HCC Site ID: | 1578 | Parish: | Tichborne |
Designations: | SNDP, SMR, SSSI House LB II | Area: | Large (47 ha) |
Access: | No Public Access | Ownership: | Private |
Location and Site
Tichborne Park lies south of the A31 Winchester to Alresford road and just east of Tichborne village. It is four miles east of Winchester in the upper Itchen Valley and is within the South Downs National Park.
Historic Development
Land at Tichborne has been held by the Tichborne family from at least 1135 to the present day and there was a house on the site in 1293 with its own private chapel. The Tichborne Dole legend dates from the 12th century when the dying Lady Mabella was granted for the poor as much as would grow on land she could crawl round. There is still an area called the Crawls. In 1670, Gillis van Tilborch painted Sir Henry Tichborne distributing the Tichborne Dole in front of the old house, which was demolished at the end of the 18th century and replaced in 1803 in classical style and a new Catholic chapel attached.
In the 19th century, the house was surrounded by mature parkland and there was a waterfall and 3-sided moat. In 1908 Sir Henry A J Doughty Tichborne was the owner and in 1930, Sir Anthoy J H Doughty Tichborne.
Current Description
A description in the1970s mentions that the river passes between massive chestnut trees, is widely canalised with cascades as well as being dammed to form a lake. Two yews at the back of the house mark the site of an original drawbridge. The parkland appears little changed since the 19th century.
Summary
The land was granted by King Edward in the 10th century to the Bishop of Winchester and held by the Tichborne family from at least 1135 to the present day. An old house was demolished in the early 19th century and a new classical style one built with a Catholic chapel attached. The parkland appears little altered over many years with the river widely canalised and dammed to form a lake.
Information: July 2002