Chronological List of Events

Event	Date	Owner of Manor Rights
Iron age hill fort erected	c. 100BC
Claimed existence of Roman encampment	c. 100
Saxons erect a manor	c. 500	King of the West Saxons
Cynegils gives Merdon and lands to church	637	The Bishop of Winchester*
Cynewulf murdered at Merdon	757	The Bishop of Winchester*
Danes defeat Ethelred and Alfred, holding Merdon	871	The Bishop of Winchester*
Bishop Henry de Blois has Merdon Castle built	1138	The Bishop of Winchester*
Sheriff of Hampshire ‘slights’ Merdon Castle	1155	The Bishop of Winchester*
Merdon valued at £80	1291	The Bishop of Winchester*
Castle renovation completed	c. 1305	The Bishop of Winchester*
Wooden hunting ‘logge’ erected	1413	The Bishop of Winchester*
A miner is sent to rob ashlar from castle	1441	The Bishop of Winchester*
Merdon and lands ‘surrendered’ to Edward VI who grants Merdon to Sir Philip Hoby	1552	Sir Philip Hoby
Tudor Great Lodge erected	c. 1554	Sir Philip Hoby
Mary Tudor revokes surrender of church lands and a house called Merdon Manor comes into existence	c. 1555	The Bishop of Winchester
Elizabeth I regrants Merdon and lands	1559	William Hoby
	1595	Giles Hoby
Giles Hoby sells Merdon and keeps life interest in Great Lodge	1600	Sir Thomas Clerke
Coachmen‘s quarters built	c. 1605	Sir Thomas Clerke
	1606	William Brock
(Great Lodge leased to Nicholas Peascod for a few years)	1618	Miss Anne Brock
	1626	John Arundell (husband of Anne Brock
	c. 1628	Sir Nathanial Napier
Great Lodge reverts to manor owner	1630
	c. 1634	Gerard Napier
	1638-9	Richard Major
Richard Cromwell lives at Merdon	1649	Richard Major
Richard Cromwell becomes Lord Protector	1658	Richard Major
Richard Cromwell withdraws from Parliament and goes into exile	1660	Richard Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell II takes over manor	1675	Oliver Cromwell II controls manor
Stables and original coach house built	c. 1680	Oliver Cromwell II controls manor
Elizabeth and Anne Cromwell claim inheritance of manor	1705	Elizabeth and Anne Cromwell
	1707	Richard Cromwell
	1712	Elizabeth and Anne Cromwell
	1718	Sir William Heathcote 1st Bt.
Hursley Park House built	1721-4	Sir William Heathcote 1st Bt.
Brew house and well house built	c. 1728	Sir William Heathcote 1st Bt.
	1751	Sir Thomas Heathcote 2nd Bt.
	1787	Sir William Heathcote 3rd Bt.
	1819	Sir Thomas Freeman Heathcote 4th Bt.
Hursley Park House re-modelled and east vestibule built	c. 1820	Sir Thomas Freeman Heathcote 4th Bt.
	1825	Sir William Heathcote 5th Bt.Sir Thomas
Coach house, clock tower and tack room built	1829	Sir William Heathcote 5th Bt.Sir Thomas
Home farm re-built	1840/5	Sir William Heathcote 5th Bt.Sir Thomas
	1881	Dowager Lady Heathcote
	1888	Joseph Baxendale
	1902	Sir George Cooper
Hursley Park House Wings, conservatory, porte-cochere garages and coal store built	1902/3	Sir George Cooper
Entertainment hall built	1908	Sir George Cooper
Laundry built	1909	Sir George Cooper
Top floor of house used as hospital	1916/8	Sir George Cooper
House requisitioned by Lord Beaverbrook Vickers Aviation Ltd move to Hursley	1940	Capt. Sir George Cooper
Vickers Supermarine Ltd end lease of Hursley House and IBM establish development laboratories	1958	Capt. Sir George Cooper
IBM buys the Hursley 100 acre site	1961/2	Mr D Wilkie Cooper
	1982	St Martin’s Property and Investment Co.

* The periods of Danish control unknown