DOGMERSFIELD
Ormeresfelt (xi cent.); Dokemeresfeld, Dochemeresfeld (xii cent.); Dogmeresfeld (xiii cent.).
The parish of Dogmersfield is north-east of Odiham
and contains 1,731 acres, of which approximately
300 acres are arable land, 900 acres permanent grass,
and 500 acres woods and plantations; (fn. 1) the soil is partly
stiff clay and partly loam, the subsoil clay and sand.
The greater part of the parish consists of Dogmersfield
Park, containing about 1,000 acres, which surrounds
Dogmersfield House, the seat of Sir Henry Paulet St.
John-Mildmay, bart.
This house possibly stands on the site of the Palace
which, judging from the many documents dated from
here by the Bishops of Bath and Wells, existed in the
parish in the 13th century, and possibly earlier.
In 1205 the king ordered wine to be sent to Dogmersfield, ' to be placed in the house of the Bishop of
Bath,' (fn. 2) and it was here that Reginald Fitz Jocelin,
Bishop of Bath and Wells, and John de Drokensford,
another bishop of the same see, died in 1191 and 1329
respectively. (fn. 3)
Henry VI apparently often stayed at Dogmersfield,
and the meeting of Henry VII and Prince Arthur
with Katherine of Aragon took place here; when the
king met his future daughter-in-law, though unable to
address each other in an intelligible language, ' there
were the most goodly words uttered to each other, in
the language of both parties, to as great joy and gladness as any persons conveniently might have.' (fn. 4)
Basingstoke Canal, which passes through this parish,
is on the eastern side of the park.
In the north of the parish, close to the canal, is the
hamlet of Chatter Alley with Chatter Alley Green, and
further down the hill there is another hamlet called
Pilcot, a reputed manor in the 17th century; Pilcot
Mill is close by on the stream which runs along the
eastern boundary. All Saints' Church stands on Tundry
Hill between Pilcot and the park; it was built in
1843 by the rector, the Rev. Charles Dyson, and his
sister, (fn. 5) to replace a church near Flood's Farm which
was built at the beginning of the 19th century, when
the old parish church, which stood in front of
Dogmersfield House, was pulled down. This church,
however, was considered to be in an inconvenient
situation, and is now dismantled and overrun with
foliage. (fn. 6)
A document of the 16th century records ' Westmyll Mead in Pylcote.' (fn. 7)
Manors
In King Edward the Confessor's time,
Suein held the manor of DOGMERSFIELD 'as an alod ' of the king, and his
successor in possession was Hugh with the beard. (fn. 8)
A church and a mill existed in 1086, and the latter
was then worth 6s. 6d., while the value of the entire
manor was given as 100s.
The manor was apparently shortly afterwards acquired by Ralph Flambard, Bishop of Durham (1099–1133), from whom it passed to Henry I, who granted
it to the church of Bath, Godfrey, Bishop of Bath and
Wells (1123–36) and his successors. (fn. 9)
In the reign of Henry II there was a dispute about
the manor of Dogmersfield between Reginald Fitz
Jocelin, Bishop of Bath and Wells (1174–92), who
claimed to hold in demesne, and Henry de Tilli, which
ended in favour of the bishop, who was confirmed in
possession by Henry II. (fn. 10) About the same time
Geoffrey de Mandeville appears to have acquired a
right in the manor, which his descendant of the same
name gave up to William Button, Bishop of Bath and
Wells, in 1260. (fn. 11)
Jocelin, Bishop of Bath and Wells (1206–44), obtained a confirmation of his
right to the manor from King
John in 1207, (fn. 12) and the successive Bishops of Bath and
Wells retained possession until
the reign of Henry VIII, (fn. 13)
when the manor was sold to
the king. (fn. 14) Henry appointed
Sir John Wallop keeper of the
manor and park in 1540–1,
and the following year leased
the demesne land to Oliver
Wallop, brother of Sir John,
for twenty-one years. (fn. 15) The
manor was granted to Thomas,
Lord Wriothesley, first Earl of Southampton, in 1547,
by Edward VI, in order to fulfil his father's intentions, (fn. 16) and the second earl inherited and died seised
in 1581, (fn. 17) leaving the manor
to his eldest son Henry, who
died in 1624, leaving a son
Thomas aged sixteen. (fn. 18) In
1629 the earl conveyed the
manor to Edward Dickenson
and William Terry, (fn. 19) probably
in trust for William Godson,
who had apparently acquired
the manor in or before the
year 1646. (fn. 20)
See of Bath and Wells. Azure a saltire quartered saltirewise or and argent.
Goodyer. Gules a fesse between two cheverons vair.
William Godson was still
holding in 1671, in which
year he presented to the
church, (fn. 21) but before long he had been succeeded by
Edward Goodyer, who died in 1686. (fn. 22) Edward is
described on his tombstone as lord of the manor,
and according to the same authority he left three
children, James, John, and Martha; James and John died
childless, and Martha became the eventual heiress;
she married at Dogmersfield, in 1702–3, Ellis St. John,
who was patron of the living in 1718. (fn. 23) Martha left
a son and heir Paulet, who was created a baronet in
1772, (fn. 24) and the second baronet inherited in 1780. (fn. 25)
Henry Paulet St. John, son of the latter, took the
additional name of Mildmay under the testamentary
injunctions upon marrying
the heiress of the house of
Mildmay, which had become
extinct in the male line. (fn. 26) The
manor is now the property of
the sixth baronet, Sir Henry
Paulet St. John-Mildmay, J.P.
Dogmersfield Park was made
in the reign of Henry II,
when licence was given to
Reginald Fitz Jocelin, Bishop
of Bath and Wells, to impark
his wood, (fn. 27) and in 1228 leave
was obtained by his successor Jocelin (1206–44) to
increase it by 7 acres of pasture, deer leaps being
granted to him in 1227 and 1229. (fn. 28)
St. John. Argent a chief gules with two molets or therein.
The park was further enlarged by 3½ acres which
were inclosed ' with a dike and a hedge' by Bishop
Jocelin, (fn. 29) and in 1276 the stock of Bishop Robert
(1275–93) was increased by a royal gift of '20 live
does and brockets ' taken from the royal park of Odiham. (fn. 30) There have been no deer in the park for many
years. (fn. 31) In the 16th century the keeper of the park
received a salary of £12 a year. (fn. 32) The park contains two pieces of water at the present day, Tundry
Pond and Dogmersfield Lake; of these one may
possibly represent the fishpond granted to Bishop
Jocelin in 1205 before the inclosure of the park. (fn. 33)
In 1257 Henry III granted free warren in the
demesne land of his manor of Dogmersfield to
William, Bishop of Bath and Wells, and this charter
was produced in 1280 as a proof of the right of the
bishopric to this privilege. (fn. 34)
The mill mentioned under the Domesday Survey
may very possibly have stood on the property later
known as Pilcot, for a water-mill is known to have
existed here in the 15 th, 16th, and 17th centuries. (fn. 35)
A fair was granted to Robert, Bishop of Bath and
Wells, by Edward I in 1278, which was to last for
six days, beginning on the vigil of Sts. Ciricus and
Julitta (16 June) and on ' the day and on the morrow
and for the three following days.' (fn. 36)
John atte Berewe, who died in 1351, possessed land
in Dogmersfield, which was inherited by John son
of Robert atte Berewe. (fn. 37) John Berewe, presumably
the latter, died in 1418 seised of a water-mill and
land in PILCOT, held of the Bishop of Bath and Wells
as of the manor of Dogmersfield, (fn. 38) so that it seems
probable that this property, which was called a manor
in the 17th century, was also held by the first John.
George Berewe, who was probably a descendant of
the same family, conveyed 'all
that tenement and cottage with
appurtenances in Pylcott . . .
and 8 acres of arable land and
pasture with other small tenements and a water-mill in
Pylcott' to James Wolveridge
in January 1567–8. (fn. 39) In
1591 there was a dispute
about the right of Anthony
Berewe to these lands, a witness asserting that George
Berewe had given up his interest
in the property to Anthony.
James Wolveridge obtained a quitclaim of the manor
of Pilcot from George Berewe in 1611, (fn. 40) but he or his
descendants appear to have parted with the property,
as Edward Dickenson died in 1630 seised of the
manor of Pilcot, the overlordship being vested in the
lord of Dogmersfield Manor; Edward left a son James,
aged eight, the heir of his property. (fn. 41)
Mildmay, Baronet. Argent three lions azure.
The manor has apparently disappeared, but the
name and probably the site is preserved in the hamlet
of Pilcot in this parish.
Church
The church of ALL SAINTS is a
modern one, with a chancel, nave, north
and south transepts, west tower, and
an open-timbered south porch. The material of the
walling is squared rubble with stone dressings; the
style generally is that of the first half of the 14th
century. The transepts have stone screens dividing
them, from the nave. The furniture of the church
is all modern, but several monuments antedate the
building. On the south wall is a small rectangular
brass engraved with the kneeling figure of a lady
before a table on which is a book, and, by the book,
an infant in long clothes. From the mouth of the
lady issues a scroll with the words: 'Not by merytt
but by mercy judge me O Lorde.' Behind her kneel
her three daughters. The background is formed
by a classic arcade of two bays; between them is a
lozenge with the arms of Paulet with the difference
of a molet in a crescent quartering Cowdray and
Andrewes. The inscription below reads: ' Here
lieth Anne the eldest daughter of John Poulett of
Herryard Esquyer and wyfe to Nicholas Sutton
who died in childbed the viiith of Maye 1590
being of the age of xxviiitie yeres on whose soule
God have mercy.' Below this is another inscription: 'The above brass was found in Dogmersfield
House in 1904. It is supposed it was taken from
the old church of this parish pulled down in 1806.
It was placed here in January 1905.' There are
other 18th-century and later monuments, chiefly to
the members of the St. John-Mildmay family.
There are four bells, one being a very small one
dated 1843; the treble of the larger three is by
Thomas Mears 1843, the second by Warner 1836,
and the third is one of the 15th-century Reading
group with the inscription 'Sancta Nicollae' and the
marks of a lion's face, cross, and groat.
The plate consists of a silver chalice and paten cover
of 1572 and 1569; a silver paten of 1677 given by
William Godson and his wife Elizabeth in that year;
a silver chalice of 1842 given by John Taylor Coleridge in 1842; a silver parcel-gilt paten of 1844 and a
silver flagon of 1711 given in 1744 by Paulet St. John.
There are four books of registers. The first begins
in 1695, and contains baptisms and burials to 1782
and marriages to 1745. The second has marriages
only from 1755 to 1791. The third has baptisms
and burials from 1783 to 1812, and the fourth marriages from 1792 to 1812. There is thus a gap in
the marriage entries between 1745 and 1755.
Advowson
A church existed in Dogmersfield
at the time of the Domesday Survey,
and the advowson was granted by
the Prior and convent of Bath to Reginald Fitz
Joceline, Bishop of Bath and Wells, in 1180, together
with an annual pension of 20s. (fn. 42)
The bishop constituted this sum a prebend of
Wells in 1215, and in 1239 joined it to the prebend
of Wedmore and the church of Mark, making a total
annual value of £4. (fn. 43) The contribution was evidently
too great a burden upon the rector of Dogmersfield,
and in 1208 William Giffard, Bishop of Bath and
Wells, ordained that it should cease. (fn. 44) In the valuation of the churches in the diocese of Winchester,
however, made in William of Wykeham's time (1367–98), Dogmersfield is returned as contributing a pension of the original amount. (fn. 45)
After the sale to the king the advowson seems to
have generally belonged to the lord of the manor of
Dogmersfield; but in 1639, and again in 1641,
Thomas Hussey, M.P. for Whitchurch, presented;
and in 1679 Elizabeth Whelpdale, possibly a widow
or daughter of Andrew Whelpdale, rector in 1671,
presented to the living. (fn. 46) The lord of the manor is
the present patron.
A licence was granted by William of Wykeham
about the year 1370 to John Harewell, Bishop of
Bath and Wells, to 'confer orders in his chapel at
Dogmersfield. (fn. 47)
Charities
The poor's land formerly consisted
of land forming part of Dogmersfield
Park. In 1863 the land was sold,
and proceeds invested in £584 8s. consols with the
official trustees, producing yearly £14 12s., which is
applicable by the rector and churchwardens in the
distribution of fuel, clothes, or other articles in kind,
and in special cases in money payments for the benefit
of the most deserving poor resident in the parish. In
1905 there were thirty-eight recipients of coal and
clothing.