This page replaces the pages for Cowesfield Louveras Chapel and Cowesfield Spilman Chapel and incorporates all the content of both. Those pages are now redundant, as of 12.2.2024.

The area where the chapel probably stood, 2024 mapping
These two copyright maps cannot be shown on the public version of this web site - the two above cover the same area

Cowesfield chapel served the people of the three Cowesfield manors, with known appointments of chaplains from 1306 until 1464. Presumably the chapel continued to operate for a time after 1464, but we have no record of the date of building or of cessation. It was generally referred to as Cowesfield Esturmy Chapel, Cowesfield Spilman Chapel or Cowesfield Louveras Chapel according to which of the three lords of these manors had appointed the serving chaplain. We have no record of its dedication and its site is now unknown, believed to have been in the vicinity of what is now Chapel Copse, 140 metres west of the south end of Rowden's Farm on Bunny Lane. This probably means that the chapel stood on Cowesfield Louveras land, but the proximity here to Cowesfield Spilman and uncertainty about the exact boundary between these manors does allow for the possibility that it was actually in the manor of Cowesfield Spilman.

The area where the chapel probably stood, left: uncoloured 1842 Tithe Map, right: manors as deduced from 1842 land ownership
This map has north to the left. Pink = Cowesfield Louveras, yellow = Cowesfield Spilman
The modern Chapel Copse occupies part of what was Worthy Field in 1842, south of Chapel Row

The chapel is believed to have been in or near Chapel Copse, off Bunny Lane just to the south of Rowden's Farm
This map is copyright 2024 and cannot be shown on the publicly viewable version of this website - the out of copyright map below also shows Chapel Copse

Chapel Copse & Chapel Park on 1876 1:2500 OS map
These were in parkland in Broxmore Park on land owned by Lady Fremantle and rented by Robert Bristow of Alderstone (in 1842)
Links to traced map: Cowesfield Chapel Map, Cowesfield Chapel Map (larger copy)

Chaplains were appointed by the lords of the three manors at different times, although not necessarily in any obvious sequence. It was in use from 1306 until after the last chaplain we know about was appointed in 1464, and is believed to have been located in the vicinity of Chapel Row, parcel 344 on Lady Fremantle's land in 1842 on the Tithe Map. The later Chapel Park and Chapel Copse shown on the 1876 1:2500 Ordnance Survey map were just to the south of Chapel Row, all located a short distance southwest of Rowden's Farm. St Lawrence's Chapel in Whelpley and St James's Chapel in Moor were both seized for King Henry VIII in 1546 at a time when of the three chapels, only St Lawrence Whelpley is known to have had a Chaplain. Cowesfield Chapel and its land appears to have been lost earlier than this and simply disappeared into the surrounding farmland.

In the table above: p.m. = per mortem (on the death of); p.r. = on the resignation of

CowesfieldChapel.htm Copyright 2001-2024 Created 21.5.2001 Last updated 21.3.2024
A Whiteparish local history page from younsmere-frustfield.org.uk