Hampshire History Blog

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...