Hampshire History Blog
The Hampshire History Blog is about snippets of intriguing history that we stumble upon and want to share with you in a more informal way. We have been out and about (obviously not at the moment) enjoying the historic and cultural offerings of the county and so here are some jottings about our experiences.
Portchester Castle Document full of intriguing information
The Hampshire history project is intended for everyone to access, share and enjoy. more accessible to everyone. So whether you are just visiting our beautiful county of Hampshire or you've spent a lifetime in Hampshire as we have, we hope you will feel welcomed and join us. If you feel inclined to write a piece or have a photo to share then please contact us. Maybe you have read a Hampshire related book or article that you would like to share or a piece of family history, all will be welcome.
Capturing a cow moment in Hampshire
In Romsey Abbey the memorial to the St Barbe family tells a sad tale. The St Barbes were an old and important family in Hampshire who owned the Broad lands Estate. John and Grissell are depicted on the memorial. He was 42 years old, she 22 when, in 1658, they both died within hours of each other. They died of the Sweating sickness, a dreadful disease often fatal and striking quickly. It seemed to strike the wealthy and when cases were identified, it could clear a local area. Although still unidentified, it could have been a disease born by rodents droppings. This would explain wealthier people falling ill, many of whom shared their homes and meals with the little critters. Surplus food for rodents and swept floors to aerosol the pathogens. Anyway back to the monument. John and Grissell had 4 sons, one died before them. 2 survived to adulthood. There is a neat anagram of their names on the memorial, see if you can puzzle it out, allow for a bit of C17th spelling #hampshirehistory #romseyabbey #romsey #hampshire #memorials #hampshirepeople
Always good to take a ramble in beautiful Hampshire countryside and take in a bit of history on the way. A climb through the Hangers from Steep to Hawkley has us following in the footsteps of William Cobbett that C18th politician, journalist who in his book Rural Rides explored and commented upon rural and agrarian England. He worked his young life on the land receiving little formal schooling but somehow he managed to write more than 30 million words across a range of subjects. However back to the Hangers. He was on his journey and advised not to go the way of the Hanger but if he did, he must take care and not ride down. He made his way along the green lane and 'and could not receive the smallest hint of what was at hand'. Cobbett came to edge of the steep hanger, 'Never in my life was I so surprised and delighted I pulled up my horse and sat, it was like looking from the top of a castle down into the sea except the valley was land and not water'. The Hangers are woods on the side of impossibly steep slopes too dangerous to traverse. The trees hang on the slope bent out of shape in their effort to cling on. Check out Cobbett View, it is stunning. The area is also known as Little Switzerland and is a unique landscape beloved of poet Edward Thomas #hangercountry #hampshire #hampshirehistory #naturewalks #steep #edwardthomascountry #petersfield
An obelisk stands just outside West Gate in Winchester, built in 1759 by a charity called the Society of Natives to commemorate those who died in the plague of 1666.The charity was established to raise funds in Winchester to support women and children who survived but were left destitute. It marks the spot where money was exchanged for goods. Goods were brought by traders here, outside the city walls and left. The traders moved aside as the buyers came forward with money to pay. The money was placed in a bowl of vinegar. The goods were taken, the buyers stepped back and the traders came forward to retrieve their payment. Sounds familiar. Several hundred thousand people died across the country. People isolated themselves, hoarding what food they could and prepared to separate themselves from others for months. Fascinating stuff #hampshire #hampshirehistory #c17th #plague #winchester #memorials
It's so easy to overlook the wonderful historical sites on our doorsteps and I feel this way about Netley Abbey down on Southampton Water. I love the quiet beauty of the place. It is the most complete C13th Cistercian Abbey in the South and is run by English Heritage. There is a wealth of history to explore and it is one of my places to visit when we all get moving again. It had a change of use after King Henry VIII's suppression of the monasteries. Lucky old Sir William Paulet converted the buildings into yet another mansion for himself. It was then sold off in 1704 for building materials but demolition work was halted thank goodness and it became a much admired Gothic ruin beloved of painters who flocked to visit, picnic and paint. John Constable came and painted but although there are dozens of names graffitied on the stonework, I found no JC's only C Willis Painter London😁 #hampshirehistory #hampshire #netley #netleyabbey #c13th #visithampshire
The village of Froyle is also known as the village of saints because of a unique collection of statues of the saints found on its domestic houses. There are 18 statues displayed and were collected from Italy and elsewhere by Lord of the Manor Sir Hubert Miller. He was a devote man who collected many beautiful religious artefacts. He placed the images on properties of the estate and as you walk down from the church so they can be seen from the road. St Hubert, the patron Saint of hunting can be seen with his stag. A really unusual place to visit #froyle #villageofthesaints #hampshirehistory #hampshire #hampshirevillages
'Beware the Ides Of March' wrote Shakespeare in 'Julius Caesar'. Today the 15th March is what he was referring to. It's the Roman marker point for the 15th of the month and Caesar was murdered on this day having been foretold things were going to be tricky for him on that date. Shakespeare was using the warning in the play but it was a phrase in common usage before Shakespeare adopted it. This week is Shakespeare week so I thought a little Insta celebration might be in order and so the photo is of the herb Rosemary, just coming out in my garden. Ophelia hands out Rosemary to the King and court in Hamlet for remembrance amongst several other more acerbic herbs and flowers #shakespeareweek #shakespeare #shakespeareflowers #idesofmarch #rosemary #juliuscaesar #hamlet #hampshirehistory #hampshire
Love a bit of industrial heritage so a visit to Eastney pumping Station was a fascinating visit. In the late C19th Portsmouth had a growing population and needed to find a way to pump sewage out of the city. Designed by Sir Frederick Bramwell and completed in 1887 it houses a compound condensing beam engine from the late James Watt and Matthew Bolton factory in Birmingham. There are other engines to see, including one from the old pumping station on Farlington Marshes which was erected in 1811 and provided the first public water to Portsmouth. Well worth a visit when we are allowed #industrialheritage #beamengines #portsmouth #eastney #hampshire #hampshirehistory
Always on the lookout for a bit of Saxon Hampshire and here in one of my favourite churches, St Mary Magdalene West Tisted, we have a few glimpses. This church still sits within the grounds of its Manor House. You can't see it from the road but have to walk up a footpath and cross a small moat that originally surrounded the house. It is a Norman single cell church but has traces of Saxon. The blocked North doorway has a tall plain narrow double arch, still Saxon in style and in front stands the tub font about the same age. My favourite is what remains of a tiny window no wider than 10cm. It was kept in position on the rebuilt South wall. A little gem of a church #hampshire #hampshirechurches #hampshirehistory #parishchurches #saxon #anglosaxon #norman
Danbury Hillfort or Danbury Ring is one of the most excavated Iron Age hillfort in Europe. I think it was occupied for about 500 years which is such a long time. Took a lovely walk up there a few years ago and have just been looking at the LIDAR of it, absolutely fascinating #ironage #hillforts #hampshire #hampshirehistory #archaeology #ironagearchaeology #daneburyhillfort
Cold War excitement in Hampshire. This toilet block in Alresford seems an unlikely setting for 007 happenings but it was the drop place (sorry) for secret information in what came to be known as the 'Portland Spy Ring'. This was a Soviet spy ring in the late 1950's. Harry Houghton was a former sailor turned civil service clerk who worked down in Portland at the Underwater Weapons Establishment. He stole secrets and passed them to the Soviets. He was arrested in 1961 and sentenced to 15yrs in prison. In 1964 a film was made about the spy ring 'Ring of Treason'. #hampshire #hampshirehistory #portlandspyring #spystories #alresford #spies
Hat pegs or wig pegs? The church of St Mary at Avington is a real treat. It has a largely unaltered interior dating from about 1771 and it includes these glorious mahogany pew boxes with pegs to hang your hat or a wig. I am guessing gentlemen had to remove head coverings, did that include wigs? Apparently the church was designed for sermons rather than sacraments so parishioners settled in for a few hours. The altar cannot be seen from the pews which is so different to a Medieval church. Anyway they could gaze up at the lovely sky blue ceiling and comte plate life #avington #parishchurch #hampshire #hampshirehistory #c18th #georgian #churchfollowing #church
The mermaid of St Swithun's Church, Nately Scures rests on a circular column within a beautifully carved Norman doorway. Depictions of mermaids always intrigue me, especially when so far from the sea. The legend attached to this one is that a sailor flirted with a mermaid, ditched her and on returning home, fell in love with a girl from Nately Scures. When they came to the church to be married, who was sitting outside waiting? Why the mermaid of course. She carried him off on her back and swam down the River Lydd and Lodden until they reached the open sea. The carved mermaid is there to warn others of the dangers of flirtation. This is a unique church in Hampshire having an aspe at its Eastern end. It also has its main door on the north side, very rare in England #hampshire #hampshirehistory #parishchurch #mermaid #unusualchurches
Rummaging in my Romsey files and found this little oddity to share. In 1839, the Sexton of the Abbey was for some reason overseeing the removal of a lead coffin, 5ft below floor level. In the coffin he found 'a beautiful head of hair, with a tail plaited, evidently that of a young female lying on a block of oak. The hair was in perfect form and appeared as though the skull had only been recently removed from it'. The vicar was unimpressed and chucked it out but the Sexton retrieved it. In 2016 the Oxford radiocarbon unit were pretty sure that the person had died between 965 and 1045AD. #saxon #hampshire #hampshirehistory #romsey #saxonartefacts #churchoddities
Missing the coast of Hampshire. This is the walk on Hurst Spit that takes you to Hurst Castle and the light house. The IOW so close you can almost touch it. Hurst Castle was established by King Henry VIII in the 1540's to defend the Western entrance to the Solent. It is supposed to have stone in it from Beaulieu Abbey and it was the place where King Charles was brought after his imprisonment in Carisbrooke Castle on the IOW before he was taken to London and beheaded in 1649. The Spit itself is nearly 1.5 miles long. Over time the Spit has become unstable and so has been reinforced to help protect this unique landscape #hampshire #hampshirehistory #forts #tudor #stuarts #hurst #hurstspit #seaside #hampshirecoast
The font in the church of Our Lady Warnford. You may just have to trust me on this one😁 but a survey of the graffiti on the C12th font revealed, a dragon. It has been etched into the soft lead surround using a tool of some kind. So the 3 pronged tail is to the left, the body extends right with 2 legs and feet. The head is an odd thing but the wings lie folded back across the body. The lead is battered but covered in graffiti marks. The bracket to chain the cover to the font is still there. This was to stop people pinching the holy water. #churchfonts #medievalgraffiti #parishchurch #warnford #hampshire #hampshirehistory
The Trumpeter stone by the old yew tree in Selborne is a memorial stone to a man called John Newland who, if the story is to be believed, led an attack on the Selborne Workhouse in 1830.part of the Swing Riots which were prevalent in the south of England at the time. The story goes he escaped arrest by hiding up in the Hangars behind the village. He supposedly sounded his horn to muster men to the attack. The truth is a little different though. He was arrested and spent 6months in Winchester Gaol for mobbing the Vicar of Selborne. His family were convinced of his role as leader of the attack on the workhouse and all the injustices therein and on his death persuaded the then Vicar of his role and he was duly buried by the great yew. W. H Hudson then retold the tale in his book Hampshire Days and the tale became fact. #hampshire #hampshirehistory #selborne #swingriots #memorialstones #churchyards
I try and seek out the parish chest when visiting a church because of their functionality. This one from All Saints in Crondall dates back to 1546. The parish chest used to contain all the paperwork pertaining to the parish. It held the registers of birth, marriage and death as well as the parish accounts, overseers books, records of the poor House etc. This chest is not made of wood but of plaster of Paris, covered in leather and then wrapped in straps and riveted. The plaster and leather controlled the humidity in the chest thus preserving the contents. Brilliant and not only that but it made the chest very heavy and difficult to steal. Nearly 500 years old, what a fab thing #parishchest #parishchurch #hampshire #hampshirehistory #crondall
Foot or shoe graffiti is thought to be associated with pilgrimage. This lovely example from Winchester Cathedral could certainly be such a thing. There are few Lardners from the period in Hampshire, more in Oxfordshire so did Thomas travel here in 1655? I am interested because of the date. Oliver Cromwell was ruler of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Military rule had been enforced the year before because of support for Prince Charles, the son of Charles 1st. Thomas was obviously happy to put his full name on the wall of the cathedral. I wonder how that was viewed at the time? Of course 1655 could have been an anniversary year of say his birth but interesting to ponder on. #hampshire #hampshirehistory #medievalgraffiti #shoegraffiti #winchester
This cheeky fellow has been in my photo records for quite a while now. He is no bigger than my thumb and is on one of the chantry chapels at Winchester Cathedral and is the mark of the builder who apparently has left his mark on other of his work in the country. I keep meaning to discover more. So who is the stone Mason responsible? #winchester #winchestercathedral #stonemasons #chantrychapels #hampshire #hampshirehistory
Tha point of this photo is to draw your attention to the circular indentation on the RH side of the plaque. It sits behind the altar in St Andrew's Church Owslebury. The vicar was celebrating Mass in Latin and it is alleged that King Henry VIII ordered his murder. The musket ball passed through him and struck the plaque behind him. It is also said that King Henry was privately married to Jane Seymour in the old hall at Marwell. Her brother Sir Henry Seymour obtained the lease for the estate, hence the connection. The descendants of the vicar were reduced to poverty and their estate passed to others. #hampshirehistory #hampshire #mysteriousthings #reformation #parishchurches