The chance find of two lovely examples of ship graffiti in St Mary’s church Hayling Island raises the question of why they were created and by whom. There is much interest at the present time in Medieval graffiti and this example on Hayling Island is one for the enthusiast. Continue Reading
The St John the Baptist alabaster altar piece in St Mary’s church Amport is a rare and beautiful Medieval object. Continue Reading
Shepherd Lawes, buried in Martin Hampshire was the inspiration for the shepherd in W.H Hudson’s book, ‘A Shepherd’s Life’. Wriiten just before WWI it remembers the life and observations of a shepherd in the Wiltshire Hampshire Downs. Continue Reading
St Mary’s Church Tufton is a 12th century gem with just the hint that there might be earlier origins to some of the architecture. It has a large wall painting of St Christopher. Continue Reading
The 13th century, East Wellow church, St Margaret’s of Antioch, is the final resting place of the great lady Florence Nightingale. Not only that it also is home to some wonderful 13th century wall paintings. Continue Reading
Medieval shoes never look very comfortable but they are brilliantly evocative of a time long past The Medieval shoe in discussion is the one with excessively long pointed toes. They are called ‘Poulaines’ meaning ‘shoes in the Polish fashion’ since they were thought to have been fashionable in Krakow in the 15th century. The Poulaine… Continue Reading
The church of St Michael and All Angels Knights Enham, is a 12th century gem in Hampshire, 800 years worth of history to mull over. Situated in a lane alongside a farm, it’s easy to imagine souls of hundreds of years entering its doors. Continue Reading
Searching for Medieval graffiti in the church of St James in Wield Hampshire, a lovely little fellow emerged from the soft chalk stone of the chancel arch. Could this inscription have been done over 600 years ago? Continue Reading
Perched above the road on a hill slope is St Mary’s church Upton Grey At the bottom of the hill is the village pond and clustered around it are lovely cottages and houses, spanning all periods, twenty seven of them listed. Upton Grey is a beautiful village in north east Hampshire, with a history that… Continue Reading
The Spanish Armada in 1588 left its mark in the church of old St Peter’s in Stockbridge in Hampshire, an intriguing snippet of history to ponder upon. Continue Reading
Blackmoor Church in Hampshire named St Matthew’s, was designed by one of the greatest Victorian architects, Alfred Waterhouse. These images show the beauty of his stained glass. Continue Reading
Michelmersh font in the church of St Mary’s in Hampshire, is a wonderfully carved Purbeck stone font but what are the gender of the faces staring down? Continue Reading
This entry is part 1 of 2 in the series Poignant HeadstonesA poignant headstone is set into the outside wall of the church of St Mary’s Ashley Hampshire The church of St Mary at Ashley in Hampshire is cared for by the Church Conservation Trust and has a beautifully simple interior, so quiet and peaceful.… Continue Reading
An exploration of Hampshire history has to include a look at some of its fascinating, poignant and thought provoking headstones and memorials. Discover more about Hampshire history through these touching memorials. Continue Reading
William Nicholson gin and Lords cricket ground, what do they all have to do with the history of the county of Hampshire? Well cricket and Hampshire fit hand in glove but what about a London gin distillery? Read to find out more about this fascinating history. Continue Reading
Bramdean church in the woods is a corrugated iron clad church, built in 1873 for the families of travellers to use, who occupied Bramdean common. It was a flat pack construction that took just five days to erect. Continue Reading
St Leonards church in Hartley Mauditt Hampshire, sits in splendid isolation, it doesn’t even have its manor house for company. The ownership of the manor itself touches on key families in Medieval England. Continue Reading
The story of William Johnson, a powder monkey who became an able seaman and who served his country. He died in a workhouse but gave his early years to the Royal Navy and was remembered by them. Continue Reading
Nelson’s Monument resting on the top of Portsdown Hill in Hampshire, soars away into the sky, with the bust of Nelson casting a keen eye, out across the waters of the Solent. Continue Reading
Hampshire Churches Stained Glass Stained and painted glass has filled the the windows of our parish churches and great cathedrals for over a thousand years. There are so many beautiful stained glass windows in Hampshire churches that on our history foraging expeditions we make sure to capture as many images of them as possible. These… Continue Reading
