Whitchurch, Hampshire
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Whitchurch is a town in Hampshire, England. It is on the River Test, 20 km from Newbury, Berkshire, 19 km from Winchester, 12 km from Andover and 19 km from Basingstoke. Much of the town is a Conservation Area. Because of the amount of wildlife in and near the river, parts of the town are designated as Site of Special Scientific Interest.
It has a mainline rail link into London (Waterloo station, 1h05 travel time) and two main roads that by-pass the town (A34 - a major north-south route, and A303 - a major east west route).
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Earliest Origins
The name is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means 'white church', although there is evidence of occupation from the Iron Age, archaeological excavations having uncovered Roman and Iron Age pottery, tools and skeletal remains. The earliest written record of the town dates from 909 AD in a charter by which King Edward the Elder confirmed the manor of Whitchurch to the monks of Winchester as England recovered from the Viking onslaught of the previous fifty years. It next appears in the Domesday Book of 1086. This records the town's name as 'Witcerce', occupying 6100 acres in the 'Hundred of Evingar' and also records that Witcerce was 'owned' by the monks at Winchester.
[edit] 13th Century
By 1241, it was known as Witcherche and was becoming prosperous, holding a market on Mondays in the market place. This was a vital feature of medieval society, and produce such as butter, eggs, fruit and livestock were brought in from the outlying farms and villages for sale there.
The Parish church of All Hallows is thought to date from the 13th century, built by the Norman lords as a more imposing successor to the earlier white church, built of limestone or chalk. It is a Grade 2* Listed Building and the oldest remaining structure in the town. All Hallows is also widely known for its 3-manual pipe organ with 41 stops, and a peal of 10 bells in the tower. The bells were cast in a field belonging to a farm in Wood Street, now called Bell Street.
Witcherche received a royal charter in 1285, having become a borough in 1284. The land ownership had by now passed to a form of tenure known as a burgage. As a borough, it was governed by a Court Leet. Meetings were held in the town hall each year, in October, to elect a mayor and burgesses. Witcherche's prosperity was again on the rise due to its widespread sheep farming, the wool being a valuable commodity at the time.
The River Test provided the power for at least four watermills, located every half mile along the river through the town. The town mill was the source of power for milling corn, and other mills were used for finishing wool, weaving silk and dressing cloth. Only Whitchurch Silk Mill survives, the others having been converted into residential dwellings. The Silk Mill is still operating as a working mill and popular visitor attraction.
[edit] 16th Century
When Henry VIII died in 1547 his nine year old son, Edward VI, inherited the throne. Under Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Edward Seymour the Lord Protector, England became more Protestant, and the people of Whitchurch were persecuted for their religious beliefs for six years until the death of Edward and the succession of Mary.
Also during the 16th century, under the reign of Elizabeth the town had become large and prosperous enough to send its first two members to Parliament in 1586. Until 1832, it was known as a Rotten Borough, as the members were nominated by an absent landlord.
[edit] 18th Century
In 1712, Henri de Portal, a Huguenot refugee from France, established a paper mill at Bere Mill in Whitchurch, producing exceptionally hard and close-textured paper. The quality of the paper was considered so high that within twelve years, Portal was supplying the Bank of England, a tradition that still continues. de Portal eventually naturalised to English nationality, and established a second mill at Laverstoke; in more recent times the business moved to neighbouring Overton, where it is still based today. He died in 1747, and is buried at All Hallows, Whitchurch.
[edit] 19th Century
In 1888, the Star newspaper reported:
|
Also in 1888, Charles Denning and Clara Thomas married in Lincoln. They set up home in Whitchurch, where Clara's father had purchased two houses for them in Newbury Street. Here Charles established a drapery business. It was also here that one of their children, Alfred Thompson or "Tom", grew up. He later became one of the most renowned judges in English legal history - Lord Denning, Master of the Rolls. The house in Newbury Street is today marked with a commemorative plaque.
Towards the end of the 19th century, the Salvation Army and its open-air services were the dominant talking point. They maintained that they had a right to hold these services but were prosecuted for obstructing the highways and causing a disturbance. The conviction in 1889 of one group, and their subsequent treatment by the authorities, led to demonstrations. In October 1889, 5000 Salvationists and 12 Salvation Army bands demonstrated in the town Square at Whitchurch. They were charged with riot, unlawful assembly and rout, and the Salvationists applied for the case to be heard in the High Court of Justice. In July 1890 the court found in their favor and set down laws granting the public the right to hold orderly public demonstrations, which were the rules followed until the beginning of the 21st century, when the government overturned them.
[edit] Present day
The population is 4,500. The town is a growing community with a combination of residential areas and some light industry.
[edit] Trivia
- Charles Kingsley, the author of The Water Babies, stopped at the White Hart Hotel in The Square.
- James Robertson Justice, the actor, lived in Whitchurch.
- Richard Adams, the author of Watership Down and The Plague Dogs, lives in Whitchurch.
- Watership Down is a real location, nearby Whitchurch.
- The church spire of All Hallows weighs 500 tons and is held in place by its own weight.
- Charles I, later beheaded at Whitehall, stayed with the Brooke family of Whitchurch in 1644.
- Lynch Hill Park, a small housing development, was used in a TV advert because of its "typical" American appearance.
- The centre of the town is a roundabout known as The Square.
[edit] References
- Pitcher, Anne A History of Whitchurch
- Fox, John The Whitchurch Town Guide
