St Peter's Church

THE CHURCH
As it stands today, Titchfield church consists of a western tower; a nave with north and south aisles; and a chancel with a chapel on its south side. The church as we see it was not built at one single period; it evolved slowly over the centuries. It does in fact contain work of all the main periods from Anglo-Saxon to Perpendicular. A series of plans showing the evolution of the church will be found in the permanent exhibition in 'the Southampton Chapel.

The Anglo-Saxon parts of the church are of very great antiquity, dating from the late seventh or the eighth century. From this period is preserved the lower part of the tower, which was originally a porch. The nave, which was originally aisleless, stood on the site of the present nave; the east wall of the Anglo-Saxon nave survives above the present chancel-arch which is a later insertion. The original chancel was narrower than the present chancel; its length is uncertain but it was undoubtedly much shorter than the existing chancel. The
Anglo-Saxon church probably had small side-chapels, but all trace of such chapels has now been lost.

In the Middle Ages Titchfield was a thriving market-town and port, as well as the centre of a large parish. From the thirteenth century the church was in the patronage of a powerful monastery. The size of the church reflects these factors. The first alterations to the Anglo-Saxon church seem to have taken place in the second half
of the twelfth century. An aisle was thrown out on the south side of the nave and the elaborate doorway opening from the porch to the nave was inserted. Towards the end of the same century or in the thirteenth century the porch was raised to form a tower. In the thirteenth century the chancel was lengthened to its present size, and in the first half of the fourteenth century, the Abbey built its own chapel on the south side of the chancel. The fifteenth century saw further changes. A fine aisle was added on the north side of
the nave (possibly replacing an earlier aisle in the same position) and the chancel was extensively remodelled. It was probably during this century that the spire was added to the west tower.

It requires a considerable effort of imagination to visualise the interior of the church as it was at the end of the medieval period. For one thing we must imagine its colourfulness; we must restore in our minds the medieval stained glass in the windows, the murals on the blank spaces of walling, the altars with their rich hangings and their reredos, the painted statues and the like.

The congregation would be confined to the nave itself and would see and hear little of the offices in the chancel, except at the elevation of the Host.

The church must have had a number of altars, three at the very least; one in the chancel, one in the south chapel and one in the north aisle. There were probably also altars in the south aisle and in the nave on either side of the chancel-arch. The altars in the north aisle and in the chancel, backed by large windows filled with stained glass and tier? of niches with painted statues, must have been particularly magnificent. We must also realise that the church would have been strictly compartmentalised. The south chapel was probably almost entirely cut off from the rest of the church, and the nave would be divided from the chancel by the rood screen, through which what took place at the altar could be only partially glimpsed. The altars at the ends of the aisles were probably also surrounded by screens.

The Southampton Chapel

This division into compartments was anathema to the reformers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and the screens were destroyed along with the rest of the medieval splendour that we have described. The church was adapted for worship in which the congregation were to be participants and not mere spectators, and as a result its internal appearance changed entirely.

Some idea of the effect can be obtained from a painting in the exhibition in the Southampton Chapel which shows the church before 'the further changes of the mid-nineteenth century. Colour is almost entirely lacking.

The windows are plain and the walls whitewashed. The focal point of the church is now a splendid Georgian three-decker pulpit which, with the font, dominates the nave. The Communion Table at the far end of the chancel is in no way emphasised.

The Font		The canopied pulpit
The organ, which is in the south chapel, was built by Bevington of London in 1866 and was originally a two-manual organ without pedal stops. In 1934 it was fitted with a correct pedal-board with 16ft. pedal stop by Messrs. Ivermey of Southampton.		Graffiti on the door pillar

Above the pulpit, in the position over the chancel-arch, where originally there was doubtless a medieval painting of the Last Judgment, hang the Ten Commandments (1728), "the appeal to morality taking the place of the threat of Hell Fire". The various furnishings seen in the painting are nearly all of seventeenth and eighteenth century date. In the north aisle is a hatchment. Accommodation was often problem in the eighteenth century, not usually for reasons of size, but because so much of the seating was reserved for the upper and middle classes. One common solution was to build galleries, and at Titchfield the south aisle was filled with galleries between 1776 and 1801. There was also the customary 'singers' gallery at the west end of the nave.

The Victorians disapproved of these galleries on both liturgical and aesthetic grounds. When the church came to be restored in 1866-7, the galleries were destroyed along with the whole of the south aisle and arcade. The aisle and arcade were rebuilt in fourteenth century Gothic style. The seventeenth and eighteenth century furnishings were removed, the church re-seated and choir stalls provided for the singers formerly accommodated in the west gallery The focus of the church once more became the chancel altar.

In the twentieth century the only major structural alteration has been the addition of a vestry in the place of the Victorian south porch in 1905. The interior has undergone many minor changes, but is basically the product of the 1866-7 restoration. The upkeep of such a large and ancient church is a continuous problem— especially so today because in the recent past Titchfield has been an extremely poor community, able to contribute little towards the heavy cost of maintaining such a building. Heroic efforts have been made since 1950 to make such repairs to tower and roofs as will ensure the safety of the structure. The work will continue so that, if
possible, many generations to come will be able to find beauty and peace in Titchfield Church and will be moved to offer here their praise to God.

Now, having briefly surveyed the development of the church, let us examine its separate parts in detail. We shall first of all look at the oldest part, the Anglo-Saxon porch, then returning inside we shall examine the interior, before making a short tour round the remainder of the outside of the church.

THE WEST TOWER
Even the casual observer will quickly notice the contrast in fabric between the upper and lower parts of the tower. The lower par', of the tower is the old Anglo-Saxon porch and is built mainly of coursed limestone rubble, while the upper part of the tower is built of a mixture of cut flints and roughly dressed stone blocks.
On the west side it will be seen that the limestone rubble fabric continues to a rather higher level than in the side walls. What we see here is in fact the lower part of the gable of the Anglo-Saxon porch. The apex of the gable was no doubt removed when the porch was turned into a tower in order to bed the upper storeys more
firmly on the old work.

In the west wall of the tower is a plain round-headed arch. This is the original entrance-arch of the church. The head of the arch is still intact, and it will be seen that its stones pass right through the thickness of the wall, a characteristic Anglo-Saxon feature. Another Anglo-Saxon characteristic to be noted is the way in which the lowest stones of the arch are tilted up slightly at their bottom edge. The jambs (or sides) of the arch have unfortunately been partly mutilated by the insertion of round blocks into the western angles of the porch. Above the arch we should notice a row of re-used Roman tiles, three and in some places four tiles deep. During repairs to the church it was found that this course passed right through the thickness of the wall.

On the south side of the tower there is a gap in this tile bonding-course, and an area of disturbed masonry above and below this gap will be noted. This probably represents the position of one of the original windows of the porch. It will also be seen that the bonding-course of tile continues across the west wall of the nave to its south-west angle. The preservation of this angle serves to show that the original Anglo-Saxon nave did not have aisles.

What we have seen so far enables us to re-construct the appearance of the original Anglo-Saxon west end. We have a tall porch with an open west archway and a window in its south wall. Behind this porch was the even higher west wall of the nave. One further element remains to be added to the picture. There was a round -
headed window in the middle of the gable of the nave opening out above the roof of the porch. This window is now concealed by the upper storeys of 'the tower and can only be examined inside the church.

One very attractive feature of the porch is the variety of materials used in it. For instance, the head of the western archway of the porch is built of yellow limestone while green sandstone and Quarr stone (a freshwater limestone) can be seen in the jambs. A similar variety of stones will be seen in the quoins (corner stones),
which are built of large much-weathered stones bonding into alternate walls; particularly striking are the dark-brown blocks of ironstone. This considerable variety of material at once suggests that the church was not built with freshly-quarried stone but with materials re-used from earlier buildings, with little doubt Roman buildings. The presence of a considerable quantity of Roman tile in the fabric lends support to this suggestion. There were, in fact, a number of suitable Roman sites in the vicinity, including Portchester Castle, about five miles away.

In date this porch probably belongs to the late seventh or eighth century. It recalls a number of other porches of similar date, for instance the porch at the famous monastery of Monkwearmouth (Co. Durham). The technical details also recall the early churches of Northumbria. This Northumbrian influence is of considerable interest when we recall that Titchfield was in the sphere of that great church-building prelate from Northumbrian St. Wilfrid, between 681 and 686. There is no evidence to enable us to prove a connection with Wilfrid at Titchfield. However the existence of an early church with Northumbrian features strongly suggests that it was built by Wilfrid or under his influence and that it should be dated to the time of his mission (681-6) or to the succeeding generation. The use of a bonding-course of tile in the proper Roman manner is another feature suggestive of an early date. The influence of Roman craftsmanship is a characteristic feature of the earliest churches in England. (A full account of the Anglo-Saxon church will be found in vol. 32 of the Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society).

Let us return to our examination of the tower. In the late twelfth or in the thirteenth century the walls of the Anglo-Saxon porch were raised to form a tower. The upper part of the tower is of very plain character with lancet windows in each of its side walls, the one in the west wall at a slightly higher level. Access to the
upper part of the tower is obtained by a nineteenth century stairway built against its north wall. A doorway at the top of the stairway opens into the first floor.

The shingled broach-spire was probably built on top of the tower in the fifteenth century. The clock dates from 1887 and 'he weather-vane from 1913.

The construction first of the tower and then of the spire on top of the thin walls of the Saxon porch has given rise to continuous structural problems. For instance in 1668 it is recorded that "the tower haveing been surveighed by three able workmen and according to their iudgement given thereupon found to be in such a ruinous condicon that it is very likely to fall if not sodainly taken downe ". No action was taken and the question of demolition came to a head at a stormy meeting of the vestry in 1677 when it was decided to take no further action. It would be tempting to see this as a seventeenth-century victory for " conservationists " but it is only too
clear from the records that the only motive of those who wished to retain the tower was to avoid the expense involved in rebuilding it ' At some date, perhaps about this time, the western archway was blocked and it remained blocked until 1831. In 1850 extensive repairs were necessary and it was probably at this time that the iron tie which surrounds the tower at a height of 12ft. 6in. was inserted. Many further repairs to the tower have been necessary in the last hundred years. In 1961 it was found that the spire did not rest securely on the walls of the tower; a concrete wall was therefore built round the inside of the top of the tower and the spire firmly
fixed to this.

Having examined the tower we can now enter the .church. As we enter let us notice firstly the splendid iron gates in: the western archway, a gift in 1851 from the then vicar. The date can still be seen on the latch. Secondly we must look at the magnificent Norman arch which opens from the porch into the body of the church. This elaborate three-ordered arch dates from the second half of the twelfth century; and, with its zig-zag moulding and shafted jambs with foliated capitals, is typical of this period which so delighted
in rich ornament.

THE NAVE
The nave preserves the dimensions of the original Anglo-Saxon nave. The east and west walls are both Anglo-Saxon, the doorway at the west end and the chancel-arch at the east end being insertions into earlier masonry. The striking height of the nave is an original feature and is characteristic of Anglo-Saxon churches.

In order to visualise the original Anglo-Saxon church we must imagine solid walls in place of the present arcades. If we walk down the nave and look back at its west wall, we can see the early window m the gable of the nave, now opening into the upper storey of the tower. For many centuries this window was blocked, but in 1982 the clocking was removed to commemorate the 1000th anniversary of the first written references to Titchfield (see above). The window is now revealed as a splendid example of Anglo-Saxon construction;
Both the head and the jambs of the window are built of massive stones passing through the full thickness of the wall.

The roof of the nave, of trussed rafter construction, is of later edieval date.

THE SOUTH AISLE
The medieval south aisle was pulled down during the restora- tion ' of 1866-7. Fortunately illustrations of the aisle before the restoration are preserved and enable us to form some idea of its appearance. A painting of the interior of the church hangs in the Southampton Chapel exhibition. This shows quite clearly that the
aisle was of Norman date and had an arcade of tall arches, either round or slightly pointed. There were round columns with scalloped capitals, fragments of which are still preserved in the Southampton Chapel. There were two square-headed windows on either side of a porch of uncertain date.

The south aisle was rebuilt in 1866-7 at the expense of the Hon. Misses Louisa and Emily Baring, daughters of Alexander Baring, first Baron Ashburton and head of the famous banking house. They employed a clergyman, the Rev. J. F. Turner of North Tidworth (later Bishop of Grafton and Armidale in New South Wales) as architect. Turner rebuilt the aisle in fourteenth-century style, but the result is unsuccessful and destroys the symmetry of the nave.

In 1968. an area at the west end of the aisle was partitioned off to form the Johnston Vestry, for the use of the clergy.

THE NORTH AISLE
The spacious north aisle is much more satisfying in design. It dates from the fifteenth century, and is an unusually splendid example of the architecture of this period in this part of England. The arcade has slender piers with tall bases and with the characteristic section of four shafts and four hollows. The tall arches open up the whole of the north aisle to the nave. There are four large three-light windows in the north wall and one in the west wall, all of the same design. The east window has five lights under a segmental head and is flanked by elaborate canopied niches. The niches are mutilated but enough remains to show the high quality of the details. The low-pitched roof is contemporary with the aisle, though many of the timbers had to be renewed in 1967. The whole aisle with its large windows, its slender piers and its delicate mouldings creates an effortless impression of spaciousness and light quite lacking from the rest of the church.

THE CHANCEL
The date of the chancel-arch in its present form is uncertain, and it has probably been remodelled on more than one occasion. Research in 1983/4 showed that the arch was an insertion in an earlier wall. The removal' of plaster from the east face of this wall revealed masonry of coursed limestone rubble identical to the Anglo-
Saxon fabric at the west end of the church. Convincing proof that this masonry was of the same date was provided by the discovery on the south tide of the course of re-used Roman tiles which can be seen at the west end; this feature must originally have passed right round the Anglo-Saxon church. The 'tiles have been left exposed.

The Anglo-Saxon chancel was much narrower than the present chancel, measuring about 14ft in width. When the present chancel was built the original chancel walls were torn away, leaving scars which could be clearly detected when the wall was examined in 1983/4. The walls of this early chancel were taller than the present
chancel walls, measuring 23ft. in height. The length of the early chancel and the form of its east end (square or absidal) remain uncertain, but it is likely to have been comparatively short compared to the existing chancel.

The present chancel was built in the thirteenth century, when long extended chancels became fashionable. However the thirteenth- century chancel was in turn extensively remodelled in the fifteenth century. The only internal features to date from the thirteenth century are the sedilia and the priest's doorway (originally external)
on the south side and the string-course round the north, east and part of the south walls. The sedilia and the carved heads just above them are unfortunately heavily restored.

In the fifteenth century the present large windows were inserted. The re-modelling of the chancel is perhaps rather later than the building of the north aisle and the work is certainly not of the same quality. The mouldings are coarser and the general effect heavier. In the north wall there are three windows of three lights and in the
east wall a window of five lights. The tracery of the east window dates from about 1850, the original tracery having been removed at some time prior to this date. The painting of the interior in the Southampton Chapel shows plain mullions (perhaps of wood) with a transom.

As in the north aisle, the east window is flanked by two niche's with canopies on either side. It is clear that the original design of the chancel was not completely carried out, for the tops of the upper canopies are cut away to make space for rafters. The roof of the chancel is ancient, with trussed rafters and arched principals.

THE SOUTH CHAPEL
The south chapel (now called the Southampton Chapel) has undergone many vicissitudes. It was built in the first half of the fourteenth century by the Abbot of Titchfield and pertained specially to the Abbey. It must be understood that this was effectively a complete church equipped for the full rite. It is therefore provided with its own sedilia and piscina, of attractive fourteenth-century design. The chapel was largely shut off from the rest of the church. The large arch to the south aisle dates from the nineteenth century. The chapel communicates with the chancel by a doorway (in which the hinges for the original heavy door may still be seen) and a two-bay arcade resting on a modern dwarf wall. The arcade is an attractive piece of fourteenth-century design with its clustered shafts. foliate capitals and wave-moulded arches. The capital of the central column, with four winged beasts, is especially worthy of attention. The windows of the chapel are plain with the characteristic four
teenth-century ogee arch. The roof of the chapel is ancient, with trussed rafters and tie-beams.

At the Dissolution the chapel came into the hands of the Wriothesley family and became a mausoleum for the Earls of Southampton. At the end of the sixteenth century the monument which now dominates the chapel was installed. We shall describe this monument later. Subsequent ages have found it difficult to integrate this part of the church with the rest of the building, and it has effectively remained as a mausoleum, with the additional function since the last century of an organ-chamber. In 1905 there was an attempt to restore this part of the church as a chapel, but it was soon found impractical and it was abandoned in favour of the north aisle as a subsidiary chapel. Advantage has now been taken of this space by mounting a permanent exhibition of drawings, maps, plans and photographs which illustrate the history and development of the parish and its church.

This completes our examination of the interior of the church. Before we look at the furnishings, the monuments and the stained glass windows, let us have a look at the outside of the church.

THE EXTERIOR
We have already examined the tower, so let us pass immediately to the north side of the church. This presents an appearance entirely of the fifteenth century. We see a vista of large Perpendicular windows separated by well-proportioned buttresses. Passing on to the east end of the church we must look at the fine five-light east window, of fifteenth-century design but dating in its present form from the nineteenth century. We may also note some further evidence for the thirteenth-century date of the chancel. The south-east quoin of the chancel has been preserved intact and it is quite clear that the fourteenth-century south chapel was built up against this quoin after the construction of the chancel.

The south chapel with its ogee-headed windows is of very plain character externally. Passing round it we come to the Victorian south aisle. Externally the contrast with the rest of the church is even more marked than internally. With its non-local stone and its harsh pointing, the aisle makes a poor comparison with the rest of the church. At the south-west angle of the aisle we should notice the ve<try, which is the most recent structural addition to the church. This was built in 1905 and replaced a Victorian south porch.

FURNISHINGS
The furnishings of the church are almost entirely modern. Much of the woodwork, including the pews in the nave and aisles and the stalls in the chancel, date from the restoration of 1866-7. The encaustic tiles with which much of the church is floored also date from this time.

To the Glory of God and in honour of the men who in the year 1914 and thereafter went out from this parish and gave their lives in many widely sundered parts of the world by sea and land and ir. May god grant that whatever be the path mankind is destined to trace there may always in all countries be men who at the call of that which they hold to be their duty will face death with like stedfastness.   Pte A Biddle 2nd KRR Pte F Biddle 10th Hants Gunr F J Bowers RFA Sergt H W Bowers 15th Hants Pt FJ Bowers 14th Hants Pte GW Bedford 1st East Yorks Cpl EC Bowman 6th Hants   Capt FTD Cade 11th Hants Pte H Couzens 1/7th Hants Pte C Chalk Austr Infantry Cpl H Edmunds 14th Hants G Ford 1st class P.O Stkr HMS Good Hope Sgt AS Fearne 1/6th Hants Bombdr HG Fry RFA     Lcpl JH Fleet 14th Hants Pte E Gamblin 6th Hants Pte WG Gamblin RMLI HMS Edgar Serg! W Hatto 1st Hants. Sergt EH Heath RAVC F Leat Ldg Stkr HMS Queen Mary Pte EF Light 15th Hants   Cpl WT Matthews 14th Hants PG Merritt P.O Stkr Submarine E3 Cpl P Marriott RE Pte F Newby 1st Hants Pte A Newby 15th Hants Gunr EE Pharoah RG 2nd Lieut D Phelps 2nd Batt R Sussex   Pte JF Price 7th Border Regt Pte W Sandy 2nd Hants J Sims Ch Stkr HMS Cressy Pte A Smith 10th Hants Pte W Smith RAVC Pte F Smith 10th Hants Pte F Sturart 1st DCLI   Lcpl VG Taylor 2nd Royal Berks Pte DBE Upshall 1st Northumberld Fus F E Watts 1st Class PO Sailmaker Hms Black Prince C L Whittaker Mercantile Marine Tpr AS Whittaker Hants Yeomanry Pte TH Wright 2nd Devons

The remaining contents are best dealt with in note form. Font (north arcade) 1951. Octagonal with alternate representational and symbolic carvings in relief, by Charles Upton. Oak pulpit with tester (nave) by Potter and Hare 1963. Screen (chancel-arch) 1916, deigned by Norman Atkins. Altar rails (chancel), 1961. Table (south chapel, alongside organ casing), part of the sounding-board of the old Georgian pulpit. Brass eagle lectern (south chapel) 1897. Chest (south chapel), medieval (14th or 15th century).

In the nave are two large paintings, one on the west wall (a mural) and one on the east wall above the chancel-arch. The painting on the west wall represents the Miraculous Draught of Fishes and was originally executed in 1888 as a memorial to the Rev. W. M. Cosser, vicar from 1852 to 1887. It was repainted in
1951-2 by students from Portsmouth School of Art "in a style more medieval than the original". On the east wall of the nave above the chancel-arch is a painting by C. E. Kempe dating from 1889. It represents the Crucifixion with the Virgin and St. John and was presented by Harriet, Marchioness of Bath, as a memorial to her sister, Louisa Baring.

THE STAINED GLASS WINDOWS The medieval stained glass at Titchfield has been destroyed, with the exception of some tiny fragments to be seen in the tracery of the windows of the north aisle. However, most of the windows have been fitted with stained glass during the course of the last century. Nearly all this glass is of Victorian date, and though some of the windows are individually of attractive design, the total effect is unremarkable. With the exception of the easternmost of the three windows on the north side of the chance], which is by Wailes, all the Victorian stained glass windows are by Glayton and Bell. There is, however, one window with modern glass, a small panel by Francis Skeat in the west window of the north aisle which portrays a Titchfield farming scene (note the strawberries!).

THE WRIOTHESLEY MONUMENT

THE WRIOTHESLEY MONUMENT

In the Southampton chapel is the magnificent Wriothesley monument to which we have already referred. In his will dated 1581 the second Earl of Southampton ordered " two faire monuments " to be set up in Titchfield church to consist of "portraitures of white alabaster, one for my lorde my father and my ladye my mother, the other for mee ". In fact only this one monument with three effigies was made. The contract survives and is dated 1594; the sculptor was Gerard Johnson, a Flemish refugee.

A large vault was excavated in which were re-interred the bodies of the first Earl and Countess, originally buried in St. Andrew's Holborn. The second, third and fourth Earls were also interred in the vault together with some other members of the family. The monument itself is a raised rectangular tomb of two tiers built of marble and alabaster in the Renaissance manner. At the angles are projecting pilasters carrying tall obelisks. The central part of the tomb is raised above the rest and is carried on three round open arches. On it rests the effigy of Jane, Countess of Southampton (died 1574). The effigies of her husband, the first Earl (d. 1551) dressed in robes of State and wearing the Order of the Garter, and her son the second Earl (d. 1582) clad in an exquisite suit of plate armour, rest on the lower tier one on either side, with heraldic beasts at their feet. At the feet are inscriptions on black marble panels. On the side panels are carved four alabaster figures kneeling before priedieus, the two on the south side representing the daughters of the first Earl and the two on the north being Henry the third Earl and his sister. The third Earl is famous as Shakespeare's patron.

After examining the tomb we should also look at the mortuary helmet with bull crest which formed part of the funeral regalia of the second Earl, and which is hanging high up on the south wall of the chapel. Beneath is a fine monument to another member of the Wriothesley family. Lady Mary Wriothesley, fourth daughter of 'iie third Earl, who died at the age of four in 1615. The monument is said to have been made by Epiphanius Evesham. The recumbent figure is executed in white marble on a black marble base and surround and is dressed in adult clothes with a ruff. Above is a seated angel,

OTHER MONUMENTS
The only surviving medieval memorial is a much-worn slab of Purbeck marble to the east of the Wriothesley monument. It bears the incised figure of a knight beneath a canopy; the armour and other details suggest a date between 1260 and 1330. Round the edge of the stone are two inscriptions, one in Latin and one in French. Both inscriptions are only partly legible, but the Latin inscription seems to consist of prayers, while the French one coin prised the record of identity. Of the name unfortunately only the words "Williame de" can be distinguished. A drawing in the exhibition Shows what is still visible and the conjectured original appearance of the memorial.

Also in the chapel the matrix of an ancient brass may be noted in the pavement on the south side of the Southampton monument

Among the later monuments in the church, the character Jacobean monument in the north wall of the chancel, to William Chamberlaine (1608) of Beaulieu and his wife, is especially note-worthy. It represents William and his wife in white marble, each in a round-headed reces?. kneeling at a common prie-dieu. Two sons and two daughters appear in bas relief in similar positions below. A Corinthian column on either side supports a flat cornice bearing the family coat of arms.

There are a considerable number of monuments of 17th, 18th and 19th century date in the chancel and south chapel, not all ot which can be mentioned here. It will be seen that a good number of monuments are to naval officers, colonial governors, soldiers and the like; with its proximity to Portsmouth, Titchfield has always attracted many members of the services in retirement. Among the better monuments are those to David Karr (1794) by Nollekens with a plain urn (north wall of chancel) and that to Edward Ives (1786) by Cooke with a weeping willow and allegorical figure (south wall of chancel). Of the nineteenth century monuments perhaps the best is to John Hornby (1832) by Ghantrey with a sleeping woman and urn (north wall of chapel).

In proud an dloving Memory of Francis Thomas Darrel Cade. Captain 11th Battalion Hampshire Regiment (Pioneers) Who was kiled in actio near Ginchy, Battle of the Somme, France, September 6th 1916, aged 21 years, Only son of Sidney E.P.Cade, L.R.C.P., L.R.C.S.,EDOM., and Ethel, his wife, of Titchfield, His life for his country, his soul to God.		IN MEMORIAM Major General Sir HARRINGTON OWN PARR. K.C.B., C.M.G. Commandnt 7th D.C.O. Rajputs 1915 to 1919. Born 21st April 1867 Died near Thorncome, Dorsetshire Ist October 1928 aged 61 years Erected in affectionate remembrance and esteem by THE COMMANDANT BRITISH OFFICERS INDIAN OFFICERS N.C.O's AND MEN OF THE REGIMENT IN WHICH HE SERVED FROM 1891 TO 1919
		SECOND WORLD WAR Douglas BOOTH Howare GASHAM Charles BENNETT Frederick Downes Leslie ELMS Ernest FRAMPTON Leslie HISCOCK Frederick HOLLINS David JACKSON Henry JAMES   David KING Frederick LEAT Harry LEACH Duncan McMILLAN Thomas O'Neil Frederick PACK Nigel TIBBITS Algernon WHITEAR Hubert WICKS Harry WEST   We wil remember them 1939-1945

Several tablets retain interesting or amusing inscriptions. On the north wall of the chancel is a monument to Gilbert Jackson (1779), vicar for almost 50 years, from which we learn that he died of gout (obiit podagra fractus). Nearby is a monument to Samuel Croppe, the Latin inscription of which may be translated to read, " Sam. Croppe, a medical man, skilled alike in experience and good results, By which he benefited nearly everybody except himself. Died October 29, 1710. Aged 35 ". On the south side of the chancel is a monument to Thomas Corderoy (1673), the donor of the communion plate (see below). On the north wall of the south chapel there is a charming but pathetic lament composed by her husband in memory of Lucie Bromfeld who died in 1618, aged 30, having borne eleven children. On the floor of the chapel many ledger stones are to be seen.

The monuments in the nave and aisles are mostly modern. There were no monuments in the north aisle until the beginning of this century, and it is now reserved specially for war memorials.

At the west end of the aisle a number of headstones mostly of 18th century date have been brought in from the churchyard and used as floor-slabs for better preservation. There are many more headstones of this date still in the churchyard.

THE BELLS
There are six bells, two of which were cast in 1896 and the remaining four old bells were recast at the same time. Of these, the Treble was dated 1675 and was cast by Francis Foster of Salisbury; the Second was dated 1628; the Third was a Salisbury bell of c. 1400 and the Tenor was cast in 1769. The total weight of the bells is just over 47 cwt., ranging from 12 cwt. to 5 cwt.

In addition there is an un-inscribed small bell which was mentioned in an inventory of 1552.

When the bells were recast in 1896 by Mears and Stainbank of Whitechapel, they were re-hung in an iron . fame. In 1963 Taylors of Loughborough renewed the whole of the bell fittings including headstocks, ironwork, wheels and clappers, pulleys, bearings and bell-ropes. One unusual feature is that the bells hang not in the tower itself, but in the lower part of the spire.

THE COMMUNION PLATE
There is a very fine silver-gilt set, consisting of two cups with cover patens, inscribed THE GIFT OF THO. CORDEROY GENT ANO DOM 1673. Also given by Thos. Corderoy are two flag-ons of the same date and two alms dishes of 1670. In addition there is a standing salver of 1679 given by William Orton.

This ancient plate is not in regular use, but a photograph forms part of the exhibition.

PARISH REGISTERS The parish registers date from 1589 and the vestry minutes from 1672. They contain many entries of local and historical interest and are now preserved, with sundry other documents, in the
Hampshire Record Office at Winchester, where they may be examined.

DEDICATION
The church is dedicated to St. Peter, and this dedication can be traced back at least as far as the fifteenth century. The dedication is of interest in view of the possible connection with St. Wilfred, for St. Wilfred is known to have dedicated nearly all the many churches which he founded either to St. Peter or to St. Andrew.

Too much stress should not be laid on this point, for dedications can readily change over a period of time.

ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF THE PARISH OF TITCHFIELD