Meonstoke

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Meonstoke
Meonstoke St Andrews.jpg
St Andrew's church, Meonstoke
Hampshire UK location map.svg
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Meonstoke
Location within Hampshire
OS grid reference SU612203
Civil parish
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town WINCHESTER
Postcode district SO32
Dialling code 01489
Police Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Fire Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Ambulance South Central
UK Parliament
Website Corhampton & Meonstoke Parish Council
List of places
UK
England
Hampshire
50°58′44″N1°07′39″W / 50.978754°N 1.127423°W / 50.978754; -1.127423 Coordinates: 50°58′44″N1°07′39″W / 50.978754°N 1.127423°W / 50.978754; -1.127423

Meonstoke is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Corhampton and Meonstoke, in the Winchester district, in the county of Hampshire, England. It is in the Meon Valley where it cuts through the Middle Chalk of the South Downs, Old Winchester Hill is at the edge of the parish to the east. In 1931 the parish had a population of 439. [1]

Contents

It sits on the eastern bank of the River Meon. On the northern part of the western bank is Corhampton. The A32 crosses the river between the two villages. On the southern bank is Droxford. Soberton lies to the south, Hambledon to the east and Exton to the north.

History

Flint implements found near Old Winchester Hill suggest that the area that is now the parish of Meonstoke was inhabited over 20,000 years ago. Later, in neolithic times a roadway developed along the South Downs, passing south of Old Winchester Hill and crossing the River Meon at Exton. There is a Neolithic stone barrow on the southern slopes of Old Winchester Hill. Also on the Hill are eight Bronze Age barrows. Old Winchester Hill is the site of one of a chain of five Iron Age forts along the South Hampshire Ridgeway. [2]

Roman remains have been found in the Meon Valley and during the 1980s, archaeologists uncovered parts of a Roman building in the village. Sections of the building's façade are now on display in the British Museum. [3]

The Meonwara, a Jutish tribe settled in the Meon Valley in the 6th century, but the stoke in the village's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin. [2]

It is possible that Borough English or ultimogeniture the tradition of inheritance by the last-born of a parent's estate, which was recorded in the village as late as 1801, began with the Meonwara. [2]

Menestoche is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, with 28 heads of families listed, suggesting a possible population of 140. [2]

In the 13th century, Meonstoke was granted a weekly market, suggesting the importance of the village at the time. [2]

A national school was built in the village in 1842.

The former Meon Valley Railway passed to the east of the village but the planned station and yard at Meonstoke were never built. The route is now the Meon Valley Railway Line Trail, which can be joined here.

The singer/songwriter Frank Turner comes from Meonstoke. [4] He mentions the area in his song "To Take You Home" on the album Love Ire & Song .

On 1 April 1932 the parish was abolished and merged with Corhampton to form "Corhampton and Meonstoke". [5]

Architecture

Menonstoke has many sites with a historic Listing, including the Grade II listed Church of St Andrew which mainly dates from the 13th century, with a later tower, probably 15th century with early 20th-century repairs. [6] These included the addition in 1906 of a memorial window by Mary Lowndes, a leading light in the Arts and Crafts Movement. [7]

A church was mentioned in the Domesday Book, but the first mention of a rector is found in 1262. Rectors of the parish have included: Thomas Chaundler, Christopher Bainbridge, Lawrence Humphrey, John Harris and Laurence Henry Woolmer.

The Grade II Listed Meonstoke House is described as "Late C18, with mid C19 extensions at each side...[and a] C20 porch of classical style". [8] A June 2020 report provided more specifics, some years after a restoration: "The house was built in the late 18th century, with north and south wings added half-way through the 20th century. .. The exterior is effortlessly Georgian, the interiors have been sympathetically modernised". The large greenhouse also appears to be of a Georgian style. [9] The property, with 34 acres of gardens and paddocks, was sold in 2020. [10]

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

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

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Droxford railway station</span> Former railway station in Hampshire, England

Droxford railway station was an intermediate station on the Meon Valley Railway, built to a design by T. P. Figgis and opened in 1903. It served the villages of Droxford, Soberton and Hambledon in Hampshire, England. The railway served a relatively lightly populated area, but was built to main line specifications in anticipation of it becoming a major route to Gosport. Consequently, although the station was built in an area with only five houses, it was designed with the capacity to handle 10-carriage trains. It initially proved successful both for the transport of goods and passengers, but services were reduced during the First World War and the subsequent recession, and the route suffered owing to competition from road transport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meonstoke (hundred)</span>

The Hundred of Meonstoke was a small Hundred of Great Britain situated in the ceremonial county of Hampshire. The Hundred of Meonstoke contained the parishes of; Abbots Worthy, Alverstoke, Corhampton, Exton, Hambledon, Liss, Meonstoke, Soberton, Warnford, and West Meon. Before the time of the Domesday Survey, Bramdean was included in the Meonstoke Hundred until it was transferred to the Finchdean Hundred. The land comprising the hundred was assessed in the reign of Edward the Confessor at 89 hides, and at the time of the Domesday survey of 1086 was estimated to be about 56 hides and comprised 12 places in Hampshire.

References

  1. ↑ "Population statistics Meonstoke AP/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time . Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Collins FB and Hurst JC Meonstoke and Soberton Winton Publications, Winchester, 1978
  3. ↑ British Museum Highlights
  4. ↑ "Music - Frank Turner". BBC. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  5. ↑ "Relationships and changes Meonstoke AP/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  6. ↑ William Page, ed. (1908). "Parishes: Meonstoke". A History of the County of Hampshire: Volume 3, pp. 254-257. Victoria County History. Retrieved 29 March 2008.
  7. ↑ Chris Maxse (2004). "St Andrew's, Meonstoke" . Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  8. ↑ Meonstoke House List Entry Number 1095593
  9. ↑ A simply magnificent Hampshire house with huge rooms, immaculate gardens and everything a sportsman could desire
  10. ↑ Eight of the biggest country house sales in Britain in 2020
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