The Bisterne Estate

Since 1349, four families have resided at Bisterne, and all four are in fact closely related. They are: Betteshorne (1349-1400), Berkeley (1400-1522), Compton (1522-1792) and Mills (1792 to present). The immediate past owners, by date of occupancy, were Sir John Mills (1908-1954), and his son Major John Mills OBE (1954-2003), who died in 2012 and left the estate to his nephew, Hallam Mills, DL. The estate is now run by Hallam Mills, and his son Leo.

Bisterne Manor, the family home (above), originally appeared in the 1086 Domesday Book as “Betestre”, occupied by the “sons of Godfric Malf” who has owned it in 1066, on the invasion of William The Conqueror.

Katherine Berkeley, sister of Sir William Berkeley and married, as a second marriage, to Sir John Brereton, built the central heart of the present house (top picture) in about 1520. This forms the dining room today, but would probably have been a double-height hall thatched with straw originally – possibly with a small accommodation unit on the flank. There are still signs of a very old part of the house in the northeast corner, notably a very ancient staircase.

In 1652 the Richard Compton added two wings flanking the central hall structure, adding considerably to the house’s dimensions. In about 1834, the house was altered to accommodate art and furniture acquired on his Grand Tour by Francis Mills. At that time, the house was encased in mellow stucco to cover over the various different styles of bricks used over the years. Finally, in late Victorian times, additions were made the rear of the house, and indoor sanitation, electricity and central heating installed. The Manor has a detailed entry in New Pevsner Guide: Hampshire South. The Manor can be visited on Heritage Open Day, by appointment - please see contact pages for more info.

The Legend of the Bisterne Dragon has lived on over the centuries. It was slain by Sir Maurice Berkeley in the latter half of the 15th century. The hounds that helped Sir Maurice kill the dragon are immortalised above the wings of Bisterne Manor: they were called Grim and Holdfast (one of them, above).

The Mills family own a 1580 Norden map of the estate, which clearly shows the manor and many fields inscribed with the names of the owners or tenants, interspersed with significant tracts of heath. Most of those hedge-lines still exist today, some 440 years later. There were numerous small parcels of land owned by different families; during the next 170 years, the many farms on the estate were consolidated as families no longer wished to keep their tenancies. In 1968, the estate terrier shows 16 tenants of the small farms at Bisterne. Now there are 3.

Bisterne Estate hosted part of the 9th US Army Airforce in World War II by providing land for the 371st Fighter Group. They were operational on the new airstrip for a mere three months, before the Group moved to Beuzeville in France, and then fought to end the war at Stuttgart in Germany.

As early as Nov. 9th 1941, men of the US Civilian Technical Corps came to Bisterne Manor for baths and relaxation – a month before Pearl Harbour on 7th December and America’s entry into the war on December 11th. Many people signed the Guest Book (above).