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" The county community of Hampshire, c.1300-c.1530, with special reference to the knights and esquires "
Purser, Toby S.
Hicks, Michael ; Hare, John
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Latin Dissertation
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| Record Number
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1095413
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TLets395331
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| Main Entry
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Purser, Toby S.
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| Title & Author
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The county community of Hampshire, c.1300-c.1530, with special reference to the knights and esquires\ Purser, Toby S.Hicks, Michael ; Hare, John
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| College
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University of Southampton
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| Date
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2001
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| student score
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2001
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| Degree
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Ph.D.
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| Abstract
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By the beginning of the fourteenth century, the class of landlord pre-eminent in thelocalities were the knights and esquires. Much debate has occurred over whether theselords were primarily identified as a county elite or whether the county is a falseconstruct. This thesis proposes that the knights and esquires resident and with primaryinterests in Hampshire formed a landed and political community within a county ofcommunities. They were a close-knit group of some fifty families who held the majorcounty offices sometimes for many generations and formed marriage alliances withintheir group.The nature of this community was determined by the domination of the county by theWinchesterB ishopric and other ecclesiasticallo rds who held the richeste statesa ndhad done so since before the Conquest and would continue to do so until theDissolution of the Monasteries. There were no great estates belonging to the crown orto the nobility in Hampshire. As a result of this pattern of landholding, manylandowners looked to the counties bordering Hampshire, particularly Wiltshire, andthis fostered a regional, rather than purely county, outlook.The resident knights and esquires co-existed with other communities in the county.Many landholders with knightly status had estates in Hampshire even though they werebased in other counties. Most of them did not hold office in Hampshire, butnevertheless formed a permanent presence alongside those resident lords. These lordshad estates from all over England, though most from neighbouring counties,reinforcing the regional, rather than county, outlook most landlords had.This thesis covers two centuries. Continuity is a key theme. The long view illustrateshow important heiressesw ere to the survival andd ispersalo f the family estate.I n linewith nationalt rends,t he numberso f Hampshirek nights and esquiresd ecreaseds; everalestates suffered dispersal. The resultant parcels of land were not enough to supportknightly status. Dispersal and wastage were not, however, means by which outsidersand self-made men could enter this county community. With very few exceptions, mostof the familiesa t the start of the sixteenthc entury owed their statust o marriagesb asedon social parity and careful accumulation. The wealthiest estate remained in the handsof the Church; buyers could not amass and maintain blocs of territory.This ended when the Dissolution of the Monasteries opened up the land market andthe nature of Hampshire landed society changed irrevocably.
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Hare, John
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Hicks, Michael
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University of Southampton
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