John Keble's Parishes - free ebook by Charlotte M. (Charlotte Mary) Yonge

John Keble’s Parishes

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PREFACE

To explain the present undertaking, it should be mentioned that a history of Hursley and North Baddesley was compiled by the Reverend John Marsh, Curate of Hursley, in the year 1808. It was well and carefully done, with a considerable amount of antiquarian knowledge. It reached a second edition, and a good deal of it was used in Sketches of Hampshire , by John Duthy, Esq. An interleaved copy received many annotations from members of the Heathcote family. There was a proposal that it should b

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CHAPTER I MERDON AND OTTERBOURNE

The South Downs of England descend at about eight miles from the sea into beds of clay, diversified by gravel and sand, and with an upper deposit of peaty, boggy soil, all having been brought down by the rivers of which the Itchen and the Test remain. On the western side of the Itchen, exactly at the border where the chalk gives way to the other deposits, lies the ground of which this memoir attempts to speak. It is uneven ground, varied by undulations, with gravelly hills, rising above valleys

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CHAPTER II MEDIÆVAL GIFTS

It was considered in the Middle Ages that tithes might be applied to any church purpose, and were not the exclusive right of the actual parish priest, provided he obtained a sufficient maintenance, which in those days of celibacy was not very expensive. The bishops and other patrons thus assigned the great tithes of corn of many parishes to religious foundations elsewhere, only leaving the incumbent the smaller tithe from other crops—an arrangement which has resulted in many abuses. Thus in 130

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Extraordinary Occurrences, Etc.

1582. A great hail storm happened at Hursley, Baddesley, and in the neighbourhood, this year. The hail-stones measured nine inches in circumference. 1604. The plague made its appearance at Anfield. It broke out in November, and continued till the following February. Many persons died of it, and were not brought to the church, but buried in the waste near their residence. 1610. A person of the name of Wooll hanged himself at Gosport, in the parish of Hursley, about this time. He was buried

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CHAPTER IV PURITAN TIMES

After his dispute with the haymakers, Sir Thomas Clarke sold Merdon to William Brock, a lawyer, from whom it passed to John Arundel, and then to Sir Nathanael Napier, whose son, Sir Gerald, parted with it again to Richard Maijor, the son of the mayor of Southampton. This was in 1638, and for some time the lodge at Hursley was lent to Mr. Kingswell, Mr. Maijor’s father-in-law, who died there in 1639, after which time Mr. Maijor took up his abode there. He seems to have been a shrewd, active man

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CHAPTER V CUSTOMS OF THE MANOR OF MERDON

As it was just at this time that the customs of the manor of Merdon were revised, this seems to be the fittest place for giving Mr. Marsh’s summary of them. “The quantity of land in cultivation within the Manor of Merdon or parish of Hursley is, as I imagine, not less than three-fifths of the whole, or about 6000 acres; of which the greater part was anciently copyhold, under the Bishop and Church of Winchester. The tenure by which it was held, was, and indeed is still, that denominated Borough

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CHAPTER VI CRANBURY AND BRAMBRIDGE

Great changes began at the Restoration. Robert Maunder became vicar of Hursley in 1660, on whose presentation is unknown; but that he or his curate were scholars is probable, since the entries in the parish registers both of Hursley and Otterbourne begin to be in Latin. Cranbury had passed from Dean Young to his brother Major General Young, and from him to his daughter, the wife or Sir Charles Wyndham, son of Sir Edmund Wyndham, Knight Marshall of England and a zealous cavalier. Brambridge, c

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CHAPTER VII THE BUILDING AT HURSLEY

In the year 1718, Hursley was sold by Cromwell’s two surviving daughters for £36,000 to William Heathcote, Esq., afterwards created a baronet. The Heathcotes belonged to a family of gentle blood in Derbyshire. Gilbert Heathcote, one of the sons, was an Alderman at Chesterfield, and was the common ancestor of the Rutland as well as the Hursley family. His third son, Samuel, spent some years as a merchant at Dantzic, where he made a considerable fortune, and returning to England, married Mary th

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CHAPTER VIII OLD OTTERBOURNE

Thomas Dummer , Esquire, who in 1765 succeeded his father in the possession of Cranbury, was a man to whom some evil genius whispered, “Have a taste,” for in 1770 he actually purchased the City Cross of Winchester to set it up at Cranbury, but happily the inhabitants of the city were more conservative than their corporation, and made such a demonstration that the bargain was annulled, and the Cross left in its proper place. He consoled himself with erecting a tall lath and plaster obelisk in it

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CHAPTER IX CHURCH BUILDING

A new era began in both Hursley and Otterbourne with the accession of Sir William Heathcote, the fifth baronet, and with the marriage of William Yonge. Sir William was born on the 17th of May 1801, the son of the Rev. William Heathcote, Rector of Worting, Hants, and Prebendary of the Cathedral of Winchester, second son of Sir William, third baronet. His mother was Elizabeth, daughter of Lovelace Bigg Wither of Manydown Park in the same county. She was early left a widow, and she bred up her on

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CHAPTER X HURSLEY CHURCH

In one of his prose writings Mr. Keble speaks of the faithful shepherd going on his way though storms may be raging in the atmosphere; and such might be a description of his own course as regarded his flock, though there were several of these storms that affected him deeply. One gust came very near home. The diocesan, Bishop Charles Sumner, was an excellent and conscientious man, with a much deeper sense of his duties as a bishop than his immediate predecessors, and of great kindness and benefi

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CHAPTER XI THE GOLDEN DAYS OF HURSLEY

Those forebodings of Mr. Keble’s mercifully never were realised; many more years were granted in which Hursley saw the Church and the secular power working together in an almost ideal way. To speak of what Sir William Heathcote was as a county gentleman would be difficult. He was for many years Chairman of the Quarter Sessions, and it is worth recording that when King Frederick William IV. of Prussia wished for information on the practical working of the English system of government, and sent o

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CHAPTER XII HURSLEY VICARAGE

The Golden Age of Hursley did not deduce all its honour from the manor house. The vicarage was perhaps the true centre of the light which the Park reflected, or rather both knew that their radiance alike came from One Source above, in whose Light they sought to walk. The happy, sometimes playful, intercourse between them may perhaps best be exemplified by the petition sent up by Mr. Keble on an alarm that the copse on Ladwell hill was about to be cut down in obedience to the dicta of agricultur

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CHAPTER XIII LATER CHANGES

In the October of 1853, the Rev. Robert F. Wilson having resigned the curacy of Ampfield, he was replaced by the Rev. John Frewen Moor, who on 12th January of the next year became perpetual curate and by and by vicar. Improvements in the church advanced in his time. The stained glass of the east and west windows of the church were given by Sir William and Lady Heathcote, the south-east window is a memorial of Mr. Keble, the other south windows of Mr. Moor’s three sons, one of whom was drowned w

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CHAPTER XIV A SURVEY

It may be best to conclude with a sketch of the present appearance of the parishes (in 1898). To begin at the west, where the border is on Romsey, Michelmersh and Farley, the Romsey road, formerly the direct road from Winchester to Salisbury, running through it, beside Ampfield Church and village. This is high ground, and Ampfield Wood extends along it to the borders of Hursley Park. It is chiefly of oak, fir, and beech, and on the southern side are the fine arcades of beechwood that Mr. Keble

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Words

Caddle , untidy condition. “In he comes when I’m all of a caddle.” To stabble , to walk about aimlessly, or in the wet. “Now, Miss, don’t you come stabbling in and out when I am scouring.” Or, “I can’t come stabbling down that there dirty lane, or I should be all of a muck.” Want , mole. Chiselbob , woodlouse; also called a cud-worm, and, rolled in a pill, put down the throat of a cow to promote the restoration of her cud, which she was supposed to have lost. Gowk , cuckoo. Fuzz-Buzz , traveller

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Village Specifics.

Cure for Epilepsy To wear round the neck a bag with a hair from the cross on a he-donkey. Or, To wear a ring made of sixpences begged from six young women who married without change of name. Cure for Whooping Cough An infusion of mouse ear hawkweed ( Hieracium Pilosella ), flavoured with thyme and honey. This is really effective, like other “yarbs” that used to be in vogue. Cure for Shingles Grease off church bells. For Sore Throat Rasher of fat bacon fastened round the neck. For Ague To be tak

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Phrases

Singing psalms to a dead horse , exhorting a stolid subject. Surplice , smock-frock. “Ah! sir, the white surplice covers a great deal of dirt”—said by a tidy woman of her old father. “And what be I to pay you?” “What the Irishman shot at,” i.e. nothing—conversation overheard between an old labourer and his old friend, the thatcher, who had been mending his roof. “Well, dame, how d’ye fight it out?”—salutation overheard. Curate . Have you heard the nightingale yet? Boy . Please, sir, I don’t kn

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BIRDS

The Kite ( Milvus ictinus ).—Sometimes hovering over heathlands or farmyards, but not very common. Sparrow-Hawk ( Accipiter fringillarius ).—Taken in a trap set for rats at Otterbourne House. Peregrine Falcon ( Falco peregrinus ), Hursley, 1857.—As a pair for many years had a nest on Salisbury spire, this one may have flown thus far. Kestrel ( Falco tinnunculus )—Otterbourne, 1856. Short-Eared Owl ( Otus brachyotus ).—Baddesley Common, 5th March 1861. White Owl ( Strix flammea ).—Nested in a bar

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FLOWERS

Traveller’s Joy ( Clematis Vitalba ).—Locally called Old Man’s Beard, most appropriately, as its curling, silvery masses of seeds hang in wreaths over the hedges. There is a giant trunk growing up from the moat of Merdon Castle. Meadow Rue ( Thalictrum flavum ).—Handsome foliage and blossoms, showing much of anthers, growing on the banks of the Itchen canal. Windflower ( Anemone nemorosa ).—Smellfoxes, as the villagers’ children inelegantly term this elegant flower, spreading its pearl-white bl

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Crucifera

Rocket ( Diplotaxis tenuifolia ).—Seen at Brambridge. Charlock ( Sinapis arvensis ).—Making fields golden. White C. ( S. alba ).—Standon, Hursley. Jack-by-the-Hedge ( Sisymbrium alliaria ).—Seen at Brambridge. Lady’s Smock ( Cardamine pratensis ).—No doubt named because the pearly flowers look on a moist meadow like linen bleaching. Sometimes double in rich ground. Hairy Cardamine ( C. hirsuta ).—Hursley. Yellow Rocket ( Barbarea vulgaris ).—Road near Chandler’s Ford. Near bridge over Itchen.

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Caryophylleæ

Deptford Pink ( Dianthus Armeria ).—This used to grow in a field near Highbridge, but has been destroyed, either purposely or by fencing. Bladder Campion ( Silene inflata ).—Showing its white flowers and swelling calyxes everywhere. Common Catchfly ( S. anglica ).—Small and insignificant among corn. Red Campion ( Lychnis diurna ).—Robins, as children call it, with the bright pink in every hedge and the undergrowth in every copse. White C. ( L. vespertina ).—The white flowers make a feature in fa

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St. John’s-Wort Tribe

Tutsan ( Hypericum Androsæmum ).—Handsome flower, and seeds—Cranbury and Allbrook. St. John’s-Wort ( H. perforatum ). ( H. dubium ). ( H. hirsutum ).—All frequent in the hedges. ( H. humifusum ). ( H. pulchrum ). ( H. Elodes ).—Bogs near Cuckoo Bushes. ( H. quadrangulum ). Mallow ( Malva sylvestris ).—Everywhere by roadsides, used to be esteemed by old women as a healing “yarb.” Musk M. ( M. moschata ).—A beautiful pink or white flower, grows all over the park at Cranbury. Dwarf M. ( M. rotundif

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Cranesbill Tribe

Dove’s-Foot Crane’s-Bill ( Geranium Columbinum ).—Roadsides. Shining C. ( G. lucidum ).—Heap of stones, Hursley. ( G. dissectum ).—Everywhere. ( G. Molle ).—Otterbourne Herb Robert C. ( G. Robertianum ).—Very common, and the crimson leaves a great winter ornament. Bloody C. ( G. phæum ).—Ladwell Hill, where it may be a remnant of a cottage garden. Stork’s-Bill ( Erodium moschatum ).—Otterbourne Hill. ( E. cicutarium ).—Farley Mount. Wood-Sorrel ( Oxalis Acetosella ).—This exquisite plant with de

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Leguminose

Furze ( Ulex europæus ).—Brilliant on all the commons on gravel or peat. Dwarf Furze ( U. nanus ).—Rather less frequent. Broom ( Genista scoparia ).—Exquisite golden spires on the peat. Needle Broom ( G. anglica ).—Cuckoo Bushes. Dyer’s Greenweed ( G. tinctoria ).—In a ditch in a meadow on the Ampfield Road. Rest Harrow ( Ononis arvensis ).—Pretty pink and white blossoms like miniature lady-peas on a troublesome weed. Kidney Vetch ( Anthyllis Vulneraria ).—Borders of down. Black Medick ( Medicag

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Rose Tribe

Blackthorn ( Prunus spinosa ).—It is believed that no hurt is so hard of healing as from a blackthorn. Also blackthorn winter is supposed to bring fresh cold in spring, when the bushes almost look as if clothed by hoar-frost. Wild Cherry ( P. Avium ).—The fine, tall, shapely trees put on their bridal show in the woods of Cranbury and Ampfield. Bird-Cherry ( P. Padus ).—Not very common. There is one in the grounds at Otterbourne House, but it is not certainly wild. Meadow-Sweet ( Spiræa Ulmaria

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Willow-herb Tribe

Rosebay Willow-Herb ( Epilobium angustifolium ).—This splendid flower, rose-coloured, white-pistilled and red-leaved, spreads in sheets in Cranbury Copse and on railway cuttings, at Cuckoo Bushes, and in Ampfield Wood. Codlins-and-Cream ( E. hirsutum ).—Adorning wet places. Small Willow-Herb — ( E. parviflorum ) Troublesome though pretty weeds in the garden. ( E. tetragonum ) ( E. roseum ) ( E. montanum ).—Found at Ampfield. Enchanter’s Nightshade ( Circæa lutetiana ).—A graceful, delicate-looki

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Saxifragea

Orpine ( Sedum Telephium ).—Also called Midsummer May; grows in Otterbourne Park, and a large bunch on the Romsey Road. An old woman described having tried the augury, having laid the plants in pairs on Midsummer Eve, naming them after pairs of sweethearts. Those that twisted away from each other showed inconstancy! Stonecrop ( S. anglicum ).—Otterbourne Hill. ( S. acre ).—Hursley. Houseleek ( Sempervivum tectorum ).—Also called Sin-green, or some word so sounding. It is not permitted to blow

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Umbellifera

Goutweed ( Ægopodium Podagra ).—Handsome leaves, but a troublesome weed. Pignut ( Bunium flexuosum ).—The delicate, lace-like, umbellate flowers in all the woods. Water Dropwort ( Œnanthe fistulosa ).—Banks of Itchen. Water Hemlock ( Œ. crocata ).—Itchen banks. Wild Carrot ( Daucus Carota ). Burnet Saxifrage ( Pimpinella Sax Jraga ).—Hursley. Cow Parsley ( Chærophyllum sylvestre ).—Boys may be seen bearing home bundles for their rabbits. Shepherd’s Needle ( Scandix Pecten Veneis ).—In cornfields

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Madder Tribe

Madder ( Rubia peregrina ).—Tiny flowers—Otterbourne Hill. Crosswort or Mugwort ( Galium Cruciatum ).—Roadside, Allbrook. Yellow Lady’s Bedstraw ( G. verum ).—Everywhere. Marsh B. ( G. palustre ).—Cuckoo Bushes. ( G. uliginosum ).—Gravel-pit, Otterbourne. White Bedstraw ( G. erectum ).—Winchester Road. Cleavers or Cliders ( G. Aparine ).—Everywhere. Rough ( G. Mollugo ).—Cornfields. Woodruff ( Asperula odorata ).—Sparrow Grove. ( A. cynanchica ).—Chalk downs. Field Madder ( Sherardia arvensis ).

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Compositæ

Thistles ( Carduus nutans ). ( C. tenuifolia ). Milk Thistle ( Silybum marianum ).—Once in Boyatt Lane. ( S crispus ). ( Cnicus lanceolatus ). ( C. palustris ). ( C. arvensis ). Stemless T. ( C. acaulis ).—Little purple stars on the downs. Carline ( Carlina vulgaris ). Burdock ( Arctium Lappa ).—Everywhere. ( A. tomentosa ). Saw-Wort ( Serratula tinctoria ).—Copses round King’s Lane. Knapweed ( Centaurea nigra ).—Everywhere. ( C. Cyanea ).—In fields about Hursley occasionally. ( C. Scabiosa ).—H

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Gentian Tribe

The Periwinkle ( Vinca minor ).—Curiously irregular in blossoming. One spring the ground is covered with blue stars, another only with evergreen trails. Its only habitat here is Lincoln’s Copse. Yellowwort ( Chlora perfoliata ).—Ampfield Wood. Centaury ( Erythræa Centaurea ).—Cranbury. Gentian ( Gentiana Pneunomanthe ).—Baddesley bog, Cranbury. ( G. Amarella ).—Pitt Down. Bogbean ( Menyanthes trifolium ).—This lovely flower abides in the wet banks of the Itchen. Bindweed ( Convolvulus sepium )

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Borage Tribe

Mullein ( Verbascum nigrum ). The handsome spikes ( V. Thapsus ) everywhere. ( V. Blattaria ).—Formerly in hedge of cottage at Silkstede. Gromwell ( Lithospermum officinale ).—Beside Winchester Road on way to Twyford. Forget-Me-Not ( Myosotis palustris ).—Itchen meadows. Mouse-Ear , Scorpion Grass ( M. versicolor ).—Stubblefields. ( M. sylvatica ).—Ampfield. ( M. arvensis ).—Everywhere. Comfrey ( Symphytum officinale ).—Itchen banks. Hound’s Tongue ( Cynoglossum officinale ).—Merdon Hill, but i

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Labiatæ

Water Figwort — ( Scrophularia Balbisii ). ( S. nodosa ) } Both common and not beautiful. Foxglove ( Digitalis purpurea ).—All over the gravelly and peaty woods in splendid congregations of spires—called by the children poppies. Lesser Snapdragon ( Antirrhinum Orontium ).—Occasionally in gardens. Wild Sage ( Salvia Verbenaca ).—Ampfield. Self-Heal ( Prunella vulgaris ).—Called Lady’s Slipper. Skullcap ( Scutellaria galericulata ).—Itchen bank. ( S. minor ).—Cranbury hedge on Romsey Road. Black

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The Lily Tribe

Garlic ( Allium ursinum ).—On road to Baddesley. Crow G. ( A. vineale ).—Chalk ridges, if not destroyed by waterworks. Flag ( Iris pseudacorus ).—Itchen banks. Stinking F. ( I. fætidissima ).—Not common, but in two copses, one at Cranbury and the other on the north of King’s Lane. Daffodil ( Narcissus Pseudonarcissus ).—Dell Copse, which it covers with the glory of the “dancing daffodil”; also plantation near Romsey Road. Black Bryony ( Tamus communis ).—Wreaths of shiny leaves. Solomon’s Seal (

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Reeds

Bogrush ( L. campestris ).—Little rush. ( L. pilosa ).—Ampfield Wood. Rush ( Juncus conglomeratus ).—The days of rush-lights are gone by, but rush-baskets for flowers and helmets are made by the children, and the white pith, when pressed, is made up into devices. ( F. effusus ) ( F. glaucus ) All in Itchen meadows. ( F. acutiflorus ) ( F. squamosus ) Beakrush ( Rhynchospora fusca ). Single Bulrush ( Scirpus lacustris ). ( S. sylvatica ).—Marsh near Baddesley Road. ( S. setaceus ). Cotton Grass (

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Grasses

Sweet Meadow Grass ( Anthoxanthum odoratum ). Canary G. ( Phalaris canariensis ).—A stray. Foxtail G. ( Alopecurus pratensis ). ( A. agrestis ). ( A. geniculatus ). Cat-Tail G. ( Phleum pratense ). Dog’s G. ( Agrostis canina ). ( A. alba ). ( A. vulgaris ). Reed ( Arundo Phragmites ).—Waving brown tassels, beautiful for adornments—Itchen banks, and hedge of allotments on Otterbourne Hill. Millet Grass ( Milium effusum ). Hair G. ( Aira flexuosa ). ( A. æspitosa ).—Tufts on the hill, Otterbourne.

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Ferns, etc.

Bracken ( Pteris aquilina ).—All over Cranbury. Hard Fern ( Blechnum boreale ).—Mallibar Road between Albrook and Highbridge. Wall-Rue ( Asplenium Ruta-muraria ). Black Maidenhair ( A. Trichomanes ).—Used to be on tombstones in old churchyard, Otterbourne. Lady Fern ( Athyrium Filix fæmina ).—Cranbury. ( Ceterach officinale ).—Merdon Castle. Hart’s Tongue ( Scolopendrium officinale ). ( Polystichum angulare ).—Cranbury. Male Fern ( Lastrea Filix-mas ). ( L. spinulosa ). ( L. dilatata ).—Otterbou

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