Unusual Places To Visit In Hampshire
Combe Gibbet, Berkshire
The Combe Gibbet is one of the most interesting and gruesome landmarks in the history of England's "Bloody Code" in regards to capital punishment. Although the double gallows has been reported as being used as recently as 1900, the two 'soldiers'were later hanged from a single crossbeam and reportedly became overgrown by a small copse. Despite having been used for centuries, it went through few changes. These days, only one lonely beam still stands where once there were two.
Combe Gibbet was built in 1676 to replace a decaying wooden structure, This Is Hampshire (thisishampshire.co.uk). The original cost of construction was £12. The crime that prompted the construction of Combe Gibbet is unknown, but no prisoners are recorded as having been executed there. I’ve added some interesting history about the gibbet in my article as well as five other places you can visit if you want to see double gibbets firsthand. The Combe Gibbet, or Combe Hangman's Tree as it is sometimes known, is located in Berkshire close to the Berkshire-Hampshire border.
To reach the gibbet you pass through a small wooded valley. The full name of this haunting reminder of a dark past is Combe Hangmans Haunt. Did you know that there is a double gibbet in the UK which has been preserved by English Heritage? It's called the Combe Gibbet and is located in Combe, in the county of Berkshire. I visited it some time ago. The Combe Gibbet is a double gallows standing on the south side of the A4 just west of the village of Combe in Berkshire.
Fovant Badges, Wiltshire
The Fovant Badges are a set of regimental badges cut into a chalk hill at Fovant Down in the Fovant valley, near Fovant, Wiltshire, England. They are not quite as old as the badges at nearby Badbury Rings, but they are of an earlier date than many on the Salisbury Plain. The origin is unknown, but it has been suggested that they were carved in 1665 by soldiers resting from the Battle of Bovey (1664), though this is somewhat unlikely given the distance of 17 miles (27 km) from Bovey to Fovant.
Some sources have claimed that they were created by Dutch mercenaries or Hessian troops under Frederick Louis, Prince of. Most of our hillforts in Wiltshire have been deemed as un-defensible, but they are still some of the best preserved forts in England. The Fovant Badges occur at a right angle to the defences of the fort, in a section that was originally lower and more vulnerable than anywhere else on the site. The badges probably date from the pre-Roman occupation.
There were 9 original badges, 3 of them were subsequently destroyed by quarrying operations, and 2 others were added later. The total number now stands at 8. Located near Fovant, Wiltshire, England are an amazing set of carved badges or 'badges'. There are over 200 badges in various shapes and sizes. Dating back to the early 1700s, the origin of these badges is unknown. They are carved into the side of a chalk hill on Fovant Down.
They are carved into the white chalk and stand out against the green grass. These badges were created before the 1800s when colors for uniforms became popular. Fovant, a small village in Wiltshire, England, is home to one of the best examples of an Anglo-Saxon religious site in Britain. The Fovant Badges are a set of regimental badges cut into a chalk hill at Fovant Down. In more recent times, they were used as target practice by Canadian soldiers stationed at Fovant in the winter of 1944-45.
The Fovant Badges are a set of regimental badges cut into a chalk hill at Fovant, near Salisbury in Wiltshire. Many types of badges can be found on the hill, with the earliest believed to be those of the 57th (West Middlesex) Regiment of Foot and 1st Battalion Dorsetshire Regiment from the Crimean War. Fovant Badges are the remains of World War I war insignia cut into a hillside in Fovant, Wiltshire in 1917–1919 by soldiers of France and the United Kingdom as memorials to their fallen comrades.
Vandalian Tower, South Harting
Vandalian Tower is a medieval structure built in the Tudor period of English architecture. It was built almost 500 years ago but remarkably its listed as a scheduled monument. So what exactly does that mean? Fair question. It means the tower has been deemed to have special architectural or historic interest. Harting is located in West Sussex and contains about 400 residents who are concentrated around 1 village and 3 small hamlets. This means Vandalian Tower sits secluded and untouched by modern development.
Vandalian Tower, which lies just south of the village of South Harting in Hampshire may not be a well-known historical monument but it is nevertheless a worthy addition to any tourist trail. Located on a byroad to the quaint village, this medieval tower has been battered and broken by the centuries but despite this damage, the tower has stood for around 900 years. Vandalian Tower is a medieval moated site in Harting, West Sussex. The site was originally the site of a stone tower house, but only the mound remains.
It lies immediately to the north of the B2146 road. It is directly adjacent to Harting Church. Vandalian Tower (also known as Bishops'Tower) is a Scheduled monument in South Harting, Hampshire, England. It is located near the farm at Titbury Bottom, adjacent to the Harting Brook. The badges were carved from local white chalk by members of the British Army and the US Army. It may have been used as far back as the 14th or 15th century.
Waverley Abbey, Farnham
The ruins of this abbey, founded in 1128, lie in the Farnham suburb of Waverley approximately 1 mile south of Farnham Castle. The abbey was home to 14 Cistercian monks and had a great deal of land attached to it which was farmed by lay brothers. It was an exceptionally wealthy abbey and by 1377 was worth £266 13s 8d. Waverley Abbey is a Cistercian monastery in Waverley, Surrey, England. It was founded before 1132 as a daughter house of Byland Abbey in Yorkshire and received Royal patronage.
The abbey is situated on the top of the south-facing Hindhead hillside above the town of Farnham which is about 5 miles away. Waverley Abbey was the first Cistercian abbey in England. As such, it was the parent house of Fountains Abbey, Rievaulx, Bridlington and many other daughter houses founded throughout northern England and Scotland during the 12th and 13th centuries. Waverley Abbey was the first Cistercian abbey in England. It was founded in 1128 by a small band of monks and lay farm workers from Beaulieu Abbey in Normandy led by the Abbot Ailred and his 12-year-old novice, Alexander.
