| Ellisfield | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| During the Domesday Survey the village
was a part of the Bishop of Bayeaux's estate and was held by Hugh de
Port and the overlordship remained with the family and late passed to
the St John family in the 13th century. There is a confusing history of the manor up until 1386 when Sir Walter Sandys was in possession. A Sir Wiliam Sandys inherited it in 1496 and was on of Henry VIII's favourites and he was made Lord Chamberlain and created Baron Sandys. It was sold in 1657 by the fifth Lord Sandys and then divided considerably but by 1789 most of it was reunited and bough by John Wallop who was the Earl of Portsmouth. There was a second manor which was held by the Prior of Southwick and when Edward II was on the throne the prior appears as joint Lord of Ellisfield but after 1428 there is no mention of the priory's land. Signs of an earlier settlement have been found here, in the form of flints, arrowheads and other prehistoric tools. The village church dedicated to St Martin was built before Henry III came to the throne (1216-1272) but was restored in 1872. In Saxton's Hampshire Gazetteer of 1575 the village is marked as Ilsfeld. The village is secluded and is about 5 miles south of Basingstoke
The church of St. Andrew is of great antiquity, and consists of nave, one aisle,
and small bell tower, and was restored in 1872. Thermistor dates from 1668. The living is a rectory, the tithes of which
have been commuted at £402, with residence and 20 acres of glebe, in the patronage of
Mrs. Brocas, and held by the Rev. Richard Paynton Pigott, M.A., of Trinity
College, Oxford. This parish had two churches until the reign of Edward III.: its name is said to have been derived from
Ella, the founder of the kingdom of Sussex, or South Saxons, who here defeated his adversaries, the Britons. Here is a
school, chiefly supported by the produce of a field, about 3 acres, left by the will of Stephen Terry, esq., in the year
1737, for teaching six poor children, a school board was established in 1873 for this parish, Farleigh Wallop, and
Cliddesden; the school house (1875) is in course of erection. The land chiefly belongs to the Earl of Portsmouth (who is
lord of the manor), Lord Bolton, and F. J. E. Jervois, esq. Today the village occupies just under 2,350 acres and there are 250 male or so adults plus around 40 children living in 119 houses which are scattered along almost ten miles of often single track road. But the village has a vibrant community spiriti, and there are the pubs and the church to entertain the locals and also there is a flourishing Horticultural Society and a magazine which is shared with three neighbouring villages. Ever month a Ladies Club hold a meeting and the Village Hall holds barbecues, Christmas parties and fairs and often some other form of entertainment. There is a Volunteer Group which look after the parish lands and rights of way and also a very active Parish Council
HISTORY
OF ST MARTINS CHURCH
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