Manor Profile
Bosham, West Sussex· Bosham Hundred· 1066 – 2019
Also known as: Boseham, Bosham Manor
Bosham sits at the head of Bosham Channel, one of the principal inlets of Chichester Harbour. The parish covers three miles north to south by two miles east to west, and includes 116 acres of tidal water and 609 acres of foreshore. The manor was the administrative centre of the Bosham Hundred, which encompassed Bosham itself along with Thorney, Chidham, Funtington, West Stoke, Fishbourne, and Appledram (VCH Sussex, Vol. 4, pp. 182-188).
Before the Conquest, Earl Godwin held Bosham as a great lordship rated at 56 and a half hides. From here in 1064, Harold Godwinson set out on the voyage that ended in his capture by William of Normandy. The church and hall at Bosham are depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry. After Hastings, William the Conqueror retained Bosham as the only Sussex estate in his own hands. The Domesday Book records eight mills, two fisheries, woodland yielding six swine, and 11 hawks in Chichester. The manor was appraised at 40 pounds but leased for 50 pounds of assayed money, equivalent to 65 pounds by tale (VCH Sussex, Vol. 4, p. 183).
William fitz Aucher held the manor from the Crown at a fee farm rent of 42 pounds (57 pounds by tale). The manor reverted to the Crown under Henry I, who granted portions of the lordship to Battle Abbey. Between 1165 and 1167, the sheriffs of Sussex farmed the manor. By 1190, John Marshal answered for the rent, and his brother William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, held the manor from 1194 until his death in 1219. William Marshal was licensed to export 400 quarters of corn from Bosham in 1206 and obtained a grant of a weekly market in 1218 (VCH Sussex, Vol. 4, pp. 183-184).
The manor passed through the Marshal heirs. Richard, the second son, held Bosham until Henry III, during a violent quarrel, ordered the destruction of Richard's houses, gardens, and park at Bosham in October 1233. After Richard's death in 1234, Margaret, widow of Earl Walter Marshal (the fourth son), was assigned Bosham as dower. The manor was valued at 97 pounds 3 shillings and 5 and three quarter pence after deducting the fee farm rent (VCH Sussex, Vol. 4, p. 184).
Hugh Bigod the Justiciar acquired Bosham through the Marshal inheritance, as the son of Maud, eldest daughter of William Marshal, who had married Hugh Bigod. In 1262, it was confirmed that Bosham was ancient demesne of the Crown and that Hugh could tallage it, including Buckfold in Petworth. Hugh died in 1266. His son Roger Bigod succeeded to the earldom of Norfolk and the marshalcy in 1270. Roger led baronial opposition to Edward I. In 1301, he transferred all his estates to the king, receiving them back as tenant for life, with the 42 pound rent for Bosham excused. Roger died in 1306 holding the manor with Funtington hamlet, including two chief messuages and two watermills (VCH Sussex, Vol. 4, pp. 184-185).
Thomas of Brotherton, Edward I's son, received the Bigod titles and estates. His son Edward was granted Bosham but died without issue. The manor passed through Edward's widow Beatrice de Braose and then to Margaret, Countess of Norfolk, Thomas of Brotherton's elder daughter. Margaret was raised to Duchess of Norfolk in 1398 and died in 1399. Her grandson Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, died in exile the same year. The Mowbray dukes held the manor through the fifteenth century. John Mowbray (d. 1476) married Elizabeth Talbot. Their only child Anne Mowbray was married at age five to Richard, Duke of York. Anne died in 1481. The Mowbray line ended with her (VCH Sussex, Vol. 4, pp. 185-186).
The manor was divided between William, Lord Howard, created Duke of Norfolk in 1483, and William, Lord Berkeley, created Earl of Nottingham and Marquess Berkeley in 1489. After William Berkeley died without issue in 1492, his brother Maurice disputed the settlement and recovered the manor. The Berkeley earls held Bosham through their descendants until 1810. Frederick Augustus, 5th Earl of Berkeley, devised the manor to his second son Captain Maurice Fitzhardinge Berkeley. The lordship passed through the Fitzhardinge family to Edric Frederick, Lord Gifford, V.C., who died in 1911. Before 1937, the lordship was purchased by the Earl of Iveagh. The VCH, published in 1953, records the Earl of Iveagh as the present owner (VCH Sussex, Vol. 4, pp. 186-187).
The Guinness family held the lordship through the Burhill Group until 2019, when it was sold to Franck Petitgas, a local Bosham resident and former trustee of the Chichester Harbour Trust. The manor now operates as The Manor of Bosham and The Hundred Limited (Company No. 12192174). The full title is the Hundred and Manor of Bosham and Chidham and Manor of Bosham Buckfold. The last Court of the Hundreds was held in 1914. The manor includes Bosham Quay, over 800 moorings, and foreshore and seabed rights in Chichester Harbour.
| # | Name | From | To | Acquired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Earl Godwin(Earl of Wessex) | 1053 | Held the great lordship of Bosham covering the parish plus Thorney, Chidham, Funtington, West Stoke, Fishbourne, and Appledram. Rated at 56 and a half hides. | ||
| 2 | Harold Godwinson(Earl of Wessex, later King of England) | 1053 | 1066 | inheritance | Set out from Bosham in 1064 on the voyage that led to his capture by William of Normandy. The church and hall at Bosham are depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry. |
| 3 | King William I(King of England) | 1066 | 1087 | conquest | Retained Bosham as the only Sussex estate in royal hands. Appraised at 40 pounds, leased for 50 pounds assayed money (65 pounds by tale). |
| 4 | William fitz Aucher | fee farm from the Crown | Held at a fee farm rent of 42 pounds (57 pounds by tale). | ||
| 5 | The Crown (Henry I)(Crown) | reversion | Manor reverted to the Crown. Henry I granted Funtington and then Appledram to Battle Abbey. | ||
| 6 | Sheriffs of Sussex | 1165 | 1167 | farm | Farmed the manor. Receipts varied from 12 pounds 11 shillings 4 pence to 62 pounds 5 shillings 6 pence per year. |
| 7 | Saulf | 1170 | 1178 | farm | Answered for the farm of the manor. |
| 8 | John Marshal | 1190 | 1194 | grant | Elder son of the Marshal family. Answered for the rent. |
| 9 | William Marshal(Earl of Pembroke) | 1194 | 1219 | inheritance | Held manor subject to 42 pounds fee farm rent. Licensed to export 400 quarters of corn from Bosham in 1206. Granted a weekly Thursday market in 1218. |
| 10 | William Marshal (the younger)(Earl of Pembroke) | 1219 | 1231 | inheritance | Eldest son of William Marshal. Held the manor until his death without issue. |
The Crown
Fee farm rent of 42 pounds (57 pounds by tale), including lastage from Langstone to Pevensey.
Source: VCH Sussex, Vol. 4, pp. 183-185. Rent excused for Roger Bigod in 1301.
The Crown
crown · held · 1066
Battle Abbey
abbey · granted_to
Henry I grants of Funtington and Appledram
Old Fishbourne was held of the great manor of Bosham. Engeler held two hides at Fishbourne from Bosham in 1086. Old Fishbourne lay within the Bosham Hundred.
Both manors lay within the ancient Bosham Hundred. Seven tithings attended the Bosham court baron, including Fishbourne.
Southwick Priory held lands in both Bosham Hundred (Old Fishbourne) and in Southwick. The priory was the institutional link between these manors from c.1120 to 1538.
Chidham formed part of the Bishop of Exeter's estate within the chapelry of Bosham. Tenants owed suit to the Bosham hundred court. The full title of the Bosham lordship includes Chidham: the Hundred and Manor of Bosham and Chidham.
Sussex folios. Bosham recorded as held by King William in demesne. 56 and a half hides rated at 38. Eight mills, two fisheries, woodland for six swine.
Depicts the church and hall at Bosham. Harold Godwinson is shown setting out from Bosham on his voyage to Normandy in 1064.
Principal source for the manorial descent of Bosham, including the sub-manors of Broadbridge and Old Fishbourne.
VCH Closing Statement
“Before 1937 the lordship of the manor had been bought by the Earl of Iveagh, the present owner.”
VCH Sussex, Vol. 4, pp. 182-188
Both manors lay within the ancient Bosham Hundred.