BASING or OLD BASING

Basinges (xi cent.).

Basing is a parish lying to the north-east of Basingstoke, and covering about 5,300 acres. It is watered by the River Loddon, which rises west of Basingstoke and flows through the parish from the south-west to the north-east. The soil is clay and chalk, on a subsoil of London clay. About 2,400 acres are in cultivation, and wheat, oats, barley and root crops are raised. The parish has many plantations and one large park, and the total area covered by woodland is nearly 1,000 acres. (fn. 1)

The village of Basing, about two miles east of Basingstoke, consists of a long straggling street lying between the River Loddon and the Basingstoke Canal, which is a little to the south of the river. The Loddon works the mills which have existed in Basing since the 11th century. (fn. 2) One, Lower Mill, is at the north end of the village, and near it is the Hants County Council farm. The other mill, Old Basing Mill, stands also on the north side and nearly under the special arches of the railway bank which crosses the valley here. A Primitive Methodist chapel, built in 1867, stands higher up the street.

The village contains many small houses and cottages dating from the 17th century; they are mostly of narrow red bricks with gabled tiled roofs; one of the houses has a semi-octagonal projecting stair turret. Some of the cottages are of half timber and brick construction with roofs of thatch.

The most interesting part of the village is the south end, where, encircled by a curve of the canal, which has taken the place of the old ditch, stands all that remains of Basing House, which was destroyed during the Civil War. Under John fifth Marquess of Winchester it sustained a close siege by the Parliamentary armies for many months, and was finally stormed by Oliver Cromwell in 1645, and ordered to be 'totally slighted and demolished.' (fn. 2a) Memories of the siege are preserved in the names of Slaughter Close, a meadow close by the castle on the opposite side of the canal, and Oliver's Battery, at the north end of the village. On Cowdrey's Down, across the 'meades' of Peat Moor, is a chalk-pit known as Oliver's Dell. On this down the Roundheads had their camp. Just north of it is the ancient manor-house of Lickpit, now called Lickpit Farm.

From the village street a road runs directly south under the London and South Western Railway as it passes through the village, then across the canal past Byfleet manor farm, the old manor-house of the Byfleet family. Passing by the National school, and skirting the original park of Basing House, it crosses the great high road from Basingstoke to London, and runs on to the large park surrounding Hackwood House. On the east of this road is the traditional scene of a battle between the Saxons and Danes in the year 871. Only a part of Hackwood Park is in Basing, the rest being included in Basingstoke, Eastrop, Cliddesden, and Winslade parishes. The parish boundary runs through Hackwood House, which stands near the western boundary of the park in the highest part of the parish, which here reaches a height of 400 ft. above the ordnance datum. The first Duke of Bolton converted Hackwood into a large house, but does not seem to have resided there. It is surrounded by the beautiful oaks and beeches of the park, the most picturesque part of which is Spring Wood, in the heart of which is an amphitheatre, constructed about the beginning of the 18th century, in the style of the famous French gardener Le Nôtre. (fn. 2b) Spring Wood is the sole or almost the sole survival in England of a garden-wood laid out in the French style, with avenues radiating from a round point, temples, terraces and ponds. (fn. 2c)

The hamlet of Cufauds, known locally as 'Cuffell,' in the north-west of the parish, is reached by a lane running across the Loddon from the north end of Basing village, through the hamlet of Pyot's Hill, and then across the high road from Basingstoke to Reading. Two miles further on is the site of the old manor-house of the Cufaud family, the surrounding moat of which is still visible.

An Independent chapel, built in 1868, stands near the village on the road to Cufauds.

A Private Act for the inclosing of this parish was passed in 1796, and an award was made in the next year. (fn. 3)

Among place names in Basing mentioned in the records are '100 acres of pasture called Causingrey,' a field at 'La Ellenestubb,' 'Poorsland,' 'Blacklake,' and 'Exfould.'

Manors

BASING is first mentioned in the will of King Edred, who left to his mother 'the lands at Amesbury, Wantnge and Basing.' (fn. 4) Under Edward the Confessor it was held by Altei, who could 'betake himself whither he would.' It was then assessed at 11 hides. In 1086 it was assessed at 6½ and was held of the Conqueror by Hugh de Port as the chief of his fifty-five lordships in Hampshire. He had seven serfs here and three mills worth 50s. The value of the place had increased from £8 to £16. (fn. 5) When Hugh de Port subsequently entered the monastery at Winchester as a monk (fn. 6) he was succeeded in his estates by his son Henry, (fn. 7) who had a son John dc Port. (fn. 8) John by his wife Maud left a son and heir Adam, (fn. 9) who succeeded him in the latter part of the 12th century. Adam married Mabel granddaughter of Roger de St. John, and their descendants took the name of St. John. (fn. 10) Their son was William, who married Godeheld Pagnell, (fn. 11) by whom he had a son Robert. Apparently William had some dispute with the Crown concerning his lands, for in 1254 the king confirmed to Robert de St. John the land within the manor of Basing, which he, the king, had by judgement of his court recovered against William de St. John father of Robert. (fn. 12) He was to pay annually 5 marks at Easter and 5 at Michaelmas for all service. (fn. 13)

John de St. John, son of Robert, was returned lord of Basing in 1275, (fn. 14) and proved his right to the liberties of the manor in 1280. (fn. 15) He died in 1301, and in the following year it was agreed between his wife Alice and his son and heir John that she should receive as dower the manors of Chawton and Walberton in lieu of her dower in Basing, Shcrborne and elsewhere. (fn. 16) John granted the custody of Basing and other manors for life to Thomas de Mareys, with ' a daily wages of 12d. and one coat, or 20s. yearly, a yearly salary of £4. . . litter and hay daily for two horses, and half a bushel of oats for the same every night, and brushwood for his chamber.' (fn. 17) This John was the first Baron St. John of Basing, and was summoned to Parliament under that title in 1299. (fn. 18) At his death in 1329 he was succeeded by his son Hugh, (fn. 19) but Alice his widow held Basing in dower during her lifetime. (fn. 20) In 1334 Hugh had release to himself and his heirs, 'for the special affection which the king bore him,' of the rent of 10 marks due at the exchequer for the manor of Basing. (fn. 21) He died in 1337, (fn. 22) and his son Edmund died without issue only ten years later. (fn. 23) His heirs were his two sisters, Margaret wife of John de St. Philibert, and Isabel wife of Henry de Burghersh. (fn. 24) Margaret inherited for her share the manor of Basing, (fn. 25) out of which a rent-charge was paid to Elizabeth, widow of Edmund. (fn. 26) She died in 1361, (fn. 27) and her infant son a month later, (fn. 28) so that Isabel, now wife of Sir Luke de Poynings, became sole heir to the St. John estates, of which she had seisin in 1362. (fn. 29) In 1390 the manor was settled on her with remainder to her son Sir Thomas de Poynings, (fn. 30) who succeeded to the manor in 1393. (fn. 31) On his death in 1428 the barony of St. John tell into abeyance; his heirs were Constance wife of John Paulet and daughter of his son Hugh, Alice her sister wife of John Orell, and John Bonville, son of a third sister, Joan. (fn. 32) A partition of the inheritance was made by the heirs, and Basing fell to the share of Constance and John Paulet. (fn. 33) Constance was succeeded by her son John, who in 1475 settled the manor on his son John and his other sons and daughters. (fn. 34) He himself had a lawsuit with his cousin John Bonville to compel him to give up the documents relating to their inheritance to some indifferent person, to whom they could go if they wished to verify their titles. (fn. 35) It does not appear whether the action was successful, but Sir William Paulet, his grandson, son and heir of his son John, was called upon to show his title in 1537, (fn. 36) and was presumably able to do so. The barony of St. John was revived in his favour, and he was created Marquess of Winchester in 1551. (fn. 37) He survived four monarchs and retained high office during all the changes of administration, finally dying at a great age in 1572. (fn. 38) His son John was his heir and died in 1576. (fn. 39) William was the next to succeed, and died seised of the manor in 1598, leaving a son and heir William. (fn. 40) John, son and heir of William, followed, and is famous for his staunch defence of Basing House against the Parliamentary forces. (fn. 41) During the Commonwealth his lands were of course sequestered. It appears from the investigations of the sequestration committee that the accounts of the manor were not very satisfactory. (fn. 42) Many of the tenants were in arrears with their rent, and were 'so miserably poor that nothing was to be had from them.' (fn. 43) The rents of Basing and other lands of the marquess were granted to Robert Wallop in 1650. (fn. 44) The estates of the marquess were restored to him in 1662, when an 'Act for confirming the estate of John Marquess of Winchester in certain manors and lands whereof the deeds and evidences were burnt and lost at the taking of the Castle of Basing' received the royal assent. (fn. 45) His son Charles was created first Duke of Bolton, (fn. 46) and Basing descended in the family till the death of Harry sixth and last duke, in 1794, when, in accordance with the will of his elder brother Charles, the fifth duke, (fn. 47) it was inherited by the latter's illegitimate daughter. She married Thomas Orde, who took the name of Powlett in addition to his own and was created Lord Bolton in 1797. (fn. 48) His great-grandson, the present Lord Bolton, is now lord of the manor.

St. John. Argent a chief gules with two molds or therein.

Poynings. Barry or and vert with a baston gules.

Paulet, Marquess of Winchester. Sable three swords in pile with their hilts or.

Orde-Powlett, Lord Bolton. The arms of Paulet with a quarter argent and therein a scutcheon sable with a salmon rising.

The ruins of Basing House have been very carefully and thoroughly excavated by Lord Bolton, and a plan, which is at any rate intelligible, can now be obtained. The arrangement of the site is of considerable interest, the earthworks of a castle of the mount and bailey type having been in the first place adapted to the terraces and walled gardens of a 16th-century country house, and in the next century hastily strengthened by lines of outworks and ditches during the civil wars. Some of the latter have been levelled out in modern times, and the cutting of the Basingstoke Canal about 1780 has destroyed the appearance of the north and east sides of the inclosure, but the mount or citadel with its ditch and parts of those which surrounded the two baileys are still in very good condition. The fall of the ground is northward towards the marshy valley of the Loddon, which must have formed an important item in the mediaeval defences, and on the brow of the slope is the principal earthwork, already referred to as the mount. This belongs to an uncommon type, of which Old Sarum and Castle Rising are examples, in which the diameter of the circular earthwork is very large, and instead of being a flat-topped mount it becomes a high rampart of earth surrounding a circular inclosure, the level of which is but little higher than the general ground level outside the ditch. The diameter, taken from the crest of the rampart, is not less than 100 yds. in the present instance, and the bottom of the ditch is nearly 40 ft. below the same point. The entrance is from the north-east, through a break in the earthen rampart, opening to a court or bailey bounded on all sides by a ditch, and having to the east another court which was defended in like manner. The canal running along the east side of the second court has destroyed the evidence of its original defences, but the general disposition of the earthworks is clear. Basing seems to have come into importance only when Hugh de Port, the first owner after the Conquest, made it the chief manor of the fiftyfive which he held in the county, and it is probable that the citadel and two courts are his work. The earliest mention of a castle here, contained in a midI2th-century grant by John de Port to Sherborne Priory, (fn. 49) is rather puzzling, as it refers to the 'old castle of Basing,' implying as it would seem that there was also a new castle at the time. But that the 'old castle' was that whose remains exist to-day is clear from a mention of the chapel of St. Michael ' in the old castle' in 1 349, (fn. 50) undoubtedly the castle chapel or Free Chapel of Basing; so that if any part of the defences, or any other work at Basing, was ever known as the new castle, the name has long fallen into disuse.

In 1261 (fn. 51) Robert de St. John had licence to strengthen his dwelling at Basing with a stockade, but no other reference to the mediaeval buildings on the site is known. Now that the site has been cleared, it seems that some foundations in the citadel are older than the early 16th-century brickwork which forms the main part of the ruins, and these are doubtless part of the mediaeval castle; but they are too fragmentary to give any idea of what its plan may have been, or its extent. One piece of 12th-century detail has been found on the site, the voussoir of an arch, but this by itself cannot be taken as evidence of the character of the early buildings; and the fact that the bulk of the objects found—and everything found has been most scrupulously preserved—dates from the 16th and 17th centuries shows that a very clean sweep must have been made when the brick house was built.

Its date is fixed by a licence (fn. 52) to crenellate, granted to Sir William Paulet in 1531, which refers in the customary terms to a building of stone and lime, though the actual material is red brick with stone dressings. It is difficult to distinguish between the dates of the various parts, and Sir William evidently added to his original work at several times during his long life: probably the work in the 'citadel,' called in the 17th-century accounts the Old House, was the first to be done, and the buildings in the east court, 'the New House,' followed at some interval. A stone preserved in the museum on the site records the completion of some work in 1561, but it is uncertain to what part of the building it refers. The arrangement of the buildings is dictated by the position, and follows no normal type, nor is it possible to identify any but the most obvious parts of the plan.

The circular rampart was at this time strengthened by a red brick wall on the outside and a line of buildings set against its inner face, the area within the rampart being divided into several courts. The principal court was at the north-east, entered directly from the gatehouse, and was fan-shaped, having the great hall on the west side, with kitchen, butteries, &c, on the north-west. The ranges of building on either side of the gatehouse have cellars, and under the hall is a large cellar, the walls of which remain up to the ground level, but everything has been destroyed above this point except the walls set against the rampart. South of the hall is a block which doubtless contained the principal living-rooms, the great chamber, &c, overlooking a second court on the south-west, while a third and somewhat smaller court, of a regular rectangular shape, was at a little distance to the south. There was a small court on the west of the hall and another at the south-east of the site, east of the rectangular court. The kitchen at the north-west of the hall was a hexagonal building with large fireplaces in three of its sides, and the rooms on either side of it had ovens in the thickness of the walls, and were doubtless bakehouses or something of the sort, while another room north of the great hall shows remains of two large fireplaces set against the rampart, and was evidently a second kitchen. The hall itself was a fine room measuring some 60 ft. by 25 ft., with screens at the north end and a northeast porch, and a shallow bay window at the southeast; at the north end beyond the screens a broad flight of steps leads down to a cellar beneath the hall, formerly covered with a brick vault and lighted by two small windows on east and west; on either side of the entrance to the cellar are rooms in the mediaeval position of buttery and pantry, that toward the east having a bay window looking into the principal court.

General Plan of Basing House.

The block at the south of the hall, already noted as that which probably contained the chief livingrooms, seems from its construction of flint and stone instead of brick to be of an earlier date than the 16th century, and other work to the south-west, forming part of the walls of a cellar, is also of the same material and earlier than some red brick walls built against it. Walls underlying the 16th-century brickwork exist on the south side of the second court, but have no features by which their date may be more closely fixed. The brickwork itself is clearly of several periods, and bricks of 2 in., 2¼ in., and 2½ in. are used; the limits of possible date must lie between 1530 and 1645, and it is probable that some of the brickwork is as late as the time of the great sieges of 1643–5. At the north-east are the remains of the gatehouse, a fine building with a central entrance passage and round turrets at its four angles; in the diary of the Marquess of Winchester, who defended the house during the siege, it is described as 'the loftie gatehouse with foure turrets looking northwards.' It opened to a brick bridge over the dry moat, which still remains in part and forms the principal approach to the citadel, the only other being from the south by what was probably a drawbridge over the moat; only its foundations now exist. Within the first court the gatehouse was flanked by ranges of buildings with cellars, which show clear evidence of alteration, the second room from the gatehouse on each side having been enlarged and, perhaps, carried up as a tower; the presumption that this was done to strengthen the defences seems reasonable, and the work may therefore be of the date of the siege. The inner facing of the eastern rampart at the north-east is also of later date, as some of the 16th-century detail is used up in its footings, and this work may be contemporary with that just noticed. A narrow range of building with two projecting stair turrets at the south-east of the first court preserves in its cellar the remains of some curious drawings, chiefly of ships, which seem to be of 17th-century date, and its arched doorway at the east end is still perfect, but shows many traces of fire.

The least well preserved part of the Old House is the eastern part, which is reduced to a very fragmentary condition, and its plan can only be guessed at. In one place there has been a small open court against the rampart wall, and the base of a moulded brick chimney stack remains on the wall, and further to the south is the base of a stair. To the north of the third court, already noticed, is a large wellpreserved pit some 20 ft. deep, built in flint and stone, and spanned near one end by two thin walls carried on brick arches, set close together but at different levels. Half the bottom of the pit is paved with stone slabs set at a considerable slant, while the other half is merely the natural sand, and the entire absence of black soil makes it doubtful whether this could have been the shaft of a garderobe, as at first sight seems probable. It may be suggested that its original use was that of similar pits in use at the present day in Holland and elsewhere, namely, cold storage, for preserving provisions in hot weather. There are two wells within the circular rampart, the principal one being in the middle of the first court; a good supply ot water is obtainable at about 40 ft. from the surface.

The New House was entered from the west through a gatehouse with turrets at two and probably at all four angles, and consisted of two courts surrounded by ranges of buildings. The evidence for the exist- ence of two courts is established by the accounts of the siege, but no trace has been found of any range dividing into two the irregular four-sided area which the foundations of the house inclose. Little can be said of the buildings, which were all of red brick and evidently of considerable strength: there was a second gatehouse on the south-east, and turrets at intervals all round the inner side of the buildings. At the south-west was a well-house with a large well 50 ft. deep and of oval plan, about 11 ft. by 10 ft., its sides built in brickwork 2 ft. 6 in. thick; it has now been cleaned and roofed over, and is in excellent preservation. The east side of the house is repre- sented by a few fragments of brickwork, the destruc- tion being largely due to the making of the canal which runs close by, but it is also to be noted that this was the part of the house which suffered most in the siege. The New House was, according to contemporary accounts, a very magnificent building, so much so that to save the expense of keeping it up part was pulled down, apparently in the first decade of the 17th century. A view of it from the east, taken apparently about 1645, and showing the breach made by the Parliament's batteries, gives some idea of its extent, the many turrets breaking the skyline giving it a very stately appearance. This view exists in several copies, that in Warner's History of Hants being very little understood by the copyist, who has added a wide moat full of water and crossed by a causeway. The terraces and walled gardens already referred to as part of the 16th-century lay- out are to the north, on the slope of the valley, and make a most picturesque setting to the site. Their red brick walls are of no particular strength, having been built for beauty and not for defence, but played their part in the siege, and still show traces of rough loopholing for musket fire. At the north-west angle is an octagonal pigeon house, preserving its revolving ladder, and this point was known as the Basingstoke bulwark, and was the scene of a good deal of fighting. Close to it an eastern platform has been thrown out into the ditch, and is perhaps the site of the 'blind' made of timber and earth made by the garrison in 1643 to command the mill on the Loddon just opposite. A terrace runs northward from a point north-west of the Old House, and its line is continued by the wall which joins the pigeon house at the north-west angle of the gardens. At the end of the terrace nearest the old house is a small brick building now used as a museum, the lower part of its walls being old, and there is evidence that a building adjoined it on the east, part of its arched cellars remaining. It has been called a banqueting house, but was probably a garden pavilion or something of the sort. To the east of it, is a piece of ground, now an orchard, which seems to have been used as a cemetery during the siege, burials being found in it wherever the ground is disturbed. Eastward from the pigeon house the garden wall runs to another octagonal turret, and thence irregularly to the main gateway of the inclosure. The wall is much broken down, but part of a small embattled turret is still standing. The gateway has been carefully repaired of late and its four-centred stone arch is perfect, with the Paulet arms above; it is doubtless the work of the first marquess. From this point the wall continued eastward for a short distance, then turning south, and eventually joining the south-east angle of the New House, but all this part has been destroyed by the canal. The main approach to the two houses was by a road walled on both sides starting from the north-east gateway and running westward, skirting the first bailey or court, and entering it from the north-west by a bridge over the ditch and a square gatehouse with angle turrets. From this point the road went to the bridge in front of the gatehouse of the Old House, a branch continuing eastward to another bridge and gatehouse giving access to the New House.

Basing House Gateway.

The masonry details found on the site are largely from the stone cappings of the turrets with which the house abounded, from the mullions of the windows and from stone strings, gargoyles, &c., all being of late Gothic type, dating from c. 1530–40. Hollar's general view of the house, taken about 1644, shows the appearance from the south, with an embattled curtain wall round the Old House, over which the gables, chimneys and turrets rise. The large gabled block at the south end of the hall is recognizable, but otherwise the drawing is probably not very dose to the original. A few pieces of moulded brick cusping show that tracery of this sort was used, and a very fine terra cotta medallion of one of the Caesars, like those at Hampton Court, witnesses to the use of first-class work of Italian style here as at the Holy Ghost Chapel and elsewhere in the county.

The pottery, iron, &c., found on the site are all carefully preserved, and make a very interesting collection, not from its rarity, but from its claim to represent the ordinary utensils of the time. Numbers of shot of all sizes, and fragments of thirteen-inch shells thrown by the mortar in 1645, the final siege, are to be seen, and small objects of common use are plentiful.

Royalty was frequently entertained at Basing House during the long life of the first Marquess of Winchester, (fn. 53) and by his successors till the house was taken and demolished in the civil wars. It has never been rebuilt, though, according to a continuator of Camden's Britannia, one of the Dukes of Bolton built 'some convenient lodgings'out of the ruins. These 'lodgings' were to the north, on part of the land of the grange: the house here was pulled down about 1740, and only the fine red brick piers of its entrance gate now remain. Its materials were taken, it is said, to Cannons near Kingsclere.

Among the liberties of the manor to which John de St. John laid claim in the 13th century were free gallows, tumbril, pillory, free warren and assize of bread and ale. He declared that his ancestors from time immemorial had enjoyed these liberties with the exception of free warren, which was granted to his father Robert de St. John by Henry III. His rights were acknowledged, and the sheriff was ordered to allow him to re-erect the gallows, pillory, and tumbril, which had fallen down through age. (fn. 54) A free fishery is also mentioned as an appurtenance of the manor. (fn. 55)

Of the three mills in Basing mentioned in the Domesday Survey as belonging to Hugh de Port one appears to have been appurtenant to the manor. (fn. 56) The other two were conveyed by John de Champayne to Peter des Roches in 1324. (fn. 57) Peter des Roches quitclaimed them to John Brocas and Margaret his wife in 1339, (fn. 58) and in 1357 John Brocas sold them to John de St. Philibert. (fn. 59) They are again heard of in a suit between John Paulet and William Brocas in 1502. (fn. 60) A mill worth 20s. was attached to the church of Basing at the time of the Survey, but which of the four mills are represented by the existing Lower Mill and Old Basing Mill it is difficult to say.

BAS1NG BYFLEET (Basing till xvii cent.) seems originally to have been the land in Basing which formed the endowment of the church. It appears in 1234 among the possessions of the newly-founded priory of Selborne, (fn. 61) to which Peter Bishop of Winchester had granted the church of Basing with its appurtenances in his foundation charter. (fn. 62) The land was held of the Priors of Selborne (fn. 63) apparently till the dissolution of the priory in 1486. (fn. 64) It did not follow the other lands of the priory into the possession of the Master and fellows of Magdalen College, Oxford, but was retained by the Bishops of Winchester, of whom it was thenceforth held. (fn. 65) It is first called a manor in 1389, (fn. 66) and took the name of Byfleet from the family which held it for three centuries.

In 1260 Ralph de Basing was holding this fee in Basing. (fn. 67) He was party to a fine in that year with the Prior of Selborne concerning services which he owed for his freehold. It consisted of one messuage, one carucate of land, and one mill with the appurtenances; and the prior demanded a yearly rent of 60s., 'which service the said Ralph at first did not recognise.' It was agreed that Ralph and his heirs should pay the 60s. (fn. 68) He appears to have been succeeded by Sir John de Basing, on whom the land was settled in 1333, with remainder to his heirs. (fn. 69) His son and heir John released in 1343 to Joan his father's widow all his rights in Basing. (fn. 70) In 1389 the manor was in the hands of Thomas Byfleet, (fn. 71) whose wife Alice was probably the heiress of John de Basing. (fn. 72) Thomas son of Thomas was in possession at the beginning of the 15th century, (fn. 73) and died in 1408. (fn. 74) Another Thomas, probably his son, mortgaged the manor in 1448 to Roger Inge. (fn. 75) His nephew Thomas Byfleet died seised in 1500, leaving a brother and heir John. (fn. 76) John was succeeded by his son Thomas and Thomas by another John. (fn. 77) Robert Byfleet, son of John, died in possession in 1641, (fn. 78) after settling the manor on his son Thomas and his wife Mary daughter of George Speake. (fn. 79) It seems probable that Thomas and Mary left co-heiresses, for Weston Browne with Mary his wife, (fn. 80) and Anthony Bedingfield with Margaret his wife, (fn. 81) each dealt with a moiety of the manor by fine in the reign of Charles II. One half was conveyed to Francis Bacon, the other to Peyton Bacon and Robert Hastings. Before 1725 the whole must have been purchased by the Limbrey family, as Henry Limbrey was in possession in that year. (fn. 82) Basing Byfleet remained in the family, following the descent of their manor of Hoddington (fn. 83) to Magdalen Limbrey wife of Richard Sclater, and subsequently to George Limbrey Sclater-Booth, second Lord Basing, the present lord of the manor.

Byfleet. Azure two swords argent crossed points downwards with their hilts or between four fleurs de lis or.

Limbrey of Hodding ton. Party argent and gules a cheveron between three lions counter coloured.

Sclater-Boota, Lord Basing. Argent asaltire and a border azure with a quarter ermine and therein a boar's head erect and razed sable between three crescents or.

Byfleet is now a farm-house standing to the north-east of the church; the house, which is built of red brick with tiled roofs, is almost wholly modernized.

The liberties of tol, theam, and infangentheof in this manor were granted to the Prior of Selborne in 1234. (fn. 84) Henry III also granted that their lands here which were within the bounds of his forest should be free 'of regard and views of foresters' and other officers, and that the prior and his men should be immune from suits, summonses and pleas. (fn. 85)

CUFAUDS was for centuries in the hands of a family of that name; they held it of the Crown as of the manor of Basingstoke. (fn. 86)

William Cufaud is the first member of the family of whom there is any record. He paid an impost of 20s. to the Exchequer in 1167. (fn. 87) In the next century certain lands in Basingstoke with a meadow called La Cufauldsmede were held of Robert Cufaud. (fn. 88) According to the traditional pedigree of the family a William Cufaud held the manor in the reign of Edward I and had a son John. (fn. 89) The latter was succeeded by his son John, who was member of Parliament for Basingstoke in 1295 and 1302. (fn. 90) He had a son Alexander, (fn. 91) and Alexander was succeeded by Thomas. (fn. 92) John Cufaud did fealty in 1440 for lands that had belonged to Ralph Cufaud, (fn. 93) and Thomas, probably son of John, was lord in 1443. (fn. 94) His son William married Ellen daughter of Richard Kingsmill, and had by her a son John, sometimes called William. (fn. 95) John had a son Simon lord of the manor in 1567. (fn. 96) He left it at his death in 1588 to his great-nephew Simon, grandson of his brother William. (fn. 97) The younger Simon died in 1619. (fn. 98) He left five sons, (fn. 99) of whom the eldest, Matthew, was lord in 1637. (fn. 100) He followed the example of his great neighbour the Marquess of Winchester in supporting the king, (fn. 101) and his lands were sequestered in 1646, but were leased to him by the County Commissioners for £45 a year. (fn. 102) He compounded in 1655, and Cufauds was inherited at his death by John Cufaud, (fn. 103) who died in 1701. (fn. 104) Henry Cufaud was lord of the manor in 1732, (fn. 105) and his widow Martha sold it in 1737 to Christina Broughton (fn. 106) and Francis White. Nearly twenty years later John Waters dealt with the manor by fine. (fn. 107) He was still in possession in 1769, when he sold Cufauds to John Chute, (fn. 108) who owned the neighbouring estate of The Vyne in the parish of Sherborne St. John. From that date it has followed the descent of The Vyne (q.v.), and Mr. Charles Lennard Chute is the present lord of both manors.

Cufaud. Burelly argent and gules a quarter gules.

HACKWOOD does not appear to have been a manor, though it is once so called. (fn. 109) Before 1223 it was probably a wild woodland appurtenant to the Brayboefs' manor of Eastrop. (fn. 110) In that year Henry de Brayboef had licence to inclose his wood of Hackwood with a trench, so that the king's deer could not enter and depart without hindrance. (fn. 111) In 1280 the further privilege was granted to his son William of emparking his wood of 'Hagwood' with the lands adjacent, amounting to 40 acres within the metes of the forest of Pamber and Eversley; he was to hold it in fee simple; notwithstanding the king would lose 12d. yearly, as the deer sometimes repaired thither. (fn. 112) There has been an inclosed park at Hackwood from the time of William de Brayboef till the present day. In the 16th century it first appears in the possession of the Paulet family, who probably bought it from the descendants of William de Brayboef. John Paulet Marquess of Winchester held it in 1579. (fn. 113) From that time it has followed the descent of the manor of Basing (fn. 114) (q.v.). It was leased at one time to Lord Chancellor Westbury; its present tenant is Lord Curzon of Kedleston, who has made many improvements both in the house and grounds.

The original building of Hackwood House is said to have been a lodge built in the time of Queen Elizabeth and used as a banqueting house for hawking parties. This lodge formed the nucleus of the present mansion, and doubtless some of its fabric still remains in the saloon which was the original hall open to the roof. After the destruction of Basing House, in spite of an attempt to render the ruins more or less habitable for a time, it became expedient to rebuild or enlarge Hackwood to serve as the family seat on the estate. The middle building was enlarged and wings were built connected by open corridors to the main building. The date 1687 which appears on the rainwater heads, backs of grates, &c., marks no doubt the completion of this work. Between 1759 and 1765 Charles fifth Duke of Bolton made further alterations; the great hall was reduced in height by the insertion of a floor and some fine old panelling brought from Abbotstone, near Alresford, was fitted in the rooms, as were also several fine pieces of carving by Grinling Gibbons. The open corridors to the wings were closed in and new offices were erected.

When Hackwood came into the possession of Thomas first Lord Bolton in 1794 he, finding the house in many ways inconvenient, increased its accommodation by building a new north front about 24 ft. from the former one, and forming the present entrance hall, &c., which he connected with the old wings by quadrant corridors.

The second Lord Bolton, who carried out many alterations between the years 1807 and 1830, (fn. 114a) had the south side refronted from designs by Lewis Wyatt to correspond in style with the north front, so that little is left in the outward appearance of the house to prove its original date.

Both fronts are in Roman cement, with a tetrastyle Ionic portico rising the height of two floors. That on the north side has a pediment, on the tympanum of which are the arms of the family. The south front has an additional story rising above the frieze of the portico, but the rest of the main structure is of two stories above the basement. The wings also are of two stories.

In plan the house is of an E shape, the main portion having two ranges of apartments. The entrance hall is in the middle of the north range, and the great saloon to the south of it, to the west of the entrance hall is the main staircase with offices beyond, and to the east the billiard-room with the study beyond. In the southern range to the west of the saloon is the morning-room, and at the end a large dining-room with a semicircular west end, and to the east of the saloon a boudoir and large drawing-room or ball-room more or less in character with the other end. The eastern wing is devoted to the family residential purposes and the western is occupied by the offices. On the first floor are bedrooms, &c.

William the tourth Marquess of Winchester died here in 1628. (fn. 115) According to one of Camden's continuators, it was the first Duke of Bolton who 'reared himself a stately, palace here.' (fn. 116)

LICKPIT was granted in 945 by King Edmund to Ethelnod, his chaplain, with a certain 'monastic house in Basing called the king's horse-croft.' (fn. 117) Shortly afterwards Ethelnod gave all the lands which King Edmund had granted him in Basing to the new monastery at Winchester, known as St. Peter's and later as Hyde Abbey, (fn. 118) and apparently Lickpit was held of the Abbots of Hyde till the Dissolution. In the 11th century Hugh de Port, lord of Basing, was enfeoffed of the manor, which in 1086 he was holding 'of St. Peter's Abbey.' (fn. 119) It was then assessed at 2 hides, and was worth 60s. The descendants of Hugh de Port, the family of St. John, continued to hold a mesne lordship here, (fn. 120) which followed the descent of their manor of Basing.

Hyde Abbey. Argent a lion sable and a chief sable with two keys argent having their bows linked therein.

Lickpit was held of them from the 13 th century by the Brayboefs, lords of the manor of Eastrop. In 1275 William de Brayboef held Lickpit of John de St. John for a fourth part of a knight's fee. (fn. 121) From this date the manor followed the descent of the manor of Eastrop (fn. 122) in the Brayboef, Camois and Whitehead families till late in the 17th century, (fn. 123) when Richard Whitehead appears to have sold his lands. (fn. 124) Lickpit was in the hands of Thomas Head in 1740. (fn. 125) Later it came into the hands of a family named Home, who in 1765 (fn. 126) conveyed it to Robert Palmer to hold to the use of Mary Jane Home.

At Lickpits, a small farm-house about a half-mile to the north-west of the village, are the remains of the manor-house of Lickpits dating from the latter half of the 16th century. It appears to have been originally of an L-shaped plan, but the greater part of the middle portion has disappeared, leaving the north end of one limb (forming part of the present house) and a portion of the other or southern limb now a stable. It is possible that the latter limb was really the main portion of a house with two wings running northwards and that the eastern wing has been replaced by the existing barn of later date.

The stable retains a stone-headed Tudor doorway towards the former courtyard (present farmyard) and to the east of it a square-headed and mullioned stone window with a hood-mould, and on the west side are the remains of a similar window; this wall has also a moulded stone plinth. The other sides of this building are of plain red brick, but there are signs of a former chimney at its west end. The other old portion is the north end of the farm-house; it has on its outer or west face two or three blocked mullioned windows, a chamfered stone plinth and a chamfered string course between the two floors. The east face towards the farmyard has a moulded plinth like the stable, and this continues round the north end, which also has an old chimney stack, proving that it was the original end of that wing. The barns of the farmyard are picturesque and also of some age.

Church

The church of ST. MARY, a redroofed building with a red-brick tower, consists of a chancel 29 ft. by 18 ft.; central tower, 21 ft. square; north chapel, 50 ft. 1 in. by 18 ft. 2 in.; south chapel, 50 ft. by 20 ft.; nave, 47 ft. 6 in. by 21 ft., with north and south aisles, 15 ft. 8 in. wide, all the measurements being internal.

A 12th-century building evidently stood here, but no more of it is now to be seen than the north and south arches of the central tower; this is, however, sufficient to show that its plan was cruciform, and in all probability the nave and chancel were of the same dimensions as at present, the width of the present aisles being equal to the depth of the original transepts. In the north aisle is a re-used 13th-century doorway, but nothing else in the building is older than the 16th century, unless it be the east wall of the chancel.

At the east end of the north aisles of the nave is an inscription set high in the wall, as follows:—'In laudem x[pist]i et marie matris sue per Iohēm Poulet militē hoc opus est consistm (?) a^o dni 1519.' (fn. 127)

The position is somewhat ambiguous and might refer to the chapel to the east or the aisle to the west, and it is to be noted that the arms of this Sir John Paulet, who married his cousin, Constance Paulet, of Hinton St. George, occur on the west wall of the nave below a niche containing figures of our Lady and Child. From his will it appears that he left unfinished at his death the endowment and furnishing of a chantry, for which it is probable that he built the north chapel, with the monuments of his father and himself between the chapel and the chancel.

The south chapel is of somewhat later date, and was doubtless added by Sir William Paulet, whose monument is in its north wall, and from the evidence of the heraldry was not finished before 1543.

The nave with its aisles and the east and west arches of the central tower are probably all of one date, and are either the work of Sir John Paulet or perhaps of his father, John Paulet.

The interior is very spacious and dignified, the simple and massive nave arcades of plastered brickwork setting off the rich carving of the Paulet tombs in the chancel, and the external brickwork is of a beautiful deep red colour. The nave, south chapel and tower are nearly entirely built of brick, with stone dressings, and the chancel and north chapel are of flint and stone, but their east gables are heightened and rebuilt in brick.

Plan of St. Mary's Church, Basing

The east window of the chancel is of 15th-century date and has five cinquefoiled lights with vertical tracery under a low four-centred head with deep casement mouldings in head and jambs.

The north and south walls of the chancel are entirely taken up with the Paulet tombs, described below, having two arched recesses in each wall with a small doorway between them.

Both of these doorways have small squints in their eastern jambs, and there is another squint, now blocked, on the north wall of the chancel near the west end, opening from the stair to the tower. The east and west arches of the tower have plain halfoctagonal jambs with moulded bases, partly hidden by the floor, and simple capitals of two orders.

The arches are high and have three chamfered orders, the whole being of brickwork, plastered and whitewashed.

The north and south arches of the tower are much lower and are of fairly early 12th-century date, with the inner order cut back and its sections altered. The outer order towards the crossing has a plain semicircular arch of a single order, with engaged jamb-shafts having simple scalloped capitals in two cases, the third being of cushion type, and the fourth, which seems recent, having a simple leat pattern.

In the south-east pier of the tower and opening from the south chapel is a blocked stairway which led to a rood loft; its lower steps have been recently opened out, and a piece of 13th-century foliage found in the blocking is now in the museum at Basing House. The east window of the north chapel has five cinquefoiled lights under a four-centred head, the mullions and outer jambs being moulded, while the inner splay and rear arch are simply hollow chamfered at the angles.

The four north windows of this chapel are filled with contemporary wooden tracery of very good design, each having three cinquefoiled lights with tracery in the head, set in stone frames, the inner splays being like those of the east window. Beneath the third window from the east is a small modern doorway with a four-centred head.

In the south chapel the five-light east window is somewhat like the corresponding one in the north chapel, while the four south windows have each three cinquefoiled lights and four-centred heads.

The heraldry of the two chapels is very interesting. On the roof corbels in the north chapel the Paulet badge of a key in a wreath (fn. 127a) alternates with the Roos badge of a peacock and the arms of Skelton and Fitzpiers. On the exterior of this chapel the labels of the windows and the cornices are ornamented with shields as follows:—On the labels of the east window Fitzpiers and Albini, on the east cornice Roos and Delamore, and over the window the Paulet key. On the north wall a shield on the cornice in each of the four bays of the chapel, namely, St. John, Paulet, Irby, and Skelton, going from east to west, while the Paulet key occurs on the west end of the labels of each window and on the east ends Hussey, Paulet, Irby and Delamere. On the south chapel the shields on the labels, reading from south-west eastwards and continuing on the east wall, give in their correct order the quarterings borne by the first marquess, namely, Paulet, Roos, Poynings, St. John, Delamere, Hussey, Skelton, Irby and Delamore. On the cornice the shields bear, in the west bay the Paulet key, in the second bay the three coats of Paulet, Roos, and Poynings impaled, in the third Fitzpiers (?), Delamere and Hussey, and in the fourth Skelton, Irby and Delamore. On either side of the buttress dividing the west bay from the second are portrait busts of a man and woman, perhaps meant for the first marquess and his wife Elizabeth Capel.

The western arches of both chapels are similar to those of the tower but on a smaller scale, and the nave arcades are of three bays, each with large octagonal piers having moulded bases and capitals, with arches of low two - centred form, and three chamfered orders, built like the rest, of plastered brickwork. They are said to inclose the pillars of an earlier arcade, but no proof of this is forthcoming, and the statement was probably suggested by their massive character. The nave is lighted by three windows in each aisle, each of two cinquefoiled lights with vertical tracery over, with a heavy roll in the first order of the tracery, and all except two in the south aisle have external moulded labels.

St. Mary's Church, Basing, from South-west

Beneath the middle window in the north aisle is a re-used 13th-century doorway with foliate capitals, engaged shafts and a moulded arch of which the projecting members have been cut away. Opposite to it in the south aisle is a plain doorway with a pointed head and wide hollow chamfer of uncertain date.

The west windows of the aisles are of three cinquefoiled lights and that of the nave of five, with tracery over, and they are of different section from the side windows, and may be earlier in date.

Beneath the west window of the south aisle is a large breach filled up with brickwork, and below that of the nave a round-headed doorway under a moulded cornice with flat pilasters and rusticated masonry (c. 1560) of good and delicate detail. Above the west window of the nave is a canopied niche containing figures of our Lady and Child, doubtless with reference to the inscription of 1519 quoted above; the projecting base of the niche is supported by an angel bearing a shield of the arms of Sir John Paulet, with Paulet of Hinton in pretence.

The nave roof is modern, but those of the aisles preserve their main 15 th or 16th-century timbers; each is of five bays with principals having arched braces which are prolonged as curved struts to the principals, and pairs of purlins with arched wind braces. The stone corbels to the three roofs are for the most part carved with angels holding blank shields, the upper members of the corbel having a moulding of early Renaissance character, suggesting an early 16th-century date for the work. The member is usually square in plan, but the two middle corbels on each side of the nave are half octagonal and wider than the others. One has a shield in strapwork, the angel being left out.

The upper stage of the tower has a stepped embattled parapet of red brick with stone copings, standing on a moulded cornice with grotesque heads at the angles and centres of the sides, and stonecrocketed angle pinnacles of coarse detail, renewed in modern times.

On each side of the top stage is a window of two four-centred lights under a square head with a moulded label.

The stair turret is on the north-east corner in the north chapel and is of plastered woodwork, and does not rise above the roof.

There are no effigies or brasses on the Paulet tombs on either side of the chancel. Above each is a four-centred arch under a square head with moulded panelled and traceried jambs and soffit, and having shaped shields in the spandrels on both faces of the arch.

Above runs a moulded cornice on both sides with shields over the apex of each arch. In the frieze over the north-east tomb is the inscription on the north side:

hic · jacet · joh[an]es · povlet · armig'et · elenor · vx'ei, continued on the south thus:

qvi · obier[unt] · me[n]se · septe bris anno dni 1488 ih The shields on the cornice are quarterly of eight: Poynings, St. John, Paulet, Delamere, Hussey, Skelton, Irby and Fitzpiers.

The actual date of his death was 1492, as given in an inquisition p.m. of 9 Henry VII, and Gough in his Sepulchral Monuments only gives part of the inscription, which may have been renewed since his time.

Over the second tomb, and arranged in the same manner, is the inscription:

hic · jacet · johes · povlet · miles · et · alicia · vx'ei, qvi · obiervnt · mense, the rest being obliterated. This tomb has also on the soffit of the arch the same shield of eight quarterings, but charged with an escutcheon of Paulet, and impaled with Paulet (of Hinton) quartering Denebaud.

The two tombs in the south wall of the chancel are of later date than those on the north side, and have no inscriptions. The cornice above on both sides of the tombs is enriched with a very beautiful leaf cresting of Renaissance style with pedestals, on which are small skulls and heads. The heraldry on the cornice of the south-east tomb, quarterly of nine within a garter, shows the tomb to be that of Sir William Paulet, first Marquess of Winchester. Its date must be between 1543, when he became Knight of the Garter, and c. 1566, when he married his second wife, whose arms do not appear on the tomb. The arms of his first wife, Elizabeth Capel (1509–58), occur in the spandrels, quartered with a cheveron between three roundels and in chief a fret between two roses. On the south-west tomb the shields, quarterly of nine in a garter, occur in the cornice, but those in the spandrels are blank, and there is nothing to show to whom it belongs, though it may reasonably be assigned to the second marquess. The badge of the first marquess, the falcon, occurs as a crest on both tombs.

Between each pair of tombs is a doorway, that on the north surmounted on each side of the wall by an empty canopied niche with mutilated heads badly restored, and projecting moulded jambs which have shields as corbels.

Over the south doorway on each side are the Paulet arms, quarterly of nine, in a garter with helm, mantling, crest, and supporters, two hinds. The arms are Paulet, Roos, Poynings, St. John, Delamere, Hussey, Skelton, Irby and Delamore.

Below the shields is the motto Aymes loyaulte on a scroll. In the spandrels of the doorway are four shields, with Paulet, Capel, the coat quartered with Capel above, and the key in a wreath.

The chancel has a modern boarded roof. The chapels have plastered segmental ceilings.

The pulpit was brought here from Basingstoke Church and is hexagonal, of Jacobean style, with arched and square panels elaborately carved with strap ornament and other designs. Its date is 1622, the record of its making being extant in the Basingstoke churchwardens' accounts.

In the vestry are a chest and table of the same date, and in the north chapel the arms of Charles II, dated 1660.

The Purbeck marble font is of late 15th-century date with an octagonal bowl, stem and base. Each side of the bowl has a quatrefoiled circle between two narrow trefoiled panels, and the stem has small trefoiled panels.

On the walls of the south chapel are hung five funeral helms, two pairs of gauntlets and a single gauntlet. Two of the helms bear the falcon crest, the others being quite plain. On the east wall of the chapel is a modern brass plate giving the names of the members of the Paulet family who have been buried in the vault below. The lead coffins which were there in 1643–5 were stolen by the Roundhead troopers occupying the church and made into bullets, the bones of their occupants being thrown about the vault in confusion, but the names on the coffin-plates were written on the wall, apparently at the time, and have been reproduced on the brass plate.

In the south-east angle of the north chapel are a few mediaeval tiles, some belonging to eight and twelvetile patterns, with hunting scenes. There are also several interesting single-tile patterns, one of a bishop standing under a canopy of 14th-century style holding a crozier and having his left hand raised in blessing. Another tile has the crowned initials of William Paulet, first marquess, in a quatrefoil. A number of similar tiles, found on the site of Basing House, are now in the museum there. In recent repairs of the church three different levels of tiled floor are reported to have been found.

The treble bell is by T. Mears, 1838, and the second has the names of the churchwardens and the date 1676. Between the c and the w for churchwardens is a small horizontal figure of a man.

The plate consists of a silver chalice and paten cover of 1688, the gift of George Wheler, vicar; a silver flagon of 1788, given in 1830 by James Blatch, vicar; also a silver spoon, two alms plates and a pewter bowl.

There are three books of registers, the first containing baptisms from 1671 to 1750, burials 1655 to 1750 and marriages from 1660 to the same date. The second continues baptisms from 1750 to 1812 and burials from 1781 to 1812; the third contains marriages from 1754 to 1812.

Advowson

The church of Basing was held at the time of the Domesday Survey by the Abbot of Mont St. Michel, to whom it had apparently been granted by the Crown. (fn. 128) It was confirmed to the abbey in 1194 by Godfrey de Lucy, Bishop of Winchester, (fn. 129) and in the early part of the 13th century the abbot and convent presented to the living, which was apparently at that time a rectory. (fn. 130) In 1233, however, they granted the church to Peter des Roches, Bishop of Winchester, together with its chapel of Basingstoke. (fn. 131) The bishop made both churches part of the endowment of the newly-founded priory of Selborne, (fn. 132) and their appropriation to the priory was confirmed by the pope in 1233–4. (fn. 133) A joint vicarage was endowed in them shortly afterwards, and the arrangements for service in Basing and Basingstoke had the effect of increasing the importance of the latter at the expense of the former. (fn. 134) By the end of the 14th century the vicarage was known as the vicarage of Basingstoke, (fn. 135) and Basing sank into the position of a dependent chapelry. Its advowson consequently was identical with that of Basingstoke (fn. 136) and passed with it into the hands of the Master and Fellows of Magdalen College, Oxford. In 1864 the living was separated from Basingstoke and declared a vicarage, (fn. 137) but the presentation is still in the same hands.

A 'free chapel' of St. Michael, described in 1349 as 'the chapel of the Old Castle of Basing,' was granted by John de Port, grandson of the Hugh de Port who was lord of Basing in 1086, to Sherborne Priory. (fn. 138) The priors apparently presented till the suppression ot the priory in 1414, though the advowson still appears among the possessions of the descendants of John de Port. (fn. 139) In 1349 the king presented to the chapel, which was in his gift while he held the temporalities of the priory of Sherborne. (fn. 140) After the suppression of the priory, the descendants of the Ports seem to have regained possession of the chapel, which was treated as an appurtenance of the manor down to the 17th century. (fn. 141)

Charities

In 1634 Henry Lamport by his will gave a sum of £4 annually, issuing out of a farm called Ironmonger's Land, for distribution to the poor.

In 1694 Charles Duke of Bolton by his will gave a sum of £102 per annum for ever for the benefit ot the poor in certain parishes in the county of Southampton (see Basingstoke Municipal Charities). The sum of £31 13s. is distributed amongst the poor of this parish.

In the church at Basing there is the following inscription: 'To the pious memory of the Uptons of Basing, who gave to this parish two bushels of wheat to be baked in twenty-four loaves to be given on Good Friday to the poor yearly lor ever.' The bread is provided out of a charge of 10s. upon a field of about fourteen acres.

William Barber (date not known) gave the poor 100 threepenny loaves to be distributed on every Good Friday, and a yearly sum of £1 5s. for placing six poor boys to school. The loaves and the yearly sum are charged upon an estate called Sumner's, now the property of Lord Bolton.

In 1812 the Rev. Thomas Sheppard, D.D., by his will proved in P.C.C, in 1814, gave the sum of £20 per annum for endowing a school, which was confirmed by the will of Mrs. Sophia Sheppard, the widow. The amount is received from Magdalen College, Oxford, and applied to the National School.

Footnotes