Knights Hospitallers

In 1086 Baddesley was held by Ralph de MORTIMER and sometime before 1153, it was rented to Richard Labanc and to the Holy Order of the Knight Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem. At the time, the headquarters of the Knights in Hampshire was at the Commandery of Godsfield near Alresford. The brothers rented one sixth of the manor lands and Labanc rented the remainder; the one sixth was likely to have been one of the Domesday ploughlands or farms and because of its proximity to later buildings was probably the Manor Farm which originally stood within the present Manor House grounds.

Richard Labanc relinquished his portion of the manor to the brothers before 1153, so that by that date they held all the manor lands, except for that owned by the church. Roger, Earl of March, held ½ a Knight's Fee from the Hospital of St John in 1167 and, according to Bishop Pontissera's Register, the Rectory of "All Saints, Baddeslie" was appropriated to the Prior of St John of Jerusalem on 17th July 1304 and, subsequently, rededicated to "St John". From that time until the Dissolution of the Monastries in 1538, the Knights presented the rectors of the church.

It is important to understand a little of the structure of the Order, to see where Baddesley fitted in to the general picture. The order was divided into a number of "Tongues" or "Langues" across Europe, each one having particular responsibility for some aspect of the Order's operation and administration. The English Tongue was responsible for the control of mounted forces, turcopols and coastguards defending the territories of the Brotherhood and gave rise to the title of Turcopilier for the head of the Order in England.

Additionally, the Order had three distinct sections: hospitality, religion and militancy; and members of the order were either servants-in-arms, chaplains or knights. The picture above shows a knight and a servant-in-arms during mediaeval times. The chaplain would wear a robe similarly decorated with the cross and would be tonsured. The Preceptor of Baddesley would have been a Knight, there would have been a chaplain (not necessarily the rector) and several servants-in-arms. So the community would not have been large.

In 1304, according to Bishop Pontissera's Register, Martin de LAVINGTON was instituted Rector of Baddesley on the presentation of the Hospitallers, being succeeded by Richard le ARCHER, who was in possession in 1311. He in turn was followed by Thomas de WATFORD who, according to Bishop Woodlocke's Register, was instituted Rector of Baddesley in 1313 on the presentation of William de TOTTEHALLE, Prior of the Order in England. Thomas de WATFORD in turn was succeeded by Galfridus de TOTTEHALLE, either a son or close relative of William's, and had a long tenure as Rector of Baddesley for some 50 years, dying in 1367. These names also occur in the records of the Order and it is likely that they were both rectors of Baddesley and members of the Order.

In 1338, Phillip de THAME, presented a report to the Grand Master of the Order, listing full details of their possessions at the Bailiwick of Godsfield and its "limbs" at Baddesley and Rownhams. See detailed report here. After the report, a considerable reorganisation took place with some 10 Commanderies in the report ceasing to exist (among them Godsfield) and new ones formed (including Baddesley) and it would seem that about this date the transfer from Godsfield to Baddesley took place. There are claims that the Black Death played a part in this transfer, but the transfer was already in progress when the plague hit these shores.

John de PAVELY succeeded Phillip as Prior of England on the latter's death in 1358 and in this year we have the first mention of a Preceptor of Baddesley when John confirms to Thomas PURCHAS, a message and lands at Ibsley at an annual rent of 12d to be paid to the Preceptor or Warden of Baddesley.

The name of the Preceptor of Baddesley comes to light in 1387 when William HULLES drew up a calendar of all the muniments appertaining to the Preceptory. (Harleian MSS 6603) He was appointed as Prior of the Order in 1417.

The next Preceptor of Baddesley that can be traced is Thomas de LAUNCELYN who subsequently became Preceptor of Dalby and Rothely in Lincolnshire, and who was appointed Turcopolier by a Bull of the Grand Master dated at Rhodes 3rd October 1421. When Thomas died in 1442 he was succeeded by William TOURNAY who was preceptor of both Baddesley and Mayne (Friars Mayne in Dorset). William later became Receiver-General of England and finally Prior of England, being appointed by a Bull dated 29th August 1471 at Rhodes.

In Rhodes, where the Order had established its headquarters on leaving Jerusalem, the Knights had to defend themselves against two considerable attacks by the Turks, and were forced to capitulate, vacate the Island in 1522 and move to Malta. In the record of the Knights present in 1522, occurs the name of William WESTON who, at the time, was described as the Commander of Baddesley and Maine and holding the post of England. He was a knight of great distinction and a descendant of John WESTON, Grand Prior 1476-1489. After the evacuation of Rhodes William was appointed Turcopolier and later Prior of England by a Bull dated 27th June 1527.

Thus three of the Preceptors or Commanders of Baddesley achieved the honour of becoming Prior or "Turcopilier" of England and this may suggest that Baddesley was an important commandery in the Order. The Commanders regularly travelled between England and Malta on the Order's galleons . Some detail is known of one of Baddesley's Commanders: Sir Thomas DINGLEY, a nephew of William WESTON. He was received into the Order on 2nd May 1526 and his proofs of nobility were approved on 28th September 1528 in Malta. on 9th January 1531 he was granted the commandery of Baddesley and Maine and on the following 20th Fenbruary he was allowed to proceed to England to reside in his Commandery. On the 16th April 1534, he was once again back in Malta seeking confirmation for the benefice of Stanesgate and left again for England in December 1535.

It was whilst William WESTON was the Prior that Henry VIII's matrimonial problems were occurring and in April 1540 an Order was made dissolving the Order, sequestrating its possessions to the Crown and forbidding its members to wear the habit or badges of the Order. William died the very day on which the dissolution was to take effect and was buried in St James, Clerkenwell. Many of the Knights perished in the persecutions which followed, among them being the Preceptor of Baddesley, Thomas DINGLEY. He was beheaded on Tower Hill on 10 July 1539.

The "Valor" of 1535 returned the annual value of the Preceptory at Baddesley at £131 14s 1d and the clear value at £118 16s 7d. The Manor and Lands were granted to Sir Thomas SEYMOUR, but in 1549 he was executed for high treason and once more the Manor resorted to the crown. Three years later it was granted to Sir Thomas THROCKMORTON in lieu of an annuity of £100 previously paid to him, but he quickly realised the property by selling it the following year to John FOSTER.

With the accession of Mary I in 1553, the hopes of the Order began to rise and in 1557 the Tongue (branch) of England was re-constituted. George AYLMER was appointed Commander of Baddesley but, with the advent of Elizabeth I, their hopes were dashed. Baddesley was returned to John FOSTER and George AYLMER seems to have retired to private life and to have taken no further part in the Order. The Knights not only left the remnants of their buildings in the village, but for several centuries also their armour: helms, back and front plates, swords and saddles. Documentary evidence of the existance of the armour occurs in a late 16th century Romsey deed, the inventory of Samuel Dunche in 1667 and was still in the manor house in the time of Marsh, 1808. Sadly, it has now disappeared.

There has always been some confusion between the Knights Hospitallers and the Knights Templars, particularly when a new road between the village and Chandlers Ford was incorrectly named Templars Way. The Knights Templars were a totally separate Order and no documentary evidence has ever been found associating them with North Baddesley.