Stories from the descent

Earl of Wessex

Harold held the great manor of Bosham from his father Earl Godwin. In 1064 he set out from Bosham harbour on the voyage that led to his capture by William of Normandy. The Bayeux Tapestry depicts the scene: Harold riding to Bosham with his hawks and hounds, feasting in the hall, and wading out to his ship from the Saxon church that still stands in the village. He was killed at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066.

Lord of Bedhampton

Chief favourite and adviser of Edward II. Despenser received Bedhampton by enfeoffment from John son of Reginald in 1305. His son, Hugh the younger, acquired Purbrook in 1320. Both were attainted in 1326. Their fall transferred two manors on the same stretch of the Hampshire coast in a single forfeiture.

Earl of Kent

The youngest son of Edward I by his second wife Margaret of France. Edmund received Bedhampton in 1327 after the Despenser forfeitures. Two years later he was beheaded outside Winchester on 19 March 1329, convicted of treason. He held the manor for less than two years.

Queen of England

Edward II's queen led the invasion that deposed her husband. After the Despenser forfeiture in 1327, Isabella received custody of Portchester Castle and manor for life. The grant described her services "in the matter of the treaty with France and in suppressing the rebellion of the Despensers." She also held the overlordship of Middleton-on-Sea from 1329.

Countess of Kent, the Fair Maid of Kent

Sister of John, Earl of Kent. Known across Europe as the Fair Maid of Kent. Joan married Thomas Holland, who became earl in right of his wife, and then Edward, the Black Prince. Their son became Richard II. She held the manor of Bedhampton for over thirty years.

Bishop of Winchester

Founder of Winchester College and New College, Oxford. Wykeham acquired the estate at Boarhunt from Bernard de Brocas and his wife Mary in 1365, while still archdeacon of Lincoln. In 1369 the king confirmed the manor to him so that he could grant it to Southwick Priory. The priory held it until the Dissolution.

Countess of Salisbury

One of only two women to hold a peerage in her own right under the Tudors. The Crown restored Warblington to her in 1514. She was living at the castle in 1526 when it was still a substantial fortified house. Attainted in 1539 as an opponent of the king's religious reforms, she was executed in the Tower in 1541, aged 67.

1st Earl of Southampton

Lord Chancellor of England under Henry VIII. Wriothesley received the estates of Titchfield Abbey at the Dissolution in 1537 and converted the monastic buildings into Place House by 1542. He also took West Boarhunt, Stubbington, and parts of Portchester. Created Earl of Southampton in 1547. He received a royal pardon for fortifying his new manor without licence.

Queen of England

Henry VIII granted Old Fishbourne to Anne of Cleves as part of the annulment settlement in 1540. She was styled the "King's Beloved Sister." The grant is the first document to describe Old Fishbourne as a manor. Anne held it until her death in 1557 and was buried in Westminster Abbey.

3rd Earl of Southampton

Shakespeare's patron. Wriothesley was convicted of treason for the Essex conspiracy in 1601 and imprisoned in the Tower. James I released him on 10 April 1603 and restored his estates, including Soberton, on 16 May. The king granted him free warren, court leet and assize rights in 1607. He died abroad in the king's service in 1624.

Regicide

Robert Wallop sat as a judge at the trial of Charles I. At the Restoration, Parliament excepted him from the general pardon. He was sentenced to be drawn to Tyburn with a halter and imprisoned for life. The sentence was carried out on 30 January 1662. The sub-manor of Soberton that bore his family's name had been in Wallop hands since before 1316.

Poet and pamphleteer

George Wither purchased Hambledon for £3,796 18s. 11d. during the Commonwealth sale of bishops' lands. He also bought the episcopal manor of Alverstoke. Wither was known first for his lyric verse and later for his pamphlets supporting Cromwell. He lost both manors at the Restoration when the episcopal estates were returned to the Bishop of Winchester.