The History of Homington
The two parishes of Coombe Bissett and Homington combined in 1934 to form a single civil parish. Before this their individual histories followed separate paths.
Early history
There have been archaeological finds of flint tools, pottery, bones and metal objects in Homington from the Neolithic Age (4000-2500BC) the Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman period, showing that there was occupation in this area from at least these times. There is also field evidence of earthworks, barrows and field systems in the parish. One barrow, still visible, is on the boundary of Homington and Coombe Bissett, and is called 'Bird Barrow' in both an Anglo-Saxon charter of AD 956 and a boundary document of 1598. A meadow in Homington is also referred to in the same Anglo-Saxon charter.
The Domesday Book in 1086 states that 'Osbern the priest holds Homington. Alfsi held it before 1066; it paid tax for 2 hides. Land for one plough. 2 cottagers. Meadow, 3 acres; pasture 6 acres. Value 30s.'
An outline of Land ownership in Homington from the late Twelfth Century
This was influenced to a great extent by national events.
The Manor
From before 1190, Alan de Neville, a supporter of Henry II, was holding Homington manor from the King and by 1242 the Prior of Maiden Bradley was holding the manor from John de Neville, Geoffrey's son. The Priory had close connections with the Bisset family. The manor of Maiden Bradley had belonged to Adela, wife of Manasser Bisset, who gave it to the Priory and founded a leper hospital there.
It is reputed that Lord Hungerford, whose estates included the manor of Britford, held the manor of Homington on his death in 1448-9. The Priory of Maiden Bradley was still holding the manor at this date and whether it was from him, is to be investigated.
The Priory continued to hold Homington manor until Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536. By 1594 it was held by Sir Thomas Gorges of Longford, and by Roger Warre before his death in 1637. The subsequent history of the manor is unclear until it became part of the estate of the Earls of Radnor in about 1787. It remained in their possession until the early twentieth century, when it was sold off in individual portions.
The Church Lands
The Dean and Chapter of Salisbury Cathedral had been granted the Church of Homington and its lands for its 'common fund' by the early thirteenth century. The land was leased to individual canons until the late fourteenth century, and then to laymen.
By the time of the Enclosure Award of 1787 the land totalled 173 acres. In 1861 the Ecclesiastical Commission took over the property of the Dean and Chapter.
'Cosons Farm'
From at least 1242 about 240 acres of land in Homington was held by the Earl of Salisbury, and in 1275 about 120 acres of this was granted by the Earl of Lincoln to the 'Church of St. Edmund's and the Chaplains there' in Salisbury. The land was known as Cosons Farm, and the College held it until the Dissolution of the monasteries, after which it was bought in 1543 by William St. Barbe, a gentleman of the King's Privy Chamber. It then passed by marriage to the Warre family, and by 1764 it had been bought by Sir James Harris, later Lord Malmesbury It later became part of Lord Radnor's estate, and was sold in individual portions in the early twentieth century.
Detached Portions of Stratford Tony in Homington
These parts of Stratford Tony are mentioned in surveys and are shown on early maps including the 1881 Ordnance Survey map. They correspond with land probably granted by members of the de Tony family of Stratford Tony to the Norman Abbey of Préaux in the early thirteenth century. In documents of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries the land is sometimes referred to as being in Homington, and sometimes as being in Stratford Tony.
Wars with France in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries caused the English lands of the Abbey of Préaux to be taken into the King's hands in 1337. Edward IV granted the land in Homington, in about 1461, to King's College, Cambridge, who held it until the early twentieth century. It was then sold off in individual portions.
Jennifer Acornley
Early history
There have been archaeological finds of flint tools, pottery, bones and metal objects in Homington from the Neolithic Age (4000-2500BC) the Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman period, showing that there was occupation in this area from at least these times. There is also field evidence of earthworks, barrows and field systems in the parish. One barrow, still visible, is on the boundary of Homington and Coombe Bissett, and is called 'Bird Barrow' in both an Anglo-Saxon charter of AD 956 and a boundary document of 1598. A meadow in Homington is also referred to in the same Anglo-Saxon charter.
The Domesday Book in 1086 states that 'Osbern the priest holds Homington. Alfsi held it before 1066; it paid tax for 2 hides. Land for one plough. 2 cottagers. Meadow, 3 acres; pasture 6 acres. Value 30s.'
An outline of Land ownership in Homington from the late Twelfth Century
This was influenced to a great extent by national events.
The Manor
From before 1190, Alan de Neville, a supporter of Henry II, was holding Homington manor from the King and by 1242 the Prior of Maiden Bradley was holding the manor from John de Neville, Geoffrey's son. The Priory had close connections with the Bisset family. The manor of Maiden Bradley had belonged to Adela, wife of Manasser Bisset, who gave it to the Priory and founded a leper hospital there.
It is reputed that Lord Hungerford, whose estates included the manor of Britford, held the manor of Homington on his death in 1448-9. The Priory of Maiden Bradley was still holding the manor at this date and whether it was from him, is to be investigated.
The Priory continued to hold Homington manor until Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536. By 1594 it was held by Sir Thomas Gorges of Longford, and by Roger Warre before his death in 1637. The subsequent history of the manor is unclear until it became part of the estate of the Earls of Radnor in about 1787. It remained in their possession until the early twentieth century, when it was sold off in individual portions.
The Church Lands
The Dean and Chapter of Salisbury Cathedral had been granted the Church of Homington and its lands for its 'common fund' by the early thirteenth century. The land was leased to individual canons until the late fourteenth century, and then to laymen.
By the time of the Enclosure Award of 1787 the land totalled 173 acres. In 1861 the Ecclesiastical Commission took over the property of the Dean and Chapter.
'Cosons Farm'
From at least 1242 about 240 acres of land in Homington was held by the Earl of Salisbury, and in 1275 about 120 acres of this was granted by the Earl of Lincoln to the 'Church of St. Edmund's and the Chaplains there' in Salisbury. The land was known as Cosons Farm, and the College held it until the Dissolution of the monasteries, after which it was bought in 1543 by William St. Barbe, a gentleman of the King's Privy Chamber. It then passed by marriage to the Warre family, and by 1764 it had been bought by Sir James Harris, later Lord Malmesbury It later became part of Lord Radnor's estate, and was sold in individual portions in the early twentieth century.
Detached Portions of Stratford Tony in Homington
These parts of Stratford Tony are mentioned in surveys and are shown on early maps including the 1881 Ordnance Survey map. They correspond with land probably granted by members of the de Tony family of Stratford Tony to the Norman Abbey of Préaux in the early thirteenth century. In documents of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries the land is sometimes referred to as being in Homington, and sometimes as being in Stratford Tony.
Wars with France in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries caused the English lands of the Abbey of Préaux to be taken into the King's hands in 1337. Edward IV granted the land in Homington, in about 1461, to King's College, Cambridge, who held it until the early twentieth century. It was then sold off in individual portions.
Jennifer Acornley