Tichborne Dole

The Tichborne Dole is a traditional English festival of charity which is held in the village of Tichborne, Hampshire, during the Feast of the Annunciation. The festival is centered on the handing out of donations of flour, which have been blessed by the local parish priest, from the front of Tichborne House.

The festival dates back to the 12th century (circa 1150) and was started by Lady Mabella Tichborne who, on her death bed, instructed that a donation of farm produce be made to the poor each year. Presently, the terms of the Dole stipulate that adults from the parishes of Tichborne and Cheriton are entitled to claim 1 gallon of flour, and children half a gallon each.

The Crawls

According to local tradition, Lady Tichborne's husband, Sir Roger Tichborne, did not approve of her charity and agreed to her bequest on the condition that the Dole consisted only of produce from land that she was able to encircle under her own power while carrying a burning torch in her hand. Lady Tichborne, who was in poor health, is said to have successfully crawled around a 23-acre (93,000 m²) field before the torch went out. The land which she is said to have encircled is known locally as the Crawls.

Tichborne

Coordinates: 51°04′12″N 1°11′13″W / 51.070°N 1.187°W / 51.070; -1.187

Tichborne is a village and civil parish 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Winchester in Hampshire, England.

History

In archaeology in the south of the parish within the South Downs National Park is a bell barrow, bowl barrow and regular aggregate field system immediately east of Ganderdown Farm, a Scheduled Ancient Monument indicating bronze age inhabitation.

Manor

In AD 909 Edward the Elder granted the manor of Tichborne to Denewulf, Bishop of Winchester. However, Tichborne is not recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086.

The Tichborne family has held the manor since the 12th century. Tichborne House was built shortly after 1803 while a longstanding baronetcy (indicating the use of 'Sir') was held by the family. There was a notorious 19th century legal case of the Tichborne Claimant, in which an English imposter, Arthur Orton, then living in Australia, claimed to be missing Tichborne family member Sir Roger Tichborne.

Other buildings

Tichborne (disambiguation)

Tichborne is a village in Hampshire, England. The term may also refer to: