The Guide To South Wickham Hampshire

The Guide To South Wickham Hampshire

Early Settlements

Wickham may derive its name from the common Old English place-name element wīc, meaning both "settlement" and "dairy farm". Possible translations of this element include: a dairy farm where either wic or wīc is in use. Wickham appears in Domesday Book as Wacheham, and was held partly by William son of Roger from the Bishop of Coutances and partly by Ernulf de Hesdin. Its Domesday assets were: 1 church, 1 mill worth 8s, 3 fisheries worth 5s, 30 ploughlands with 16 acres of meadow, woodland worth 40 hogs.

In 1066 lordship was held by Earl Harold but taken and destroyed by King William I, This Is Hampshire (thisishampshire.co.uk). On the south western edge of the parish lie the footings of a Roman villa, and an outline map of its layout can be seen at the house adjoining. A mosaic pavements was discovered in the 1920s when the Goodchilds'house at Sayers Common was being extended. The site is in the grounds of Goodchilds'house (which is itself of 17th century origin) and work has shown that it covered an area of 725 sq.

ft., with entrances on all four sides including two semi-circular openings;(1) (2) (3). Bath Road was built across the parish in 1753, soon after which mills were founded on the river. The arrival of the railway in 1840 led to further industrial development. Wickham had previously been a market town for the surrounding area, but this position was usurped by Andover in 1858. From Wickham's earliest times, travellers used this site because of the ford of the River Avon that was there.

The Romans used this crossing for their salt-making enterprise at Droitwich. The high street still roughly follows the line of a Romano-British trackway. A castle was built at Wickham in the 12th century by William Briwere, and a stone church dedicated to St Mary was erected soon afterwards. In 1292 during the last Baronial revolt against King Edward I, the castle—held by William Briwere—was besieged and captured. The Saxons came in the fifth century, but were gone by the eighth.

History

A Roman villa has been discovered at nearby Wickham Manor, which is the site of the oldest inhabited house in the United Kingdom. Built at the end of the 2nd century and beginning of the 3rd century, this house comprised two wings surrounding a court, with various chambers and courtyards, outbuildings and mosaic floors. The most important room in the house was a lararium in one corner of the court. This Latin word (from which our 'larder'derives), was used to describe a shrine to a household god.

Wickham Market is one of the largest villages in the area, due to its role in agriculture over recent centuries; many large manor houses were built, some of which have been converted into retirement homes. More recently these have given way to housing estates, both owner occupied and rented. Early growth was driven by the agricultural primary sector, although recently the service sector has superseded this. A manor existed at Wickham in the middle of the 12th century, held by Richard de Lucy.

It passed to his heirs until the 14th century when, due to lack of a male heir, it passed by marriage to the Lovetot family. This family held the manor until 1716 when it passed to John Warde and then his son-in-law Sir Robert Wilmot, 8th Baronet (1733–1767). In the Anglo-Saxon era, Wickham was one of four manors within the parish of Newport, a small market town that grew up as a resting place for travelers on the road from Winchester to Kent.

Newport was a strategic location controlling an important crossing of the River Adur and two medieval bridges were built here in 1154 and 1403 respectively. Wickham is built on a three-mile (5 km) long north-facing escarpment of chalk known as Beeding ridge. It is surrounded by ancient deciduous woodland, and lies within the bounds of the South Downs National Park. To the south are Coneyhurst Wood, the Woodyates White Horse and Pitch Hill Wood. There are several reasons why they may have left, including invading Danes and the decline of the road over the South Downs.

Industrialisation And Victorian Wickham

There was a large influx of people who were escaping the unrest in Europe at that time, and they formed the basis of the agricultural workforce locally. The railway arrived in 1866 which caused further industrialization and some residential development. Industry included brickmaking (at Wickham Brickworks), brewing (Wickham Brewery), malting (Wickham Maltings), timber and sawmill (both by the Meon), pottery (including Doulton's) and later chemicals. Although smaller than in 1801, the village remained an active community with a thriving blacksmith, a public house, shops and a post office.

There was still a weekly market every Monday until the end of the 19th century. There were also 'Sales Days'when local farmers sold their produce from carts and stalls. Today, there is a modern farmer's market held in Wickham each month. Throughout the 19th century, the village became home to major industries. The 19th century also saw improvements to the water supply and drainage systems and an increase in population. In 1851, Wickham had a population of 1,800 people.

The most notable buildings that were constructed during this century are the Manor House (1860), Town Hall (1863–4) and Post Office (1875). With the arrival of the railway in 1847, new houses were built for workers. The railway gave Wickham a direct link to London and Portsmouth and the village grew quickly. There were several engineering works which helped the growth of the area and several large cotton mills were built along the banks of the River Meon.

Post-Norman Conquest

The Manor of Wickham, which included some of what is now the north west suburbs of the city of Canterbury, was granted by William I to Hugo de Port after the Norman conquest in 1066 and remained in that family for 7 generations. The manor lands stretched along what is now Port Hill and down to the banks of the River Stour from about 100 yards west of Sundridge Road as far as Cutler Farm, beyond which lay Robert de Port's land, then back up to Eythorne Road.

It is difficult to ascertain whether there were any buildings in the village prior to the conquest as no ancient records of Saxon origin have been found. Wickham was originally a hamlet within the parish of Wickhamford and a separate Parish only became established with the establishment of the church in 1126. By 1569 "after division of provinces Wickham was parte of Oxfordshire but since 1662 it has been reckoned within Hampshire. ". Due to increasing population, Wickham was made a Parish baring the same name as the Manor in 1538.

It was re-incorporated into the County of Hampshire and became a Parliamentary borough in 1832. Similarly, during the late 1700s, Wickham is documented as used as a staging post between London and the West Country. The Salvation Army was active in the town from 1886, particularly with its work among the local poor. The Norman family of St Martin gained the Manor of Wickham and took the lord's title with the name "Wykeham". In 1280 William de Wickham was a major contributor to the cost of repairing and enlarging Titchfield Abbey.

However two years later he left England for Normandy, never to return.  In 1288 the Lord of the Manor Sir Nicholas de Criol granted the church and tithes to John Strode. Wickham is a village and civil parish in the Hart district of Hampshire, England. It is situated on the northeastern edge of Greater London, 8 miles (13 km) northeast from Charing Cross. The village is split into two unequal divisions separated by the A32 road: Wickham Market and Wickham Court.

Wickham Charity Beer Festival

The Wickham Charity Beer Festival is a beer festival held annually in August in the village of Wickham, Hampshire. The event has taken place every year since 2000 and raises money for local charities. In 2019, the festival is taking place on the 18th and 19th August. Friday is firstly reserved for trade stands opening until 6pm (last entry 5. 30pm), with Saturday open to all members of the public from 12 noon onwards (last entry 9pm).

The closure time on Saturday is now expected to be around 11pm. There are two marquees: one for cask ale selling at £2 a pint, and one for other beers selling at £1 a pint. The Wickham Festival is an annual music and beer festival held in May at the Wickham Community Centre, Wickham, near Fareham in Hampshire UK. It was started in honour of local "Landlord & Brewer" John Grigg who was a well known established brewer in the 1880's  and 90's.

He owned a pub called the "White Swan", however he built the Brewery around one of his other pubs, The "Magpie & Crown" which used to stand where all the shops are today on Portsmouth Road (A31). The Brewery included a wicker basket tower which turned from grain to beer by water power this was later used as a boiler for the brewery. Wickham is a village in Hampshire, England. It has a population of around 21,000 people.

Wickham non-profit community centre is the hub of the local community. The hub runs various events to raise money for different charities across the year including a beer festival and summer fete. Wickham Charity Beer Festival. A community led event in aid of St. Dunstan's charity. The event is organised by volunteers and held at Wickham Community Centre.  There is no entry fee, and the event is run on a not-for-profit basis.

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Eward Swiss

Author at This Is Hampshire

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