Downton, Hampshire

Last updated

Downton
Downton, The Royal Oak - geograph.org.uk - 1099367.jpg
Downton, The Royal Oak
Hampshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Downton
Location within Hampshire
OS grid reference SZ2693
Civil parish
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town LYMINGTON
Postcode district SO41
Police Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Fire Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Ambulance South Central
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Hampshire
50°44′N1°37′W / 50.74°N 01.62°W / 50.74; -01.62

Downton is a hamlet in Hampshire, England, clustered around a crossroads on the A337 road (Lymington to New Milton) with a lane to the sea southwards whilst another lane leads north to Hordle. Most of the population today live in the part that has been re-allocated to the civil parish of Milford-on-Sea (in which statistical urban area the majority of the population at the 2011 Census was included); [1] the area north of the A337 is in Hordle. Part of the Green belt, its population fluctuates as it has two holiday/static home parks with amenities and some small camp sites.

Contents

Lengthened accessway to coast

The part of the cliff and beach known as Taddiford Gap [2] most associated with Downton has become inaccessible directly from Downton due to coastal erosion. A forest path through Shorefield Holiday Park reaches West Road car park, with amenities, from which Hordle Cliff Beach (also known as Milford Beach) can be accessed, more than five miles of favourable bathing and sunbathing, weather and conditions depending.

History

Downton is first mentioned in the Pipe rolls for 1160 as a 'new place'. [3] The name is first recorded as Dunchinton although more commonly Donketon and Coates states that this is most likely derived from Dunneca's farm or otherwise from *OE dunnocatu-n (farm of hedge sparrows). [4] In 1263 the estate seems to have belonged to Thomas de Orweye although, by 1397, it had expanded to include part of Everton in Milford. [5] After c. 1500 the manor became part of the extensive possessions of the Milles family of Southampton, builders of Hurst Castle. The manor was purchased at end of the 18th century by Sir William Cornwallis (with adjoining manors in Milford) whose heir, Anne Whitby was the grandmother of Col. William Cornwallis-West. [5] His son George Cornwallis-West went bankrupt around 1920 and the estate was sold. The western part, owned by the Ashley Clinton family, was sold a few years later although the planned large scale development was prevented.

Piecemeal house building followed for the next few decades. Before the 1980s, the A337 road west of Downton made six sharp turns, [6] but the road has since been straightened.

The region has always been one of dispersed settlement although the inn known as The Royal Oak, [5] Downton provided one centre for the provision of services in Hordle. Whilst the inn remains, today the adjacent businesses are car-related. In 2009 permission was granted for gravel extraction on a nearby site, despite opposition from local residents. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lymington</span> Seaside town in Hampshire, England

Lymington is a port town on the west bank of the Lymington River on the Solent, in the New Forest district of Hampshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Milton</span> Human settlement in England

New Milton is a market town in southwest Hampshire, England. To the north is in the New Forest and to the south the coast at Barton-on-Sea. The town is equidistant between Lymington and Christchurch, 6 miles (9.7 km) away.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brockenhurst</span> Village in Hampshire, England

Brockenhurst is the largest village by population within the New Forest in Hampshire, England. The nearest city is Southampton some 13 miles (21 km) to the north-east, while Bournemouth is also nearby, 15 miles (24 km) south-west. Surrounding towns and villages include Beaulieu, Lymington, Lyndhurst, and Sway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duffield, Derbyshire</span> Human settlement in England

Duffield is a village in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Derby. It is centred on the western bank of the River Derwent at the mouth of the River Ecclesbourne. It is within the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Area and the southern foothills of the Pennines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theale</span> Village and civil parish in England

Theale is a village and civil parish in the West Berkshire unitary area of the county of Berkshire, England. It is 5 miles (8 km) southwest of Reading and 10 miles (16 km) east of Thatcham. The compact parish is bounded to the south and south-east by the Kennet & Avon Canal, to the north by a golf course, to the east by the M4 motorway and to the west by the A340 road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milford on Sea</span> Human settlement in England

Milford on Sea, often hyphenated, is a large coastal village and civil parish in the New Forest district, on the Hampshire coast, England. The parish had a population of 4,660 at the 2011 census and is centred about 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Lymington. Tourism and businesses for quite prosperous retirees as well as the care sector make up large parts of its economy. Businesses include restaurants, cafés, tea rooms, small shops, garden centres, pubs and camping/lodge/caravan parks, bed-and-breakfasts and a few luxury hotels. Shops cluster on its small high street, which fronts a village green. The western cliffs are accessed by flights of steps. In common with the flatter coast by the more commercial and eastern part of Milford, they have car parks with some facilities, which, along with many apartment blocks and houses, have close views of The Needles, which are the main, large chalk rocks immediately next to the Isle of Wight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hordle</span> Human settlement in England

Hordle is a village and civil parish in the county of Hampshire, England. It is situated between the Solent coast and the New Forest, and is bordered by the towns of Lymington and New Milton. Like many New Forest parishes Hordle has no village centre. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Tiptoe and Everton as well as part of Downton. The parish was originally much larger; stretching from the New Forest boundary to Hurst Castle.

Liss is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, 3.3 miles (5.3 km) north-east of Petersfield, on the A3 road, on the West Sussex border. It covers 3,567 acres (14 km2) of semi-rural countryside in the South Downs National Park. Liss railway station is on the Portsmouth Direct Line. The village comprises an old village at West Liss and a modern village round the 19th-century station. They are divided by the River Rother. Suburbs later spread towards Liss Forest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Hampshire Route 101</span> East-west highway in southern New Hampshire, U.S.

New Hampshire Route 101 is a state-maintained highway in southern New Hampshire extending from Keene to Hampton Beach. It is the major east–west highway in the southern portion of the state. Most of its eastern portion is a major freeway linking the greater Manchester area to the Seacoast Region. At 95.189 miles (153.192 km) in length, NH 101 nearly spans the entire width of southern New Hampshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wall, Staffordshire</span> Human settlement in England

Wall is a small village and civil parish in Staffordshire, England, just south of Lichfield. It lies on the site of the Roman settlement of Letocetum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South East Dorset conurbation</span> Population centre in Southern England

The South East Dorset conurbation is a multi-centred conurbation on the south coast of Dorset in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingsteignton</span> Town in Devon, England

Kingsteignton, is a town and civil parish in south Devon, England. It lies at the head of the Teign Estuary to the west of Teignmouth in the Teignbridge district. It is bypassed by the A380 and is also on the A383, A381, B3193 and B3195. Kingsteignton is currently represented in Parliament by Anne Marie Morris, as part of the Newton Abbot constituency. Local schools include: Rydon Primary School, Teign School and Saint Michael's Church of England School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barton on Sea</span> Human settlement in England

Barton on Sea is a cliff-top village in Hampshire, England close to the town New Milton, which is its civil parish to the north. As a settlement, Barton has a history dating back to Anglo-Saxon times. Barton is notable for the many fossils to be found in the Barton geological beds in the cliffs, as well as for the significant sea defences built to guard the cliffs against coastal erosion. Barton on Sea is a very popular retirement location. Approximately 36% of the population are retired. The population of Barton in the 2001 census was 6,849.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Everton, Hampshire</span> Human settlement in England

Everton is a village in the civil parish of Hordle, 2+12 miles (4.0 km) west of Lymington, in the English county of Hampshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thorverton</span> Village in Devon, England

Thorverton is a civil parish and village in Devon, England, about a mile west of the River Exe and 8 miles (13 km) north of Exeter. It is almost centrally located between Exeter and the towns of Tiverton, Cullompton and Crediton, and contains the hamlets of Yellowford and Raddon. The parish is surrounded, clockwise from the north, by the parishes of Bickleigh, Rewe, Nether Exe, Brampford Speke, Upton Pyne, Shobrooke, Stockleigh Pomeroy and Cadbury. Most of the eastern boundary of the parish is formed by the River Exe and the land rises westwards to 800 feet (240 m) at the border with Cadbury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Cornwallis-West</span> British politician

William Cornwallis Cornwallis-West VD JP, was a British landowner, politician for seven years from 1885 and raised the 6th (Ruthin) Denbighshire Rifle Volunteer Corps followed by further ceremonial duties in the wider territorial army in Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lepe, Hampshire</span> Hamlet in Hampshire, England

Lepe is a linear hamlet on the Solent in south-west Hampshire, England. In the civil parish of Exbury and Lepe, It is beside the Dark Water, and has Lepe Country Park, which runs from Stanswood Bay to the mouth of the Beaulieu River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tiptoe, Hampshire</span> Human settlement in England

Tiptoe is a small Hamlet in the New Forest National Park in Hampshire. It lies mostly within the civil parish of Hordle and partly within the civil parish of Sway. It is 1+12 miles (2.4 km) west of the village of Sway, and about 2 miles (3.2 km) northeast of the town of New Milton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Hampshire County Council election</span>

The 2017 Hampshire County Council election took place on 4 May 2017 as part of the 2017 local elections in the United Kingdom. All councillors were elected from electoral divisions by first-past-the-post voting for a four-year term of office. The electoral divisions were somewhat changed from the previous election, with some being split, merged or with boundary changes. No elections were held in Portsmouth and Southampton, which are unitary authorities and hold their elections in other years. Similarly the districts within Hampshire did also not hold elections this year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Highcliffe to Milford Cliffs</span>

Highcliffe to Milford Cliffs is a 110.1-hectare (272-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest which stretches along the south coast of England from Christchurch in Dorset to Milford on Seain Hampshire. It includes several Geological Conservation Review sites.

References

  1. Hordle, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales, 1870-72, at visionofbritain.org
  2. "Taddiford Gap Beach | Hampshire".
  3. Pipe Rolls 11 Henry II
  4. R. Coates, Place names of Hampshire, 19
  5. 1 2 3 "Hordle". A History of the County of Hampshire: Volume 5 (1912). Retrieved 27 December 2010.
  6. See the 1940s Ordnance Survey Popular Edition map for an example of the old road layout
  7. Group gives up fight to stop gravel pit bid, Southern Daily Echo, 13 December 2009