|
|
ALICE HOLT WOODLAND PARK
Situated off the A325, Alice Holt Woodland Park offers something
for everyone. You can explore this beautiful woodland on foot or
by bike, enjoy the playgrounds or take part in organised activities.
There are waymarked trails for walking and cycling and you can hire
bikes from Forestry Adventure. Forestry Commission staff lead a
wide range of holiday activities including den building, survival
sessions, craft workshops and wildlife walks. In addition, there
are regular outdoor programmes for mums and toddlers/pre-schoolers
during the week and a popular education service catering for all
ages. Corporate events and birthday parties are also available.
For a more adventurous visit, Forestry Adventure offers climbing,
archers, rifle shooting and crate building.
For more information and bookings contact: Forestry Commission 01420
23666/520212. Forestry Adventure 01420 520523. www.forestry.gov.uk
BEECH Lying 1.5 miles
to the west of Alton is Beech. Previously part of the area covered
by the Alton Town Council it is now a separate Parish with its own
Parish Council. It is flanked on the south by Bushy Leaze Wood and
on the north by rolling farmland. A donkey wheel for drawing water
still exists at the top of Wellhouse Road and the picturesque cottages
at the lower end of the road date back to the early 17th century.
Alton Abbey, Order of St. Benedict, is the home of the Community
of Our Lady and St. John, an Anglican Religious Community following
the Rule of St. Benedict. Building was commenced early in the 1890’s,
use being made of the local flint found on the site. The architect
was Sir Charles Nicholson.
The range of buildings which has grown over the years, the last
addition being made in 1984, now includes a fine Community Church
and Community House, a Guest House with its Chapel for use of visitors
(priests or laymen) who wish to make a Retreat or share in the life
of the Community for a short period of spiritual refreshment. Visitors
are welcome by arrangement with the Guestmaster on Alton 562146.
BENTLEY This village,
now lying away from the main road, is most attractively set in the
meadows by the River Wey. The church has much 13th century work
to show as well as a finely carved Norman arch, separating the chancel
from the north chapel. An unusual feature, the chancel clerestory,
was added in the 15th century at the same time as the lower part
of the tower was built (the upper part is of later and brick construction).
Early Jacobean altar rails and a priest’s seat are also of
interest. Bentley was the home of Lord Baden-Powell, the founder
of the Boy Scouts.
BENTWORTH A scattered
settlement north of Alton and some 700 feet high, Bentworth includes
several hamlets within its bounds as well as Bentworth Hall, Gaston
Grange and Burkham House. The church is of interest, the chancel
arch and nave arcades dating from the 12th century and displaying
well the transition from round headed Norman arches to the earliest
pointed types. A 13th century font, a Jacobean chest, a fine priest’s
doorway and altar from Charles II times are all of interest. The
church tower is of 19th century construction with a shingled spire.
George Wither, the poet and author whose translations of the psalms
won the praise of James I, was born in Bentworth in 1588. Later
he fought as a major general under Cromwell in the Civil War.
BINSTED The 12th century
church in Binsted, though restored in the last century, still has
much of interest. An effigy to Richard de Westcote who in 1332 founded
a chantry here, may be seen in the 14th century chapel. The grave
of Field Marshal Viscount Montgomery of Alamein lies in the churchyard.
The parish is one of the largest in the area and includes Mill Court,
Wheatley, Blacknest, South Hay and Isington.
CHAWTON A mile to
the south-west of Alton lies the pretty village of Chawton. In a
brick house at the cross-roads lived Jane Austen, and here are to
be seen many items relating not only to her writings, but also to
her associations with the area.
The house had been both a village inn and a residence for the steward
for the Chawton Estate. In 1809 Edward Austen, third brother of
Jane and adopted son of Thomas Knight of Chawton Manor, offered
this dwelling to his mother and sisters. After improvements and
alterations to ensure their further comfort, the three ladies took
up residence on 9th July, 1809. Jane wrote, in a letter to her brother,
Francis (who later became Admiral of the Fleet, and lived to be
91):
“Cassandra’s pen will paint our state,
The many comforts that await
Our Chawton home, how much we find
Already in it to our mind;
And how convinced, that when complete
It will all other houses beat
That ever had been made or mended,
With rooms concise or room distended”.
Jane here revised or re-wrote her six great novels, working with
the family about her and with the busy life of the village just
outside the window. She died in 1817, and was buried in the north
aisle of Winchester Cathedral. Her mother died in 1827 and Cassandra
in 1845 - both are buried in Chawton churchyard, and their graves
have been restored by the late Mr. T. Edward Carpenter, J.P.
The house, after Cassandra’s death, was divided up with part
being let to tenants and part used as a “Working Men’s
Improvement Club”. In 1940, the late Dorothy Darnell established
the Jane Austen Society which raised funds to restore the house.
Mr Carpenter purchased the property in 1948 as a memorial to his
son who was killed in Italy in 1944, and in 1949 vested it in a
charitable trust known as the Jane Austen Memorial Trust.
The house is now open to the public daily between 11 am to (last
entry) 4.00 pm from 1st March to 1st January, and Saturdays and
Sundays only in January and February. It is in excellent condition
and one can see the drawing room, parlour and bedrooms that were
used by Jane and her family. In the drawing room is her work table,
first editions of her works, an early 19th century piano and a score
of other interesting exhibits. An adjoining ante-room displays photo-copies
of many of Jane’s letters and other prints. The parlour is
as homely now as when she sat by the window writing, and the family
dinner service is set out on the table. More personal reminders
are found in her small bedroom whose window looks out on the stable
yard and in other upstairs rooms are further letters and prints
of interest.
The beautiful cared for “country” garden and the old
well and wash house may be seen. In the latter is the family baking
oven and Jane’s donkey cart. Visitors may picnic in the garden.
Down the road from the house is the great Chawton House built in
the 16th and 17th centuries. Impressively sited amid trees it has
a neighbour, the parish church, which replaces an early one destroyed
by fire in the last century. Designed by Sir Arthur Blomfield, the
present building contains a fine screen crowned by rood figures,
a painted reredos, nine exquisite candelabra and the 15th century
bell rescued from the old church. A monument to Sir Richard Knight,
who lived in the manor in the 17th century, and a tablet to John
Hilton, rector for 58 years until 1820, are the only other survivals
from the earlier church.
The village itself has many old houses and thatched cottages with
some dating back about 500 years.
FARRINGDON Adjacent
to one of the sources of the River Wey is Farringdon, a charming
village with a much restored church. Of 12th and 13th century origin
it has good stained windows. Gilbert White was curate here from
1761 to 1785 and his pulpit still survives. A later incumbent, Rev.
T.H. Massey, built a folly which was named after him. With towers
and battlements, it is now used as a village hall. Upper Farringdon
is set above the busy main road but Lower Farringdon lies along
it and has some newer dwellings.
FOUR MARKS Four Marks
is four miles to the west of Alton and not far from Medstead and
Ropley. A great deal of residential development is taking place
here and modern houses border the main road and many of the country
lanes. The Watercress Line serves Four Marks and Medstead Station.
FROYLE Upper Froyle,
which is situated to the north-east of the town, is known locally
as the “Village of the Saints” as many of the houses
display a small statue of a Saint. These were brought back from
Italy by Sir Hubert Miller, the Lord of the Manor. The home of the
Miller family, Froyle Place, is now the home of Treloar School.
The nearby church is a mixture of 18th century brickwork and 14th
century stone. Here are found some good brasses and a notable stained
east window that combines the Arms of Edward the Confessor and of
France. Lower Froyle lies further to the north-east.
GRAYSHOTT AND HEADLEY
Although farther away from Alton to the east, these favoured residential
areas include some of the finest scenery in the south of England.
On the Hampshire-Surrey border, close to Frensham Ponds and Hindhead,
this district is thickly wooded and its deep valleys and small streams
are sylvan delights. Tree filled Whitmore Vale and the wooded lakes
of Waggoner’s Wells are beauty spots which, though well known,
preserve peace and charm in full measure.
HARTLEY MAUDITT This
hamlet lies some 2.5 miles to the south-east of Alton. The small
but interesting church of St. Leonard now stands isolated as the
nearby manor house was demolished in the 18th century. The beautiful
south doorway of the church was constructed about 1190 and the nave
and chancel arch are also Norman. The chancel was built in the early
13th century, and contains a number of memorials with interesting
heraldry. The font is 15th century. The pond, which is a few yards
from the church, is one of the sources of the River Wey.
HOLYBOURNE This village,
which lies to the north-east of Alton, was known as “Haliborne”
in 1086. A Roman posting station was established on the edge of
the present settlement and is thought to have been called “Vindomi”.
The Church was enlarged in Norman and Victorian times and, nearby,
is a large pond.
The main street was the old road between Winchester and London but
the village is now by-passed. Over the last 30 years the population
has steadily expanded from 500 to 1500 and the village is lucky
to still have a shop and Post Office.
Recreation may be found in the large playground, a successful village
cricket team, the greatly improved Village Hall and the amateur
Holybourne Theatre. There is an extensive network of footpaths surrounding
the village offering pleasant walks and views.
Notable occasions in the village have been marked by a Millennium
Mosaic in the Village Hall and a Human Sundial in the Playground.
The village has retained its identity and is actively represented
by the Holybourne Village Association. For further information visit
HYPERLINK "http://www.holybourne.org" www.holybourne.org
KINGSLEY The sandy
heathland of Kingsley Common and a wide and varied
countryside provide a wonderful setting for this village, which
is situated south east of Alton. At its heart are the parish church,
the pub, several listed buildings and a Community Centre with small
shop and post office.
LASHAM Situated to
the north of Alton, the village of Lasham is just off the Basingstoke
to Alton road. The church was rebuilt in the 19th century. The village
was once served by the Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway which
closed in 1932 and which was used for the filming of Will Hay’s
“Oh! Mr Porter”. Lasham Airfield, which was used in
the Second World War, is now a very important gliding centre.
MEDSTEAD Loftily sited
west of Alton, Medstead has a restored, but very attractive, little
church whose small wooded bell turret caps the shingled roof. Some
of the original Norman building remains - round piers and moulded
capitals between nave and north aisle. An unusual 500-year-old poor-box
and a charming window showing Joan of Arc are other features of
interest here. The village still has a large Village Green where
football and cricket are played. Medstead Manor has been acquired
by an American Roman Catholic Order and the Convent of St. Lucy
established there.
NEWTON VALENCE South
of Alton on high ground is the little village of Newton Valence
set away from the main roads in pleasant agricultural land crossed
by lanes and footpaths. Alongside the impressive manor house is
the centuries old, though restored, church. Much 13th century work
can be seen as well as a massive 700-year-old font. A huge yew,
seven yards in girth, rivals the church tower in height. Also in
the village, but at some distance from the centre, lies Pelham Place
with its extensive park.
ROPLEY Reached along
a quite hilly lane from the main road west of Alton, Ropley village
is said to have supplied honey for William the Conqueror’s
mead. The church is 700 years old and has a 15th century font, Elizabethan
chalice and an ancient aumbry and piscina. The Watercress Line calls
at Ropley Station and here are that line’s locomotive shed
and works.
SELBORNE About four
miles south of Alton lies Selborne, an interesting Hampshire village
made famous as the home of the Rev. Gilbert White whose classic
book “The Natural History of Selborne” is one of the
most frequently published books in the English language: it is often
taken as a symbol of the English countryside and natural history.
As White wrote, Selborne has a long straggling village street at
the foot of a hill known as Selborne Hanger. The countryside is
varied with vantage points for long distance views, deep valleys
with streams, hollow lanes and a range of woodlands, fields and
farmland. It is excellent walking country and still has much to
offer the natural historian.
Rev. White was born at the vicarage in Selborne in 1720 when his
grandfather (also named Gilbert White) was Vicar of Selborne. White’s
parents left the village shortly afterwards but returned about ten
years later to settle almost opposite the church. This house, now
known as “The Wakes”, was White’s home for the
rest of his life. The naturalist is thought to have attended schools
in Farnham and Basingstoke and entered Oriel College, Oxford in
1740, later becoming a Fellow of the College. He worked as a poorly
paid curate serving nearby at Farringdon (1761-1784), Selborne (1751,
1756-7, 1758, 1784-1793) with short periods at Durley near Bishops
Waltham and Newton Valence.
Gilbert White’s fame is due to his accurate observations and
writings in natural history that came to be published by his brother
Benjamin in 1789 as “The Natural History and Antiquities of
Selborne”. These were first hand observations made over many
years, interpreted by a perceptive mind and written in a lucid and
charming style.
“The Wakes” was sold by the White family in the 1840’s
and was a private home until 1954, during which time it was extended
by its different owners into a rambling property twice the size
of that which White knew. On the death of the last owner, it was
bought by The Oates Memorial Trust and opened in 1955 as The Oates
Memorial Library and Museum and the Gilbert White Museum. The first
floor is devoted to displays about Frank Oates, the 19th century
naturalist and explorer in Africa and Central America and to Capt.
Lawrence Oates who died in 1912 on Scott’s ill-fated expedition
to the South Pole. Gilbert White’s rooms have been decorated
and furnished in 18th century style and include portraits of his
family, and a beautifully embroidered bedhanging to the bed in his
bedroom. An original manuscript is on display in an exhibition about
Gilbert White and Gilbert White and his garden. Items from Selborne
Priory are on display. Overlooking the magnificent beech clad Selborne
Hanger are 20 acres of garden containing many of the fascinating
plants known to White, together with part of his fruit wall and
his brick path leading to the ha-ha and sundial. More recent additions
include an “naturalist’s” garden, herb garden,
topiary and a spectacular laburnum arch. The Museum also runs the
Gilbert White Field Studies Centre providing field work teaching
for Hampshire Schools and Colleges. The Museum shop sells a comprehensive
range of books and gifts, there are plants are for sale in the garden,
and there is an award-winning tea-parlour.
Gilbert White died in 1793 and his modest grave is marked by a simple
headstone on the north side of Selborne churchyard bearing only
his initials and date of death. A stained glass window depicting
St. Francis of Assisi preaching to the birds was erected in 1920
on the bicentenary of White’s birth. St. Mary’s Church
is a fine 12th century transitional Norman building with massive
pillars and on the site of an earlier Saxon church. The triptych
over the alter is attributed to the work of a 16th century Flemish
artist Ian Mostaert and was presented by the White family.
Outside the church is the trunk of a massive yew tree reputed to
be over 1,000 years old and one of the largest in the country. It
was blown over in the great gale of January 1990 when the trunk
split in two. In order to right the tree, all the branches had to
be lopped; but it subsequently died and a cutting taken from the
yew has been planted elsewhere in the churchyard. It was described
by Gilbert White in “The Antiquities” and also by other
writers - Professor Thomas Bell (1877) and W.H. Hudson (1903). Under
the yew is a simple stone post marking the grave of the Selborne
trumpeter or hornblower who was part of the Selborne Mob in 1830.
The story of the trumpeter (John Newland) is told in W.H. Hudson’s
book “Hampshire Days”. Selborne was also visited by
William Cobbett and features in his Rural Rides of 1830.
An Augustian Priory was established at Selborne in 1233 and was
situated one mile to the east of the church by the Oakhanger Streams,
being closed down in 1486. Gilbert White relates the history of
the Priory in his “Antiquities of Selborne”.
The oldest picturesque cottages in the village date from the 16th
century and are timber-framed buildings with thatched roofs of the
local wheat straw. The local white malmstone was used for houses
with the corners, doorways and windows edged with local brick. Some
the mortar lines were decorated with small pieces of carstone -
a method known locally as garnetting.
There is a small village green or Plestor (meaning play place) near
the church. Here is a gallery of work by the Mouth & Foot Artists.
Other features of interest in the village are the old butcher’s
shop with two of the four lime trees planted by Gilbert White in
1756 (opposite “The Wakes”) and, to the south, the horse-trough
with the lion’s face at Wellhead Stream.
The National Trust manages Selborne Common, the Hanger, Church Meadow
and the Long and Short Lythes (Anglo-Saxon for steep slope). One
of Selborne’s most popular features is the Zig-Zag path up
the Hanger instigated by Gilbert White and his brother, John, in
1753.
Gilbert White’s House and The Oates Museum is open from 1st
January-24th December, Tuesday to Sunday (plus Bank Holidays) 11
am to 5.00 pm last admission at 4.30pm. Special rates are available
for parties of ten or over, if booked in advance. Details from 01420
511275.
SHALDEN Reached by
a pleasant footpath across the fields from Alton, is the village
of Shalden. Its old Saxon church has gone and the present one dates
only from the 19th century. It does, however, contain a 15th century
font of no mean merit.
EAST TISTED East Tisted,
lies in the valley south of Chawton and Farringdon and its pleasant
cottages merge happily into the woods that extensively cloak the
valley sides hereabouts. The handsome 19th century church replaces
an older one, and reminders of this earlier structure exist in the
form of a 17th century chest and bells from the same period. Hanging
on one of the walls is a remarkable painting by a 14-year-old village
boy depicting the village and the old church as they were just before
Waterloo. The chief possessions of interest apart from this are
the fine tower screen and front cover.
The village of West Tisted lies some miles away to the west along
a narrow winding by-way south of Ropley.
WHITEHILL AND BORDON
Whitehill is the second largest populated parish in East Hampshire
and includes the Bordon and Longmoor Camps which together form one
of the most important military establishments in the South of England.
A new town centre and industrial estate is being developed by the
East Hampshire District Council whilst the active Town Council has
already provided a new Community Centre.
WIELD Wield is a small,
quite village to the west of Alton with numerous thatched cottages.
It has a fine Norman church with traces of many old paintings on
its walls and a finely carved Norman doorway over which is a runes
dial. There is also an arcaded font and an alabaster monument incorporating
the figures of Sir William Wallop and his third wife in Tudor dress.
EAST AND WEST WORLDHAM
East Worldham lies about 2.5 miles to the east of Alton. Its church
dates from the 12th century, although the nave was rebuilt in 1865.
The north and south doorways are good examples of 13th century work
with the south one having several “mass dials” scratched
on it. Inside, an effigy in the south wall is thought to represent
Philippa, the wife of Geoffrey Chaucer, whose son Thomas was lord
of this manor from 1418 to 1434. To the south-east of the village
is the isolated King John’s Hill, the traditional site of
a royal hunting lodge.
The small church at West Worldham - a village of only twelve households
- also dates back to Norman times. The east window is in the Perpendicular
style and the timber porch is 15th century. Apart from the piscina
in the east wall by the altar, there are two others, one on either
side of the nave, where there were formerly two further altars against
a screen which divided the chancel from the nave. The church was
disused from 1840 until 1888 when Winchester College, the owners,
restored it. Photographs in the church show its condition in 1870
after the roof had fallen in, and in 1888 after the restoration.
A NOTE ON NATURAL HISTORY Alton’s
immediate surroundings are especially favourable for natural history,
thanks to the climate and extraordinary variety of soils.
Within five miles of the town may be found the gravel of the river
valley, clay with flints, chalk, upper and lower greensand and gault
clay. Each kind of soil has its characteristic plants, trees and
animals, and variety is further increased by topographical features
and man’s land use.
Flowers of both chalk and acid soils are exceptionally well represented,
some of the best sites in the south of England being within a few
miles of Alton. Of native trees, beech grows particularly well on
the chalk, both in woodlands and as individual specimens, while
the other soils except the lower green-sand grow good oak, elm,
sycamore and wild cherry; the churchyard yews also deserve a mention.
There are numerous exceptionally fine examples of exotic trees in
the district, and a number of conifer plantations.
The variety of habitats also results in a variety of butterflies
and moths, including one of the best sites for some of our most
spectacular species.
Being inland, with scarcely any standing water and only small streams,
of dry valleys, the area is an unlikely one for rare birds; but
it does contain good populations of many of the less common and
more interesting species, both on the open farmland and woodlands
of the chalk, and the heaths and bogs of the lower greensand. Clay
pockets in the chalk valleys, especially where there is scrub or
new planting, are remarkably rich in song birds. Deer, badgers,
foxes and small mammals occur in good numbers, also reptiles and
amphibians, especially on the acid soils.
The Alton area is in fact a fine example of the now scarce, typical,
mixed unspoilt countryside but made more interesting for having
been the home of Gilbert White, who recorded his observations in
“The Natural History of Selborne” some two hundred years
ago.
|
Home