| Ecchinswell, Sydmonton and Bishops Green | |
|---|---|
  Ecchinswell, Sydmonton and Bishops Green Location within Hampshire | |
| Population | 1,182 (2001 census) 1,048 (2011 Census including Hare Warren and North Sydmonton) [1] |
| OS grid reference | SU505614 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | NEWBURY |
| Postcode district | RG20 |
| Dialling code | 01635 |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | http://www.ecchinswell-pc.gov.uk/ |
Ecchinswell, Sydmonton and Bishops Green (occasionally referred to as just Ecchinswell and Sydmonton) is a civil parish within the district of Basingstoke and Deane in Hampshire, United Kingdom.
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government, they are a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of ecclesiastical parishes which historically played a role in both civil and ecclesiastical administration; civil and religious parishes were formally split into two types in the 19th century and are now entirely separate. The unit was devised and rolled out across England in the 1860s.
Basingstoke and Deane is a local government district and borough in Hampshire, England. Its primary settlement is Basingstoke. Other settlements include Bramley, Tadley, Kingsclere, Overton, Oakley, Whitchurch and the hamlet of Deane, some 7 miles (11 km) from Basingstoke.
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England. The county town is the city of Winchester. Its two largest cities, Southampton and Portsmouth, are administered separately as unitary authorities; the rest of the county is governed by Hampshire County Council.
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Sydmonton is the home of Sydmonton Court, estate of the Kingsmill Family, including Admiral Sir Robert Kingsmill. The estate is currently owned by Andrew Lloyd Webber and is home to the annual Sydmonton Festival.
Sir Robert Brice Kingsmill, 1st Baronet was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars in a career that spanned nearly 60 years. Kingsmill was a contemporary and close friend of Lord Nelson, and was one of the prominent Royal Navy admirals of his time referred to as "The Conquerors of the Seas," illustrated in Piercy Roberts' 1800 engraving. He served with Rodney in the West Indies, where he was wounded in battle, and with Keppel at the Battle of Ushant. He took the time to embark on a career in politics as a Member of Parliament, giving this up several times to resume his service in the Navy when war broke out. Kingsmill rose to flag rank by the time of the outbreak of war with revolutionary France in 1793. As the naval commander-in-chief on the coast of Ireland, he repelled several attempts by the French to invade Ireland and foment insurrection. Kingsmill died on 23 November 1805 at Sydmonton Court as a baronet and with the rank of Admiral of the Blue.
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of variations, two film scores, and a Latin Requiem Mass. Several of his songs have been widely recorded and were hits outside of their parent musicals, notably "The Music of the Night" and "All I Ask of You" from The Phantom of the Opera, "I Don't Know How to Love Him" from Jesus Christ Superstar, "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" from Evita, "Any Dream Will Do" from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and "Memory" from Cats. In 2001 The New York Times referred to him as "the most commercially successful composer in history". Ranked the "fifth most powerful person in British culture" by The Daily Telegraph in 2008, the lyricist Don Black stated "Andrew more or less single-handedly reinvented the musical."
The Sydmonton Festival is a summer arts festival presented in a deconsecrated 16th century chapel on the grounds of Sydmonton Court, the country estate of Andrew Lloyd Webber. It is in Hampshire, located approximately 85 kilometres southwest of London, and was established in September 1975. Its purpose is to introduce new works to a private audience of individuals connected with theatre, television, and film in order to determine their future potential and viable commercialism.
