Froyle Church and Parish Registers

There was a Church at FROLI (mentioned in the Domesday Book) in 1086.

The present Church was built between 1300 and 1350, consisting of a chancel, nave and steeple. It was held by the nuns of St.Mary’s Abbey, Winchester, until 1540. They also held Liss, Leckford, Timsbury and Ovington. This probably accounts for “St.Mary’s Church” which was built about 1340, and must have been built on the site of an even earlier Church, for there was a Vicar at Froyle in 1274. In 1340 FROILLE formed part of the Deanery of Alton.


Vicars
1307
Walter de Bertone
1311
Philip
1342
John Quenyngdon
1381 
William Bakere 
1394 
William Polhamptone 

From 1400 - 1500 no Vicars can be traced, and it is generally accepted that the Church was served by the monks of Neatham Abbey as at this time Froyle came under the ’Neatham Hundred’.

1529
William Wyncard;
1542
Sir John Acrewe (in 1542 the Living was worth £11. 12s. 3½d.)
?
John Lighe?
1655
Roger Moor
1688
Richard Ffarrer
1697
Richard Jope
1719
John Greenway

Between 1730 and 1733 there was probably no Vicar as there is a note in the Register to the effect that it was in the charge of Mr. Burningham during this period.

1755 Thomas Loggin
1773 Richard Follen
1804 Sir Thomas Combe Miller
1864 Ashley Cooper
1876 H. Castle Floud
1897 B. H. S. Lethbridge
1908 T. D. Carter
1911 William Annesley
1928 C. H. Sangster
1943 W. V. Tunks
1958 E. P. Field
1961 R. Whalley

From 1719 to 1722 there seems to have been some connection with Kingsley, as the Rev. John Greenway was very careful to state whether marriages took place at Froyle or Kingsley. He may have been Vicar of both places.

The Rev. Richard Follen, and Sir Thomas Combe Miller, Bt., had various curates - the chief being the Rev. B. Childs, and Rev. P. Aubutin (1842 - 1862). It was the Rev. P. Aubutin who did much to preserve the ancient coloured glass in the Church.

Rev. Ashley Cooper died in 1876, and his name is on the Pulpit.
Glebe Land at Kingsley, belonging to Froyle, at a rent of £20 per year in 1800, was sold during the time that Castle Floud was Vicar, in 1876.

The present Chancel is definitely 14th Century. On the North side of the Chancel there is an Easter Sepulchre. This was definitely there in 1377, for we know that John Mott, of Froyle, died in this year, and left among other things in his Will discovered at Lambeth Palace in 1929 :“Money for candles to burn before the image of the Virgin in the Church”, and “Money for candles to burn in the Easter Sepulchre”. This Sepulchre has a very fine stone moulding.

The stone of which the chancel is built came from Quarry Bottom, or similar quarries in this district. There is a lot of this stone in the Old Keep at Farnham Castle (1140).

The oldest tomb in the Church is that of John Lige - 1575 - a brass on the Sanctuary floor, on the south side. John Leigh (or Lighe) is supposed to have built the original Coldrey House with material brought from the ruins of Waverley Abbey. The fact that Coldrey was described as “an extra parochial place”, and also that the brass on his tomb shows him in clerical attire, gives rise to the possibility that John Lighe was, at one time, Vicar of Froyle.

The oldest stone (with distinct date) in the Churchyard is that of William Blanchard - 1749 - aged 63. There is a verse on the stone as follows:-

“A faithful friend is buried here
A husband kind a father dear
In love he lived in peace he died
His life was craved but was denied”

The Blanchards lived in Froyle from 1668 - 1780.

There is some very valuable old stained glass in the Church, especially in the East Window. It contains 10 lights of coats of arms.

Edward the Confessor
Edward I
Edward, Prince of Wales
Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford
Edward 11
John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey
Edward III
Isabella, mother of Edward III
Henry de Chatelon
Edward the Black Prince


An expert who visited the Church some years ago expressed the opinion that Salisbury Cathedral and York Minster are the only places with glass to be compared with this.
D.H. Moutray Read in his book “Highways and Byways in Hampshire” tells us that:-
“The Church was almost rebuilt in the last century, and all of old work left is in the East end of the Chancel. The Aisleless Nave used to be filled with heavy and ugly box-pens, and the men’s gallery blocked it up still further. The Squire’s pew was in another gallery, a sore matter for the Vicar’s wife, as the Vicarage seats were down below, nor was the good lady content till a big pew was erected on iron supports near the pulpit, to which she ascended complacently every Sunday up the pulpit steps!”

1722 The Church steeple was demolished, and replaced by a tower and clock. The stone above the clock still shows - John Baldwin, 1722. The stone below the clock probably gave the names of the Churchwardens, as the word ’Churchwardens’ can distinctly be seen. “H.B.” over the tower door no doubt stands for Henry Burningham who died in 1735.
1724 Five of the bells were hung. Four of them bear the inscription “R. Phelps 1724 Fecit”. The fifth on bears the inscription “Messrs. Henry Burningham, Richard Marshall, R. Phelps FECIT, Rev. Mr. John Greenway, Vic 1724”.
1757 The sixth bell was hung, and bears the inscription “Thomas Tower and Thomas Hall, Churchwardens. Thomas Swain made me, 1757”.

Notes on names in connection with the Tower and Bells

Burningham
The first Burningham entry in the Registers is in 1670 when Henry, son of Henry Burningham was born. This Henry Burningham, born in 1670 is the one whose name is on the bell. He married Ann Baldwin in 1698, and he died in 1716. The original home of the Burninghams was Hussey’s Farm. (Froyle House was built about 1820 on the original site of Cattleys. There is a date on the garden wall at Froyle House - 1820 - with initials GNB and KLB. There was a George Burningham, a lad of 16, in 1820). This Henry Burningham (born 1670), had a son Henry who died in 1736, and a grandson who died in 1740. The 1740 stone is in the Nave of the Church and this is the earliest Burningham memorial. There are at least eight Henry Burninghams buried either in the Church or Churchyard, the last one in 1905. The name is spelt in the Register as Burmigan, Burnigham, and Burningham.

Baldwin
The first Baldwin entry is in 1656. Baldwin’s Farm, at Lower Froyle, is now part of Hussey’s Farm. Thomas Hall (see Bells) was at Baldwin’s Farm in 1750, and the Baldwins seem to have moved to Coldrey. Robert Baldwin died at Coldrey in 1729. Christopher Baldwin died in 1806, aged 82, probably at Bentley. He was buried at Froyle, and his tomb is on the North side of the Church.

Marshall
In 1707, John Marshall married Mary Wells. There was a Well’s Farm as late as 1806.

Towers
The first Towers entry is William Towers in 1653, and there is a Towers entry as late as 1803. There are several Towers stones in the Churchyard near those of the Messengers. In 1743, the Towers lived at Isnage

1812 The Nave was rebuilt. The minute book says “it was cheaper to pull down the old Nave and rebuild rather than repair the old one”.
George Parfect of Headley was the Bricklayer and Plasterer.
John Dyer of Alton was the Carpenter.
George Beagley of Bentley, a bricklayer.
James Harding, Surveyor of Farnham, was the Architect.

Walls half erected  £297  12s  6d
Walls ready for roof   £200   0s  0d
Roof reared and healed in   £200  0s  0d
Plastering finished   
Pews and galleries half finished   £100  0s   0d
Work completed Sept. 29th. 1812   £1,297  12s

 6d

1864  The Font, restored.
1866  The Pulpit, inscribed “Ashley Cooper”. Ashley Cooper died in 1876.
1896  The Jesses window, below the East window, was built.
1906  The Chancel floor was lowered to its original level.
1933 

Window of old fragments of glass on the North side, in memory of the Centenary of the Oxford Movement, was installed.

On each side of the High Altar are statues, the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Holy Child (left), St.Ann and the Blessed Virgin Mary (right). Arms of George III, and Richard I, and Hatchments of the Burningham family hang on the walls. Over the Vestry door there is a plaque after Luca, Della-Robbia. There is a modern window, South side - Revelations 12 - 1. There are other windows of interest - modern - and fragments of old glass and stone statues on the window ledge. There are statues of The Sacred Heart of Jesus, St. Christopher, St. Anthony and St. Joseph.


Church Registers

The registers, in the original, date back to 1697, when Richard Jope was Vicar. There is a copy which commences at 1653. But the original from 1653 to 1697 is missing. Some of the writing is excellent, in other cases, very bad indeed. There are some interesting entries, such as these on long life:-
1653  Buried Ann Dawson aged 103 years
1669  Buried Roger Sutwade aged 100 years
1673  Buried John Wakeford aged 100 years
In 1677 and 1679 Acts were passed for “Burying in Woollen”. This was done to help the wool trade. Curtis tells us that there is a copy of the Act in the Register at Hartley Mauditt. The Act was repealed in 1814.
1687  Buried Mary Newman of Brocas in woollen.
1765  Buried William Draper, Esq., pd. forfeit for not being buried in woollen. (William Draper was Lord of the Manor, and the forfeiture under the Act was “five pounds of lawful money of England”
1816  Buried John Styleman all in woollen. 
Other entries
1699  Buried John Turner an old batchelor
1674  Henry Wake was carried to Alton like fish in a barrel. 
1689  Buried Elizabeth Trimming an antient maid. 
1691  Buried William Smith a vagabond. 
1693  Buried John son of Mary Davis a stranger. 
1758 Buried Joseph Newman ye old miller 
1788  Was buried John Bone who in a fit of insanity killed himself. (The actual entry - we have a photograph of the page - states that “he hung himself”)
N.B. Stratford-on-Avon people will no doubt be interested to know that Ann Hathaway was buried at Froyle in 1807.
Other names mentioned in the Register, whose descendants are still in the district:-
1653  Knight
1673  Trimmer 
1674  Kemp 
1708  Gates (and much earlier)
1708  Stacey 
1793  Nash 
1800  Scrivener 
1800  Savage 
1806  Binfield 

Other old families mentioned in the Register

Westbrook
Henry Westbrook is mentioned in 1653, and Westbrook entries follow on right through the Registers and Parish books. Joseph Westbrook was an Overseer of the poor in about 1760.

Brownjohn
Henry Brownjohn was buried in 1729. John Brownjohn was buried in 1839.

Robinson
Thomas, son of Richard Robinson was baptised in 1751. Richard Robinson’s stone can be seen in the Churchyard, dated 1779. There was a Thomas Robinson in 1792 - he married a Woolveridge of St. Bury Hill. George Robinson and William Robinson are mentioned in 1810.

Messenger
In 1755, Thomas Messenger was overseer for Yarnhams. There are many Messenger entries. The Messengers lived where Park Edge now stands, then known as Heath’s Farm.

Heath
The Heaths lived at Bonhams and at Heath’s Farm. Thomas Heath is mentioned in 1715. In 1771, Thomas Heath is mentioned in the Parish Book as being “One of those people called Quakers”.

Jeffery or Jeffrey
The Jeffreys lived at Neatham, and Bonhams, and married into the Heath family.


Farms mentioned in the Registers

Blunden’s Farm
Blundens appears in the Register from 1737. In 1765, Adam Blunden was an Overseer of the Poor, and later Churchwarden with Robert Yalden of Isnage. The farmhouse is much older than this, and was built in the 15th, or possibly the 14th Century. Part of the land of the present Blunden’s Farm was Froyle Common Land, with the present Coombefield, Blunden’s Cottage and the Post Office Cottage as small-holdings. There were Blundens in Froyle as late as 1869.

Silvester’s Farm
The date on the house is 1674, and the first John Silvester married Elizabeth Blanchard in 1742. In 1782, James Yalden married Mary Silvester.

Brocas Farm
In about 1337, John de Brocas was rewarded with several estates in Hampshire, including Froyle, which remained in the Brocas family until 1539. In 1687 the Newmans lived at Brocas. There is a Newman stone in the Nave, and a Newman tomb in the Churchyard near the Robinsons and Westbrooks. William Newman of Froyle was a magistrate in 1784. There is Newman’s Land mentioned in 1751. This is no doubt the original of Nomansland. In 1756, Joseph Tarrant lived at Brocas. In 1777, James Tarrant married Ann Westbrook.

Hodges Farm
In 1657 Richard Hodges married Ann Warner. The front part of Hodges Farm is dated 1766, but the back premises are much older.

Place Farm
This farm is mentioned in 1751, and in 1800 and was probably the present West End, the farmhouse being where Froyle Manor now stands

Froyle Mill
This farm is mentioned in 1751. the Simmonds, ancestors of the present Aldershot Millers, lived at Froyle Mill. There are several Simmonds stones in the Churchyard. They were connected with the Blanchards.

St. Bury Hill
This is mentioned in 1751. Thomas Woolveridge lived there. There is a Woolveridge tomb in the Churchyard, near the Messenger.

Isnage
This is mentioned in 1734. The Towers, and later the Yaldens lived there.

Coldrey
In 1683, there was an Eggar at Coldrey. In 1756, Coldrey is described as “an extra parochial place adjoining Froyle”. Elizabeth Burningham, (1759 - 1780), married Thomas Rothwell, Esq., of Coldrey. Thomas Rothwell of Coldrey died in 1805, aged 79, and his tomb is in the Churchyard.

Bonham’s

In 1821, Bonham’s is described as “an extra parochial place adjoining Froyle”.
The Hen & Chicken is first mentioned in 1767, and the Anchor in 1806. There was a Poor House, Froyle, (Workhouse Cottages), in 1806, and now called Brecklands. Meetings of the Overseers were held alternately at the Hen & Chicken and Anchor, and occasionally at the Poor House. The Poor House was converted to cottages in about 1835. Several meetings were held at the Checkers, (or Chequers), at Well. In 1771 they seem to have known that the correct spelling is Hen & Chicken, and not Hen & Chickens.

The first mention of Upper Froyle, (Uper Froyl), as distinct from Lower Froyle is in 1769. The first mention of Lower Froyle is in 1758. In 1800, Tithe Accounts of Mr. Henry Burningham are separate for Upper Froyle and Lower Froyle.

Tithes mentioned in the Registers

In 1715, we find:-
“Tith milk was demanded of Thomas Heath Sen’r. for now he has milked his cow nine days”.
Also in the same year.-
“Tith milk was demanded of Thomas Heath jun’r. for now he has milked his cow twenty days”.
The Heaths are mentioned as being Quakers. Quakers objected to paying tithe!
People paying tithes on hops in 1800, when there were 141 acres of hops in Froyle, were:-

Sir Thomas Miller, Bt.  Mr. Henry Warner 
Henry Burningham  Mr. Watkins 
Miss Ann Nicholas  Mr. R. Yallden 
Mr. W. Bennett  Mr. Baigent 
Mr. W. Westbrook  Mr. Major 
Mr. W. Watford  Mr. J. Hockley 
Mr. Paul Small   Mr. J. Jeffrey 
Mr. W. Smith  Mr. C. Benham 
Mr. Wheeler  Elizabeth Messenger 

In 1807, the tithe was £1 per acre on old hops, and 10/- per acre on young hops. By 1818, the tithe was nearly £2 per acre on old hops and £1 per acre on young hops.

Sir Thomas Miller’s farms at this time were:-

Place Farm
Blunden’s Farm
Well’s Farm
Yarnham’s
Stillwells
Dellgreen
Silvesters
Newmans

Overseers of the Poor 
1750  Thomas Hall, Overseer for late Baldwins 
1755  Thomas Messenger, for Yarnhams 
1756  Joseph Tarrant, for Brocas 
1760  James Silvester, for Place Farm 
1765  Adam Blunden 

The Parish Book (Overseers) from 1782 - 1806 is missing.
Surveyors of Highways 1751 - 1766:-

W. Newman, Esq.  Mr John Burningham 
Thomas Woolveridge W. Nicholas, Esq. 
Joseph Woolveridge  Thomas Towers 
Thomas Heath  Adam Blunden 
James Towers  W. Hawkins 
Thomas Messenger  Mr. Bernard Burningham 
Joseph Tarrant  Joseph Railings 
James Silvester   

It is interesting to note that according to Curtis, relief at Bentley was refused in 1774 to any of the poor people who drank tea, or frequented the public house, yet at Froyle, in 1772, we find the Overseers paid for “Sugar, Tea and a jugg” and spent 18/1 at a meeting at the Hen & Chicken. They also spent 4/6d at the Hen & Chicken in 1771.

In the Parish book, from 1750 - 1782, we have among other entries already mentioned in “Historical Notes on Froyle”:- 

1772 Paid Thos. Grover for three burials
(Poor relief in 1774 was 4/- per month and the clerk was paid 3/- for each burial)
  9s 0d
1777  Repairing Church, wine and visitation fees and expenses £18 0s 0d
1777 John Farr and Henry Warner for many times waiting on W. Woolveridge to settle his mistakes (W.Woolveridge seems to have been called upon to pay £19 6s 9d to balance his accounts)   5s 0d
1780 Paid for spinning wheel for Robert Blundens daughter    2s 0d
Between 1711 and 1714, Sam Tilley and Thomas Warner gave a lot of trouble in the village. It is not quite clear what the trouble was, but there is some mention of their being Quakers. They seem to have been put in gaol, but afterwards escaped. The “Order for the execution of the Decree”, (excommunication), was served on them by T.Grover, clerk. 

The Grovers, (four in number), were clerks in succession from 1711 - 1804. They witnessed many weddings, and Mary Grover seems, during one period, to have acted for Thomas Grover Senior, when he was either ill or busy elsewhere. Thomas Grover senior was Clerk in 1711, and his son, John Grover, was Clerk from 1773 -1804. His other son, Thomas Grover junior died in 1779. 

The Robinsons, (Richard and Thomas), were also called upon to witness weddings on various occasions. Thomas was baptised in 1751, and Richard died in 1779. 

The window tax operated from 1697 - 1851, and there are several bricked up windows at the Vicarage, as well as other places. In 1766, the tax was 1/6d per window. 

The front part of the Vicarage is early Georgian, and part of the back premises, Elizabethan. There was a Vicarage in 1719, when John Greenway was inducted as Vicar.

In 1864, coal was 21/- per ton!