Little Gatcombe

The origin of the manor of Little Gatcombe appears to have been one of the Portchester serjeanties. Under Henry III, Fulk de Wymeringes held his land by service at Portchester Castle for eight days in time of war. The name derives from Old English, meaning "goat valley".

In 1291 Sir William de Esturs died seised of 20 acres of land, held by the service of suit at the court of Portchester Castle every three weeks and of providing for eight days in time of war one man armed with a lance, helmet and shield. He also held 20 acres of land from the lord of Warblington and 20 acres of land from Richard de Portsea for the rent of a pound of pepper and one rose.

Sir William was succeeded by his brother Geoffrey Lisle, who died in 1293, leaving a son and heir Baldwin, then aged twenty-three. Baldwin died in 1307 and was succeeded by his son John, who was only four years old and a minor in the king's wardship. John de Lisle of Gatcombe died in 1337 seised of the manor, which was still held from the king in chief by grand serjeanty for the service of arming a man in time of war for the defence of Portchester Castle.

His heir was his son John, aged six, who died in 1349, the year of the Black Death. His sister Elizabeth, wife of John Bramshott of Bramshott in Hampshire, inherited the estate in 1369.

In 1432 William Bramshott, lord of the manor of Gatcombe, granted his lands to his son Baldwin. Baldwin died in 1468 and granted the so-called manor of Little Gatcombe to his brother John before death. This is the first recorded use of "Little Gatcombe" as a distinct name for the holding.

John Bramshott's daughters Elizabeth and Margaret inherited as co-heiresses in 1479. Elizabeth married Sir John Dudley. Margaret married Sir John Pakenham, who died in 1485. Edmund Dudley, son of Sir John Dudley and Elizabeth Bramshott, was Speaker of the House of Commons and Henry VII's chief financial enforcer. He was attainted for high treason and beheaded on Tower Hill on 17 August 1510. His son John Dudley became 1st Duke of Northumberland; his grandson Guildford Dudley married Lady Jane Grey; his other son Robert Dudley became Earl of Leicester and favourite of Elizabeth I.

The attainder was reversed the following year with lands restored to his son John, but it seems probable that Little Gatcombe was not restored and was instead granted to William Erneley. Erneley held two messuages, 100 acres of land, 10 acres of meadow, 20 acres of pasture and 10 acres of wood in Little Gatcombe and Little Bramshott. He left the property to his son Francis, with reversion to Richard. The VCH records William Erneley's death as 1445, which appears to be a misprint for 1545.

Richard Erneley sold Little Gatcombe and 120 acres of land in Portsea and Wymering to William Marshe in 1613. Marshe died in 1622 and left the estate by will to his eldest daughter Lucy.

In 1691 William Chafin and Mary held the property in right of the latter, who was possibly a granddaughter of Lucy Marshe, and sold to Thomas Brounker. Brounker sold to Captain Matthew Teate in 1714. Teate held the manor until 1744 and had a daughter who married Matthew Brady.

Admiral Sir Roger Curtis married Sarah Brady and acquired the property. Curtis was a hero of the Great Siege of Gibraltar (1779-1783), Flag Captain at the Glorious First of June (1794), and Commander-in-Chief Portsmouth (1809-1812). He rebuilt Gatcombe House around 1780 and was created 1st Baronet in 1794.

In 1794 the manor lands were sold to the Crown for Hilsea Barracks. The lordship, as an incorporeal hereditament, was separate from the land and from any buildings. Admiral Curtis died at Gatcombe House in 1816. The baronetcy passed to his son Sir Lucius Curtis, 2nd Baronet, who served as Admiral of the Fleet. Sir Lucius died in 1869. His grandson Sir Arthur Colin Curtis, 3rd Baronet, disappeared on a Klondike expedition in British Columbia in 1898 and was presumed dead by court order. Sir Roger Curtis, 4th Baronet, died in 1954.

The Victoria County History of Hampshire was published in 1908 and formally documented the manorial descent of Little Gatcombe. Gatcombe House was Grade II listed in 1972. The building has been in separate ownership since the Crown acquisition of 1794.

Morgan Sheldon succeeded to the Manor of Little Gatcombe in 2026.