Parishes: Arreton

ARRETON

Adrintone (xi cent.); Arreton, Artone (xii, xiii cent.); Atherton, Adherton (xiv cent.); Adderton, Aireton (xvi, xvii cent.).

The village of Arreton lies under the south slope of the down of the same name, 4 miles, by road, east of Newport and a mile from Horringford station on the Isle of Wight Central railway. It consists of a long road, called Arreton Street, with straggling cottages stretching from the Church lane nearly to the railway. The two inns, 'White Lion' and 'Red Lion,' are of some antiquity, though many additions have lately been made to the former, greatly to the detriment of its original quaintness and simplicity. The manor-house and church form a picturesque grouping at the extreme western end of the village, standing back about a hundred yards from the road. On the left of the lane leading to the church is a 17th-century cottage, Stile House, formerly used for the holding of church ales; on the right lies the vicarage, probably rebuilt at the beginning of the 19th century on the site of an earlier Jacobean structure. (fn. 1) There are water mills at Huffingford near Blackwater and Shide at the extreme western limit of the parish, and there was formerly another mill at Horringford of ancient origin, the cottage attached to which still remains at the back of the station with the date tablet probably referring to a family of Pitt. The mill, said by oral tradition to have been latterly a paper mill, occupied the position of the present station, but had disappeared by 1850.

At Huffingford a lace factory flourished some sixty years ago attached to the corn mill, but it has now entirely disappeared, though a frame was but recently destroyed.

There are brick-yards at Rookley and Down End, producing bricks of a good quality.

The parish till 1907, when the northern portion was absorbed into Whippingham, was one of the largest in the Isle of Wight, extending both sides of the chalk down; the northern part, on a clay subsoil, being for the most part woodland, the southern, on green sand, pasture and arable. It was divided in 1894 into the two civil parishes of North and South Arreton, (fn. 2) and four years later part of South Arreton was transferred to Godshill, part of that parish at the same time being put into South Arreton. (fn. 3) The parish of North Arreton contains 3,507 acres, and in 1905 comprised 817¼ acres of arable land, 1,732¾ acres of permanent grass, and 908¾ acres of woodland. (fn. 4) South Arreton, containing 5,305 acres, is made up of 2,404¼ acres of arable land, 2,635 acres of permanent grass, and 109 acres of woodland. (fn. 5)

The old road to Newport evidently continued from the top of Arreton Shute up the present hollow lane to the down, and so along the ridge passing between the manors of East and West Standen to Shide Bridge and thence to Carisbrooke and Newport. At the western end of St. George's Down and adjoining this road was formerly a bowling green in great repute in the 16th and 17th centuries. 'I have seen,' says Sir John Oglander (fn. 6) (1595–1648), 'with my Lord Southampton (fn. 7) at St. George's Down at bowls some thirty or forty knights and gentlemen, where our meeting was then twice every week, Tuesday and Thursday, and we had an ordinary there and card-tables.' The present road from the village goes northward to Down End, where it meets the Newport to Brading road, while the road southward passes through Budbridge to Godshill. (fn. 8) A right of way path crosses the southern part of the parish from Newport eastwards, by Stone, Longlands, Merston, Perreton, Rat, Haseley, Langbridge, Alverstone, Adgeton, to Brading, joining the existing roads at Stone and Alverstone.

There are three stations on the Isle of Wight Central railway in the parish, at Horringford, Merston and Blackwater. Rookley, standing on high ground adjoining the north-west angle of Godshill parish, is a small collection of cottages and houses lying within the manor of that name. It has a Church of England school, built and endowed in 1846 by the late Mr. John Woodward, and taken over by the Local Education Authority in 1903, and an iron chapel served from Arreton. Merston is a hamlet a little over a mile south of the parish church containing some twenty cottages, mostly thatched, and inhabited by some half-dozen small holders, farming from 10 to 50 acres of land. At Blackwater, at the western end of the parish, the oldest building, besides the mill, is the house in the occupation of Mr. J. H. King, who has a builder and wheelwright's business here. Along the Newport road are some small residential villas of early Victorian date.

There are few residences of any note in the parish. Fernhill, at present in the occupation of Mr. C. G. Brodie, stands at the head of Wootton Creek commanding a fine view of the Solent. The house was built at the end of the 18th century by the Right Hon. Thomas Orde-Powlett—created Lord Bolton in 1797—Governor of the Isle of Wight 1791 to 1807.

Oakfield, just north of Wootton station, is a modern house built by the late Thomas Chatfield Clarke, and now inhabited by his son, Mr. Edgar Chatfeild Clarke.

Pidford, a 17th-century house with 18th-century additions, lying to the west of the road from Blackwater to Rookley, was a seat of a branch of the Worsley family. The first Worsley to reside at Pidford was Thomas (sometimes called Robert) son of the Rev. John Worsley, rector of Gatcombe, who died in 1784. He was succeeded by his son, the Rev. Henry Worsley (afterwards Worsley-Holmes, bart.), who probably added the east front to the house, which remained in his family (see Yarmouth) till its sale in 1859 by the Hon. William Henry Ashe A'Court Holmes to Mr. W. Tanner Tull, whose family still owns it.

Stickworth, of late years called Stickworth Hall, but originally Stickworth Grove House, lies close to Horringford station on the north of the railway line. From the date stone (fn. 9) on the entrance front of the house it appears to have taken the place of an earlier building, probably of little importance. A Colonel James Barker, from whom John Wilkes rented his 'villakin' at Sandown (q.v.) in 1788, lived at Stickworth, but it was probably a General Hethersetts who built the present house, (fn. 10) on the south wall of which are the date 1794 and the Horatian legend 'Melior fortuna parente.' A third date stone, 1796, let into the garden wall, carries on the sequence. In the first half of the 19th century a family of Bell (fn. 11) owned Stickworth, which in 1897 was sold by Mr. Robert Fox, and is at present occupied by Mr. W. Shorthose. The house is a red brick building with angle chimney stacks, but with nothing of interest about it except the lack of classic motif so prevalent at the period of its erection.

Birchmore formed part of the early lords' hunting ground, and is referred to in the list of liberties allowed to Isabel de Fortibus, Countess of Albemarle, in 1279. (fn. 12) It lies opposite Stone, a little to the east, and the present house appears to be an early 18thcentury structure. During part of the 16th and 17th centuries it was owned by the yeoman family of Harbert (fn. 13) or Herbert, but in the 18th century by the family of Ruffin. The date stone in the east gable, W.^R.S. 1736, evidently refers to a member of the latter family. (fn. 14) In a lease of East Birchmore, 19 May 1753, the holder is described as 'William Ruffin of Birchmore, gentleman.' Elizabeth, granddaughter of William Ruffin, married James Blake, who thus came into possession of Birchmore, which is now administered by the executors of the late Mr. Scott Blake.

Names of ancient small holdings are Blacklands, Duxmore, Fulford, Lyn, Moor, Rat and Stone.

MANORS

ARRETON was held before the Conquest by King Edward, and in 1086 by King William. (fn. 15) The first holder of Arreton after the re-grant of the Island from the Crown in 1100 was Richard de Redvers, and the manor formed part of the first endowment of the abbey of Quarr by his son Baldwin in 1131. (fn. 16) It was confirmed to the convent by Isabel de Fortibus in 1278. (fn. 17) Its history then followed that of the Island Community, and the manor was farmed by the abbot's steward (fn. 18) till 1525, when it was leased by the last Abbot William Rippon to John Leigh, who already held land in the parish. (fn. 19) After the Dissolution it was granted to various farmers by the Crown (fn. 20) until 1628, when it was granted by the king to trustees for the payment of his debts to the City of London. (fn. 21) The manor then followed the same descent as that of Newport (fn. 22) (q.v.) to the Wykeham-Martin family, in whose hands it still remains.

Arreton Manor House, probably built by its Jacobean purchaser, lies pleasantly under the south slope of the chalk down. It is of the accepted 17th-century type, a centre block with projecting wings. The porch, with its date tablet 1639, is an addition put up soon after the house was finished, and the original inner door with its quaint knocker still remains. The plan is the usual central hall with rooms on either side; the western portion is comparatively modern. In the room to the right of the hall the panelling is worthy of notice, though some of it has evidently been brought from elsewhere, presumably in the house. The chimneypiece, reaching from floor to ceiling, is an excellent specimen of the work of the period. In the centre is a shield of arms: Gules a bezant between three demi-lions argent with the difference of a crescent, which are the arms of Bennet, impaling a fesse with three trefoils in the chief; on either side are panels representing Peace and War. The cornice is supported by well-proportioned turned columns, with square pilasters below the mantelshelf. On the first floor, in the bedroom over, is an oak mantelpiece with a curious carved panel above, representing the offering up of Isaac. It is Flemish in character, and it is doubtful if it belongs to the rest of the chimneypiece. To the east of the house is a 16th–17th century dovecote with a four-centred arched opening and stone mullioned windows, and to the south stands a 17th-century barn of noble proportions, with a chestnut roof worthy of notice.

BRIDDLESFORD

BRIDDLESFORD (Breilesford, xi cent.; Bridlesford, xiii cent.; Britilsford, xvi cent.) lies in the low ground to the north of the down at the northern end of the parish. Before the Conquest it had been held by Unlof of King Edward, but in 1086 it was in the possession of William son of Azor, being in the tenancy of Nigel. (fn. 23) The overlordship followed the same descent as Yaverland (fn. 24) until 1331–2, and after that time the manor was held of the honour of Carisbrooke. (fn. 25)

The manor lapsed to the overlord Thomas de Aula in 1204 on account of the felony of William de Briddlesford, the tenant. (fn. 26) It had evidently formerly belonged to the family of de Parco, for Walter de Parco granted land in the manor to the abbey of Quarr and Thomas de Aula confirmed to the abbey the land in Briddlesford which William de Parco had given. (fn. 27) Towards the end of the 13th century it was held by the Lisles of Wootton, (fn. 28) and it has since followed the same descent as Wootton (fn. 29) (q.v.), being now in the possession of Col. Stephenson Clarke.

In the reign of Elizabeth Thomas Lisle, second son of Thomas Lisle of Wootton, went to live at Briddlesford, and, Sir John Oglander says, built the house. (fn. 30)

BUDBRIDGE

BUDBRIDGE (Botebrigge, xiii cent.; Butbrygg, Northbudbrygge, xv cent.) comprises the southern part of the parish, the low ground watered by the Eastern Yar; hence, in the late Mr. W. T. Stratton's opinion, its original name in Domesday of Messetone (fn. 31) or Marshton, which with LAMORE (fn. 32) (still called Moor) makes up the present manor. The first mention of it under its present name occurs in the Testa de Nevill towards the end of the 13th century, when it was held in two moieties, half a fee under John de Lisle of Wootton by Henry de Budbridge, and a fifth of a fee, formerly held by Walter Urry under Matilda de Estur of Gatcombe, by the Abbot of Quarr. (fn. 33) In 1328 Henry de Budbridge, and in 1331 Robert de Budbridge, confirmed a grant made by their ancestors in frankalmoign to the Abbot and convent of Quarr of part (fn. 34) of the meadow called 'Ryedemede' (fn. 35) in the east part of the road from Budbridge to 'la Rydeforde.' (fn. 36) By the middle of the 14th century Henry de Budbridge had been succeeded by Henry Romyn. (fn. 37) In 1358 William de Wintershill seems to have been in possession of Budbridge, here called a manor, as in that year he demised it to John de Weggham. (fn. 38) In 1364–5 Robert Urry and Parnel his wife sold a messuage and half a carucate of land in Arreton to John Burgham and his wife Agnes, (fn. 39) and William Burgham was holding half a fee there in 1428 and 1431. (fn. 40) In 1481 the manor of North Budbridge was settled on Elizabeth Bramshott for life, with remainder in tail to William Bramshott, to Richard Hawles son of Elizabeth and to Agnes Hawles daughter of Elizabeth. (fn. 41) In 1510 George Bramshott sold the 'manor of North Budbridge' to Thomas Cooke. (fn. 42) Sir John Oglander speaks of a Richard Cooke, (fn. 43) captain of Sandham Castle, who lived at Budbridge, and 'came always to Arreton Church in his wrought velvet gowne and 12 of his sowldiers with halibardes wayghted upon him. His estate fell to 2 daughters, Captain Bourly marryed one, and Hambrydge ye other.' (fn. 44) John Burley 'of Northwood' conveyed his moiety in 1596 to Richard Harvey and Edward Harbert of Arreton, and John Hambridge may have disposed of his share to the Budden family, as a Thomas Budden was presented at the East Medine Hundred Court 9 April 1604 for the decay of 'packway and bridge leading from Mr. Worsley's Hall to Great Butbridge.' Twenty years later Daniel Budden sold the manor to Sir Robert Dillington. It then passed with Knighton in Newchurch (fn. 45) to Maurice George Bissett, in whose family it remained till sold in 1823 to Sir Samuel Spicer. On his death, intestate, the estate passed to his brother John as heir at law, who bequeathed it to his widow Rebecca. Rebecca Spicer died in 1847, leaving a life interest in the property to her nephew Robert Paris, with remainder to his son Robert, who in 1871 sold the reversion to Frederick Blake. On the death of Robert Paris the elder in 1883 Blake took possession of the estate, which is now held by the trustees of his grandson, Mr. E. Sapte Blake.

The situation of the house, a simple Jacobean structure with a projecting porch (dated 1668 and evidently an addition) and stone mullioned windows, is low but picturesque. Though modernized it retains much of its early character.

COMBLEY

COMBLEY lies in the low ground to the north of Arreton Down, and mostly consists of woodland and pasture. Its first appearance is in a deed (fn. 46) (c. 1230) between its then owner Simon Fitz Hubert and the convent of Quarr exchanging it for the somewhat insignificant holding of Blackland. It remained in the possession of Quarr Abbey (fn. 47) until its dissolution, but does not appear as a manor till quite late in the 15th century (fn. 48); indeed, in the valuation of Quarr Abbey lands in 1536 it is entered as 'a farm called Combley in Atherton parish.' (fn. 49) In February 1537 Combley, called a manor, was granted in fee to Thomas Wriothesley, (fn. 50) and it subsequently followed the same descent as Haseley (q.v.).

HALE

HALE (Atehalle, xi cent.; la Hale, xiii cent.) forms the south-eastern portion of the parish adjoining Newchurch, and comprises the high ground to the south of the River Yar above Horringford. Before the Conquest Godric held the manor of King Edward as an alod. At the time of Domesday it was held by Nigel of William son of Stur, (fn. 51) and the overlordship remained with the lords of Gatcombe until the middle of the 14th century at least. (fn. 52)

Under these overlords the manor was held in the reign of Henry III for the service of half a knight's fee by William atte Hale, who died leaving two daughters, Joan and Annora. The manor was then divided into two parts called Northale and Southale, the former being assigned to Annora and the latter to Joan, who was probably the elder daughter, as Northale was subsequently held of Southale, the latter being evidently the more important manor. (fn. 53) Southale passed before 1293–4 (fn. 54) from Joan to her son William de Goditon, (fn. 55) who died seised of it about 1305, leaving a son Robert. (fn. 56) Robert was succeeded by a son and grandson of the same name. The last died without issue, and Southale passed to his sister Margery the wife of Adam de Brabason, who successfully established her claim to the overlordship of Northale in 1352. (fn. 57)

Northale passed from Annora to her son John Michel, who was succeeded by Henry (fn. 58) atte Hale, his son and heir. Richard atte Hale son of Henry died in 1349, leaving a son Robert, a minor, and it was on account of his custody that difficulties arose between Margery de Brabason and the Crown in 1352. (fn. 59) This Robert atte Hale, after intruding upon his inheritance 'without due suit and livery,' alienated part of it to Walter Burton and Nicholas Spenser, who had to pay a fine for the trespass. (fn. 60)

It was returned in 1428 that the half fee formerly held by Edith atte Hale in Hale did not answer because divided among four tenants, i.e. Thomas atte Hale, Henry Howles, William Facy (or Farsy) and others. (fn. 61) In 1431, though the division into Northale and Southale still existed, the two manors are not separately returned, but appear as half a knight's fee at Southale and Northale, held by John Haket of Middleton, John Stour of Sandham and William Facy of Newport. (fn. 62)

John Hawles of Upper Wimborne (co. Dors.) sold 'all that our manor called North Hale' in 1548 to William Curle of Arreton, who in a grant of the following year is described as 'of Hale.' In 1652 William Shambler was in possession of the manor, and settled it upon himself and his heirs. (fn. 63) By the end of the 16th century the manor had passed to the Oglander family, as Sir John Oglander mentions it as in his possession. It was certainly in the hands of this family at the close of the 18th century. (fn. 64) In 1781 a moiety of the manor was in the possession of Betty Smith, (fn. 65) and in 1804 Tovey Joliffe and Grace his wife conveyed half the manor to James Clarke. (fn. 66) In 1818 the manor was sold by Samuel Twyford to Roger Potts. (fn. 67) The property was held in the middle of the 19th century by the family of Hills, from whom it was acquired by Mr. R. Roach Pittis, who still owns it. The house has been greatly altered by the substitution of sash windows, but the stone mullions and labels still remain on the west front, and there are traces of ancient work in the offices at the back.

HASELEY

HASELEY (Haselie, xi cent.) forms the east central portion of the parish, extending from the railway line to the top of the down. Held before the Conquest by Earl Harold, it belonged in 1086 to the king, and was, for an Island manor, of considerable value and extent. (fn. 68) Haseley was given by Engler de Bohun to the convent of Quarr, (fn. 69) who held it as a grange till the Dissolution. (fn. 70) In 1537 Thomas Wriothesley obtained a grant of it from the Crown, (fn. 71) and sold it next year to John Mill (fn. 72) of Southampton, whose son George made it his residence in the reign of Elizabeth. Here, Sir John Oglander notes, he 'kept a brave house and lived worshipfully.' From him the manor passed in the same way as Binstead (q.v.) to the Flemings, (fn. 73) and now belongs to Mr. John E. A. Willis-Fleming. According to Sir John Oglander the house, pleasantly situated in the low ground to the north of Horringford station, was practically rebuilt by the Mills. In 1781 the then owner, Col. Fleming, remodelled the two south rooms and generally modernized the house.

HORRINGFORD

HORRINGFORD is classed by Mr. Moody as a manor identical with the Domesday entry of Ovingefort, (fn. 74) then held by Godric the king's thegn. The difficulty of accepting this identification lies in the presence of the letter 'r' and the fact of the existence of a small holding by Blackwater called Huffingford (q.v.), in the 13th century written Hovyngford. Godric also held Huncheford, (fn. 75) which had a mill, and this double tenure of holdings with very similar names may account for the somewhat puzzling entries in the Testa de Nevill, the Feudal Aids and the later fee roll among the Worsley MSS. Distinct holdings they certainly were, Horringford (Horyngforde) being held under Yaverland Manor, Huffingford (Hovyngforde) partly under Gatcombe and partly under John de Lisle—probably, like Rookley, of the manor of Appleford. The first instance of its present spelling occurs in an exchange of land (1256) lying to the west of the road 'quod ducit de Areton usque ad Horingeford.' (fn. 76) In the 13th and 14th centuries a family of Fleming held Horringford. (fn. 77) About 1339 the estate seems to have been in the hands of Ralph Overton and Thomas Haket, who were liable for one archer. (fn. 78) By 1346 Thomas Noreys had acquired the holding, (fn. 79) and in 1428 (fn. 80) John Garston, the founder of a chantry in the church of St. Thomas of Canterbury in Newport, held half a fee at Horringford which had passed three years later to John Rookley. (fn. 81) In 1486 (fn. 82) Richard Keen and William Middlemarsh released their rights in the manor to Joan Bowerman and John Trenchard, and this is the first time Horringford is called a manor.

John Trenchard, then Sir John, died in 1495, leaving land in Horringford, which Lady Joan Bowerman held for life, to his second son Henry in tail-male with contingent remainder to his eldest son Thomas. (fn. 83) In the reign of Edward VI the custody of land in Horringford and the wardship of Henry Trenchard was granted to John Russell Earl of Bedford, (fn. 84) and in 1560 Henry Trenchard granted the manor to John Collyer. (fn. 85) The manor was in 1613–14 in the possession of Nicholas Deane of Holdenhurst, co. Hants, who settled it at that time on his wife Frances and his heirs by her. (fn. 86)

From the rent books of the Worsley estate, that family certainly held Horringford in the 17th century, (fn. 87) and doubtless sold to the representative of the Cromwell family who was in possession at the beginning of the 18th century. John Pope seems to have succeeded the Cromwells in their tenure, as by his will in 1781 he left a rent-charge of 10s. annually upon Horringford for the use of the Arreton poor. (fn. 88) In 1803 W. Roberts sold the holding to W. A. Hills, who sold to William Thatcher in 1867; he disposed of it in 1875 to T. Perrott, and finally in 1880 it was purchased by Mr. Charles Allen, whose son still owns it.

The house, standing on the high ground above the station, is an unpretentious building of the 17th century, with stone mullioned windows on the south front. It was evidently remodelled at the advent of the Cromwells, as the date stone, a later insertion, is inscribed 1718, i.e. William and Martha Cromwell. (fn. 89)

The mill of Horringford seems to have been a separate holding, (fn. 90) as in the tithe book of 1842 it is entered as part of Fulford. (fn. 91) It may have been the 'water mill in Arreton' held by Richard Baskett at his death, February 1626. (fn. 92) John Baskett settled a tenement and water mill called Horringford upon himself and his heirs in 1640. (fn. 93) It became attached to the holding of Horringford only on its purchase by Mr. Charles Allen in 1907.

HUFFINGFORD

HUFFINGFORD (Hovyngford, xiii, xiv cent.).— Beyond the mill there is practically no land now to correspond with the early holding, which doubtless included what is now known as Blackwater.

The ford still exists by the side of the bridge, built in 1776, where the ancient road to Newport turns to the westward. If the Domesday entry Huncheford is taken as representing Huffingford, there was a mill there in early days, and a family seems in the 13th and 14th centuries (fn. 94) to have taken its name from the hold ing. William of Huffingford held a quarter fee there towards the end of the 13th century under John de Lisle. (fn. 95) A Walter de Huffingford was witness to a grant of land at Whitcombe in 1323. William le Martre held another quarter fee there under the manor of Gatcombe in 1293–4, (fn. 96) to be succeeded by John le Martre in 1346 (fn. 97) and in 1428 by Isabel Martre, (fn. 98) who had apparently married — Hughes, as she is returned for aid three years later (fn. 99) as Isabel Hughes. In 1500 John Clarke, a Lymington butcher, owned land in Huffingford, (fn. 100) which is the last mention of the holding under that name. The mill has had various owners, (fn. 101) being at one time used for lacemaking. It is now owned by Mrs. George Mearman.

MERSTON

MERSTON (Merestone, xi cent.) was held of the Confessor by Brictuin as an alod, and at the time of Domesday by Humfrey under William son of Stur. (fn. 102) The overlordship remained with William's descendants, Merston being held of their manor of Gatcombe (fn. 103) until the death of John de Estur in 1291–2, when the overlord and tenant became merged in the person of Geoffrey de Insula (Lisle), brother and successor of John. Geoffrey de Lisle had succeeded Robert Giros in the tenancy of a quarter fee in Merston and Sullons before 1291–2. (fn. 104) The manor then followed the same descent as Gatcombe (fn. 105) (q.v.). It passed to the Bramshotts, and is probably to be indentified with the eastern portion of the manor sold in 1472 by Elizabeth widow of George Bramshott to Winchester College. (fn. 106) This estate is now known as Broadfields, and still belongs to Winchester College. It forms a portion of what may be called the manor of East Merston, extending practically from the present manor-house to the lane between the station and Croucher's Cross.

Sir John Dawtrey died in 1494 seised of the manor of WEST MERSTON, which he held of the manor of Gatcombe. (fn. 107) In 1546 his son Sir Francis sold the manor to Thomas Cheke, (fn. 108) whose son Edward built the present house. Edward Cheke, an open-handed, unthrifty man, (fn. 109) must have left the estate in difficulties, as in 1666 it was conveyed by his son Edward (fn. 110) to John Man, from whom it descended with Osborne to Robert Pope Blachford, who held it in 1781. (fn. 111) In 1839 it was sold to the trustees of Admiral Edward Hawker, who sold it to Thomas Wood. Of him it was purchased in 1872 by Michael Spartali. The latter sold it in 1894 to Mr. Samuel Peters, whose son Mr. E. E. Peters now resides there. The house is a good example of the Jacobean period, of the usual E type with a central porch, built mainly of brick with stone dressings. (fn. 112) A recent remodelling has somewhat destroyed its interest. Some excellent oak panelling removed from the first floor has now been fixed in the hall.

Another holding at Merston, held of the manor of Gatcombe until the end of the 15th century, (fn. 113) was held under the lords of that manor by the lords of Whitefield (q.v.), their interest in the manor being mentioned for the last time in 1351–2. (fn. 114) In the Testa de Nevill no tenant is mentioned under the lord of Whitefield, who may therefore be supposed to have been holding it in demesne. John son and heir of William Pagham, a minor, was in possession of the estate in 1303–4. (fn. 115) This family seem to have given their name to the present PAGHAM, which apparently formed the southern portion of Merston.

John Pagham died before 1336–7, leaving a daughter Mary. (fn. 116) Alice wife of John de Glamorgan, who died in 1340 holding the manor of Merston Pagham, may perhaps have been the widow of John Pagham. (fn. 117) In 1342 Nicholas de la Flode and Master John Abban complained that Sir John de Compton and others broke their closes and houses at Merston Pagham. (fn. 118) In 1481 half the manor of Pagham was settled by Elizabeth Bramshott on her son Richard Hawles in tail, with remainder to his brother Robert and to William Bramshott. (fn. 119) Elizabeth was still in possession in 1487, (fn. 120) and in 1492 the moiety of the manor was claimed by her granddaughter Joan wife of Thomas Cooke. (fn. 121)

The descent of the manor is not known from this time until 1704, when its site was settled upon Sir William Meux of Kingston. (fn. 122) From that date it seems to have followed the descent of Kingston (fn. 123) and was acquired about 1829 by George Ward, whose great-grandson Mr. Edmund Granville Ward (fn. 124) is the present owner.

The manor of EAST STANDEN (Standone, xi cent.; Est Staundon, Staundenewode, xiv cent.) was held before the Conquest by Bolla of King Edward. It was assessed at a hide and a half, and had passed before 1086 to William son of Stur, under whom it was held by Humphrey. (fn. 125) The overlordship did not, however, remain with the descendants of William son of Stur, for the manor was subsequently held of the honour of Carisbrooke. (fn. 126)

At the end of the 13th century Thomas de Evercy held East Standen in demesne. (fn. 127) He was succeeded before 1306 by his son Peter, (fn. 128) who died in the early part of the 14th century, leaving a daughter and heiress Amy, married to John de Glamorgan, lord of Brook (fn. 129) (q.v.), from whom the manor passed with Brook to Nicholas Glamorgan. (fn. 130) Nicholas Glamorgan died about 1362–3, (fn. 131) leaving sisters and co-heirs (fn. 132) among whom this manor like Brook seems to have been divided, (fn. 133) for Isabel de Hunstan presented to the chapel, and in 1428 Walter Veer and John Haket held a fee in Standen and Wode, (fn. 134) while in 1431 John Haket, John Rookley, John Holcombe and William Facy held the estate. (fn. 135) What was afterwards known as the manor of East Standen seems, however, to have passed to the Urrys, (fn. 136) for Parnel Urry, one of the sisters of Nicholas Glamorgan, presented to East Standen Chapel in 1375–6 and William Urry in 1385 and 1404, (fn. 137) while George Bramshott held the manor of East Standen about the middle of the 15th century in right of his wife Elizabeth the daughter and heiress of William Urry. (fn. 138) The manor then seems to have passed to the Howles, who were connected by marriage with the Bramshotts (see North Budbridge), for William Howles died seised of it in 1480, leaving an only daughter Joan, married to Thomas Cooke of Rookley. (fn. 139) It was during the Cookes' tenure that Standen had a notable tenant in the person of the Princess Cecily, third daughter of Edward IV, who retired to the Isle of Wight with her second husband Sir Thomas Kymbe or Kyme in 1503 and died there, being buried in Quarr Abbey. (fn. 140)

Thomas Cooke before his death in 1519 seems to have settled East Standen upon his daughters, for it did not pass to his granddaughter and heiress Mary, (fn. 141) but became divided into third parts.

A third passed to John Wintershill and his wife Joan, who settled it in 1546–7 on themselves for their lives with reversion to Edward Bannister, son of Edward Bannister, and the said Joan. (fn. 142) This third remained in the possession of the Bannister family at least as late as 1580. (fn. 143) It had passed before 1641 to David Wavil, who died seised of it in that year, leaving a son and heir David. (fn. 144) From this time no further account of this part of the manor has been found.

Another third passed to John Covert, who had married Joan daughter of Thomas Cooke, (fn. 145) and settled a third of the manor in 1528–9 on himself and his issue male by Joan, with remainder to the right heirs of Joan, (fn. 146) and in 1548 John's son Richard Covert and Anne his wife and his son John Covert sold it to John Meux and his wife Joan. (fn. 147) As John Meux died in 1568 holding two thirds of the manor (fn. 148) he had probably inherited or purchased another third. These two parts of the manor then followed the same descent as Kingston (fn. 149) until 1640, when John Meux mortgaged it for £500 to John Kempe. (fn. 150) The connexion of the Meux family with the manor then seems to have ceased. According to Worsley it afterwards passed from the family of Alcorn to that of Smith, and in 1781 it belonged to Christ Church, Oxford. (fn. 151)

In 1795, however, W. Roach was paying a feefarm rent of £2 8s. 6d. half-yearly for East Standen. (fn. 152)

The cutting off of Little East Standen (fn. 153) in the 17th century took away all the northern land of the manor, which at present, under the title of Great East Standen, is held by the trustees of Portsmouth Grammar School. The house is of little interest and no traces of the ancient building remain beyond sundry mounds in the orchard to the north.

The manor of WEST STANDEN was held before the Conquest of King Edward by two free men as an alod. William son of Azor held it in demesne in 1086, except half a virgate of land held by Pevrel. (fn. 154) The overlordship passed to the Russells of Yaverland, but it is not mentioned after the end of the 13th century. (fn. 155) Little is known of the undertenants. John de Rivers held it late in the 13th century, (fn. 156) and in 1431 John Rookley and others held two-thirds of a fee at West Standen and 'Laspaund.' (fn. 157)

In the 18th century the manor, known later as Standen Elms, was owned by the Roberts family, which was in possession for over a century, (fn. 158) during which time the house was remodelled. (fn. 159) In 1874 Thomas Fowler Wood sold the manor to Mrs. C. W. Estcourt, who sold in 1877 to Mr. Charles Seely. His son Sir Charles Seely, bart., sold in 1910 to Smith, who sold to Hayter. The latter sold the upper part of the manor and the house to Lieut.-Col. Hobart in 1911. West Standen Farm, (fn. 160) bought in 1876 from Morris Morgan by Charles Seely, was sold to Smith by Sir Charles Seely in 1910.

ROOKLEY

ROOKLEY (Roclee, Rokeley, xiii cent.; Roucle, xiv cent.), though originally in Godshill parish, (fn. 161) is now included for the greater part in the boundaries of South Arreton. It was held of the Lisle family under their neighbouring manor of Appleford (fn. 162) (q.v.), and it is first mentioned in 1203 when Walter de Insula granted common pasture in Rookley to Philip of Blackpan. (fn. 163) In 1272 a rent in Rookley was granted by Thomas Delamere to John Fleming, (fn. 164) who is returned in the Testa de Nevill as holding jointly with William le Martre half a fee in Rookley and Blackpan, Robert Rookley also holding a quarter fee in Rookley. (fn. 165) John Rookley held the vill in 1316, (fn. 166) and was apparently succeeded by Adam, whose widow Isabel made an agreement in 1328–9 with Robert Rookley as to her life interest in land at Rookley. (fn. 167) Geoffrey Rookley was holding a quarter fee in Rookley in 1346, (fn. 168) and was granted licence in 1363 to have an oratory in his lordship of Rookley. (fn. 169) In 1428 and 1431 Rookley was in the possession of Richard Coke or Cooke, (fn. 170) a gentleman of Sussex, who was seised of a quarter fee there, another quarter held in 1346 by William Taunton and others not being answered for in 1428, as it was divided between Walter Veer and Thomas Lisle. (fn. 171) The Cooke family seem to have remained at Rookley until the death of Thomas Cooke in 1519, leaving an infant granddaughter Mary. (fn. 172) The manor then passed in the same way as East Standen to the Bannister and Meux families. The Bannisters' third is not mentioned after 1546–7, (fn. 173) but the two thirds belonging to the Meux family passed with East Standen until the death of Sir William Meux in 1638. (fn. 174) From the Meux family it passed to the Colemans, the last of whom devised it after the death of his sister to James Worsley of Stenbury. (fn. 175) Latterly the holding has frequently changed hands; Mr. Holmes Leigh, who bought it of Mr. William Ash of Newport, has sold it (1911) to Mr. Wickett.

STAPLEHURST or STAPLERS

STAPLEHURST or STAPLERS, as it is now called, comprises the high ground to the north-west of Newport, and probably at one time included the land called Blacklands. It was parcel of the manor of Arreton, (fn. 176) with which it was granted to Quarr, (fn. 177) and is entered as a grange of that monastery in the survey of church lands in 1536. (fn. 178) Its later history is identical with that of Arreton Manor. (fn. 179)

DURTON

DURTON (Drodintone, xi cent.; Dertune, xiii cent.; Droditone, xiv cent.), a mile and a half east of Newport, was a manor at the time of Domesday held by Soartin, one of the king's thegns, who had previously held it under King Edward as a freehold. Of this manor William rented two thirds of a hide. (fn. 180) Geoffrey Whyteye died in 1309–10 holding 8 acres of land there of Peter Devercy, lord of East Standen, by knight service, and other land of other overlords. (fn. 181) He died without heirs and the tenement probably lapsed to the various overlords.

PERRETON

PERRETON (Peryton, xvi cent.), a member of Arreton Manor, belonged at the Dissolution to the abbey of Quarr. A messuage called Perreton was granted in 1545 to Anthony Beyff, (fn. 182) and in 1591–2 it was granted to John Welles. (fn. 183) It comprises the land between Arreton and Redway, and a field to the west of the road leading from Croucher's Cross to Arreton is called Old Perreton and pointed out as the traditional site of the house. The present house lies in the low ground and is of the ordinary farm type of the 17th century. It has a date stone, L.B. 1668, the initials of Levinus Bennet.

REDWAY

REDWAY, another member of Arreton Manor, lies to the south of Perreton, between it and the Budbridge and Hale moors. It was devised by Thomas Lord Colepeper to his natural daughter Charlotte, who married Robert Pushall towards the close of the 17th century. After being variously owned, it was bought in 1898 by Mr. Samuel Peters and is now occupied by his son Mr. J. C. Peters. The house, a building very similar to Perreton, has lately been remodelled, gables added on the south and a porch to the north front. It lies to the north of the railway about midway between Merston and Horringford, commanding a fine view of the valley.

CHURCH

The church of ST. GEORGE is one of the six Island churches bestowed by William Fitz Osbern on his Norman abbey of Lire. It is mentioned in Domesday, (fn. 184) so must have been built before 1086, the original structure being of the early aisleless type with a square west end, and probably an apsidal eastern termination. Evidence of this early work is to be found in the central openings in the west wall—the window without reveal groove or rebate, the door opening (fn. 185) with its long and short quoins—and the narrow deeply splayed round-headed light over the priest's door in the chancel. This simple rectangular plan was maintained till the rectory was given about 1150 to the abbey of Quarr (see below).

Henceforth the church was cared for by the Island monks, who at once set about enlarging the structure, the first addition—the north aisle with its Romanesque capitals (fn. 186) and single splayed arches—being made during the first twenty years of their ownership. Then early in the next century the south aisle was added, (fn. 187) and to compensate for the removal of the side windows the present long lancets were inserted in the west wall. (fn. 188) The confirmation in 1289 of the early settlement between the Abbots of Quarr and Lire as to the endowment of Arreton Church may have given additional stimulus to the building operations already begun, resulting in the two chancels (fn. 189) with their beautiful connecting arcade. These are lighted by two eastern windows of three lights and five side windows of two lights, two in the north and three in the south wall. (fn. 190) There was also a small plate-traceried window (fn. 191) in the west wall, now blocked by the later aisle roof.

The original chancel walls were fully polychromed, as is evidenced by the splays of the early single light over the priest's door in the north wall which was blocked up in the chancel rebuilding, and a tempera painting of the Last Judgement, (fn. 192) 9 ft. high by 7 ft. wide, inclosed within a foliated border 9½ in. wide, painted on the wall space thus gained. The new work was linked up to the old by the insertion of a somewhat clumsy arch in the east wall of the south aisle; finally a tower was built at the west end, and to compensate for the blocking of the western lights quatrefoil clearstory openings were made over the nave arcades north and south. For upwards of two hundred years little or nothing was done to the church, but towards the close of the 15th century— circa 1480—the upper stage of the tower was rebuilt and the huge angle buttresses added as a greater security to the structure. A rood screen was at this period erected across the chancel arch—the entrance to which is still visible with a piscina for the altar under—a south window inserted to light it, and the opening, probably for the sanctus bell, made over the chancel arch. A nave with clearstory, north and south aisles with lean-to roof pitching under the clearstory lights, (fn. 193) a western tower, north and south chancels, an oaken screen with groined rood-loft and, from existing evidence, four altars for service: such was Arreton Church at the opening of the 16th century, which is responsible for the raising of the aisle walls, the insertion of Tudor windows, the addition of a south porch (fn. 194) and the present roof with its one vast ugly slope, blocking the clearstory and destroying its raison d'être. (fn. 195) Post-Reformation work is now conspicuous by its absence. Except the memorial tablets there is little evidence of its existence and the churchwardens' accounts now become our authority. In 1649 the bells were rehung and the roof repaired, which latter in 1738 was further ceiled with plaster. In 1742 the present weather-cock was set on the tower, and two years later the linen panelled benches began to give place to the family pew. In 1748 the porch was covered with lead, and in 1752 a new oak pulpit was placed in the church at a cost of £21 2s. 8d. In 1863 a 'restoration' (fn. 196) took place, which was completed in 1886, when the Worsley Holmes chapel at the west end of the south aisle was removed, all vestiges of pewing (fn. 197) swept away and the church reseated and 'tidied up.' At the latter date shattered remains of the 13th-century font were brought to light as well as some fragments of sculpture now fixed in the east wall of the north aisle. The latter are excellent work of the period of the rebuilding of the chancel, and represent a dragon's head in freestone with traces of colour and a draped figure inclosed in a quatrefoil in Purbeck stone. There is a trefoiled piscina niche by the side of the loft opening, evidence of the former existence of a nave altar here against the screen. At the east end of the chancel north wall is an ancient aumbry, (fn. 198) and opposite it an original piscina, while in the sill of the easternmost window of the south chancel is a piscina bowl of quatrefoil form. The recess below the east window of the south chancel may have been for an Easter Sepulchre. The font is modern, based on the motif of the remains found at the 1886 restoration. The only pictorial brass is to Harry Hawles, steward of the Isle of Wight under the non-resident lords succeeding the Earl of Salisbury. The figure, which is 30 in. high, is clad in the plate armour of the period, circa 1420, but the head, shield (fn. 199) and sword hilt are missing. The feet rest on a lion with the rhyming epitaph in black letter:—
HERE IS Y BYRIED UNDER THIS GRAVE
HARRY HAWLES HIS SOUL GOD SAVE
LONGE TYME STEWARD OF THE YLE OF WYGHT
HAVE M'RCY ON HYM GOD FUL OF MYGHT.
Another rhyming epitaph is to William Serle of Stone, who died in 1595. The 17th-century records include Edward Fayrebrace, vicar 1615, Thomas Lisle of Briddlesford 1621, Edward Harbert of Birchmore 1628 and David Wavil 1629. The 18th-century memorials to William Griffin vicar 1732, William Ruffin of Birchmore 1757 and later tablets to the Roberts (fn. 200) family of West Standen and the Bells of Stickworth bring us to the more pretentious sculptured monuments now in the south aisle, to the memory of Richard Fleming Worsley-Holmes, drowned while boating in the Hamble River in 1814, and Sir Leonard Worsley Holmes, bart., 1825, the work respectively of Westmacott and a local artist named Haskoll. The original of Legh Richmond's 'dairyman's daughter,' Elizabeth Wallbridge, is buried in the churchyard. There is a copy in a case in the south chancel of Foxe's Actes and Monuments (ed. 9 in 3 vols.). There are also in the south chancel a Jacobean altar table and an oak chest dated 1679 with the initials of the churchwardens, W. H. and B. R.

There are four ancient bells, the oldest of the 15th– 16th century inscribed in black letter 'Ihus Nicholaus Serle et Alicia ux' ejus fec' fi'me.' (fn. 201) The others 'Anno 1559,' 'In God is my hope, R.B. 1601.' (fn. 202) 'William Griffin vicor, Geo. Oglander, Henry Bull Churchwardens, Clemant Tosiear cast mee in the year of 1699.' The fifth and sixth are modern bells by Mears & Stainbank, 1896.

The church plate consists of an Elizabethan chalice and cover, date 1566–7, a flagon 1861–2, and a small salver 1732–3.

The registers date from 1653 and are contained in five books: (i) burials 1653 (fn. 203) to 1735; (ii) baptisms and burials 1742 to 1797, marriages 1742 to 1753; (iii) baptisms and burials 1797 to 1812; (iv) and (v) marriages 1754 to 1812. The churchwardens' accounts begin in the 17th century and are in three books: (i) 1706 to 1783; (ii) 1724 to 1769; (iii) 1768 to 1843. The first book (17th century) is missing and is said to have been destroyed.

ADVOWSON

The church of Arreton was held in 1086 by the abbey of Lire. (fn. 204) About 1150 an agreement was made and confirmed in 1289 by which, in exchange for a pension of 40s., the Abbot of Lire conceded to the Abbot of Quarr the tithes of Arreton, (fn. 205) but the advowson was reserved to the Abbot of Lire and belonged to his successors (fn. 206) until 1400, when it was given to the abbey of Quarr. (fn. 207) In 1405 the church was appropriated to the abbey of Quarr, and in return for this appropriation the abbot undertook to pay a pension of 10s. yearly to the Bishop of Winchester. (fn. 208) The advowson and rectory remained with Quarr Abbey until the Dissolution, (fn. 209) when they passed to the Crown. They were granted in 1549 to George Mill, (fn. 210) whose nephew and heir Richard sold them in 1609 to Sir Thomas Fleming, (fn. 211) Lord Chief Justice of England, with whose descendants the presentation still remains. (fn. 212)

There was a chapel at Briddlesford dedicated to St. Martin, which is entered in the Dean's return of 1305 as being endowed with the great and small tithes of the demesne of John de Lisle at Briddlesford. (fn. 213) The advowson belonged to the lords of the manor. (fn. 214) At the Reformation it was returned that this chapel had been founded by the ancestors of Sir Thomas Lisle, but that at that time no divine service was celebrated there. (fn. 215) The advowson of the chapel was still numbered among the possessions of the lords of the manor in the 16th and 17th centuries, (fn. 216) and in 1775 the site of the late dissolved free chapel of St. Martin in Briddlesford is mentioned in a conveyance of the manor. (fn. 217) It had entirely disappeared before 1795, but still continued to pay a rent of £1 8s. 4d. to the Crown at that time. (fn. 218) In 1380 a chaplain was presented by the king, as guardian of the heir of Sir Thomas Lisle, to the chantry of St. Nicholas in the church of Briddlesford, but this seems to have been the same as the free chapel. (fn. 219)

A chapel, dedicated to the honour of St. Leonard, was in existence at Standen at the end of the 13th century, (fn. 220) the advowson belonging to the lords of the manor. (fn. 221) The chaplain there was bound to celebrate divine service three days a week. (fn. 222) The chapel at the Dissolution was said to have been founded by the ancestors of William Urry, (fn. 223) but was probably refounded later, as in another return the foundation is ascribed to Richard Covert. (fn. 224) Though there was then a chaplain receiving rents from the endowment, he did not serve the chapel according to the intent of the founders. (fn. 225) The chapel appears to have been still in existence in 1780, as Mr. Sanders was then paying a fee-farm rent of £3 to the Crown for East Standen Chapel. (fn. 226) Ruins of the chapel, which has now entirely disappeared, were to be seen in the orchard behind the house at the end of the 18th century. (fn. 227)

There are Nonconformist chapels at Rookley (Bible Christian); Blackwater (Wesleyan); Arreton (Bible Christian); Merston (Wesleyan); and Hale Common (Wesleyan).

CHARITIES

In 1592 William Serle by will directed £100 to be laid out in the purchase of land for the use of the poor. The legacy with additions by the parishioners was laid out in the purchase of a farm called Steans, containing 53 a., now let at £47 10s. a year. A sum of £774 0s. 11d. consols, arising from investment of royalties of gravel and sand, is also held by the official trustees, producing £19 7s. a year.

In 1617 Richard Gard among other charitable gifts by his will devised 10s. a year for the poor of this parish. In respect of this annuity the sum of 5s. is charged on Princelet in Newchurch and 5s. on West Nunwell in Brading.

In 1688 John Mann by his will devised to trustees a fee-farm rent of £46 issuing out of lands in the parish of Sheriff Hutton, county of York, for the maintenance, education, and setting up in the world of poor orphans and other poor children in this parish, and after that for the provision of poor ancient and impotent people. The annuity is subject to deduction for land tax.

In 1781 John Pope gave, for the poor, rent-charges of 10s. issuing out of property known as Horringford and £1 out of Redway.

These charities are under an order of the Charity Commissioners, 26 February 1901, as varied by an order 13 August 1907, administered together. The income thereof, after deduction of proportion of expenses, is distributed to the poor in coin.

The Church schools were built in 1873 on a site given by the vicar, Rev. Reginald Norman Durrant.