John Keble's Parishes: A History of Hursley and Otterbourne

f monastic property, the manor should be granted to him. Stephen Gardiner had been bishop since 1531, a man who, though he had consented to the king's assumption of the royal supre

rable scholar, but a man of disgraceful life, obtained the appointment to the see, by alienating various estates to the Seymour family, and Merdon was resumed by the Crown. It was then granted to Si

s, however, he says: "He was afterwards (saith my author) ab intimo cubiculo to King Edward the Sixth; though I am not satisfied whether thereby he meant gentleman of his privy chamber or groom of his bed-chamber. He was a principal instrument of translating the Psalms into English metre; the first twenty-six (and seven-and-thirty in all) [28] being by him performed. Yet had he other assistance in that work. Many a bitter scoff hath since been passed on their endeavours by some wits, which might have been be

which time, such as sing them must endeavour to amend them by singing them with understanding heads and gracious hearts, whereby that which is bad metre on earth will be made good music in heaven. As for our Thoma

sed of dissent, because the version of Tate and Brady was used in her schools. Mr. Keble preferred it to this latter as more like the Hebrew, and some of his versions (curiously enough proceeding from the sam

sion. Then it was that Philip of Spain rode through one of these villages, probably Ot

de. On his death, Queen Mary gave the diocese to John White, the same

d by the Attorney General Story, who is said to have been an enemy of Sir Philip Hobby. The case was argued in the House of L

the Lords, fled to the Netherlands and was trepanned o

to his sister's house at South Warnborough, where h

deserted, defence being less thought of than convenience in our happy country; and indeed Sir Philip seems to have used Hursley as a residence instead of only a shelter on a tour. He died at Bisham aged 53, on the 31st of May 1558, soon after his victory over the See of Winchester, and is there buried, as well as h

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Avyngton [32] in Berkshire, to whom he sold the castle and manor of Merdon, reserving, however to himself and wife, a life-holding in the lodge and park. When this sale was made does not appear, but it is supposed to have been before the year 1602, as Sir

according to ancient usage, to perform the customary service of reaping and housing his crops: (1) The days employed in this service were called Haydobyn days; (2) and during their continuance the lord was obliged to provide breakfast and dinner for the workmen. Richard Morley, in his Manuscript, gives a very curious account of a quarrel which occurred on one of these occasions. 'Another time' (says he) 'upon a haydobyn-day (320 or 340 reapers) the cart brought a-field for them a

rd of the manor, in lieu of money rent he was bound to feed them through the day, and generally to conclude with a merry-making. So, no doubt, it had been in the good old days of the bishops and the much loved and lamented John Bowland; but harder time

and in that parish, though nearer to Otterbourne. Several tenements seem to have been there, those in the valley being called Long Moor and Pot Kiln. Shovelle

d numerous retainers at Highbridge, Allbrook, and Boyatt. Swithun Welles made Brambridge a refuge for priests, and two or three masses were said in his house each day. One "Ben Beard," a spy, wr

er broke in on Father Genings saying mass, and both he and Mr. Welles were hanged together for wh

lieved that an older one was burnt down, and there is a very dim repo

mentioned in the Athen? Oxoniensis as an able man living at Deptford, retired to Brambridge, and died there in 1634. This accounts for there havin

bby. It must have been owing to the reforming zeal of this vicar of Hursley that the frescoes in Otterbourne Church were as far as possible effaced, white-washed over, and the Ten

ate, and here are the remarkable

ary Occurr

desley, and in the neighbourhood, this year. The

and continued till the following February. Many persons died of it, and w

sley, about this time. He was buried at the corner of Newland's Coppice, and a stak

the parish this year, viz. at Merdon. Chalk-floors

It was nearly half a foot deep, and rem

ear. His copyhold was seized by the lord as for