Harltey Mauditt, Ghost town, Hampshire, England

There is no sign of a Saxon church but within fifty years of William the Conqueror arriving on these shores, a church had been built at Hartley Mauditt. The name Hartley Mauditt comes from two periods. Hartley has a probable Saxon origin, meaning a woodland clearing frequented by stags and there are several of these in Hampshire, Hartley Wespall and Hartley Wintney included. It was recorded as Herlege n 1086, Hertlie in 1212 and Hurtlye in 1242. Presumably as people started to travel more widely, having lots of Hartleys about could cause problems and so they distinguished themselves by adding the extra name. In the case of Hartley Mauditt, the name of the 13th century lord William Mauditt, (Maudoit or Malduith) was added.

William Mauditt was granted the manor by King William I. The settlement is considered to be medium size, with 13 households. 8 villagers and 5 smallholders. It had 8 ploughlands (a term which seems to throw scholars of Domesday into a state of anxiety), 2 lords plough teams and 5 men’s plough teams. 6 acres of meadow and 30 swine render.

The manor was held by Earl Gyrth in 1066, the overlord being King William and then in 1086 William Mauditt becomes the lord. William Mauditt was also the lord of Fyfield, Preston Candover, Bessette, Shalden, Portchester and Rowner. This was a very important Norman family who were also Rangers of Alice Holt, a prestigious position. See Hartley Mauditt in Domesday.

The manor house was situated behind the church.

St Leonard’s sits in splendid isolation. The village that the church of St Leonard’s served, no longer exists. The manor house which would have provided work for those living in the hamlet, was destroyed sometime in the 18th century. With no work, people moved away and all that now remains is the church and large village pond.

Brief History

Hartley Mauditt was first documented in the Domesday Book as ‘Herlege’ meaning hartland or woodland. The Manor had been granted to William de Mauditt by William the Conqueror.

           The best known part of Hartley Mauditt today is the peaceful area near the pond where  the small 12th century church of St Leonards now stands alone by the pond; all that remains of a vanished settlment.  Services continue to be held here despite the reduced number of parishioners. This area is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a Listed Landscape.

           In fact a site near the church was occupied by the manor house of the Stuart family from the early 1600s for nearly 200 years – together with all the buildings associated with running such an establishment. It is also said that the earthworks show ‘the former position of about 10 dwellings, croft boundaries and other enclosures’. In the 1665 Hearth Tax, the main house was assessed as having 15 hearths and there were 21 other dwellings in the parish – although some of them may have been on the sites of the present farms.

           Thomas Gatehouse’s entry for Hartley Mauditt in his ‘Short Survey of the County of Southampton’ of 1778 reads ‘A Capital uniform mansion surrounded by the park and largely encompassed by its own demesnes, arable pasture and Woodlands. From a grand natural terrace on the south-east part of the park the country around exhibits a most beautiful and extensive prospect and is so formed by nature from its declivity and hanging woods that without the assistance of a Mr Brown it affords both pleasure and profit.’

           The Stuarts had been living beyond their means for many years and their property was put up for sale in September 1779. A sale of the contents began on a Monday 26 April (probably 1784) and lasted seven days. The catalogue lists sumptuous fittings, including oak panelling and marble fireplaces now thought to be in homes in the area; personal possessions from pistols and snuff boxes to an ivory and gold diary and her ladyship’s dressing table; and the contents of stables for racehorses and the hot house for melons. The Round House, on the B3006, was a lodge to the big house and is the only remaining part of the complex.

           The property was later acquired by Henry Lord Stawell. The peaceful area around the church and pond is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and Listed Landscape [Park and Garden] and historic maps show that there was once an avenue of trees.

           There are few remaining houses and almost all are old. Jeffries Cottage is listed as a part timbered17th century cottage. The former rectory and old shool date from the mid19th century. At least two sites of the farms are mentioned in14th century documents, ‘Candevere’ and ‘Barlie Bridge’

           Like other farms around, Hartley Park Farm grew hops and was the last farm in the area to do so having only recently changed to planting lavender and producing all kinds of items that can be made with the oils.

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From wikipedia:

Hartley Mauditt is a hamlet in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is 1.2 miles (1.9 km) south of the village of East Worldham, and 2.6 miles (4.1km) southeast of Alton, just east of the B3006 road and south of West Worldham. The nearest railway station is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) northwest of the village, at Alton.

Geography

Hartley Mauditt is still an agricultural parish of some 1,400 acres (5.7 km2) with several large farms but the population numbers are low, although the medieval village was much larger but has now shrunk down to the parish church of St. Leonard and a handful of cottages. The few remaining houses include an attractive 17th century thatched cottage, an elegant old rectory, and the converted village school on the parish boundary adjoining West Worldham.

History

Hartley Mauditt was first documented in the Domesday Book as "Herlege" (meaning hartland or woodland); "Hartley" signifies a pasture for deer. The manor had been granted to William de Maldoit (by corruption rendered Mauditt) by William the Conqueror.[1] Later, it was in the possession of John of Gaunt, the Duchy of Lancaster, the Crown, and then the Stuarts.[2]

In 1790 the Stuarts sold the manor to Henry Bilson-Legge whose son pulled down the manor house in 1798.[3] After the demolition of the house the hamlet of Hartley Mauditt declined, and eventually left the church as the only remaining building in the site of the hamlet, although there are houses elsewhere in the parish.

References

Jump up ^ Moody, Henry (1846). Antiquarian and topographical sketches of Hampshire (Public domain ed.). pp. 110–. Retrieved 4 March 2012. Jump up ^ Driver, Leigh (25 September 2008). Lost Villages of England. New Holland Publishers. pp. 64–. ISBN 978-1-84773-218-7. Retrieved 4 March 2012. Jump up ^ A Guide to St Leonard's Church, Hartley Mauditt, Alton, Hampshire printed by Image Print 2001 Ltd, Alton