Alresford, United Kingdom

The earliest recorded building in Alresford was a Roman winged-corridor villa, and possibly a bathhouse, that was found in a field 300 yards South-East of Alresford Lodge Farm near to the Creek (TM 0609 1993), excavated in 1885 by H. Laver. The walls had been robbed out but the remaining tesselated corridors and hypocaust showed the villa was 162 1/2 feet long and 10 feet wide. It turned south at a right-angle at both ends. Coins from Faustona and Commodus (161-192 AD) as well as Samian-ware pottery shards are now preserved in Colchester Castle Museum. Plate glass was also found. During the 1920s, ploughing in this field uncovered a large marble basin. Roman bricks can be seen in the ruins of St Peter's and were also found in the foundations of Stable Cottage, Alresford Hall. At Marsh Farm pit five sherds of Late pre-Roman Iron Age/early Romano-British pottery and four struck flint flakes were recovered.

A double-ditched Romano-British enclosure (60x80m) was found with second century samian pottery shards between the Quarters and Plumptons Farm. There were also several ring-ditches containing graves in land quarried at Broomfield Plantation overlooking Alresford Creek. A Saxon ironhead and 4th century axe were found in the area of the Roman Villa excavation.

From 886 East Anglia was under Danelaw, ruled by Guthrum. This lasted until the sieges of nearby Colchester and Maldon in 917 which were won by the Wessex King Edward. Ælfar had estates on both side of the Colne. On his death around 951 these were willed to his daughter, Ælfflæd, and her husband Byrhtnoth. Byrhnoth became Ealdorman of Essex in 956. The Vikings raided periodically from 980 until Olaf Tryggvason returned in 991 with 93 ships. They landed and destroyed Folkestone, Sandwich and Ipswich before heading to Maldon. Here Ealdorman Byrhtnoth and the Essex forces were defeated at the Battle of Maldon. Ælfflæd, his widow willed Ælesforda, consisting of 2 hides and 50 acres, in 1000x1002 to her lord the king. "..In Essex the Domesday hide usually comprised four virgates, each of 30 acres, making a total of 120 acres. On royal manors, however, or at least on some of them, the hide was abnormally large…" So the estate could have been between 290 and 1000 acres. This land is the location of the current Alresford Hall.

In 1086, recorded in separate four Little Folios of the Domesday Book, Alresford was in the ancient hundred of Tendring. There were nineteen households (2 villagers, 13 smallholders, 4 slaves), 2 plough-teams, 60 sheep and 100 pigs owned by four tenants-in-chief. Nominally these were the Bishop of London (St Paul's), Bishop Odo of Bayeux, Eustace II, Count of Boulogne (formerly the King's land valued at £3) and Richard son of Count Gilbert but were let to separate tenants. The land was only valued at about half of its 1066 value and three of the four tenants had changed. No church was mentioned. Within a year, Count Eustace was dead and succeeded by his son Eustace III, Count of Boulogne. In 1088, Bishop Odo and Count Eustace III rebelled against the King, William II, were defeated at Rochester and forced into exile.

The manor in 1211 was held by Geoffrey de Fercles for three knight's fees of the Honour of Boulogne. The assessed value of the lands was 20s 9d By 1300 the manor was owned by Philip de Thundersley. Andrew de Thunderley (died 1311) held of the king 120 acres of arable and 140 acres of wood. The Manor was then valued at 17s 2d, a race of ginger and a stalk of clove gillyflower. The Manor was then inherited by Anfrid de Staunton in 1312 until 1337 and his son Humphrey, then sister Margaret who married Sir John Coggeshall, MP for Essex (UK Parliament constituency) six times between 1334 and 1358, of Codham Hall and Coggeshall, Essex.

Indications of medieval life and 87 pottery shards from the thirteenth to seventeenth century were also found in 1994 and 2001 during field-walking and test trenches in three hectares of land surveyed, at Church Farm north-west of the medieval church by the Essex Archaeological Trust. Agriculture and fishing remained the main form of employment. During Edward I's reign a disagreement about fishing rights led to a fight with men from neighbouring villages and three men drowned.

In 1279, the Manor of Cockaynes was held by Sir John de Sutton of Wivenhoe valued at 19s.

The oldest existent building in Alresford is Brook Farm house dating from the late 15th or 16th century, about three-quarters of a mile East-North-East of the church, on the modern Thorrington Road.

During the Tudor era, a number of wills detailed charity for the poor. A yearly rent-charge of 12s. 8d. on the Milch Pightle field (of the Heath Farm) was left in 1508 by Edmund Porter for the relief of the poor. In 1588, Edmund Porter left Knapps and lands of 31 acres to John Porter and his heirs. In return, Porter was expected to give the poor every Sunday from Whitsun to Michaelmas the milk of two cows; 3s/4d on Good Friday and Christmas Day. This milk tribute was later commuted into a distribution of bread. In 1571, yeoman Richard Boller refers to his almshouse at Alresford.