Manor Profile
Aldingbourne, West Sussex· Box and Stockbridge Hundred· 683 – 1953
Also known as: Ealdingburnan
Aldingbourne has been held by the bishops of Chichester (formerly Selsey) from before the Conquest. King Nothelm gave 33 cassatos to his sister Nothgithe for a monastery (692). King Caedwalla endowed the Selsey monastery with 6 cassatos (683). King Alfred bequeathed the ham at Ealdingburnan to nephew Ethelm (899), but the land returned to episcopal hands.
In 1086 the bishop held 36 hides. The temporalities were valued at 48 pounds 1s. 2d. in 1291. By 1387 the demesne had increased to 485 acres with a windmill worth 26s. 8d. In 1535 the total manor value was 58 pounds 11s. 6d. with a watermill.
During the Commonwealth, William Kendall, a London merchant, purchased the manor in September 1648. After Kendall's death, Denis Bond and Elizabeth conveyed it to Thomas Player and others (1653). At the Restoration the manor returned to the See of Chichester.
Several bishops were resident: Robert de Stratford (d. 1362), Robert Rede (1414), Simon Sydenham (1427), Edward Story (1502), Robert Sherborne (1536), and Lancelot Andrews (1606). The bishop's palace was destroyed by Parliamentarian soldiers in 1642.
The Bishop of Chichester (formerly Selsey) held Aldingbourne at 36 hides. Subtenants included a local priest (1 hide), three clerks (Robert 5 hides, Hugh 3 hides, Alward 1 hide), knights Herald and Murdac (3 hides each), Ansfrid and Lovel (1 hide each). Woodland yielded 3 swine in pannage.
| # | Name | From | To | Acquired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | King Caedwalla | 683 | 683 | Endowed Selsey monastery with 6 cassatos. | |
| 2 | Bishop of Selsey / Chichester | 683 | 1648 | Held continuously. 36 hides at Domesday. | |
| 3 | William Kendall | 1648 | 1652 | Parliamentary purchase | London merchant. |
| 4 | Denis Bond and Elizabeth | 1652 | 1660 | purchase from Kendall's executors | |
| 5 | Bishop of Chichester | 1660 | Restoration | Returned to See of Chichester. Still held at time of VCH publication. |
See of Chichester (Bishop)
diocese · held · 1857
Episcopal manor from Saxon period to Ecclesiastical Commissioners 1857. 36 hides at Domesday.
Church of the Virgin Mary: 12th-century north arcade (pre-Domesday church); 13th-century vaulting, chancel, tower, lancet windows, piscina, double sedilia with moulded arches. 17th-century porch. Bells: three by Thomas Wakefield, 1615. Plate: large silver cup and paten cover (1568). Registers begin 1558. Bishop's Palace: destroyed by Parliamentarian soldiers in 1642. By 1606 already ruinous. Mound still visible but no remains above ground. Park of over 1 mile paling in 13th century, disparked mid-17th century.
Lidsey was a sub-holding within the bishop's manor of Aldingbourne.
Headhone was a small manor within Aldingbourne parish, part of the bishop's holding.
Westergate was originally part of the episcopal manor of Aldingbourne before becoming a prebendal estate.
VCH Closing Statement
“The manor was held continuously by the bishops of Chichester from before the Conquest, with only a brief interruption during the Commonwealth.”
VCH Sussex, Vol. 4, pp. 134-138
