After nearly one hundred years the account of the Parish of Kingsclere in the Victoria County History of Hampshire remains the only adequate guide to its history. Inevitably of its time, it has something of an obsession with the ownership land, but still offers many firm pegs on which any future history may be hung.
The four essays printed here enlarge on certain aspects of the history of the parish before the Reformation. They are based, so far as possible, on the surviving records, whilst it is hoped that the bibliographies which following each essay may encourage the reader to think that I have done my homework. Each essay was written with a different purpose in mind, so that there is some repetition.
Unfortunately the manorial records of Kingsclere Manor perished in the sack of Basing House, as likewise it would seem that some of the records of the Cathedral Church of Rouen perished in the fire of Easter 1200 which destroyed much of the town as well as the Cathedral.
It is to be hoped that these essays may encourage someone to produce a history of Kingsclere that is both readable and accurate.