HINTON CHARTERHOUSE:
THE EARLY YEARS by Isla Tuck
The village of Hinton Charterhouse lies about six miles south of Bath between
the A36 and the B3331. On three sides the land slopes down to river valleys and
the villages of Wellow, Midford and Freshford. It is only to the south that the
flat farmland extends to the next village of Norton St. Philip. From earliest
times it seems that the area was inhabited. The Rev. John Skinner, Vicar ofCamerton,
and a frequent visitor to Hinton in the early 1800's, notes the remains of a 'stone
cist' marking the site of a tumulus on the slope above the flood level below Rainbow
Wood in the Midford valley. Another such grave lies across the stream in Wellow
parish. These he says were known locally as Giants Graves but unfortunately there
is little to see to-day. Two Bronze Age barrows can be seen in the fields at the
top of Midford hill near Abbey Farm, the larger one lying beside the farm itself.
Skinner also examined a number of small barrows near the Priory finding charcoal,
burnt bone and a few Roman coins. A short stretch of earthworks, then known as
'The Bulwarks' greatly intrigued him. It seems to have been a deep ditch with
a bank on the north side. Now largely overgrown, it lies above the new housing
development on the north side of the village and although Skinner was of the opinion
it was part of the Wansdyke, it may well be a remnant of earlier earthworks. The
Roman road from Bath down to the south coast runs through the parish, coming up
from the Midford valley and following an almost straight path over the plateau
to Norton. Much of it has disappeared under the plough in recent years but it
can be clearly seen in several places. As far as can be discovered none of the
local roads have followed its line at least since early medieval times. BCAS'
field walk in Spring 1998 and a subsequent dig have pinpointed the position ofwhat
appears to be a substantial Roman villa to the west of the village in the field
known as Shepherd's Mead and recent archaeological work by Bradford University
in Iford has found a small Roman site in the south-east of the parish at the top
of I ford hill, with several other sites lying on or near the parish boundary.
In spite of this evidence of activity during the Roman occupation and in earlier
days, the Dark Ages in Hinton, are still extremely dark! We read that the Vikings
raided up the Frome river and the church at nearby Limpley Stoke has a door which
was reputed to bear the marks of an attack. King Alfred's great victory at Edington
only a few miles away may have lessened the Danish pressure. A corner of the parish
church has probable Saxon work and Domesday Book tells us Ulwen the Saxon who
lost his estates to Edward d'Evereux one of William the Conqueror's knights.
With this Edward d'Evereux, Earl of Salisbury, Hinton's history regains more solid
ground. The Earl held a vast amount of land in Wiltshire and in a number of other
southern counties. His descendants owned the manors of Hinton and Norton St. Philip
for several generations, during which time a deer park was created in Hinton and
parker appointed to look after it. The last of this line ofSalisburys was Ela,
only child of William d'Evereux, Earlof Salisbury. He died when she was a child
and she became a ward of Richard I. By the time she as 11 she had been married
to Richard's half-brother, William Longespee -reputed to be the son of Fair Rosamund
-and he had been created the new earl of Salisbury.
Towards the end of an active life fighting in both France and England on behalf
of his half- brothers, Richard I and John, Longespee felt the need to ensure the
well-being of his soul and founded a Priory of Carthusians on land he held in
Gloucestershire. This foundation did not prosper and he had hoped to find it a
more suitable site. As he lay dying in Salisbury Castle he begged his wife to
carry out his wishes. This she did by giving her manors of Hinton and Norton to
the Order. The deed by which she made this gift can be dated to between 1227-9
and part of it reads as follows:
I being desirous to finish what he [Longespee] well begun, granted, to ye said
Order of Carthusians all my Manor of Henton. the Advowson of ye Church, ye Park,
and all other appurtenances Likewise All my manor of Norton, ...Reserving only
to myself and Heirs ye Military Service of those who so hold of me in ye said
Manors: (excepting ye Military Service of Richard the Park-Keeper and his heirs,
of One virgate of Land which he holds in Henton, which service shall belong to
ye Monks and Friars, whether ye said Richard shall keep ye said virgate by ye
custody of ye Park, or by military service) And excepting also my Chases without
the Bounds of ye said Manor. To found a House of Carthusians to the Honour of
God and the Blessed Mary and St. John Baptist and All Saints, in the Park of Henton.
in a place called The Place of God, (Locus Dei) to have and to hold for ever according
to ye custom and order of the Carthusian church.