi cent.); Crondale (xii cent.); Crundale (xiv cent.); Crowdale (xvi cent.).

Crondall is a large village and parish situated 4 miles west-north-west from Farnham station on the Alton and Winchester branch of the London and South Western Railway.

Crondall parish is now divided into five tithings, viz.: Crondall, Swanthorpe, and portions of Dippenhall, Crookham (Church Crookham), and Ewshott.

Crookham and Fleet, formerly part of Crondall, were constituted ecclesiastical parishes in 1842 and 1863 respectively, and civil parishes in 1894. Ewshott is an ecclesiastical parish formed in 1886 from the parishes of Crondall and Crookham. From the north, the ground rises to a height of some 600 ft. above the ordnance datum in the south-east.

Crondall village lies in the centre of the modern parish of Crondall, at a height of about 300 ft. above the ordnance datum. Swanthorpe and part of Dippenhall occupy the southern part of the parish. Eastbridge, now the residence of Mr. J. Lindsay Johnston, is about half a mile north of the village. Clare Park is situated about half a mile south-east of the church; the park covers about 200 acres. Itchel Manor, which is a short distance west of the village, is supposed to be a haunted house; unaccountable noises are said to be heard, but only when members of the family or their dependants are living there. (fn. 1)

In 1828 Charles and Anthony Lefroy of Itchel Manor found a rare and interesting collection of Saxon and Merovingian gold coins on Bourley Bottom. An ancient circular entrenchment exists at Barley Pound Farm in the extreme south of the parish, at a height of 490 ft. above the Ordnance datum. The foundations of a Roman villa, situated 200 yards north of the farm, were excavated in May 1817, disclosing a beautiful tessellated pavement, which has been since destroyed. (fn. 2)

The parish of Crondall comprises a great variety of soils—being sandy in Ewshott and Crookham, chalky in Swanthorpe, and having clay in some of the other tithings. The subsoil is sand, gravel, and chalk. The crops are corn and roots, and hops were formerly cultivated. The area of Crondall is 4,201 acres, there being 1,665 acres of arable land, 1,305¼ acres of permanent grass, and 555¾ acres of woods and plantations. (fn. 3)

Crookham, covering an area of 4,041 acres, (fn. 4) is situated 2½ miles from Fleet station, on the London and South Western Railway main line. The Basingstoke Canal forms part of the northern boundary of the parish, and separates it from Fleet. The parish is well wooded, especially in the east, where there are several old copse inclosures. Almshouses have been erected in Crookham, with a legacy bequeathed by Miss Isabelle Cottrell of Bath, for the benefit of the poor. There are several good estates in the northwest. Crookham House is the residence of the Hon. Richard Moreton, D.L., and Dinorben Court that of Mr. Frederick George Chinnock. Gaily Hill is occupied by Mr. A. J. F. Nugent, and Redfields by Mr. J. Brandon. Court Moor is the residence of Mr. Edgar Figgess, and Basingbourne that of Mr. C. Lacy.

Ewshott lies north-east of Crondall village. A camp for the Royal Field Artillery was formed here in September 1900, with huts for 450 men and stabling for 270 horses, thus more than doubling the population, which in 1891 was only 441.

Fleet parish, covering an area of 1,531 acres, (fn. 5) lies north of Crondall, 36¼ miles from London. The London and South Western Railway crosses Fleet Pond between Farnborough and Fleet stations. Fleet Common is now cut up with roads and building sites. The Fleet Club, in Middle Street, erected in 1905, contains billiard and reading rooms and a concertroom seating 250 persons. The North Hants Golf Club-house was formerly known as The Beeches, and part of the course was then a gallop for Lord Calthorpe's racing stud.

Woodcote is occupied by Captain John Strachan Bridges and The Views by Colonel T. Horniblow, while Fir Croft is the residence of Mr. Jeffery Edwards, and Broome that of Lady Elizabeth Cust.

Under Crondall the following place-names occur:—Blakerede, (fn. 6) a messuage called Cradill Boxe, (fn. 7) a meadow called Le Preymead. (fn. 8) Peperstiche Feald, Le Redstreat Meade, Cock's Bridge, Vale Parke, Le Forrep Lande, Shamblehatche, Wymble Hill, Thornie Howse, Skalgrove, Le Ursfelde, Le Blacke Lake, Spice Meade, Ludshed Meade, and Bovenhurst. (fn. 8a)

The following place-names occur under Itchel Manor in the 18th century:—Closes called The Hyde, Little Potter's Fore, Earlins, Two Downs, Tanley, Green Park, Park Corner, Dean's Piddle, Old Hop Garden. (fn. 9)

The common lands of Ewshott and Crookham were inclosed in 1834, and those of Dippenhall fourteen years later. (fn. 10)

Manors

Towards the end of the 9th century King Alfred by will bequeathed CRONDALL to Ethelm, his brother Ethelbert's son. (fn. 11) In the following century Crondall was in the possession of Ælfsige, Bishop of Winchester, and was left by him to Ælfheah, an alderman, 'his beloved friend,' for life, with reversion to the Old Minster. (fn. 12) Ælfheah by will dated between 965 and 975 bequeathed it to the Old Minster, (fn. 13) and the monks were confirmed in the possession of the whole of Crondall (45 hides) by King Edgar in 973–4. (fn. 14) At the time of the Domesday Survey the Bishop of Winchester was holding Crondall for the support of the monks. It had been assessed at 50 hides in the time of Edward the Confessor, but it only paid geld for 40 hides. (fn. 15) Crondall was confirmed to the prior and convent in the general confirmation of their manors made by the pope in 1205, (fn. 16) and again in 1243, (fn. 17) and the Bishop of Winchester gave up all claim to it in 1284. (fn. 18) The manor remained in the possession of the prior and convent until 1539, (fn. 19) when, on the surrender of the priory, it passed into the hands of the king, who, two years later, granted it in free alms to the newly constituted Dean and chapter of Winchester. (fn. 20) This grant was confirmed by James I in 1604. (fn. 21)

At the time of the Commonwealth, when deans and chapters were abolished, and their lands seized by the Parliamentary Commissioners, the manor of Crondall was sold to Nicholas Love, one of the regicides, and eldest son of the Warden of Winchester College. (fn. 22) At the Restoration the dean and chapter were restored, and continued in possession until 1861, (fn. 23) when, by Order in Council, the manor was vested in the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, who are the present owners.

The courts of the manor were held at Court Farm, which, being in a ruinous condition, was pulled down about 1800 and replaced by the present square brick house, late the residence of Mr. C. J. Maxwell Lefroy. The huge grange or tithe-barn, which was reputed to be the largest barn in Hampshire, was unhappily destroyed by fire in 1861.

From the Crondall Records it appears that after the establishment of the dean and chapter, the tenures and customs of the manor of Crondall had drifted into a state of uncertainty, and soon after the accession of Elizabeth it was found necessary to draw up a new customary of the manor. This document, called The Crondall Customary of 1567, took the form of an indenture made between the dean and chapter and the tenants of the manor. Every tenant surrendered his estate and had reseisin of it from the hands of the steward, accepting thereby a new title directly from the capitular body. Two copies exist of this indenture, one being in the possession of the Dean and chapter of Winchester, and the other in the possession of the parish of Aldershot. (fn. 24) This document gives a list of all the tenants in Crondall, with the amount, description, and value of the land held by each. (fn. 25)

Free chase in Crondall was granted to the Prior and convent of St. Swithun in 1290, free warren in 1300, (fn. 26) and in 1332 licence was granted to them to impark their woods here. (fn. 27) There is mention of a fishery in Crondall in 1316, (fn. 28) which may have been that of Fleet Ponds. The ponds are said to have been formed by a stream from Bourley Hill, which flowed to the low land called Le Flete. In 1505 the fishery of Fleet and the pasture called Le Flete were leased by the Prior and convent of St. Swithun to Sir William Giffard and John his son. Two ponds existed there at this date. Sir William and his son were to pay a rent of 23s. 4d. for the pasture, and for the fishery 'a hundred of the fishes, to wit in English, pykes, tenches, perches, bremes and roches to be caught at the costs of the said William and John Giffard, and to the Priory of St. Swithun, Winchester, to be carried and delivered in a good and fresh state, yearly, in the time of Lent, or between the Feasts of Easter and Pentecost.' They were also to repair the bridge called 'Le Fletebrige' between the two ponds. (fn. 29) In 1536 the prior and convent granted a similar lease to George Paulet for sixty years, to commence from 29 September 1558, at the expiration of a thirty years' lease to Richard Giffard, the younger son of Sir William Giffard. In lieu of the obligation of sending fish to the priory he was to pay for the two ponds and the fishery 20s. yearly, and for the pasture called Le Flete 23s. 4d. (fn. 30) In the year 1567 a heavy storm and flood carried away the head of one of the ponds, and in order to save the expense of repair, the dean and chapter, who had succeeded to the possessions of the monastery in 1541, (fn. 31) gave the lessees permission to convert the site of one pond into meadow or pasture land. Notwithstanding, the old form of lease describing the property as two ponds was continued. (fn. 32) The pond, which covers an area of 130 acres, is now Crown property, having been purchased about the year 1854. It is the haunt of many common and some rare water fowl, and furnishes indifferent fishing, which is preserved by the War Office, permission to fish, however, being granted at a charge of £1 1s. a. week.

The first recorded mention of the manor of ITCHEL (Ticelle, xi cent.; Ichehulle, Ichull xii cent.; Ichill, Dichull, Ichull, xiv cent.) occurs in the Domesday Survey, where it is stated that Itchel and Cove, which had been held as separate estates by Lewin and Ulward in the time of Edward the Confessor, were then in the possession of German, who was holding them of the Bishop of Winchester as of his manor of Crondall. (fn. 33)

From this time Itchel and Cove descended together as one manor for nearly five centuries. The next holder of the manor whose name has come down to us was Walkelin de Itchel, who was probably a son of German. He was dead before 1166, in which year his son Robert de Itchel was returned as holding two knights' fees of the Bishop of Winchester. (fn. 34) The next recorded mention of Itchel is in 1230, when it was in the possession of William de Coleville. (fn. 35) He died in 1236, and was succeeded by his son William, who was stated to be holding two knights' fees in Itchel and Cove in 1243. (fn. 36) A few years later the property was acquired by Walter Giffard, (fn. 37) who was elected Bishop of Bath and Wells on 22 May 1264, and two years later was translated to the archiepiscopal see of York. (fn. 38) Giffard died in 1279, and was succeeded by his brother Godfrey Giffard, Bishop of Worcester. (fn. 39) These prelates seem to have made Itchel a place of occasional residence, as several of the transactions recorded in their registers are dated from Itchel. (fn. 40)

Giffard of Itchel. Argent ten roundels gules.

On the death of Godfrey in 1302 the manor passed to his nephew and heir John Giffard, (fn. 41) who died seised in 1319, leaving a son John. (fn. 42) This John Giffard joined the Earl of Hereford and other barons in their league against the Despensers, and his lands were consequently forfeited, being committed by the king to the custody of Robert Lewer. (fn. 43) Robert Lewer rebelled against the king in 1322, placed himself at the head of an armed force and entered the manor of Itchel and carried away the king's goods. He was thereupon taken prisoner and put to death, (fn. 43a) and in 1324 Edward II granted the custody of the manor to John de Alton the bailiff of Odiham. (fn. 44) John Giffard seems, however, to have regained possession of his estates before his death, for he died seised of the manor of Itchel in 1327, (fn. 44a) his heir being his infant son John. The custody of the manor was entrusted to Thomas de Bradestan, who in 1331 was ordered to repair the palings of the bishop's park of Farnham out of the issues of the manor of Itchel, the Bishop of Winchester having proved his right to this service from the tenant of the manor. (fn. 45) John Giffard granted a lease of the manor to Sir John de Wyngsfeld in 1349, (fn. 46) but apparently died soon afterwards, although the exact date of his death is uncertain.

The estate then passed to his widow Eleanor, who died in 1360. (fn. 47) The custody of Elizabeth, the daughter and heir of John and Eleanor, was then granted to William de Edendon, (fn. 47a) but she died without issue less than a year afterwards. (fn. 48)

The next heir to the estates was John Giffard, the son of William, a younger brother of John Giffard, Elizabeth's grandfather. In 1379 John obtained permission from the Bishop of Winchester to enlarge the park at Itchel, undertaking for himself and his heirs and assigns to pay to the bishop and his successors at their castle of Farnham yearly, on the feast of St. Peter ad Vincula, a good bow with a suitable string, and six barbed arrows, well winged with peacock feathers, and in like manner between 1 December and 1 February in each year a fallow deer from the park. (fn. 48a) It is uncertain in what year this John died, but in 1418 Mary, probably his widow, who afterwards married John Southworth, held the manor. (fn. 49) In 1428 another John Giffard held Itchel, (fn. 50) and died on 10 June 1444, leaving a son and heir Robert. (fn. 51) Two years later Robert Giffard died without issue, (fn. 52) and land in Cove was held in dower by his widow Joan, who survived him, until 1478. (fn. 53) The manor of Itchel, however, passed to his brother John, who was returned as the owner in 1461. (fn. 54) This John Giffard was succeeded by a son William Giffard, who held the manor in 1509, in which year he and his son John received from the Prior and convent of St. Swithun a grant of woodland for the enlargement of Itchel Park. (fn. 55) William Giffard died in 1549, and was succeeded by his grandson John, the son of his son John, who had predeceased him. (fn. 56) John died seised of the manor in 1563, leaving a son George, then aged 10 years. (fn. 57) A third part of the manor passed to his widow —who married William Hodges of Weston Subedge—as dower. (fn. 58) In 1579, shortly after George Giffard came of age, Henry Wriothesley, second Earl of Southampton, desiring to add Itchel Manor to his neighbouring estate of Dogmersfield, purchased the estate. (fn. 59) At this period Cove became separated from Itchel Manor (see Cove, in Yateley parish). Henry Wriothesley died in Itchel Manor-house on 4 October 1581, (fn. 60) and was succeeded by his son Henry, third earl, (fn. 61) who died in 1624. (fn. 61a) In 1629 his son Thomas, fourth Earl of Southampton, sold Itchel Manor to Robert Mason, LL.D., (fn. 62) of Lincoln's Inn, who was steward of the borough of Basingstoke, M.P. first for Christchurch and then for Winchester, vicargeneral to the bishop and chancellor of the diocese, and the official of the archdeacons of Winchester and Surrey. He died in 1635 and was succeeded by members of the family until about 1670. It was then purchased by John Bathurst, in the possession of whose descendants it was in 1736. (fn. 63) The next owner is stated to have been Martha Dearing of Odiham, widow, who held the manor about the middle of the 18th century; (fn. 64) and by 1764 it had come into the possession of Nicholas Linwood, (fn. 65) of Spring Gardens, Charing Cross, who was one of the directors of the East India Company (1749–51). He died on 7 May 1773, and in the same year his widow sold the estate to Henry Maxwell of Ramsbury (co. Wilts). (fn. 66) Henry Maxwell died in 1818, and bequeathed Itchel Manor to his wife's nephew, the Rev. John Henry George Lefroy, from whom it descended to his grandson, Mr. Charles James Maxwell Lefroy, (fn. 67) who died in November 1908.

Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton. Azure a cross or between four falcons close argent.

At the time of the Domesday Survey there is mention of a mill in Itchel worth 3s. (fn. 68) In 1237 Reginald de Cunde quitclaimed land and a mill in Itchel and Ewshott to William de Coleville. (fn. 68a) This mill is described as in utter ruin and of no value in the inquisition taken on the death of John Giffard in 1327. In a record of the year 1653, when the manor was held by the family of Mason, two water-mills are mentioned, (fn. 69) and in 1773 there were three water grist-mills under one roof, called "Ichell or Ichell borne mills." (fn. 70)

Lefroy of Itchel. Vert fretty argent and a chief argent with a cap between two wyverns gules therein.

The manor of BADLEY (Beddelie,xi cent.; Badele, Badeligh, xiv cent.; Barley alias Barley Pound xvii cent.), now known as the CLARE PARK ESTATE, was held of the Bishop of Winchester as 3 virgates by one William in 1086, his predecessor being Alvric, who had held them of the bishop as a villein. (fn. 71) In the 13 th century Badley was held by the family of Pilesdone, but was eventually sold by Emma de Pilesdone to John de Westcote, who in 1312 (fn. 72) obtained a grant of free warren in his demesne lands of Badley, and two years later was confirmed in his possession of the manor by John, son of Ivo de Pilesdone and great-grandson of Emma. (fn. 73)

John de Westcote died in 1334, (fn. 74) his heir being his son John, an idiot, on whose death, about two years later, the Westcote estates were divided among his four sisters and co-heirs, Alice the wife of William de Colrethe, Sybil the wife of Simon Bonyng, Alice who had married Laurence de Pageham, and Margery the wife of John de Fulquardeby. (fn. 75) Badley was apparently divided between Alice the wife of Laurence de Pageham and Margery Fulquardeby. On the death of Laurence in 1361, one moiety passed to his grandson, John, son of his son John, (fn. 76) who also succeeded to the other on the death without issue of Margery Fulquardeby. (fn. 77) Philip de Pageham, the grandson of John, (fn. 78) died without issue in 1442, and the whole manor then passed in accordance with settlements of 1348 and 1354 to Christine wife of Richard Holt and granddaughter of Roger de Colrethe. (fn. 79) From this date Badley apparently followed the same descent as Pury in Bentley (q.v.) until the middle of the 17th century, (fn. 80) when William Walle was in possession of both manors. (fn. 80a) From this date nothing has been ascertained concerning the manor until 1753, in which year John Jennings purchased it from Edward Gibson. (fn. 81)

Early in the 19th century the estate now called Clare Park was acquired by Mr. Philip Raoul Lempriere of Rosel Manor, Jersey. (fn. 82) He sold it about 1827 to Major George Birch, from whom it descended to his son Lieut.-Colonel George F. Birch, (fn. 83) whose death took place on 18 August 1908.

The so-called manor of EASTBRIDGE (Estbridge, Ech Bridge, Ichylbridge, xvi cent.; Eachbridge, xvii cent.; East Cheap, Eastbridge, xviii cent.) is represented by the five messuages, 200 acres of land, 60 acres of meadow, 100 acres of pasture, and 30s. rent, with appurtenances in Itchel and Itchel Bridge, of which John Giffard, who belonged to a younger branch of the family of Giffard of Itchel, was seised in the reign of Henry VIII in right of his wife Parnel. (fn. 84) He died in 1527, and his son and heir William being 'founde idiote,' his property was taken into the hands of the king. William subsequently married Joan Parker, and died in 1560, leaving as his heirs his daughters Jane and Anne, (fn. 85) the former of whom married Anthony Yonge of Ambersham, and the latter Anthony Rollse. (fn. 86)

In 1581 Anne released her right in the manor of Eastbridge to her sister, (fn. 87) and the estate continued in the possession of the Yonge family until 1604, when Anthony Yonge, probably the son of Anthony and Jane, sold it to Anthony Finche of Petworth (co. Sussex) and William Evering. (fn. 88)

By 1698 the manor had come into the possession of Constance, the wife of Samuel Anderson, who in that year, in conjunction with her husband, treated of it by fine and recovery with Charles Clayton and James Foster. (fn. 89) After this the descent of the manor is unknown until 1779, when it was in the possession of Sarah Boddicott (née Tyssen), who had married Richard Boddicott of Hackney. (fn. 90) On her death in 1800 Eastbridge passed to her grandson, Samuel Tyssen, son and heir of her only daughter Sarah, who had married her second cousin Samuel Tyssen. (fn. 90a) It was settled on the grandson Samuel on his coming of age in 1807. (fn. 91)

Samuel Tyssen sold the estate by auction to George Johnston in 1825. In the indenture of this date it is described as 'all that manor or reputed manor of Eastcheap otherwise Eastbridge with all those Freehold Farms and lands called Eastbridge, White Bridge and Green's Farms.' (fn. 92)

On the death of Mr. George Johnston the estate passed to his son, Mr. John Alexander Johnston, who died in 1871, and was succeeded by his son, Mr. John Lindsay Johnston, M.A., J.P., the present owner. (fn. 93)

SW ANTHORPE (Swanedrop, xiii cent.; Swandrop, xiv cent.; Swanrope, xvi cent.) and CROOKHAM (Crokham, xiii cent.; Crecham, Crookham, xiv cent.), from an early date formed part of the great manor of Crondall, and in 1316 were included in the possessions of the Prior and convent of St. Swithun. (fn. 94) Again, in 1541 they were granted with the other lands in Crondall belonging to St. Swithun's to the Dean and chapter of Winchester. (fn. 95)

In the 14th century DIPPENHALL (Dupenhale, Dupehale, Dippenhaie, Depenhale, xiv cent.; Dipnel, xviii cent.) appears as a sub-manor dependent on the manor of Crondall. (fn. 96) It followed the same descent as the manor of Badley (fn. 97) (q.v.) until the death of John de Westcote in 1336, when it was assigned to his sister Margery, the wife of John de Fulquardeby. (fn. 98) In 1369 Thomas atte More granted to William Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester, the 'manor of Dippenhall,' which he had by grant from Margery de Fulquardeby. (fn. 99) At the Dissolution, Dippenhall, with the other possessions of the Prior and convent of St. Swithun, was granted to the Dean and chapter of Winchester; (fn. 100) and from this time it is usually described in leases and other records as the farm of Dippenhall. (fn. 101)

In 1279 Robert de Burgh, or atte Berewe, held land in EWSHOTT (Wysscshete, xiii cent.; Iweshute, xiv cent.; Iweschot, xv cent.; Ushott, xvi cent.; Euershott, xviicent.; Ewshot, xviii cent.) of Godfrey Giffard, Bishop of Worcester. (fn. 102) In 1302 there were five free tenants—among them Nicholas atte Berewe—holding land in Ewshott of Itchel Manor, (fn. 102a) and in 1351, (fn. 103) 1418, (fn. 104) and 1553, (fn. 105) there are records proving that land in Ewshott was still held at these dates by the Berewes of the Giffards. In 1579 Ewshott was sold with Itchel to Henry Wriothesley, second Earl of Southampton. (fn. 106) From this date the estate is usually spoken of as the manor of Itchel and Ewshott, and the history of Ewshott is identical with that of Itchel (q.v.).

Churches

The church of ALL SAINTS, Crondall, consistsof a chancel 35 ft. 2in. by 16 ft. 4 in.; north-east tower 15 ft. 3 in. square; nave 62 ft. 6 in. by 16 ft. 4 in.; north and south aisles 10 ft. 3 in. wide, with chapels at their east ends, and a north porch; all these measurements are internal.

It is one of the finest parish churches in the country, and, with one important exception, preserves its original plan. The oldest part of the building is the east end of the nave, begun probably about 1170, but forming part of the general design, and the whole church must have been finished about the end of the 12th century. It had a vaulted chancel of two bays, a central tower with shallow transepts, a nave of three bays with aisles equal in width to the transepts, and a north porch. The stone vault of the chancel and the weight of the central tower had thrust out the walls and given much trouble, and in 1657 it was decided to take down the tower and build a new one, which now exists, at the north end of the chancel, thus at one operation relieving the pressure on the nave and transepts and buttressing the north side of the chancel. Full details of the progress of the work are preserved in the churchwardens' accounts, which are fortunately complete from 1543, showing that the new tower was built in 1659 at a cost of £428, the model for it being the tower of Battersea Church. The area of the old tower was thrown into the nave, its west wall being entirely removed, and its north and south arches, together with those of the east bays of the old nave, altered to make the arcades appear continuous. Further work in this direction was done in 1847, but sufficient evidence of the church's history has escaped the hand of the restorer, and is noted below. During this restoration, which was in many ways mischievous, new windows (wretched travesties of 12th-century style) were inserted in the aisle walls, the greater part of the wall over the south arcade was rebuilt, and nearly all the clearstory windows were renewed. Two lancets were put in the west wall of the nave in place of a 15th-century window of which the hood-mould remains; the chancel arch was rebuilt and restored; the east window, which was a large pointed one of wood, was replaced by one of stone, and the roofs were repaired. In 1871 the east window was again replaced by the present lancets and the floor of the sanctuary raised.

Crondall Church from the West

The two modern lancet windows in the east wall of the chancel have shafts in their jambs with carved capitals and moulded bases, and over them is a quatrefoiled circle in the gable. In the north wall of the east bay is a lancet, blocked by the later tower wall; it has inner jamb shafts with moulded bases, water-leaf foliage capitals, and square-edged moulded abaci; the reararch is pointed, and moulded with a keeled edge-roll between two filleted hollows. In the west bay is a similar north window set to the east of the centre line to clear the tower stair-turret; outside it is of two orders, the inner with a continuous chamfer, and the outer square with angle shafts having moulded bases and scalloped capitals with hollow-chamfered square abaci, carrying an arch with a three-quarter edge roll and small outer rebate. The two southern windows of the chancel are 14th-century insertions, each of three plain pointed lights with intersecting tracery; but their outer jambs are differently treated. They replace lancets like those on the north, and that in the west bay being set to the west of the centre, the east jamb and part of the head of theoriginal lancet remain. This window is now blocked by an organ. The doorway leading to the vestry in the base of the new tower looks older than the tower, having an ogee head of 14th-century style. It may be an insertion of that date formerly opening to a vestry on the site of the tower. A second north doorway, now blocked, is original, and led from the west bay of the chancel to the tower stair; it has a plain segmental head, and over it is a break in the masonry which suggests the former existence of a rood-loft doorway.

The chancel is vaulted in two bays with a quadripartite ribbed vault, the vault cells covered with modern plaster; it has plain square wall ribs which are continued to the ground, diagonals moulded with three rolls and having two lines of dog-tooth ornament, and transverse arches of two orders, the outer with a double line of zigzag on the west, but plain on the east, and the inner with two rolls and three hollows. All are pointed, but distorted by the spreading of the vault. The transverse arches spring from clustered responds with a half-round shaft between two smaller circular shafts, and the diagonals spring from similar small shafts in the angles of each bay. At half-height runs a roll string originally carried all round the chancel at the sill level. The bases are a late form of the romanesque base with a flattened lower member, and the capitals have square hollow-moulded abaci and foliage of three kinds, Corinthian, water-leaf and stiff leaf, the last with the small knobs of leafage at the top of long stalks, characteristic of late 12th and early 13th-century work. The capitals of the second transverse arch, otherwise the chancel arch, have nearly all been replaced by plain stones, as yet uncarved. This arch towards the nave has a third order with zigzag, and a label with dog-tooth ornament.

The external wall faces of the chancel are coated with cement, and at the south-east angle is a deep clasping buttress of ashlar, which may be original; the northeast buttress, also of ashlar, is of much later date. The middle buttress against the south wall is of no great age, and has brick foundations; two of its vertical faces are cemented and the third (the west), is ashlarfaced, while its two offsets are covered with tiles.

Plan of Crondall Church

The tower is built of red brick and is in four stages; the lowest has a round-headed west doorway with brick pilasters and pediment, and plain round-headed windows to the east and north; the second stage is entered from the original stair turret by a wooden gallery at its south-west corner, and is lighted by squareheaded windows on the north and east with triangular relieving arches; the third stage holds the clock and is also approached by a wooden gallery, and the fourth (or bell-chamber) has pairs of round-headed windows on the north and east and single windows on the south and west; the parapet is plain and has pointed octagonal brick pinnacles at the corners. The tower sets back at each stage on the line of a string of ornamental brickwork and has clasping buttresses at the angles, which in the belfry stage become octagonal. The 12th-century stair turret has an outer doorway to the east at the ground level, its original doorway from the chancel being closed up.

The nave arcades are of four bays, one at the east opening to the transept chapels, and three to the aisle, and are similar in their details. The east responds are half-round, and to each is attached a small round shaft which helps to support a deep round-headed arch against the east wall of the chapel, which gave additional abutment to the original tower; the bases of the responds and shafts are moulded with a hollow and two rounds following the form of the responds, on a square chamfered sub-base; the capitals are scalloped with moulded abaci.

The transepts were lighted by single round-headed windows, and the south transept preserves its south window, though at the east it has a modern one of two lights. The east window of the north transept, on the other hand, is original, set very much to the north to clear the tower staircase, which stands in the angle between the transept and the chancel. At the west of both transept chapels plain round-headed arches with scalloped capitals, which also formerly buttressed the tower, open to the aisles. The first columns of the nave, formerly the western piers of the tower, have been most ingeniously whittled down to range with those to the west of them. The west responds of the north and south tower arches, and the east responds of the old nave arcades, have been cut back to a flat surface, and the responds of the west arch of the tower entirely removed, modern half-round piers of chalk with plain capitals being set up on the line of the wall face above to connect the north and south arches of the tower with the nave arcades. The arches themselves have been altered to suit the wide space caused by the removal of the responds, and are distorted in consequence. Above them the string at the base of the clearstory has been carried across the line of the west wall of the old tower, so that the clearstory seems unbroken from end to end of the nave, but the extra thickness of the tower walls shows at the junction with the nave walls, and the mouldings on the north arch of the tower still show the grooves worn in them by the bell ropes before 1657.

The second pair of nave piers, originally the east pair of the arcades, have against their east sides shallow rectangular blocks of masonry with small engaged shafts with bases and capitals at either side, obviously dating from the same time as the alteration in the piers of the old tower. The object is not now apparent, but they probably witness to some former strengthening of the arcade before 1657. The capitals of the piers of the rest of the arcade are carved with foliage, and are of later type than the scalloped capitals further to the east; but the bases resemble the others. The third pair of columns is circular, with a late form of scalloped capitals, and the west responds are half-round with similar scallops. The arches are all round and of two moulded orders, the inner with three-quarter edge rolls and the outer with a pointed bowtel between two deep hollows, but on the aisle side it is square. There are grooved and hollow-chamfered labels towards the nave.

The north window of the north transept chapel is modern, of two round-headed lights with a middle shaft; but at the corner of its east jamb is an old engaged shaft with capital and base like that attached to the east respond of the arcade; from these shafts springs a single chamfered round arch, forming a deep recess of the full width of the chapel. In the south jamb of the east recess is a small piscina of later date with a plain ogee-shaped head; its bowl is gone.

The south window of the south transept chapel also retains the shaft in its east jamb, supporting the arch of the east recess like that on the north side; west of the window is an old blocked doorway with a pointed segmental arch, of later date than the wall in which it is set.

Both aisles have modern side windows intended to match the general style of the church. The north doorway comes between the two windows in the north aisle; its jambs are of two square orders with detached angle shafts, of which that in the east jamb, with its base, is modern; the capitals are original and are scalloped, but the jambs have many stones of modern repair; the arch is a round one, its inner order with a three-quarter edge roll, while the outer has an edge roll, and zigzag ornament on its face; the hood-mould is enriched with tooth ornament. Rounded string-courses run along the aisle walls below the windows inside and out, the latter being much perished; the former rises over the segmental rear arch of the doorway as a label, where it has an additional hollow cut upon its face.

The porch to the doorway has evidently been rebuilt—probably at some time in the 17th century—but the stonework of its outer arch is of the same date as the north doorway; its jambs are now roughly set and are more or less of two chamfered orders, while the arch, once round, but now flattened, has two orders, the inner chamfered inside and with an edge roll outside, and the outer chamfered on both edges; the upper part of the porch is of brick and has a stepped gable. The west window of the aisle is a partly restored round-headed single light, rebated and chamfered outside and with the original inner jambs and rear arch.

The south doorway, midway in the aisle, is filled in and its outer rebated jambs coated with cement; its shafts are missing, but the scalloped capitals—partly buried in the filling-in—remain in place with their grooved and chamfered abaci, and the arch, which is round,is much decayed and coated with colourwash; it was probably of the same detail as the north doorway, but has lost its zigzag ornament; the label is formed by the string-course which runs along the wall and leaps over the doorway, and is a plain round in section. The rear arch is segmental and the inner stringcourse passes over it in a similar manner to that opposite, with the additional hollow where it is arched. The west window of this aisle is a completely modernized round-headed single light. The west doorway of the nave is of the same age as the others, but the jambs are partly of modern repair; the angle shafts are much decayed and their bases almost entirely perished; the capitals are scalloped and the abaci nearly all modern, grooved and hollow-chamfered. The arch is round, its inner order has a three-quarter edge-roll, and the outer a pointed bowtel between two hollows; the hood-mould is grooved and hollowchamfered, and at its crown is set a later corbel head. Over the doorway are two modern lancet windows, above which is the moulded label of the former 15th-century window.

The clearstory of the nave has four lancet windows on either side, of which only the south-eastern retains its original stonework; its jambs have lost their shafts outside, but the scalloped capitals remain; the arch is moulded with a three-quarter edge roll, and the windows have on the inside angle shafts with moulded bases, carved capitals, and moulded rear arches.

The walls throughout are completely coated with rough-cast on the outside. Two very deep buttresses support the west ends of the arcades; they have brick bases, rough-cast sides, and tiled offsets. The west angle of the north aisle has a peculiar quarter-round clasping buttress covered with cement, doubtless the remains of one of normal form. The east angle of the north transept has an old square clasping buttress, and another old buttress is set at the junction of the transept and aisle. On the south side there are more and heavier buttresses; the two to the transept are carried right up to the clearstory wall; that at the south-east corner has a kind of high plinth on its east face and has been also strengthened by an additional buttress on its west side; and three other modern buttresses have been built against the south wall.

The roof of the nave is a flat gable, with a wood panelled ceiling; the tie-beams are supported by curved braces which rest on modern stone corbels. Both aisles have flat lean-to roofs covered with lead. The porch has apparently old timbers to its flat roof.

The font is an ancient one of a plain flower-pot shape; there is little to give its approximate age; and the other furniture is all modern.

On the south side of the chancel is a recessed and canopied tomb which bears the following inscription: ' Hereunder lyeth the body of John Gyfford Esquyer heyre aparant of Sir Wyll[ia]m Gyfford Knyght (fn. 106a) who had to wyfe Elizabethe one of the dawghters of Sir George Throkmarton Knight and had by her issue fyve sonnys and viii dawghters and so changyd this mortall lyfe the fyrst day of May in the yere of our Lorde God 1563 on whose soule Jesu have m'cy.' The base of the tomb has on its face three lozenge-shaped traceried and cusped panels inclosing defaced shields, and a moulded cornice and base, all in grey marble. The niche over has octagonal angle-shafts with moulded capitals and bases supporting a flat four-centred arch; the jambs and soffit of the recess have cinquefoiled panels. In the back is the inscription in brass, above which is Giffard's kneeling figure in armour facing the indent of that of his wife; behind him is the indent of their sons, and behind her their daughters; between them is a shield of Giffard, and over it a mantled helm and a crest of a hand holding a bunch of flowers, apparently single pinks; over the arch is a frieze of feathered quatrefoils alternating with blank shields; the cornice finishes with a cresting of Tudor flowers.

The north altar tomb is that of Sir George Paulet of Crondall, younger brother of the first Marquess of Winchester. It has had most of its painted inscriptions obliterated, some of the obliterations being obviously intentional. It closely resembles in design and inscriptions the tomb of Sir Thomas White at South Warnborough, 1568. It is a recessed altar tomb with a canopy; on the base are three quatrefoil panels inclosing carelessly repainted shields; the recess has panelled jambs and a four-centred arch, and in it are three painted shields much defaced; the inscriptions are in panels below them. A shield of Paulet quartering Roos, Poynings, St. John, Delamere, Hussey, Hooke, Treby and Delamere impaling Hampden quartering Sidney Popham and St. Martin, commemorates Barbara Hampden, Sir George's second wife. On either side of the recess are octagonal shafts with moulded bases and capitals, surmounted by turrets; the top of the cornice is finished with leaf cresting. What remains of the inscription is:—

Panel 1. 'Georg and . . . Paulet [dye unto God and say] we hope to see the goodnes of God in the lande of lyfe . . . Thys have had issue one sone, and deceased the yere of our lord 1532, rend ying unto God the work of his hand .'

Panel 2. 'Barbara and George [Paulet] . . . of thys Barbera he had issue ij sonnes and ij daughters, her lyfe God took to his greate goodness the eare of our lord God 1552.'

Panel 3. 'And nowe in the eare of our lord 1558 God toke to hys almyghty mercy the sayde Syr George [Paulet] . . . he had issue of this Elyzabeth iij sonnes and ij daughters.'

In the chancel floor is a fine brass of a priest in mass vestments, the ornament on the apparels being a fylfot often repeated; the inscription is gone, but is said to have existed at the beginning of the 18th century, describing him as Nicholas de Caerwent, rector of Crondall from 1361 to 1381. In the south transept is a brass plate with a skeleton lying in a shroud, and the inscription: 'John Eager, (fn. 107) des March the xx, 1641—
You earthly impes which here behold
This picture with your eyes,
Remember the end of mortall men
And where their glory lies.'—I. E.

On the south wall of this transept is a small panel with a painted inscription to Anne, daughter of the Rt. Hon. William . . ., 1553, much defaced, and a marble monument to Dulcibella Rivers, 1657, who outlived both her husbands, Nicholas Love, custos of Winchester College, and Sir John Rivers, bart.

In the tower are six bells, the first by Henry Knight, 1616; the second also by him, 1619; the third by Robert Wells, of Aldbourne, 1788; the fourth recast from one by Henry Knight, 1619; the fifth is dated 1650 and inscribed, 'Me resonare jubet pietas mors atque voluptas'; and the tenor is by Robert Wells 1788.

The plate consists of a cup of Elizabethan type, with indistinct marks, but probably dating from 1568, (fn. 107a) a paten altered as at Wield, a silver-gilt chalice and paten of 1881, a pewter flagon bought in 1632, two pewter plates, a gilt bread-box, and a brass almsdish.

There are seven books of registers: (i) Baptisms, 1569–1755; burials, 1570–1653; marriages, 1576–1657; (ii) burials, 1678–1755, and two marriage entries of 1695; (iii) marriages, 1695–1754; (iv) marriages, 1754–63; (v) baptisms and burials, 1756–1812; (vi) marriages, 1763–83; (vii) 1783–1812. It will be noted that there is a gap in the marriage entries from 1657–95. There are also five volumes of churchwardens' accounts from 1543, and overseers' and surveyors' of highways accounts.

The churchyard has a fine avenue of lime trees leading from the entrance gate to the south door, besides several other large trees.

CHRISTCHURCH, CROOKHAM, is an entirely modern structure dating from 1841, and consists of a chancel with a north vestry and a nave with north and south transepts. It is built of red and yellow brick and designed in an adaptation of 13th-century style. The vestry is an addition and of more recent date, and the chancel has also been partly rebuilt. Over the west wall is a bell-gable for one bell. It was built through the instrumentality of the Rev. C. Dyson, rector of Dogmersfield, the site being presented by Mr. Charles Edward Lefroy of Itchel.

The church of ST. MARY, EWSHOTT, the site for which was given by Mr. John Lindsay Johnston of Eastbridge, is a small building consisting of a chancel and a nave. It was built in 1873, is constructed of stone, and is designed in 13th-century style. There is a small bell-gable containing one bell.

The church of ALL SAINTS, FLEET, which was built in memory of Janet the wife of Mr. Charles Edward Lefroy, is a modern structure dating from 1861, and consists of a chancel, nave of eight bays with aisles, and a western narthex. It is built of red brick banded with blue brick, and has lancet windows of 13th-century design in brick. Over the narthex in the west gable is a large stone rose window. Over the east wall of the nave is a bell-gable containing two bells. There is a tomb with recumbent effigies to the founder, Mr. Charles Edward Lefroy, who died in 1861.

Advowsons

There is mention of a church at Crondall at the time of the Domesday Survey, when it was said to be worth 20s. (fn. 107b) The advowson followed the descent of the manor until 1284, (fn. 107c) when a separation took place between the possessions of the Bishop of Winchester and those of the Prior and convent of St. Swithun, the former granting certain manors to the prior and convent in exchange for the advowsons of certain churches, among which that of Crondall was included. (fn. 108) At an early period the bishops appointed a rector, who in turn appointed a vicar. (fn. 109)

In 1318 licence was granted to John Sendale, Bishop of Winchester, to assign the advowson of Crondall to the provost and chaplain of the chapel of St. Elizabeth by Winchester, and at the same time permission was granted to the provost and chaplain to appropriate the church. (fn. 110) There is evidence that this was not carried into effect, for in 1321, (fn. 111) and again in 1327, (fn. 112) the king presented ' by reason of the late voidance of the bishopric of Winchester.'

In 1334 the Bishop of Winchester received a mandate to appropriate the advowson of Crondall Church to the Prior and convent of St. Swithun, since it had been given by the bishop's predecessors to secular clerks. (fn. 113) It is doubtful, again, however, if this mandate was obeyed, for in 1446 Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester, granted the rectory and advowson of the vicarage to the Hospital of St. Cross, to which he was a great benefactor, (fn. 114) in order to found his Charity of Noble Poverty. The tithes were farmed out to the highest bidder until the middle of the 19th century. (fn. 115)

Subsequently the Earl of Guilford, Master of St. Cross, leased the tithes and the right of presentation on three lives, receiving a lump sum down. In 1856 the great tithes of Crondall and Yateley were so let on the lives of Princess Mary of Cambridge, aged twentythree, the Princess Royal of England, aged fifteen, and Lord de Vesci, aged twelve. Lord de Vesci, the last of the three, died in 1903, and the tithes have now reverted to St. Cross. At the present time the rectorial tithes are commuted at £963 per annum. (fn. 116)

Mr. Charles Edward Lefroy purchased the advowson about 1855, and it passed from him to his son the late Mr. Charles James Maxwell Lefroy. The living is a vicarage of the net yearly value of £260. (fn. 117)

The living of Crookham is a vicarage (net yearly value £220, with half an acre of glebe and residence) in the gift of the vicar of Crondall.

The living of Ewshott is a vicarage (net yearly value .£155) in the gift of the Bishop of Winchester.

The living of Fleet is a vicarage (net yearly value £160) in the gift of the Bishop of Winchester.

There are Congregational and Bible Christian chapels at Crondall, a Primitive Methodist chapel at Crookham, a Wesleyan chapel at Ewshott, and Baptist, Wesleyan Methodist, Primitive Methodist, and Roman Catholic chapels at Fleet.

Charities

'Oliver's Educational Charity.' The trust funds consist of £738 15s. 2d. consols, arising under the will of Elizabeth Oliver, servant of Henry Maxwell, of Ewshott House, dated 21 March 1802, and £500 consols, by a codicil to the will of the said Henry Maxwell, dated 28 January 1811. The charity is regulated by schemes of 31 July and 23 December 1885, as varied by an order of the Charity Commissioners of 19 March 1897, whereby one-third part of the stock, namely £412 18s. 5d. consols, is made applicable for the civil parish of Crondall, one-third for Crookham, and one-thinl for Fleet.

The Crondall School Charity, founded by deeds 1816 and 1836, is regulated by a scheme of the Charity Commissioners of 7 June 1889.

In 1831 John Andrews by will, proved at London, gave the principal money to be received on his policy of insurance to trustees for investment, the income to be applied in the purchase of blankets and shoes for the poor. The legacy is represented by £557 5s. 6d. consols, producing yearly £13 18s. 6d., which, in pursuance of a scheme of 13 January 1880, as varied by a scheme of 20 January 1905, is applied on 30 November in each year, instead of on 25 June as prescribed in the will. The sums of stock are held by the official trustees.

The Congregational chapel.—The official trustees also hold a sum of £800 consols in trust for the support of the chapel, being the consideration paid by the War Office for the redemption of a yearly rent-charge of £20 on the Ewshott estate.

By an award, dated in, 1849, 3 acres were allotted for repair of highways in the tithings of Crondall and Dippenhall, 4 acres for a recreation ground, and 2 acres for a poor's allotment in Dippenhall.

Crookham and Ewshott.—The Cottrell Almshouses are regulated by a scheme of the Charity Commissioners of 8 July 1898, as varied by a scheme of 27 June 1905. There are four almshouses of one story occupied by four inmates, and two sets of rooms in the western part consisting of two stories occupied by two inmates, who pay a small rent. A sum of £344 2s. 8d. consols is also being accumulated with the official trustees as a 'Repairs and Improvement Account' until the sum of £400 consols has been obtained.

The Fuel Allotment Fund consists of £3,164 1s. 3d. consols, with the official trustees, arising from the sale in 1881 of land taken by the Ordnance Department under the provisions of 5 & 6 Vict. cap. 94. The dividends, amounting annually to £79 2s., are applicable in the purchase of fuel for distribution amongst the poor who do not occupy lands, &c, of more than the annual value of £6. In 1905 coal was distributed among 135 recipients.

Footnotes