This article may contain an excessive amount of intricate detail that may interest only a particular audience.(September 2021) |
Kingsclere | |
---|---|
George Street | |
Location within Hampshire | |
Population | 3,164 [1] |
OS grid reference | SU527588 |
Civil parish |
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District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | NEWBURY |
Postcode district | RG20 |
Dialling code | 01635 |
Police | Hampshire and Isle of Wight |
Fire | Hampshire and Isle of Wight |
Ambulance | South Central |
UK Parliament | |
Kingsclere is a large village and civil parish in Hampshire, England.
At the centre of the village lies the Church Of England parish church of St. Mary's with its distinctive tower. St. Mary's church has C12 origins. It is cruciform and has Norman style with various Romanesque features. The Victorians re-faced the flint exterior, and made other alterations. The present church replaced an earlier Saxon minster on the same site.
Kingsclere is approximately equidistant 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) from the towns of Basingstoke and Newbury on the A339 road.
Kingsclere can trace back its history to a place identified as belonging to King Alfred in his will between 872 and 888, the 'clere' possibly meaning 'bright' or 'clearing'. [4]
Kingsclere formed part of the ancient demesne of the Crown. In his will King Alfred left Kingsclere for life to his second daughter, Ethelgiva, Abbess of Shaftesbury, [5] and there are other mentions of it in Saxon charters. In 931 King Athelstan at a Witenagemot at Colchester granted 10 hides of land at Clere to Abbot Aelfric, [6] and in 943 King Edmund bestowed 15 hides of land at Clere on the 'religious woman Aelfswith'. [7] While sixteen years later King Edgar gave his thegn Aelfwine 10 hides of land at West Clere. [8]
Local legend asserts that King John was troubled by a bedbug during a night in a Kingsclere inn, when prevented by fog from reaching his lodge at Freemantle Park on Cottington's hill. He ordained that the church should erect and evermore maintain upon its tower a representation of the creature that had disturbed his sleep. [4] It is recorded that King John stayed at Freemantle Park on 8 and 9 September 1204 [9]
On 5 October 1944, 10 American soldiers belonging to a US Army engineering support group based at Sydmonton Court nearby, broke bounds to visit The Swan public house, but were ordered back by two MPs. On their return to base, the soldiers broke into the armoury, then returned to the village and laid siege to The Crown public house, where the two MPs were drinking. Both MPs were killed, as was the pub landlady. [10]
In 1218, the king ordered that the market which had been held in Kingsclere on Sundays should in the future be held on Saturdays. [11] Warner, writing in the 18th century, mentions a well-frequented market on Tuesdays, and fairs the first Tuesday in April and the first Tuesday after 10 October. [12] In 1848 the market was still held on Tuesdays, but had fallen very much into disuse, only a few farmers meeting at the Swan Inn with samples, [13] and it probably ceased altogether about 1850. The fairs continued (c. 1911) to be held—on Whit Tuesday for pleasure on Ashford Hill and the Tuesday after Old Michaelmas Day for hiring servants and pleasure in the market place. [14]
The former Falcon Inn, in Swan street, one of the oldest in Hampshire, is especially interesting as being at one time in the possession of William Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury, who in 1510 gave it to Winchester College upon trust for the maintenance and support of the scholars upon its foundation. The original 'Crowne' Inn is mentioned in the parish register in 1611 and the 'Golden Faucon' in 1628. The modern Crown Inn was built in 1853 and the Swan Inn dates back to well before 1848. Its sign proclaims it a 15th C. Rooming Inn. [15]
The nearby Watership Down is the setting for the 1972 novel of the same name by Richard Adams.
Watership Down was also the site of the 1982 World Field Archery Championship put on by the Overton Black Arrows archery club from the nearby village of Overton.
The actress Lavinia Fenton, most famous for her role as the first Polly Peachum in John Gay's The Beggar's Opera, was lover and then wife of Charles Powlett, 3rd Duke of Bolton of the parish. Their eldest son, Rev. Charles Powlett, was briefly vicar of Kingsclere.
The manor of Frobury is the western part of the modern parish of Kingsclere. In addition to Frobury the manors of North Oakley, Hannington, Sydmonton, Edmundsthorp Benham (Headley, and Beenham Court or Cheam School) and Ecchinswell used to be a part of the parish of Kingsclere.
The Highclere, Kingsclere and Basingstoke Light Railway was a proposed (circa 1896–1900) light railway connecting the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway (DNSR) with the London and South Western Railway (LSWR). [54] [55] Despite public support of the railway proposal, sufficient funding was never obtained and the idea was abandoned.
Marquess of Winchester is a title in the Peerage of England that was created in 1551 for the prominent statesman William Paulet, 1st Earl of Wiltshire. It is the oldest of six surviving English marquessates; therefore its holder is considered the premier marquess of England. It is also now the only marquessate in the Peerage of England not being subsidiary to a higher title. The current holder is Christopher Paulet, 19th Marquess of Winchester, whose son uses the courtesy title Earl of Wiltshire.
Charles Paulet, 2nd Duke of Bolton was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Member of Parliament for Hampshire and a supporter of William III of Orange.
Charles Paulet, 1st Duke of Bolton, was an English nobleman, the son of John Paulet, 5th Marquess of Winchester, and his first wife, Jane Savage.
Paulet, variant spelling Powlett, is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Charles Powlett, 3rd Duke of Bolton, styled Earl of Wiltshire from 1685 until 1699, and Marquess of Winchester from 1699 until 1722, was a British landowner and Whig politician who sat in the English House of Commons from 1705 to 1708 and in the British House of Commons between 1708 and 1717, when he was raised to the peerage as Lord Powlett and sat in the House of Lords.
Lord William Powlett was an English Member of Parliament.
Highclere is a village and civil parish situated in the North Wessex Downs in the Basingstoke and Deane district of Hampshire, England. It lies in the northern part of the county, near the Berkshire border. It is most famous for being the location of Highclere Castle, a noted Victorian house of the Earl of Carnarvon. It is the setting for numerous films and TV series, including Downton Abbey.
Newtown is a village and civil parish in the English county of Hampshire, about 1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) south of Newbury, Berkshire.
This is a list of High Sheriffs of Hampshire. This title was often given as High Sheriff of the County of Southampton until 1959.
Old Burghclere is part of Burghclere in Hampshire, England, located south of the large town of Newbury near the A34 road. The village of Burghclere, but less so Old Burghclere, was once on the A34 and has now been by-passed, although this section is not really part of the Newbury bypass.
Wolverton is a village in the civil parish of Baughurst, in the Basingstoke and Deane district in north Hampshire, England. It is approximately 7 miles (11 km) from both Newbury and Basingstoke.
The Vice-Admiral of Dorset was responsible for the defence of the County of Dorset, England.
Winslade is a hamlet and civil parish in the Basingstoke and Deane district of Hampshire, England. It lies 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Basingstoke, just off the A339 road. The hamlet covers an area of 712 acres (288 ha) and has an average elevation of 550 feet (170 m). Its nearest railway station is Basingstoke, 4.2 miles (6.8 km) north of the hamlet. The parish of Winslade contains the vast Hackwood Park, an 89-acre (36 ha) Grade I listed Royal deer park. According to the 2011 census, Winslade, along with Tunworth, Weston Corbett and Weston Patrick, had a population of 224.
Sydmonton is a small village, estate and former civil parish, now in the parish of Ecchinswell, Sydmonton and Bishops Green, in the Basingstoke and Deane district of Hampshire, England. Its nearest town is Newbury, which lies approximately 7 miles (11 km) north-west from the village. In 1931 the parish had a population of 139.
Popham is a hamlet and civil parish south of Basingstoke, Hampshire, England. According to the Post Office the population of the 2011 Census was included in the civil parish of Dummer. The area was occupied from pre-historic times and was established as a permanent habitation during the Roman occupation of Britain. The manor of Popham was established by the monastery of Winchester as an outlying agricultural grain station. A small church and school were later established, but have long since disappeared. The parish and hamlet were later dissected by the M3 Motorway and A303 trunk road. Although named for Popham, Popham Airfield and the Popham Little Chef restaurant are situated in the neighbouring parish of Steventon.
Frobury is the western part of the modern parish of Kingsclere, Hampshire.
William Powlett, of Chilbolton and Easton, Hampshire, was a British landowner and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1729 and 1757.
Sandleford Priory was a small Augustinian Priory, the remains of which now stand at Sandleford in the civil parish of Greenham in the English county of Berkshire.
St Lawrence's Church is a Grade II listed sacred edifice in Ecchinswell, Hampshire, England, in the rural deanery of Whitchurch, within the Diocese of Winchester, designed by Bodley & Garner, 1885–87, at a time when Ninian Comper was their articled pupil, 1883-1887. It has 200 sittings.