It is generally accepted that Neolithic man was the first of our ancestors to turn from a hunting, foraging existence to a more organised way of life. This took the form of "nomadic" farming; a patch of land was cleared, farmed until it was spent and then a more fertile area was sought and the process repeated as the need arose. Axe heads from this period have been found in the village but there is no way of knowing if they were used by members of a locally settled community or whether they were lost or discarded en route from one site to another. Around 1700 BC, the Bronze Age people arrived from Theria (what is now Spain and Portugal). They were a relatively cultured, peaceful people who farmed and traded and were artists and craftsmen; indeed, it was they who built Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain. They buried their dead in barrows and there are two bowl barrows from this period within the parish boundaries indicating that there must have been a Bronze Age settlement somewhere in the near vicinity, although its precise whereabouts is not known. The Bronze Age was succeeded by the Iron Age which was dominated in England by the Celts from Northern Europe, who had adopted a tribal way of life. The Iron Age lynchets (ridges formed in the soil due to ploughing over a long period) within the parish bounds provide a clear indication of a community living here in the few centuries prior to the Roman invasion and their presence suggests a permanent settlement here, maybe by a Belgic tribe, as a fragment of their pottery was found in the field bordering Steventon Manor on a site later occupied by the Romans.
Before a site could be utilised, it would have been necessary for the newcomers to clear it of trees, as the countryside in these early days of colonisation, was covered by the woodland typical of much of southern England. Indeed, there is popular theory that "Waltham" or "Wealtham" means "a clearing in the forest" . The timber removed during this process would have been of great value to the settlers for use as a building material, protecting and containing livestock, making simple tools and implements and providing that vital commodity, firewood.
One of the key dates in the history of the British Isles was the invasion by the Romans in AD 43 and their occupation continued for some 400 years. Their influence is still felt today. As well as their military power, they brought with them a sophisticated form of government which they were able to impose on the tribal system of the Celts relatively easily. Winchester was already an established Celtic trading centre of the Belgic tribe, whilst Silchester was the local centre of the Atrebates tribe; they were indeed the "towns" of their day.
North Waltham has three sites which provide evidence of the Roman occupation of Britain during the first four centuries AD. The largest and best researched is in a field adjacent to the Wheatsheaf Hotel; another is at Waltham Trinleys and the third is in a field bordering the parish of Steventon to the south east of the old Steventon Manor estate. The latter two sites were most probably occupied only for the 1st century AD - a period which saw a considerable expansion in population throughout the region. The Wheatsheaf site, however, was an important villa, also built at the beginning of the Roman occupation, but it thrived, flourished and influenced the locality for the next four centuries. It probably housed at least a hundred people, and was positioned at the cross-roads formed by the crossing of the ancient route from Overton to Preston Candover with the Winchester to Silchester road (now the A30). In fact it was nearly an equal distance between these two important towns. There are numerous "villas" dotted around this part of the country and whilst the word conjures up a picture of Roman estates on the grand scale of those at Fishbourne and Bignor, the term was also used to describe a single dwelling with a few acres. Their nature and function is the subject of much debate amongst scholars, but it is known that it was the right of a Roman soldier to be rewarded for long service with land enough to provide him with a house and dwelling. It would seem logical that if he had served with the invading army for a long time in Britain, then he would be given land here rather than in his country of origin.
It is also likely that having built his villa, he would have lived and worked alongside those who already inhabited the area, perhaps using the local labour force as and when necessary. There were many small farms in existence prior to the Roman invasion, especially to the south and east at Popham and Dummer.
Because of its location, the suggestion has been made that the Wheatsheaf Hotel site might have provided the facilities of a road-house and possibly even a market, but these are no more than informed guesses by archaeologists who examined and wrote up the reports of the excavations of the site many years ago. These excavations yielded some artefacts and the coins discovered proved invaluable for dating the site. Numerous pieces of pottery and tiles were uncovered and of particular interest was a bronze bull's head and some imported green marble. All these items were said to be lodged with the Hampshire County Museum Service, but sadly it seems they have been mislaid. The Steventon Manor site may have been occupied prior to the Roman invasion. In this field, tiles and other items occasionally continue to appear on the surface after ploughing, which are all of Roman origin. There were also a few fmds recorded from Waltham Trinleys when that site was surveyed.
A typical farmer in the locality at this time would have grown grain, peas, kept poultry, reared sheep and had a small number of cattle. Large herds of cattle were not practical to maintain as cows need a good supply of water all the year round and the water supply here would probably have been restricted to dew ponds and wells. The Romans were excellent well diggers and this skill helped them to colonise the chalk downlands in the south to the extent that they did. Clearly there was surface water at some time in the parish as there are gravel deposits in the village which indicate this, but when the water table lowered to a point where the streams disappeared underground is not known. The Anglo Saxon Charters make reference to a "clear, intermittent spring" (a bourne perhaps?) as one of the boundary markers. It is referred to in both the North Waltham and Micheldever Charters so it is possible that there was at least some surface water available here in Roman times and before. However, if it was "intermittent", it was obviously not a source to be relied upon. The downlands of Wessex of which North Waltham forms a small part, were used as a major grain growing area by the Romans and in AD 359 when faced with food shortages in Europe, vast amounts of grain were shipped from Britain to ease the problem.
What happened to these dwellings, the people, or the social structure of the locality following the fall of Rome is unknown, as there is no archaeological or written documentation to give any clues. Britain generally entered that period of history known as the "Dark Ages" when there were yet more invasions, much turmoil and many battles for supremacy among the minor kings of Britain. Probably for ordinary folk, life carried on much as usual, working the land simply to survive, and it continued thus for another five hundred years. Changes were occurring though, which were to direcfly affect North Waltham. This period saw the slow conversion of most of the population of Britain to Christianity and the power of the Church as a landowner as well as a spiritual leader was becorning increasingly evident.
The entry in the Anglo Saxon Charters for 909 states: "Edward, King of the Anglo Saxons, to Frithestan, Bishop of Winchester, confirmation of his title to 15 hides at Wealtham (North Waltham), free of all but the 3 common dues". (The common dues were to provide military service, to build or repair bridges or to build or repair fortifications should the King have need). So, in 909, North Waltham is formally identified as a place in its own right, probably within the boundaries much as they are today and mostly owned as it was to be for the next 1000 years, by the Bishops of Winchester.
Exactly how much of the total land at North Waltham was owned by the Bishop of Winchester is not known as the measurement of the 15 hides bestowed upon him is open to interpretation, a hide varying from 60 to 100 acres. It would appear that not all of it was in his possession as in 1398,
"Folle Manor" was bought by Thomas Brocas of Compton from John de Whitle of Brainshot although the precise location of the manor and the extent of its lands were not recorded. The Brocas family owned the Manor at Steventon for more than three centuries and it would seem likely that what is known as Folly Farm on the Overton Road today, occupies part of the old Folle Manor site. Incidentally, "missing manors" seem to be a feature of North Waltham. There was alrnost certainly a manor house at some time at the lower end of Cuckoo Meadow near the yew trees but when and by whom it was built and anything else about it has so far eluded research. It is tempting to wonder what an excavation of the site would reveal.
It is a little disappointing that the Domesday Survey of 1086 does not include an entry for North Waitham. It was obviously known prior to that date because of its mention in the Anglo Saxon Charters. It is almost certainly included with the Overton entry as for administrative reasons, the two were often linked. Of greater importance are the individual entries made annually in the Pipe Rolls for the Bishops of Winchester's estates. These are a surprisingly sophisticated inventory and accounting system kept by the Bishop's bailiffs spanning the period from 1208-1350. A transcript of one of the earliest entries has been published, in its original Medieval Latin form, but a translation has been produced and from it a "snapshot" of that year shows what was produced, purchased, sold and accounted for in North Waltham.
| Because the Pipe Rolls for the Bishops of Winchester's estates are so complete, scholars have used them for research into medieval agricultural methods, the economy of the day, annual grain yields and even what the weather was like during that period. The latter can be done by comparing the yields at harvest with the amount of seed sown as this was always written down. Also, dry spells are usually indicated if there was an increase in the amount spent on repairing the ploughs during a particular season. They were more likely to suffer damage when the ground was hard rather than when it was wet and therefore softer. |  |
When studying this period, it has to be borne in mind that it was a time of serfdom and bondage to the Lord of the Manor, who in this case was nominally the incumbent Bishop of Winchester. He did not live here but mostly divided his time between his households in Bishops Waltham further south in the County and at Farnham in Surrey. There were probably not many "free" men on the estate and even the few tenant farmers were part of the strict hierarchical system and had to bide by the Manorial rules. Basically, the villagers were allowed to grow crops in designated fields and held grazing rights to the common land. In return, they were obliged to work the Bishop's lands as and when their services were required. This was called "boon work" and it must have been very irksome when they were requested to harvest the Bishop's hay just at the time as their own needing cutting! The serfs on the estate were allowed no freedom, had no right to land and, in effect, worked for their keep.
The following is a list of some of the expenses which were incurred in 1209 for the running of the Bishop's farmland in North Waltham.
| 2 sacks | 2d |
| 2 sacks | 12d |
| 9 ells of canvas for holding wool | 18d |
| Wattle for making hurdles for the fold | 3s 1Od |
| Preparing sheep-fold | 3s 2d |
| Iron pitchforks bought in the autumn | 3d |
| Re-building a cow byre | 8s 4d |
| 1 ox | 4s 6d |
| 6 saws | 12d |
| Sale of 12 live sheep | 5s | Sale of carcasses of 3 bullocks | 3s 11d | Sale of skins of 83 lambs | 5s | Sale of 62 quarters of oats | 72s |
It is interesting to note that a "shilling" at this time was solely a unit of account and that the only coin in circulation was a silver penny.
Seven villagers were owing rent for land and they included Hugh Buche, Richard Colve, Smith, Unfrid, Walter Troye, Richard Parmenter and Widow Maud. The men all owed 18d, but Widow Maud's debt was half that of the others and she was only 9d in default. The names are interesting in that they are a mixture of Anglo-Saxon and Norman.
Fascinating though they are, the Pipe Rolls do not have anything very much to disclose about the people of the time as individuals; it was to be another three hundred years before ordinary people seemed to count on a personal basis. 
First Posted March 2000
Copyright © Ann Lloyd 1998.Acknowledgements