Old Hampshire Mapped
Leland's Hampshire 1635-43
Transcription (15)Southampton
St Mary's
St Nicholas's Chapel
Capon, Dr
Southampton Grammar School
The town of Old-Hampton a celebrate thing for fisschar men, and sum merchauntes, stoode a quarter of a mile or ther abou[t]e from New-Hampton by north est and streachyd to the haven syde. The plotte wheryn it stoode berith now good corn and gresse, and is namyid S. Maryfeld by the chirch of S. Mary stonding hard by it.
Sum men yet alyve have seene dyvers houses (especially up into the lande of Old-Hampton) withyn the feld self now caullyd S. Maryfeeld.
[Some thin]ke that the great suburbe [standing yet with]out the est gate of New-[Hampton and jo]yninge to S. Marie [Chirche is part of Old-]Hamptoun.
Minns:- Camden, the first edition of whose work appeared in 1586, heard the same account that the town did not originally stand where it does, but in the immediate neighbourhood of St. Mary's Church, and excavations made go to prove the truth of the tradition. Vide - Davies, J S, Rev:: History of Southampton.
Ther is a chapel of S. Nicholas a poore and smaul thing yet stonding at the est end of S. Marie Chirch in the great cemiterie, wher constant fame is that the old paroche chirch of Old-Hampton stoode. One told me there that the litlenes of this chirch was cause of the erection of the great chirch of our Lady ther now stonding by this occasion: one Matilde, Quene of England, askid what it ment, that a great numbre of people walkyd about the chirch of S. Nicholas, and one answeryd; it is for lak of rome in the chirche. She then ex voto promisid to make ther a new; and this was the originale of S. Marie Chirch. Thys Queene Matilde, or sum other good persones folowing, had thought to have made this a collegiate chirch; but this purpose succedid not fully. Yet nevertheless S. Marie Chirch at thys day [in] token of the auncient[nes of Old-Hampton is] mother chirch [to all the chirches in New-Hampton]. And yn testimonie of thys the commune sepulture of New-Hampton ys the cemiterie of S. Marie Chyrche.
And there be many fair tumbes of marble of marchauntes of New-Hampton buryed in the chirch of S. Marie, as yn their mother and principale chirch.
Minns:- Matilda, the 'Good Queen Molde,' died 1118, so the first building of St. Mary's on a large scale must have taken place in the early part of the 12th century, and the church existing in the first half of the sixteenth century was substantially was the fabric of Queen Matilda. Leland, who presented his report to Henry VIII. in 1546, must have seen nearly the last of the great Church. In 1550, the church had disappeared, for in the Court Leet Book is an order that the rubbish of St. Mary's Church should be carted away to mend the highways. The people of Southampton had pulled down their church in order to remove from French cruisers the direction of its lofty spire. This destruction was perpetrated in 1549 or 1550, and instead was erected a small and unfinished chapel. Subsequent mean and badly constructed fabrics gave place to the present noble church, a memorial to Bishop Wilberforce erected during the incumbancy of his son, the Archdeacon of Westminster, but lacking the spire. The completion of the tower and spire, begun by Canon Durst, has been happily accomplished by the present Rector, the Rev. Neville Lovett, on Monday, January 5th, 1914.
Ther is on the south side of the cemiteri a fair mansion place of stone longging to the person of St. Maries.
Minns:- The parson at that time was Dr. W. Capon, the founder of the Southampton Grammar School. He was the first appointed master of Cardinal Wolsey's Grammar School, at Ipswich, and was either by the Cardinal or by his successor, Bishop Gardiner, presented to this benefice. His brother was at the time Abbot of Hyde, and from him he obtained the adjoining rectory of North Stoneham. When his brother, for his ready compliance with the King's (Henry VIII.) wishes, in obtaining from his monks their signatures to the surrender of the abbey, was rewarded with the bishopric of Salisbury, he was appointed by him to a prebendal stall in that Cathedral. He died in 1550.
next
