Stuarts 1603 – 1714 Period
Mad Dick Norton
Mad Dick Norton was otherwise Richard Norton of Southwick estate, a landowner and politician whose eccentric behaviour resulted in a very unusual will and a substantial amount of controversy.
Read MoreRoyal Forest of Woolmer
The Royal Forest of Woolmer A little known area of Hampshire that was once a Medieval royal hunting forest. It lies near Liphook and the Sussex border and like all the hunting forests, would once have been a mainly open and treeless landscape. The open heath land would have been home to a herds of…
Read MoreThe Tichborne Family Chapel
The Tichborne family chapel in the church of St Andrew’s Tichborne is a rare survivor of a Roman Catholic in a pre-reformation church. It has a very different look to the rest of the church.
Read MoreAlton Quakers
A turbulent time in Hampshire history and in England as a whole, the Alton Quakers persevered in a time of intolerance and the Meeting House stands as a testament to their dogged determination.
Read MoreThe Tangley font a rare thing
The Tangley font is a rare font, at least in Hampshire. This is a lead font and unique in the realm of Hampshire history.
Read MoreHangman Hawley and Scotland
The connection between Scotland and Hampshire at the time of Union can be found in the grave of Henry Hawley at Hartley Wintney Hmpshire
Read MoreShick – Shack Day
Part of Hampshire folklore is the celebration of Shick-Shack day on the 29th May. Not many oak leaves are observed adorning the hats of folk these days though.
Read MoreIzaak Walton in Hampshire
Izaak Walton, writer of The Complete Angler, was not born in Hampshire but he made it his home and died in Winchester in 1683, close to the glorious chalk stream that is the River Itchen.
Read MoreBishop Curle’s Riddle
Winchester Cathedral is full of odd little carvings and riddles, look out for Bishop Curle’s Latin inscription on the West Front
Read MoreTitchfield, an Ancient Market Place
Titchfield in Hampshire is now a sleepy village but this belies its important role in the history of the county.
Read MoreThe Link between Hampshire and New Hampshire
What links Hampshire England and its name sake New Hampshire in the United States of America? A wander through the streets of Portsmouth provides the clue.
Read MoreThe Splendid Baptismal Font Bentworth
The baptismal font Bentworth, in St Mary’s church is a C13th font but the cover is a beautiful early C17th gift from 1605, the year of the Gunpowder Plot.
Read MoreSt Peter ad Vincula Colemore
The church of St Peter ad Vincula Colemore is an isolated church that sits alongside its ancient manor house. It looks as if time has past it by and is a wonderfully evocative picture of a time long ago in Hampshire History.
Read MoreThe Broughton Dovecote
The Broughton dovecote is an unusual piece of architecture sitting in the churchyard of St Marys but what is even more interesting is the mechanism unseen inside.
Read MoreThe Mysteries of Wymering Manor
Wymering Manor in Portsmouth is one of Hampshire’s oldest and allegedly, most haunted houses. From the outside it presents a bit of a sorry state and its exterior belies its ancient past but it is a house full on intrigue and mystery.
Read MoreAbbey House Winchester
Abbey House, built upon land once a gift to Queen Mary Tudor and now the residence of the Mayor of Winchester The site of Abbey House was once occupied by the Abbey of St Mary and St Edburga, formerly the Saxon Nunnaminster. When the abbey was dissolved in 1539, most of the buildings were destroyed.…
Read MoreRichard Cromwell
Richard Cromwell Lord Protector of England and son of Oliver Cromwell, lived at Hursley in Hampshire and is buried in the church of All Saints Hursley.
Read MorePaulet Family in Hampshire
The Paulet family are an ancient and important family in Hampshire and also played an important role in the history of England. Memorials to the Paulet family and its variant spellings abound in churches around the county.
Read MoreBaptismal Font Crondall
A Puritan font in Crondall, a symbol of the change afoot in the English church in its turbulent post Civil War period
Read MoreSt Mary’s Church Abbotts Ann
St Mary’s church Abbots Ann has an amazing collection of virgin crowns and gauntlets hanging in the nave, not thought to be found in any other church in Hampshire
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