hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
in the
New Forest District
New Forest is a local government district in Hampshire, England. Its council is based in Lyndhurst, although the largest town is Totton. The district also includes the towns of Fordingbridge, Lymington, New Milton and Ringwood. The district ...
of
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...
, England. It is within the
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
of
Fordingbridge
Fordingbridge is a town and broader civil parish with a population of 6,200 on the River Avon in the New Forest District of Hampshire, England. It is located near the Dorset and Wiltshire borders and on the edge of the New Forest.
It is sou ...
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
of
Fordingbridge
Fordingbridge is a town and broader civil parish with a population of 6,200 on the River Avon in the New Forest District of Hampshire, England. It is located near the Dorset and Wiltshire borders and on the edge of the New Forest.
It is sou ...
, next to the River Avon. The most notable buildings in the hamlet are the 15th-century manor house (with a 17th-century facade), and the 18th/19th century mill buildings.
History
Bickton is recorded in the ''
Domesday Book
Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
'' of 1086 when it was held by Hugh Maci from
Hugh d'Avranches, 1st Earl of Chester
Hugh d'Avranches ( 1047 – 27 July 1101), nicknamed ''le Gros'' (the Large) or ''Lupus'' (the Wolf), was from 1071 the second Norman Earl of Chester and one of the great magnates of early Norman England.
Early life and career
Hugh d'A ...
.Domesday Map - Bickton /ref> Before 1066 the manor had been held by "Ketil the steersman" from
King Edward King Edward may refer to:
Monarchs of England and the United Kingdom
* Edward the Elder (–924)
* Edward the Martyr (–978)
* Edward the Confessor (–1066)
* Edward I of England (1239–1307)
* Edward II of England (1284–1327)
* Edward III o ...
. As a settlement of 18 families it was at that time bigger than the manor of Fordingbridge.Bickton, NFDC The overlordship in the 13th century, when it is next mentioned, belonged to the
Earl of Salisbury
Earl of Salisbury is a title that has been created several times in English and British history. It has a complex history and is now a subsidiary title to the marquessate of Salisbury.
Background
The title was first created for Patrick de Sa ...
, and as late as 1641 the manor was said to be held of the king as of the earldom of Salisbury. Victoria County History of Hampshire: Fordingbridge /ref>
In the 13th and 14th centuries the manor was in the hands of the Fitz Aucher family, and in the 15th century it was held by the Romsey family. The manor descended to the Bartholomews, but a dispute arose in the 16th century when Thomas Bartholomew and his wife Anne complained that Arthur Bulkeley and others had entered their manor-house of Bickton, broken down their hedges and gates, driven away their cattle and taken away "a greate bell hanging in the roffe of the said manor-howse wyche of a veri long tyme hadd hanged there and used as a warnyng bell when any daunger of enemyes fyer or theves were abought the seid howse." In 1632 the manor was sold to
John Davenant
John Davenant (20 May 1572 – 20 April 1641) was an English academic and bishop of Salisbury from 1621. He also served as one of the English delegates to the Synod of Dort.
Life
He was educated at Queens' College, Cambridge, elected a fellow ...
who was at that time the
bishop of Salisbury
The Bishop of Salisbury is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The Episcopal see, see is in the Salisbur ...
, and the manor stayed with the Davenants throughout the 17th century. It was purchased by Sir Eyre Coote in 1766, being joined to the West Park estate in
Rockbourne
Rockbourne is a village and civil parish in the English county of Hampshire, close to Fordingbridge.
Overview
Rockbourne is a village of thatched, brick and timber houses, next to a stream now known as Sweatfords Water.
A mill has existed at Bickton since the time of the ''
Domesday Book
Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
''. In the 19th century the mill employed about 25 people.