# Little Gatcombe: Full Reference

> Little Gatcombe is an English manorial lordship in the Parish of Wymering, Hampshire, now within the city of Portsmouth. The manor has been documented since the thirteenth century, when the lords held by grand serjeanty from the Crown, owing armed military service at Portchester Castle in time of war.

## Key Facts

- Full name: Little Gatcombe, Parish of Wymering, Hampshire
- Location: now within the city of Portsmouth
- First documented lord: Fulk de Wymeringes (c.1230s-1260s)
- Tenure type: grand serjeanty (held directly from the King in chief)
- Obligation: eight days' armed service at Portchester Castle in wartime; suit at castle court every three weeks; one armed man with lance, helmet and shield
- Total documented lords: twenty-five
- Time span: approximately 550 years of VCH-documented descent (c.1230s to 1816). Curtis baronetcy continued to 1954.
- Name origin: "Gatcombe" means "goat valley" in Old English
- Distinguished from Gatcombe on the Isle of Wight by the mid-fifteenth century
- The lordship is an incorporeal hereditament (intangible property right), not a peerage
- Gatcombe House (Grade II listed, rebuilt c.1780) is a separate property in different ownership
- Primary source: Victoria County History of Hampshire, Vol. 3 (1908), pp. 165-170
- VCH available online: https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/hants/vol3/pp165-170
- Current holder: Morgan Sheldon

## Manorial Descent

1. Fulk de Wymeringes (c.1230s-1260s) - Portchester Castle serjeanty
2. Sir William de Esturs (d. 1291) - suit at castle court, armed service
3. Geoffrey Lisle (d. 1293) - brother of Sir William
4. Baldwin de Lisle (d. 1307)
5. John de Lisle of Gatcombe (d. 1337) - held from King in chief by grand serjeanty
6. John de Lisle (d. 1349) - died in the year of the Black Death
7. John de Lisle (d. 1369) - died without male heir
8. John Bramshott - married Elizabeth de Lisle
9. William Bramshott (d. c.1433) - Knight of the Shire, MP for Sussex, High Sheriff of Hampshire (twice)
10. Baldwin Bramshott (d. 1468) - first recorded use of "Little Gatcombe"
11. John Bramshott (d. 1479) - lands to daughters Elizabeth and Margaret
12. Sir John Dudley and Elizabeth Bramshott (d. 1498/1501)
13. Edmund Dudley (c.1462-1510) - Speaker of the House of Commons, Henry VII's chief financial enforcer, beheaded Tower Hill
14. William Erneley (d. 1545) - JP, MP (VCH records death as 1445, likely misprint)
15. Francis Erneley
16. Richard Erneley (d. 1607)
17. Richard Erneley (son) - sold to William Marshe in 1613
18. William Marshe (d. 1622) - inherited by daughter Lucy Marshe
19. William Chafin and Mary (by 1691) - sold to Thomas Brounker
20. Thomas Brounker (1691-1714)
21. Captain Matthew Teate (from 1714)
22. Matthew Brady (by 1744)
23. Admiral Sir Roger Curtis, 1st Baronet, GCB (c.1778-1816) - Hero of Great Siege of Gibraltar, Commander-in-Chief Portsmouth

### After Curtis

- 1794: Manor lands sold to the Crown for Hilsea Barracks.
- 1816: Admiral Curtis dies at Gatcombe House. Baronetcy passes to 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.
- 1898: Sir Arthur Curtis, 3rd Baronet, disappears on Klondike expedition, British Columbia. Presumed dead by court order.
- 1908: Victoria County History of Hampshire published. Manorial descent 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.

## Notable Lords

### Edmund Dudley (c.1462-1510)
- Speaker of the House of Commons
- Henry VII's chief financial enforcer
- Held Little Gatcombe through marriage of Sir John Dudley to Elizabeth Bramshott
- Beheaded Tower Hill 17 August 1510 after attainder for high treason
- Wrote "The Tree of Commonwealth" while imprisoned in the Tower of London
- Son: John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland (effectively ruled England)
- Grandson: Guildford Dudley (married Lady Jane Grey)
- Son: Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester (Elizabeth I's favourite)

### Admiral Sir Roger Curtis (1746-1816)
- Hero of the Great Siege of Gibraltar (1779-1783)
- Flag Captain to Admiral Lord Howe at the Glorious First of June 1794
- Created Baronet 1794, specifically "of Gatcombe in the parish of Wymering"
- Commander-in-Chief Portsmouth 1809-1812
- Died at Gatcombe House
- GCB (Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath)

## Portchester Castle

- Location: northern tip of Portsmouth Harbour
- Most complete Roman fort surviving in northern Europe
- Roman walls built c.285 AD as Saxon Shore defences
- Norman keep added after 1066
- Southwick Priory founded within the castle walls c.1128-1133
- Used by Henry II, Richard I, John, Edward I, Richard II
- Napoleonic prisoner-of-war camp
- Now managed by English Heritage

## Pages

### Homepage
- URL: https://www.littlegatcombe.com/
- Title: Little Gatcombe: History and Heritage, Wymering, Hampshire
- Content: Introduction to the manor, its origin, notable lords

### Manorial Descent
- URL: https://www.littlegatcombe.com/history.html
- Title: History of Little Gatcombe: Manorial Descent from the Thirteenth Century
- Content: Full descent table with all twenty-five lords, dates and events

### Portchester Castle
- URL: https://www.littlegatcombe.com/portchester.html
- Title: Portchester Castle and Little Gatcombe: Castle Serjeanty
- Content: Grand serjeanty explained, the specific obligations, castle history

### Edmund Dudley
- URL: https://www.littlegatcombe.com/dudley.html
- Title: Edmund Dudley and Little Gatcombe: Speaker of the House of Commons
- Content: Dudley's career, connection to the manor, execution, descendants

### Admiral Sir Roger Curtis
- URL: https://www.littlegatcombe.com/curtis.html
- Title: Admiral Sir Roger Curtis: Hero of Gibraltar, Lord of Little Gatcombe
- Content: Gibraltar siege, naval career, the baronetcy, Gatcombe House

### The Lordship
- URL: https://www.littlegatcombe.com/the-lordship.html
- Title: What Is a Manorial Lordship? Little Gatcombe
- Content: Incorporeal hereditament explained, feudal origins, Law of Property Act 1922, VCH as gold standard

### Sources
- URL: https://www.littlegatcombe.com/sources.html
- Title: Sources and Bibliography: Little Gatcombe
- Content: VCH reference, related entries, online resources, editorial note on VCH date typo

### Privacy
- URL: https://www.littlegatcombe.com/privacy.html
- Title: Privacy Policy: Little Gatcombe
- Content: No data collected, no cookies, no tracking