Manorial Descent

Little Gatcombe, Parish of Wymering

The descent of the manor of Little Gatcombe, Parish of Wymering, Hampshire, can be traced through the Victoria County History across roughly 550 years and twenty-eight recorded lords. The earliest holders owed castle serjeanty to the Crown for the defence of Portchester Castle. The manor passed through the de Lisle, Bramshott, Dudley, Erneley, Marshe and Curtis families before the manor lands were sold to the Crown in 1794.

DateEvent
c.1230s-1260s Fulk de Wymeringes holds the manor by Portchester Castle serjeanty, owing eight days' armed service in time of war.
d. 1291 Sir William de Esturs. Suit at Portchester Castle court every three weeks; one armed man with lance, helmet and shield for eight days in wartime. Also held land "for rent of a pound of pepper and one rose".
d. 1293 Geoffrey Lisle, brother of Sir William de Esturs.
d. 1307 Baldwin de Lisle.
d. 1337 John de Lisle of Gatcombe. Held from the King in chief by grand serjeanty for the defence of Portchester Castle.
d. 1349 John de Lisle. Died in the year of the Black Death.
d. 1369 John de Lisle. Died without male heir.
c. 1369 John Bramshott married Elizabeth de Lisle, bringing the manor into the Bramshott family.
d. c. 1433 William Bramshott. Knight of the Shire, Member of Parliament for Sussex, High Sheriff of Hampshire (twice).
d. 1468 Baldwin Bramshott. First recorded use of the name "Little Gatcombe" as a distinct holding.
d. 1479 John Bramshott. Lands passed to his daughters: Elizabeth (wife of Sir John Dudley) and Margaret (wife of Sir John Pakenham).
d. 1498/1501 Sir John Dudley and Elizabeth Bramshott.
c.1462-1510 Edmund Dudley. Speaker of the House of Commons. Henry VII's chief financial enforcer. Beheaded Tower Hill, 17 August 1510.
after 1510 After Dudley's attainder, the manor was probably not restored to the Dudley family but granted to William Erneley.
d. 1545 William Erneley. Justice of the Peace, Member of Parliament. (The VCH records his death as 1445, which appears to be a misprint for 1545; see Sources.)
Francis Erneley succeeded, followed by Richard Erneley (d. 1607).
1613 Richard Erneley (son) sold the manor to William Marshe. The conveyance recorded two messuages, 100 acres of land, 10 acres of meadow, 20 acres of pasture and 10 acres of wood.
d. 1622 William Marshe. The manor was inherited by his daughter Lucy Marshe.
by 1691 William Chafin and Mary sold the manor to Thomas Brounker.
1691-1714 Thomas Brounker.
from 1714 Captain Matthew Teate.
by 1744 Matthew Brady.
c.1778 Admiral Sir Roger Curtis, 1st Baronet, GCB. Hero of the Great Siege of Gibraltar. Commander-in-Chief Portsmouth 1809-1812.
1794 Manor lands sold to the Crown for Hilsea Barracks.
1816 Admiral Curtis dies at Gatcombe House. Baronetcy passes to his son Sir Lucius Curtis, 2nd Baronet.
1849 Sir Lucius Curtis, Admiral of the Fleet, recorded in residence at Gatcombe.
1869 Death of Sir Lucius Curtis, 2nd Baronet. Baronetcy passes to grandson Sir Arthur Colin Curtis, 3rd Baronet.
1898 Sir Arthur Curtis disappears on Klondike expedition in northern Canada. Presumed dead by court order.
1908 Victoria County History of Hampshire published. Manorial descent of Little Gatcombe formally documented.
1954 Death of Sir Roger Curtis, 4th Baronet.
1972 Gatcombe House Grade II listed. The building has been in separate ownership since the Crown acquisition of 1794.
2026 Morgan Sheldon succeeds to the Manor of Little Gatcombe.

Primary source: Victoria County History of Hampshire, Vol. 3, pp. 165-170.