Interesting Buildings
Mysteries of Hartley Mauditt
A visit to the little Hampshire church of Hartley Mauditt and its mysterious history, leaves many questions about its Cinderella position close to the village of Selborne
Read MorePortsmouth and King Charles I
What is the connection between Prince Charles (later King Charles I) and Portsmouth?
Read MoreHayling Priory
Hayling Island Priory has long since disappeared without trace but the history of it’s links with the French abbey of Jumièges is well documented and an intriguing part of Hampshire history
Read MoreLandport Gate and Area 1760
The iconic Landport Gate in Portsmouth This gate maybe attributed to a design by Nicholas Hawksmoor, it is the Landport gate that formed part of the old Portsmouth defences. Thae “Land Port” gate still stands as the gateway to the dockyard and it was named thus and then attributed to the surrounding area around 1831,…
Read MoreSouthsea Castle and The Battle of the Solent
Southsea Castle owes its existence to the French and King Henry VIII, as he set about building a series of fortifications to defend the southern coasts
Read MoreEarly Anglo Saxon Hampshire
Early Anglo Saxon settlement in Hampshire is an elusive creature, traces found on the chalk ridges and river valleys allow us the merest peek of a time of important change. Are current day settlement patterns a result of settlement 1500 years ago or are they a consequence of later Anglo Saxon settlement?
Read MoreMystery of King Alfred’s Final Resting Place
The mystery of King Alfred’s final resting place may be closer to being resolved as St Bartholemew’s church at Hyde prepares to ask for permission to exhume and identify the bones in an unmarked grave at the church.
Read MoreSt Francis Window Selborne
The beautiful window of St Francis, in St Mary’s church Selborne commemorates the life of Gilbert White.
Read MoreMassey’s Folly Farringdon
Massey’s Folly in Farringdon Hampshire, is an extraordinary labour of love. Built by the Rev Thomas Massey over a period of thirty years, the folly is a monument to the pursuit of art in architecture, its purpose uncertain.
Read MoreKnights Templars at Selborne
The Knights Templar tombstones in St Mary’s church Selborne are the sole surviving artefacts of the Knights Templar preceptory established at Sotherington close to Selborne in Hampshire
Read MoreSouthampton Castle
When Winchester was the royal capital of England, Southampton, close by on the southern coast of England, was its chief port and trading centre. It was an obvious magnet for Danish and French raiding party’s and its defense became an issue. The castle was constructed first out of timber and then stone and its great city walls threw up a considerable obstacle to attack
Read MoreWherwell Abbey
The quintessentially English village of Wherwell has played an important part in the history of the county of Hampshire, hidden beneath its meadows is the Abbey of Wherwell, established in the C10th century as a form of penance by Queen Elfrida
Read MoreJane Austen in Chawton
The village of Chawton sweeps you back to the early years of the C19th, when Jane Austen and her family lived in the heart of the village
Read MoreNorman Chancel Arch St Peter’s Petersfield
The Norman chancel arch in St Peter’s church in Petersfield is one of the most magnificent in Hampshire, its proportions seeming to signal the architects desire to elevate this chapel in a field to something more. It is possible that the design was influenced by the architecture of Winchester Cathedral. Bishop Walkelyn may well have…
Read MoreIntriguing Odiham Castle
Odiham Castle in Hampshire is one of those ruins where you wish the walls could talk, with connections to King John and Simon de Montfort, decisions about England were made here
Read MoreAnglo Saxon Rood Breamore
The Anglo Saxon rood in St Mary’s church Breamore has welcomed people into the church for nearly a thousand years
Read MoreAnglo Saxon Breamore
The beautiful Saxon arch in Breamore church reflects a thousand years of worship in its simple inscription
Read MoreSaxon Corhampton Church
When considering Anglo Saxon Hampshire, the little church at Corhampton has to be the jewel in the crown, with Saxon features springing from its feet upwards.
Read MoreHyde Abbey
The final burial place of King Alfred the Great, Hyde Abbey in Winchester is as simple as Alfred’s life was great. Little is left of the once great Abbey and its buildings now quietly nestling in a residential area
Read MoreWolvesey Palace 1130 – 1140
Henry de Blois, probably the most outstanding bishop England ever had, built for himself one of the most outstanding palaces in England, Wolvesey Palace in Winchester.
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