| Grateley | |
|---|---|
| The Plough Inn | |
Location within Hampshire | |
| Population | 645 (2011 Census including Palestine, Hampshire) [1] |
| OS grid reference | SU2774441883 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Andover |
| Postcode district | SP11 |
| Dialling code | 01264 |
| Police | Hampshire and Isle of Wight |
| Fire | Hampshire and Isle of Wight |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| UK Parliament | |
Grateley is a village, parish [2] and civil parish in the Test Valley district, in north west of Hampshire, England. In 2021 the parish had a population of 662.
The name is derived from the Old English grēat lēah, meaning 'great wood or clearing'. [3]
The village is divided into two distinct settlements, 0.75 miles (1.21 km) apart: the old village and a newer settlement built around the railway station on the West of England Main Line. [4] The hamlet of Palestine adjoins the railway station settlement, although it is located in the civil parish of Over Wallop. [5]
Grateley lies just to the south of the prehistoric hill fort of Quarley Hill. The parish covers 1,551 acres (6.28 km2) with 616 people [6] living in 250 dwellings.
King Æthelstan issued his first official law code in Grateley in about 930 AD. [7] Recorded in the early 12th century Quadripartitus text, [8] which referred to a ‘great assembly at Grateley’ (magna synodo apud Greateleyam). The legislative assembly and construct of the Grateley law code acted as a manifestation of the peripatetic nature of Anglo-Saxon kingship. [9]
In the 20th century Grateley was one of many ammunition dumps during the World Wars. [10]
The village has one pub, a thirteenth-century church dedicated to St Leonard, a primary school, a school for children with Asperger syndrome, a railway station, a small business park, a golf driving range, and is surrounded by farmland with ancient footpaths and droveways.
The economic history of Grateley is agricultural, but less than 10% of the village population now rely upon agriculture as an occupation.[ citation needed ]
Later, Grateley, like many areas within reach of the south coast ports, became a munitions store for part of the invasion force involved in Operation Overlord.
Media related to Grateley at Wikimedia Commons