through which in Elizabeth ’ s reign one John Fanstone based his claim to parts of the College ’ s estate at Downton , on the basis of title that pre-dated its acquisition by Wykeham : that was what the deeds purported to prove . Thomas Bilson , Warden 1582-96 , had to do the detective work which forestalled in Chancery the prosecution of Fanstone ’ s claim . “ The forgerie was hard to be discovered , and harder to be convinced but by infinite searching in the muniments of many churches and bishopricks as well as in our owne ”, he wrote , “...... the cause was so huge , the comparing of the circumstances and contrarieties both of deedes and witnesses so tedious .... I was forced for two yeares to lay all studies aside and addict myself wholly first to the deprehending , and then to the pursuing of this falsehood ”. The Fanstone forgeries are the most remarkable mementos of the many legal disputes in which the College as a great landowner inevitably became involved from time to time over the years , and of which the record was naturally carefully preserved . Ancient deeds and old judgements , even now , can sometimes be of legal importance .
The estate records include a number of interesting maps , which on account of their size have to be kept separate from other documents . Most of these date from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and were prepared in connection with surveys of College properties : others relate to nineteenth century enclosure awards . But some are older , and they are among the most interesting and certainly the most handsome . The coloured map of Woodmancote , drawn by the Elizabethan surveyor Ralph Treswell in 1588 and signed by him , shows the compasses of his trade and indicates with precision the scale to which he worked ( fig 14 , p . 30 ). It is a most impressive and accomplished production . The illustrated plan of lands at Andwell , ( see centre spread ) prepared in connection with a legal dispute in Henry VIII ’ s time , is another specially striking piece of early mapping . The cart and packhorses in the foreground , proceeding along “ the hye way ledyng from London to Basyngstoke ” offer to the modern viewer a nice reminder of how much less crowded that route was in the days before the M3 !
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There is more matter , of the highest historical interest , in all the classes preserved among the Winchester College muniments than a short pamphlet can hope even to hint at . They constitute a collection of records that is significant not just for the history and heritage of the school , but for the national historical heritage . This pamphlet has been written in the hope of encouraging more people to be aware of them and of their value , to interest themselves in their continuing preservation , and perhaps even , if they are of scholarly inclination , to consider a visit to explore them .
Fig 13 . William of Wykeham ’ s seal , appended to the College Statutes
Published for the Friends of Winchester College by Chris Andrews Publications , Oxford .
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