The Ogham Stone of Silchester

Silchester Ogham Stone

The Ogham Stone of Silchester. The Ogham Stone of Silchester was discovered in 1893 during an excavation of the ancient town. A well in the town was being excavated. At a depth of about 3m, a pillar of sandstone was found. This phallic shaped pillar stood on a square plinth and is approximately 50cm tall.…

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John Keats In Winchester

St Cross

John Keats in Winchester. For those who know Winchester well one of the most beautiful and restful walks is along one of the chalk streams of the River Itchen. Pick up the path at the end of College Street and walk out of the city towards St Cross. Look out across the water meadows towards…

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Prince Arthur Tudor and Dogmersfield

What is the connection between Prince Arthur Tudor and Dogmersfield? The landscape around us holds historical secrets whether within its fields and forests, atop its hills or along its coastline. Looking out onto a deserted village where cattle now graze or having a picnic alongside a washed out coastal defense it’s often surprising to learn…

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Guardian Angel’s Chapel

Close up of the Guardian Angel's Chapel Winchester

The Guardian Angel’s Chapel in Winchester Cathedral was painted in 1241. King Henry III, also known as Henry of Winchester was baptised in the cathedral in 1207. He was the son of King John and assumed the throne at just nine years of age. He was fortunate in having three great men standing beside him,…

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The Swing Riots

Plaque to Henry Cook swing rioter

The Swing Riots in Hampshire. The Swing Riots of 1830 were an uprising by agricultural workers in parts of Eastern and Southern England. It was a civil unrest that was a long time in the making, the stirrings of unrest began in the 1780’s and then during the Napoleonic Wars faded away somewhat. Fifty years…

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Merdon Castle

Merdon Castle

Between Standon and Hursley just off the A3090 sits Merdon Castle This little known ancient monument is now in private hands and so getting sight of it is tricky. If you drive along Castle Merdon Lane you can stop and take a look over the wall and you will see the earthworks on which this…

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COPP Memorial

COPP Memorial Hayling

The COPP Memorial at Hayling. The Combined Operations Pilotage Parties (COPP) memorial on Hayling Island is a reminder of how the bravery of a few people had such a huge impact on WWII. The Combined Operations Pilotage Parties were made up of members of all three services, the Royal Navy, the Royal Airforce and the…

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Taskers of Andover Ltd

Taskers of Andover

Taskers of Andover Ltd, Tasker & Co, Tasker & Sons the list goes on but the company is the same. In 1803, Robert Tasker, a twenty one year old blacksmith from Devizes, left his home to look for work and found a job with the blacksmith at Abbotts Ann. He was a hard working and…

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Ashford Hanger and William Cobbett

Ashford Hanger and William Cobbett

The landscape of Ashford Hanger is little changed since William Cobbett wrote about it in his book ‘Rural Rides’. The shape of the land is as memorable now as it was then when Cobbett traversed its heights in 1822.

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Nelson’s Last Walk

Nelsons last walk

Nelson’s last walk on English took him through the streets of Portsmouth from his breakfast at the George Hotel to the awaiting barge and HMS Victory. People were moved to tears at the sight of their hero.

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Whitchurch Silk Mill

Whitchurch Silk Mill

Whitchurch Silk Mill in Hampshire is a wonderful reminder of a lost industrial past rooted deep in the Hampshire countryside. Its connections with the silk weavers of London reveal the extent and demand for fine silks.

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Shepherd Lawes

Shepherd Lawes

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.

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Mad Dick Norton

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.

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Hampshire Trade Tokens

Hampshire Trade Tokens

Hampshire trade tokens were issued in the C17th and C18th when there was little small coinage to be had in Britain. Which places in Hampshire issued them and what did they look like?

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East Wellow Church

East Wellow Church

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.

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Royal Forest of Woolmer

Royal 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…

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Medieval Shoes in Selborne

Medieval shoes

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…

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An Alresford Toilet and the Cold War

Cold War in Hampshire

What is the connection between New Alresford in Hampshire and the Cold War? Well it might surprise you to know that one of the most unremarkable buildings in Hampshire a toilet block in New Alresford has a vital connection to the Cold War.

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St Michael and All Angels Knights Enham

St Michael and All Angels

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.

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