This era was the beginning of periods of reasonable stability and advances in technology. This gradually came to Grateley in the form of the railway with the attendant increase in trade and the appearance of traction engines in the fields. A complaint, recorded in the Parish Meeting Minutes in the latter part of the century, that ‘the incessant use of traction engines was ruining the road to the station and Gunville Drove’ gives some indication that Grateley may have been well equipped with modern equipment.
The names of the fields and roads became established prior to this period due to the delineation of the boundaries of the newly enclosed common lands. The Great Road was the main road from Salisbury to Grateley and Monxton, and thence Andover. It was made up of the part of the Portway that passed Manor Farm dairy, below Quarley Hill and along the Drove to Skew Road. Here, it joined the present Monxton Road, which was then known as Amport Lane, which had many curves and high banks. Gollards Lane was more of a lane than the present track. Berry Lane ran from The Green (at the junction of the High Street) to the part of the Portway joining the Great Road. Gunville Drove ran from Amport Lane to the Great Road.
Cholderton Road was called the Road from Shipton to Stockbridge House, shortened to the Stockbridge Road. There were two Wallop Lanes, one running from the village past the (Pigeons) pond and across the Stockbridge Road; the other was from the junction of the Stockbridge Road near what is now Campbell Close, joining the other Wallop Lane at the present War Memorial in Wallop.
Georgia Lane ran from the Plough to (obviously) Georgia Farm. Although it is known locally as Chapel Lane it is still Georgia Lane on the computer program, Autoroute 2000! Salisbury Lane ran from the Green Gate, on the edge of the village, passed Peter’s Piece (by the Village Hall) and to the West, slightly to the north of the present Station Road, as far as the Roman road to the western edge of the Parish. The Roman Road from the Hampshire Gap to Down Barns was only identified as such for the commutation of tithes, being just over 4 acres in area.
Names of fields such as Cocksford, Peter’s Piece, The Ten Acres (actually nearer 20) and the Dell, North Fields (Upper, Middle and Lower) and Church fields, and many others, still retain the same name, shape and area as over 150 years ago as can be seen on the aerial photograph of the village of 1970 when compared with a map of 1838 produced for the commutation of tithes. Peter’s Orchard, opposite the Plough, still retains its original (pre 1778) name even though it became part of Wheeler’s farm at some stage. Much later a cottage held the local Post Office manned by Mrs Warren before demolition to make way for the present house at which time she transferred, including the Post Office, to the High Street.
Commutation of Tithe Lands, 1838
It was in 1838 that the lands of Grateley Parish were commuted from tithe lands to rental. Not, as described in Old Grateley by Tim Jones, “tythe awards”. I think that there was some confusion between commuting tithes to rental in 1838 and the allocation of land by Act of Enclosure in 1778. A similar error appears on page 12 of his book when referring to “- the enclosure of 1832”.
Incidentally, there is another misconception on page 9 in referring to ‘two to the plough’. This is not a full employment scheme of having two men to the plough. The plough was a measure of land, being that area of land that could be worked by a team of eight oxen (Domesday Book). The two referred to is the provision of two mounted soldiers, for every plough, for the King’s use in time of war: sometimes avoided by making a payment in lieu. The Parish consisted of 1,506 Acres and 2 Roods, all of which were subject to tithes.
The major landowners at this time being:
Rev. Horace Hayes – 958 Acres
Mrs MA Pickering – 411 Acres
Rev C Dodson – 47 Acres with a further 42 acres of Glebe land as rector.
A minor landowner was Richard Cox with 44 Acres.
There was no common land within the Parish (see Enclosure Act above) and there was no land exempt from the payment of tithes.
The whole quantity of land cultivated for:
Arable was 1,365 Acres and 2 Roods.
Meadow or pasture – 91 Acres.
Woodland – 50 Acres.
The Glebe Lands of the Parish, which if not in the hands of the owner, would be subject to Tithe, amount to 40 Acres, which Glebe belonged to the Rev. Christopher Dodson as Rector of Grateley Parish at that time.
At this time (1838) the gross Rent – Charge payable to the Tithe owners in lieu of tithes for the Parish of Grateley was £273 – 5s. The value was expressed as imperial bushels, and decimal parts thereof, of wheat, barley and oats.
Wheat @ 7s and ¼d per bushel. 259.46588 bushels.
Barley @ 3s and 11½d per bushel.460.21052 bushels.
Oats @ 2s and 9d per bushel. 662.42424 bushels.
The determination of the measure of a bushel to five decimal places would seem to be pedantic, to say the least. I suppose it was purely a calculation to suit some accountant. For those younger than I, a Bushel was a measure of grain or fruit of 8 gallons, equivalent to ca 36.4 litres.
Hampshire Gazetteer, 1859
Note. The Rectory valued at £284 was in the patronage of the executors of the late Rev. Wm. Dodson and the incumbency of the Rev. Christopher Dodson, MA, who resides at Penton Mewsey, where he was also rector, the Parsonage in Grateley being a small dilapidated house. (See Civil War)
Farmers: Wm. Boutcher and Mortimer Gale, the latter being the son of William Henry Gale and probably grandson of Peter Gale who purchased land in 1778 as an allotment from the Enclosure Act.
Shop and Plough Inn: John Cutting
Parish Clerk: R.Wm. Bloxham Fiander Churchwarden and carpenter. Bloxham and Fiander seem to have been very close for Fiander to use ALL of the names of Bloxham, just tacking his own surname on at the end. Richard Fiander was born in 1797, married Elizabeth and had a son, William Thomas, on 26th October 1828. Rd.Wm. Bloxham came to Grateley from West (sometimes East) Dean when he was installed on the committee for the Act of Enclosure in Grateley for reasons that I am unable to determine.
School: Sarah Griffith
Stationmaster: James McLees.
Wheelwright etc. Wm. Pashant
Major Landowners now Mrs Mary Ann Pickering, Mrs CL Hayes (widow of Rev H Hayes and aunt of the 1st Lord Lawrence) and the Marquis of Winchester.
In the nearby parish of Monxton the trades seemed to be a little more diverse than Grateley in boasting two tailors, a shoemaker, a female blacksmith (Mary Wild) and a farrier in addition to a saddler and a brewer. It seems that female blacksmiths were not uncommon as the blacksmith in Quarley was also a woman (Matilda Holloway). The population of the parish of Quarley was greater (179) than Grateley (154) as was Thruxton (267) with Amport even more populous at 745 inhabitants in 1859.
The nearby town of Andover was probably a major outlet for the agricultural produce of Grateley. It was probably considered quite a place with the four major streets lighted by gas from the Gas Works, constructed in 1838 at a cost of £3,500 raised in £10 shares.
A further attraction could have been the 33 pubs situated in those four main streets that were probably full on the numerous market and fair days. Four brewers situated in East, London, Chantry and High Streets served these pubs. The Town Hall & Corn Exchange, built in 1825 at a cost of £5,000, was at the centre where fairs and markets were held. There was a weekly (Fridays) market for corn, cattle and swine, etc. There were annual fairs for horses cattle and cheese etc, held on Mid-Lent Friday and Saturday and on May 13th. There was a large annual wool market held in June when more than thirty thousand fleeces were pitched for sale. A large sheep fair was held on November 17th with a fair for horses, cheese and hops etc on the following day. Silk, velvet and shaloons were manufactured here.
Communications
Stage Coach
The thought that stagecoaches ran through Grateley and use made of the Roadhouse in Chapel Lane (Georgia Lane) is, to my mind, doubtful as Grateley was out of the way for travel from London to the West. Georgia Lane was just a track to Georgia Farm and the track, or lane, is not even shown on the ordinance survey map of 1901 whereas the track to Georgia Farm from Fox is quite clearly shown. Chapel Lane was not adopted until much later.
There is some evidence that the Roadhouse may have been two, or even, three terraced cottages that were made into one house in the mid 1800s with the brick-and-flint facings. Even recently, about 30 years ago, there were two front doors. Admittedly there was a stable (now Stable Cottage), set apart from the house, but was really only suitable to house a trap and stabling for a pair of horses at most. This stabling seems to have been an integral part of the cottages next door, now Vine Cottage.
I was interested to learn that the stagecoach era in England had a very short life of some 20 years during the 1830s to 1850s. Only the well-to-do could afford to travel by coach as the cost was something like one shilling and sixpence per mile and between 3d and 6d for post boys. There was need to change horses roughly every 20 miles and therefore quite a network was required and I feel that Grateley was not in that network as was Stockbridge. It is recorded that the Grosvenor Arms Hotel was a posting house on the great thoroughfare in Stockbridge, having a good bridge built in 1799, at the junction of the roads from Basingstoke and Winchester to Salisbury.
The advent of the railway would have sounded the death knell for the stagecoach for every reason such as speed, convenience, comfort and cost.
The Railway
The London & South Western Railway was opened in 1840 to Southampton, and had since (up to 1859) been extended to Dorchester and Weymouth. This line between London and Southampton cost about £2,500,000, or about £30,000 per mile. It entered Hampshire at Farnborough and passed through the county in a serpentine course to Basingstoke, Winchester, Southampton, Ringwood etc. Branch lines connected to Portsmouth and Gosport, Romsey and Andover and Salisbury, presumably through Grateley.
It is of passing interest that the Andover & Redbridge Railway, or Andover Canal Railway Bill was passed in 1858. It was proposed that the railway follow the bank of the canal in the Test Valley to Redbridge where it would join the railway from Southampton to Dorchester. At Romsey it was to cross the Salisbury to Portsmouth line. At Andover it connected with the line that ran to Basingstoke and London. This line did open and ran to Andover Town station where the supermarket, Safeway (now Sainsbury’s), and the roundabout now is. The double-gated level crossing held up traffic several times a day when the road was the main road to London from the West.
I have memories of the train from a troopship at Southampton docks to Andover Town and thence by lorry to Barton Stacey transit camp having come from Egypt in mid-winter.
An interesting fact popped up whilst searching for other information on this period. The House of Commons rejected a projected broad gauge railway from Salisbury to Southampton in 1857 with a considerable loss to the investors.
The Electric Telegraph wires were laid down on the main lines and many of the branch lines. Thus Grateley had instantaneous connection with the outside world at this time by the post and telegraph office on Grateley Station.
Baron Lawrence of the Punjab and Grateley
It was during the great Victorian period that the baronetcy of Lawrence of the Punjab and Grateley was created in1869. The Lawrence Houses estate in the village was named after his family many years later.
The first Baron Lawrence was John Laird Mair (sometimes Nair) Lawrence (1811 – 1879) born of Letitia (nee Knox), wife of Col. Alexander William Lawrence, in Grateley. He married Harriette Hamilton on 26th August 1841. Harriette was born in Culdaff, Donegal, Ireland about 1820.
John was one of five brothers serving in India for the East India Company (EICo) although it was only John, Henry and George who were to reach some prominence. They were brought up in Ireland even though they were Ulstermen only on their mother’s side and were schooled at Foyle College, Londonderry. John was educated at Haileybury College (much against his will) and entered the EICo as a writer to become a civil rather than military officer whereas his brothers were educated at Addiscombe and thence, after cadetship, into the Bengal Lancers, George as a cavalry officer and Henry as a gunner. (C Allen: Soldier Sahibs) Addiscombe and Haileybury being the EICo colleges for military and civil cadetships, respectively.
Sir John and his brother, Sir Henry, ruled the Punjab with absolute power and were responsible for sending the Koh-I-noor diamond to Queen Victoria (Churchill: History of the English Speaking Peoples, Vol.: iv). The Koh-I-noor diamond at a weight of 106 carats is now part of the Crown jewels but is thought to have been part of the Great Mogul of 204 carats. They imposed a threefold oath on Punjabi landowners; “Thou shalt not burn thy widow, thou shalt not kill thy daughters, thou shalt not bury alive thy lepers”. This was all part of the attempts to eradicate Sutee, and female infanticide among other ‘customs’ of the time in India (ibid).
Poor Henry, having moved to Oude, was killed on 4th July early in the 172-day siege of the Residency at Lucknow in 1857. He had the misfortune to be mortally wounded by a cannon ball whilst in bed. He lies in the grounds of the Residency at Lucknow with the epitaph, composed by him, inscribed on his tombstone: ‘Here lies Henry Lawrence who tried to do his duty’.
George resigned his post as Agent to the Governor general in Rajputana on the grounds of ill health in 1864 and was created Knight Commander of the Star of India outliving John by 5years. (C Allen; Soldier Sahibs, 2000).
Sir John became the first Lieutenant Governor of the Punjab in January 1859 when India became part of the Empire instead of the property of the EICo. He was appointed Viceroy of India at the end of 1863 in succession to Lord Elgin. His tenure was marked by his policy of non-interference in neighbouring Afghanistan, which became known as ‘Masterly Inactivity’: a policy that he had applied since the Russian Afghanistan threat in 1855 and was very effective for reasons that we will not go into here.
He retired from India in 1869 to a small estate on ‘Salisbury Plain’ left to him by his sister CL Hayes. At the same time he was created Baron, for maintaining peace in the Punjab during the rebellion of 1857 and services to the Empire. (C Allen: Soldier Sahibs). Was The Grange part of this estate? Mrs Hayes was the widow of Rev H Hayes of Grateley and was a major landowner in the Parish. I do not think that the Rev Hayes was Rector of the Parish of Grateley, as this seems to clash with Rev. Dodson’s living. See Commutation of Tithes to Rental and Hampshire Gazetteer 1859. Any award that he may have received for services to Queen and Country, other than the Baronetcy is unknown to me.
He died in 1879 and lies in Westminster Abbey. His portraits and busts are held in the National Portrait Gallery if one wishes to see what he looked like. A bit dour looking from what I have seen.
It is believed that a descendant of the first Lord Lawrence lived at one time in the Grange. The Grange was sold in 1912 and Baron Lawrence 2nd or 3rd, I do not know) died in 1947; somewhere other than Grateley as the Parish Council Minutes of that year record that a telegram of condolence was sent to his widow, the Baroness, which would have been unnecessary had she lived in the village.
Sir John and Harriette had 10 children, all christened in Grateley, between 1846 and 1864, which was the period when he was most involved in the affairs of the Punjab and India as a whole.
John Hamilton (sometimes B) Lawrence, son of the 1st Lord Lawrence, married Mary Catherine Douglas Campbell on 22nd August 1872. A child of this union, John Douglas Campbell Lawrence is buried in Grateley Churchyard dated 28th March 1875 having been born 2nd May 1874.
As yet I am unable to establish how Campbell Close received its name other than by the residents voting for it through the Parish Council in 1970, from a choice of three possibilities (Woodward- Apollo- and Campbell Close) but would like to think that the choice was based on the maiden name of John’s wife.
Nearby Parishes
Grateley was not functioning in isolation at this time and I thought that it might be interesting to see how the contiguous parishes compared some twenty or more years into the reign of Queen Victoria. There seemed to be quite a bit of overlap of the prominent people. E.g. Pyle set up a charity for both Wallop and Grateley. Mrs Sheppard seems to have been involved in financing the schools of Amport and Quarley. The major landowners seem to have bits of most of the surrounding parishes in their possession.
Grateley had become a little more prominent with the facility of the station and probably had more interaction with the surrounding parishes because of this. The parish, comprised 1541 acres occupied by 154 parishioners, extended to the borders of Wiltshire. The land at this time was owned mainly by Mrs Mary Ann Pickering, Mrs C.L.Hayes (sister to Lord Lawrence) and the Marquis of Winchester.
The church (St. Leonard) is an ancient structure with a tower and two bells and a clock. I do not think that the other parish churches had clocks. The church was repaired in 1850 (£400) and the clock bought in 1858. The rector, Rev. Christopher Dodson, resided in Penton Mewsey, where he was also rector, The Parsonage in Grateley being a small, dilapidated house. The parish did not seem to be well served with many facilities or contain many tradesmen. John Cutting, who was also a shopkeeper, ran the Plough Inn but there is no mention of the Station Inn at this time. The only two farmers mentioned are Wm. Boutcher and Mortimer Gale. The school, built in 1845 at a cost of £210, had Sarah Griffiths as Schoolmistress. James McLees was the Stationmaster.
Richard William Bloxham Fiander, carpenter, parish clerk, church warden and finger-in-most-pies man was quite prominent.
There is no note of any building of merit, unlike the other parishes.
Park House was an extra parochial Inn near the borders of Wiltshire at the crossroads of the Marlborough to Salisbury and Amesbury to Andover roads 9 miles West of Andover. It belonged to Wm. Gilbert, of Shipton Bellinger, and occupied by Geo. Gearing.
Quarley
A small village in a parish of some 2100 acres with about 140 acres of woodland and plantation. The population of 179 was served by a school, blacksmith, shop and pub (the Crown) and church (St Michael). The church had a wooden tower and three bells at this time and the Rector was Rev. Charles Mackie who had 4.5 acres of Glebe and an old Rectory House. The Marquis of Winchester who was also Lord of the Manor, which he held of St Katherine’s Hospital, London.
The Parish School was endowed in 1802 with £200 3% consols by Rev. Thomas Sheppard, D.D. and Richard Cox, Esq. Mrs Sheppard built the school after Dr Sheppard’s death. Wm. Edwards ran the Crown Inn and was also the shopkeeper although Mary Bray also ran a shop. Matilda Holloway was the Blacksmith. There were three farmers; Humby, Judd and Robinson.
Little seems to have changed over the years other than the loss of school and pub.
Monxton
A pleasant village near the source of the Pillhill brook. The parish comprised about 1000 acres and a population of 250 served by two pubs, the White Hart and the Black Swan, the school, shoemakers, tailors, saddler, blacksmith and farrier, brewer and miller, two shopkeepers and the church, rebuilt in 1853 by subscription of the Rector and his friends.
The church was a small neat structure in the Early English style with two bells and a wooden spire.The school, built in 1847 had Ann Lovelock as schoolmistress. The blacksmith was a woman, Mary Wild, as in the parish of Quarley. Nearly all of the parish was the property of the Provost and Fellows of King’s College, Cambridge who were lords of the manor.
Once again the village has changed little with relatively little development to the present day.
Amport
This is one of the larger parishes close to Grateley. The parish contained 745 inhabitants and 4200 acres of land including the tithings of Sarson and East Cholderton. The Marquis of Winchester owned the greater part of the Parish: the remainder owned by the Rev. Wadham Knatchbull of Cholderton Lodge, Robert Routh of Amport Firs, and a few smaller owners.
The church (St. Mary) is an ancient structure with a tower and five bells. The Vicar, Rev. George Schiffner, M.A. had a good Vicarage House and 69 acres of Glebe and annexed to it the vicarage of Appleshaw. There was also a Primitive Methodist Chapel situated in the Sarson tithing.
More varied trades in addition to the school, post office, shops and two pubs served the community. There were also a miller (Sarson Mill), brewers and maltsters, bricklayers, blacksmiths, butcher and carpenter. The school was built in 1816, financed by Mrs Sophia Sheppard. The White Hart Inn was run by John Batchelor, the Ship Inn by Mrs Mason and the White Horse Inn by David Judd.
As the Marquis of Winchester owned part of Grateley Manor at one time he is worth a mention. The 14th Marquis of Winchester and Earl of Wiltshire was born John Paulet in Amport in 1801. He was the premier marquis of England, having succeeded his father in 1843 and was Colonel of the North Hants Militia and Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire from 1852.
Amport House was built about this time, replacing the ancient mansion and on a better site. It was a large and handsome mansion of Elizabethan style of white brick and stone dressings set in a park of some 200 acres.
The Wallops
Wallop is variously translated as ‘a fresh steam’ and ‘well in the side of the hill’. The Earl of Portsmouth was, at one time, a major landowner in Grateley and is therefore of interest. The early Saxon ancestors of the Earl of Portsmouth adopted the name, Wallop. The family descended from an ancient Saxon family, who possessed and derived their name from Over Wallop, as early as the time of Edward the Confessor.
Matthew de Wallop had the custody of Winchester Castle in the reign of King John. The family served their monarchs with distinction through the ages, culminating in John Wallop being created Baron Wallop and Viscount Lymington in 1720 and Earl of Portsmouth in 1743.
Nether Wallop
Was a large village with a population of 952 in the parish of over 7000 acres, including the hamlet of Middle Wallop. The parish was divided into three manors: Nether Wallop, Lord Bolton; Fifehead, W.Pothecary, Esq. and Heathman Street, James Reeves Esq. The Earl of Portsmouth and others had freehold estates within the parish.
The church (St. Andrew) is an ancient structure with a tower (rebuilt in 1703) with five bells. The church was repaired in 1854 at a cost of £800. The Vicar was Rev. Arthur Howard Ashworth, M.A who had a good vicarage, built in 1790 and improved at the same time as the church repairs. The vicarage was in the patronage of the Vicars Choral of York Cathedral.
The parish school was built in 1838 and enlarged in 1854, at the same time as the improvements to the church and vicarage. There is a small Wesleyan Chapel. Wallop House, the seat of Rev. Walter Blunt, M.A., was a neat mansion with pleasant grounds. Benjamin Cole ran the George Inn, but there was also a beer house in the Post Office run by John Leabourn, and Chas. Barnes ran the Five Bells. There were 15 farmers, many of whom in addition to being farmers were also brewers and maltsters. John Day was the well-known racehorse trainer from Danebury stables. There was an Excise Officer (Wm. Lawrence) living in Middle Wallop and the tailor (Jas. Hendley) was also the sexton.
There was, once again, more diversity in trades than Grateley. There were butchers, blacksmiths, carpenters, shoemakers and shopkeepers in addition to carriers to Grateley Station, Winchester, Andover and Salisbury.
Over Wallop
This parish of over 4500 acres had a population of 555 and stretched from Middle Wallop to the Hampshire Gap and included Tower Hill. The Earl of Portsmouth owned the soil and was Lord of the Manor, but there were many small freeholds belonging to various families. The Church (St, Peter) was an ancient structure with a tower and four bells. The Rector was Henry Fellowes, M.A. who had a large Rectory House, which was rebuilt in 1853 at a cost of £1600. A small Baptist Chapel was built in 1841. John Hindes who was also a maltster ran the White Hart Inn. There were four shopkeepers, two of whom were bakers. About 12 farmers worked most of the parish with the exception of about 400 acres of open heath land. The school was built in 1853 and supported by the Rector. The Schoolmistress was Mary Ann Kemp.
The Wallops are the parishes most changed due to the expansion of the hamlet of Middle Wallop by the Ministry of Defence to the existing airfield and associated housing and military quarters.
The Inhabitants of Grateley in the mid to late Victorian Era
The first Census of England was carried out in 1801 with limited information of the inhabitants and was mainly a head-counting exercise for taxes and manpower for war. At that time the total population for England and Wales was approximately 9 million.
The landowners in Grateley are not identified in the censuses as they were all, almost without exception, absentee landlords and would be recorded elsewhere.
1851
At this time there were 35 houses in Grateley, one of which was uninhabited. The total population (154) comprised 81 males and 68 females with 5 people living in barns, sheds or other. These latter 5 were not identified by name or sex.
The housing was generally described as cottage, private house and farm. Seldom was there a name associated with houses in Grateley and it is difficult to identify the location. Cottages were really tied houses inhabited by agricultural labourers (Cottars or Bordars in earlier times).
Some examples of the population:
William Henry Gale; born in Grateley, (61) farmed 970 acres of Grateley Farm worked by 22 Agricultural Labourers. The landowner was probably Mrs Pickering. Gale was a widower with 2 daughters and one son (Mortimer, 12) and had 3 servants. Henry Gale was related to Peter Gale, yeoman farmer, who bought a small amount of land in the distribution associated with the Enclosure Act of 1798.
Manor Farm House; of 530 acres was farmed by Charles Drew (47) employing 9 Labourers, 7 boys and 5 women. He lived there with his wife, Elizabeth (41), 4 daughters and a niece. The household was completed with a cook (Lucy Mills 23) and Housemaid (Helen Spreadbury 19).
Mary Blake (63); was the Innkeeper at the Plough Inn Grateley with lodger Jacob Hack, a woodsman. The brewer, who did not live in the Inn, was William Nose. Nose could be a misspelling of the family name Noyes who were a family of brewers in nearby parishes.
School House; Mary Ann Crook, born in Tidworth, (21) was the Schoolmistress. Was she the first Schoolmistress of the new school opened in 1845? She had a lodger, Anne Seward (71) who was a widow and a pauper.
Shop; James Bennett (42); was the shopkeeper who ran it with his wife Sarah (47) and daughter Sarah L (21). Sons Charles (18) and Jesse (11) were Agricultural labourers. Fanny (5) and Matilda (3) completed the family.
Parsonage House; John Batt (63) retired Farmer who was a widower lived here with his Housekeeper, Mary Ann Noyes (53) and one servant. The Batt family is mentioned in the parish records from 1689.
The Parish House; was occupied by Samuel Miles (33), his wife Eliza,and children Sarah, Tom and Charles 5,3 and 1 respectively and a stepson John Brickwood an agricultural labourer. There is no indication why it was called a parish house. Another Parish House was occupied by William Miles (24) with his wife Anne (26) and Letitia (7) and Ann (5).
Grateley Farm House; I believe that this was the present Home Farm. It was occupied by Charles Childs, farm bailiff, his wife, Mary Ann (51) and son William (16).
The following people are picked at random from a few unnamed cottages within the confines of the old village:
Charles Childs (jnr) (28); was a woodman with his wife Emily (30) and son Tom (1). He achieved some little notoriety later when he died at the age of 87 whilst out ferreting. His passing was reported in the Andover Advertiser.
Sophia Compton (33); a servant, and James Coster (19) a Gardener.
The Master Carpenter, Richard Fiander (53), born in Winterslow, Wilts, lived with his wife Maria (59) probably in Georgia Lane (now Chapel Lane). This is the Richard William Bloxham Fiander previously mentioned in relation to the church of St Leonard. He seems to have been a man of influence. He was even the enumerator for this census on Grateley. On 18th November 1856 RWB Fiander made a declaration of messuage on the Public House, the Plough, Grateley being the property of William Henry Gale.
William Thomas (30); a cattle dealer living with his wife and 4 children.
Park House; was an extra parochial Inn belonging to Wm. Gilbert of Shipton and occupied by Geo. Gearing. Some 9 people are recorded as living there.
In nearby Amport the 14th Marquis of Winchester, John Paulet (sometimes Powlet) had just succeeded to the title. He cleared the original village around the church and moved much to Fox to create a private road but unable to move the church had to allow the villagers access. In 1845 the estate comprised some 2,000 acres but by 1878 was 6500 acres including lands in all the neighbouring villages, including Grateley. Grateley Manor estate of some 410 acres was owned by him but was sold in 1882, by auction, for £7600 (c. £19 per acre). Quite a loss when the price of land some ten years before was in the region of £53 per acre (Amport, Marigold Routh). Much of this depreciation could have been due to the opening of the great wheat fields of the prairies in the Americas resulting in cheap wheat and corn.
1871
The railway station (opened May 1st 1857), about a mile from the church, was now established and was a focus for development of a new settlement with the construction of the Stationmaster’s house, railway cottages and inn. The records do show the place of birth of some people as ‘Grateley Station’ being, I am sure, an area rather than the actual station.
This development was also reflected in the variation in occupations such as signalmen, stationmaster, platelayers, porters etc. instead of the universal agricultural labourers that seemed to make up the whole population of Grateley in the past.
The village had now expanded to a population of 226 inhabitants and comprised of 1541 acres of land.
Grateley Farm; was now occupied by Thomas Patten Galpin.
Manor Farm; had also changed hands and was now occupied by Charles Frederick Chubb.
John Cutting; a baker, grocer and beer retailer appears. Grateley Station?
Plough Inn; was in the hands of Edward Adcock a machinist and Victualler.
Station Inn; run by George Harrison (33).
School; Mrs Mary Brant was now the ‘Free’ Schoolmistress.
Station Master; Maurice Lovelock
Grateley Farm House; William Boutcher and Alfred Lambert, Farm bailiff. This is the first reference to Boutcher (a Devon man) in Grateley that I have come across.
Merchants; Thomas Hy. Edwd. Compton was a coal and corn merchant. William Stephenson Scott was also a miller and coal and corn merchant. The mill was situated just north of the railway line to the west of Cholderton Road. It was still represented on the ordinance survey map of 1901. The mill had the sails removed and was run by steam until the boiler blew up. It was then run by diesel engine until used as a store.
Baker and Grocer; George Hoare (probably from what is now Elm Cottages or Meadow View). The Hoare family came from Wherwell originally.
Rector; Rev. William Stone MA. Prior to him Rev. Christopher Dodson, MA, held the living from 1819 to 1877 and was always non-resident. The living was worth £284 and was in the patronage of Rev. Baron Paravicini. Between July and December 1871 (after the census of 1871) Henry Hazard was appointed curate in charge for the parish by bishop Wilberforce.
1881
Grateley House; William Boutcher, gentleman and widower, aged 86 lived here with: Mary Lalone 25, his grand daughter, Anne Bowden, 73, his sister-in-law and her daughter, Mary, 45. Fanny Bonner was his secretary.
Interestingly there were two children, Emily and Vincent Ricketts, 12 and 10 respectively: schoolchildren from the River Plate living there at this time (or at least on the day of the census). Ellen Weeks, 44, upper housemaid; Charlotte Sexton, 25, housemaid; Elizabeth Huntley, 20, under housemaid; Thomas Bowman, 44, butler and, finally Henry Hillier, 23, footman completed the household.
Some household, but compare that with Amport House at the same time.
Lady L Paulet, 21 years old, lived there with a companion and was served by a butler and housekeeper, a lady’s maid, cook, 2 housemaids, kitchen and scullery maids and a footman. This is not counting the gardeners, ostlers, gamekeepers, etc. At least all of the wealthier people created jobs where there would be little other employment.
Plough Inn; since the last census the Inn had burned down and been rebuilt. “We understand that the destructive fire which occurred on Friday 1st October 1875 at the Plough Inn originated in a defective flue from an oven that was being used that morning, and it is stated by those who have since inspected the premises, that it is only a matter of surprise such a calamity had not happened before, there being but very slight protection between the heated chimney running from the oven’s mouth and the wood work connected with the upper rooms.
The premises which was the property of Mr Boutcher, were entirely destroyed as well as the whole of the furniture and stock” (Andover Advertiser: 1875).
The Inn was still run by Edward Adcock (36), who was a man of many talents, being a Licensed Victualler, Grocer, Innkeeper and Whitesmith according to his census return, with help from his wife Amelia, (33). A niece, Mary Ann Collins (7) and Domestic Servant, Fanny Cook, completed the household.
The Village Shop; the village shop was now also a bakery and would seem to be somewhat enlarged as the number of inhabitants indicate. The shop run by Joseph Follett (Grocer and baker, aged 46) and his wife Kate (27) had several other inhabitants: Mary Brant (42) who was a Government Schoolmistress (Certificated), Frank (11), Harry (10) and Percy (7) her sons, Adelaide Gunn, a boarder, who was a Government Assistant Schoolmistress and Elizabeth Goddard (14) a domestic servant. Part of the shop was occupied by Luke Phillimore (35), an Agricultural Labourer and his wife Ann (36). Herbert Lockyer (20), a clerk, lodged with them.
The Rectory; over the intervening 20 years the ‘dilapidated’ parsonage must have been upgraded to a rectory. Thomas John Whitworth (32) was resident as the Rector accompanied by his Housekeeper Sarah Smith (60).
Gollard Farm; Henry Butcher had 175 acres run by 3men and 1 boy.
Gollard Cottages; there were at least 3 cottages at Gollards with Wm. Stokes, a Farm labourer in one, Hy. Barringer, a Colporteur (Book) (distributor of Bibles for a society) and Wm. Cox, a platelayer in the third.
1901
The census covered: the Post Office on Wallop Road (probably in what is now ‘Bridge Cottage’): Railway Station and Cottages, the Public House, Grateley Down Cottages, the Village including the houses in the lane leading to Gollard and the Cottages at Gunville.
There were 48 houses, 21 of which had less than 5 rooms, an increase of 13 dwellings in 50 years. Compare that with the explosion of development over the last 20 years.
The total population was 262 comprising 149 males and 112 females. There was also a house on wheels and some tented Gypsies.
Post Office; the sub-postmistress was Emily Hillier.
Manor Farm; Leonard Pickering was now the farmer and probably landowner (related to Mrs Pickering of 1838?)
Railway Inn; George Harrison (63) was still the landlord
Station House; the Station House must have been a reasonable size to house Henry James West (41), Stationmaster; his wife, Clarissa (32), Reginald (15) Railway worker; Frederick (8), Jane (3), Francis (4), Clarissa (2) and a visitor, Daisy Henry.
Railway Cottages; Fred Horne (51) a signalman lived here with wife Anne (49) and William (27) platelayer, Harry (17) Horseman on farm, Walter (15) Railway Engine Cleaner, Sidney (13) Farm lad, Philip, Charles and Emily 11,9 and 4 years old respectively. In addition they had a boarder of 23 years of age who was a platelayer.
Grateley House; Mary Bowden (65 and William Boutcher’s niece), a widow living on private means, lived there with 4 servants: Ernest Harman (29) a Butler; Anne Bowen (28), Ruth Bowen (16), Julia Woodlands (21, cook) and Ellen Marsh (28).
Plough Inn; William Beale (50) and his wife Jane (50) now run the pub. Ivy Villa, Francis Roberts, a widow, lived here on private means with three boarders and one servant.
The Rectory; Frederick de Paravicini who, presumably, was related to Baron Paravicini in whose gift the living was held.
Hope Cottage; occupied by Follet a baker and grocer. This is the first time that Hope Cottage is named in the census.
Gunville Cottages; two families lived here.
Home Farm; occupied by Henry Waters (44) (first Chairman of the Parish Meeting in 1894), farm bailiff and his family. This is the first time the name ‘Home Farm’ is officially used. One of Home Farm Cottages was occupied by Absolom Heats (52). Were Home Farm Cottages the present Rose and Jasmine Cottages?
House on Wheels; occupied by three men, Ernest Whiting, Walter Hay and George Goodchild: all Traction Engine engineers.
The seven Gypsies living in tents were all Hawkers.
‘Navvies’ Bungalows; there was a workforce housed in the ‘Navvies Bungalows’. J Miller, Foreman Navvy (sic), his wife and daughter lived there with 19 ‘Navvies’. Presumably the second track and/or the sidings for the railway were being constructed through Grateley station at that time. Were the bungalows temporary buildings, as there seems to be no signs of them now? A lot of railway workers were also housed at Down Barn cottages where William Saunders seemed to be involved.
Parish Council
1894 saw the inauguration of the Parish Meeting: Parish Councils were created much later (Local Government Act 1933, which was not invoked by Grateley until 1947). The first meeting was held at the School Room on December 4th of that year to elect a chairman.
Just for the record I give the names of those present: Rev. F de Paravicini, WE Boutcher Esq., Messrs Shearing, Waters, Harrison, Eames, Chears, King, S. Bailey, Wells, G. Bailey, Ayres, Kimber, D. Hewitt, Saunders, Sutton, Ford, Kneller, Spreadbury, Green, Compton, Sherwood, Robinson, Hillier, Bacon, Penton, C.Farthing, Turton and Childs.
Henry Waters was elected Chairman after three other nominees declined.
The next meeting was held 10 days later and immediately proposed to create allotments on the Dell field for use by the villagers, thus partially reversing the enclosure of 400 acres some 100 or more years previously. At the same meeting the trustees for the ‘Earle’s Dole’ and ‘Pyles Gift’ charities were elected.
In July of the next year 131 lbs of cheese (at 7½d per lb) was distributed to 31 villagers and in December distribution of 160 lbs (at 7½ per lb) of beef to a similar number of villagers, all from the Earle’s Dole charity.
The Parish Meeting elected WE Boutcher as Chairman in 1896 and thus he remained for the next 25 years.
At the meeting of 1901 there was discussion about that part of the Station Private Road between the Church corner and Lord Lawrence’s bar-gate. Mr Leonard Pickering, of Manor Farm and major landowner, was prepared to give up his rights over that portion of the road to the District Council, but was not disposed to incur expense by making up or widening the road before doing so.
From this it would seem that the private road from the village to the station had more than one owner. It also poses the question: ”Where was Lord Lawrence’s Bar-gate”? The Church Corner is easily identified and would have been the site known as the Green Gate in documents relating to the map associated with the commutation of tithes to rental in 1832.
Only one year later the Parish Meeting were informed of the bad state of the new Station Road owing to the incessant traffic of Traction Engines, which had also cut up the Gunville Road. I find it difficult to believe that there were that many traction engines rushing to and fro, as there were only three traction engine engineers.
Grateley looked forward to the 20th century with a sense of a community generated by involvement in the Parish Meeting, which was possible for all members of the parish. The influence of the general public was not great but was much greater than ever before and would result in accelerated change in the immediate surroundings.