Catherington is a village in the

East Hampshire East Hampshire is a local government district in Hampshire, England. Its council is based in Petersfield. Other towns are Alton and Bordon. The district was originally to be known as the District Council of Petersfield. It comprised 42 seats a ...

district of

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, England. It is 1 mile (1.8 km) northwest of

Horndean Horndean is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England, north of Portsmouth. The nearest railway station is southeast of the village at Rowlands Castle. The village had a population of 12,942 at the 2011 Census, and shares the semi-rura ...

. The village is also close to

Cowplain Cowplain is a village north of Waterlooville, Hampshire, England. With a population of 9,353 at the 2011 census, it makes up above 7% of Havant borough's population. It grew along the old London to Portsmouth road (the A3) on which the village ...

and Clanfield. It is situated about 10 miles north of

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

and eight miles south of

Petersfield Petersfield is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is north of Portsmouth. The town has its own railway station on the Portsmouth Direct line, the mainline rail link connecting Portsmouth a ...

, in the very south of the district of

. It has a semi-rural character. Catherington is within the new boundaries of

parish. Catherington is not a very large village and has an approximate population of 3900 (estimated 1998). The village is a conservation area.

History

The name of Catherington is derived from Cateringatune (first recorded in 1015) and possibly means ‘farmstead of the people living by the hill called Cadeir’, or alternatively ‘farmstead of the family or followers of a man called Cat(t)or’. The village lies at the top of a hill and is similar to its pre-19th century layout in a linear pattern, with buildings either side of Catherington Lane, the main road in the village. The church in the village is the oldest building in Catherington and dates to the mid 12th century. There are several listed buildings in the village. In 1838 there were three working farms in the village and many of the farm buildings still exist, including a listed Granary building erected in 1820 on the west side of Catherington Lane. There are two Georgian era mansions in the village (St Catherines and Catherington House). The current vicarage was built in 1880, replacing an earlier building.

Governance

Catherington is in the

constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...

for

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

s to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

. Prior to

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...

in 2020, it was represented by the South East England constituency for the

European Union parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopt ...

Landmarks

The village has a medieval

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

, All Saints Church, which is mid 12th century in origin. The church was restored in 1883 by Edmund Ferrey (son of

Benjamin Ferrey Benjamin Ferrey FSA FRIBA (1 April 1810–22 August 1880) was an English architect who worked mostly in the Gothic Revival. Family Benjamin Ferrey was the youngest son of Benjamin Ferrey Snr (1779–1847), a draper who became Mayor of Christc ...

). The church contains a notable tomb monument to Sir

Nicholas Hyde Sir Nicholas Hyde (c. 1572 – 25 August 1631) was Lord Chief Justice of England. Origins Hyde was born at Wardour, in Wiltshire, a son of Lawrence Hyde (d. 1590) of West Hatch, Wiltshire, MP for Heytesbury in 1584, by his second wife Anne ...

and his wife which occupies the east end of the north chapel. In the churchyard is the tomb of Admiral Sir Charles Napier and a monument to another Admiral, Sir Christopher Cradock, as well as the tomb of

Edmund Kean Edmund Kean (4 November 178715 May 1833) was a celebrated British Shakespearean stage actor born in England, who performed, among other places, in London, Belfast, New York, Quebec, and Paris. He was known for his short stature, tumultuo ...

, an actor who had a house in

(some of his later family paid the restoration of the church in the late 19th century). The church has an early 14th century painting of the Psychostasia on the wall of the nave. Attached to the church is a hall, and there is a

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

, ''The Farmer Inn''. The Farmer public house was rebuilt in the 1920s following a fire.

Culture and community

The main community centre of Catherington is the Church Hall (used by the

Scouts Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

). There is a pond in the village and there is a car park in the village for access to Catherington Down. In 2021, the village held an inaugural craft fair.

Transport

The village is just west of the

A3 road The A3, known as the Portsmouth Road or London Road in sections, is a major road connecting the City of London and Portsmouth passing close to Kingston upon Thames, Guildford, Haslemere and Petersfield. For much of its length, it is classified ...

. The nearest railway station in 3.3 miles (5.4 km) southeast of the village, at

Rowlands Castle Rowland's Castle is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is 2.9 miles (4.7 km) north of Havant, on the Hampshire/West Sussex border. The focal point of the village is the village green which ...

Education

There is a primary school in the village, Catherington

C of E The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

Infant School. The school was originally built in 1851 for girls and infants but became a primary school in 1939 and then again at infant school in 1994. Kingscourt School is a private school in the village. Kingscourt School occupies Catherington House, once the family home of Admiral Samuel Hood mentor to Nelson) who commissioned the house in 1771. In 2021, land clearance nearby to the school revealed extensive evidence of pre-19th century farm buildings, previously owned by another admiral Admiral Sir Roger Curtis and family.

Media

The local

newspapers A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports ...

and

publications To publish is to make content available to the general public.Berne Conve ...

are *Meon Valley News (Free) *Petersfield Herald
The News

Notable people

* Thomas Brett, one of

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

's earliest well-known

fast bowlers Fast bowling (also referred to as pace bowling) is one of two main approaches to bowling (cricket), bowling in the sport of cricket, the other being spin bowling. Practitioners of pace bowling are usually known as ''fast'' bowlers, ''quicks'', ...

and a leading player for

when its team was organised by the

Hambledon Club The Hambledon Club was a social club that is famous for its organisation of 18th century cricket matches. By the late 1770s it was the foremost cricket club in England. Foundation The origin of the club, based near Hambledon in rural Hampshire, ...

in the 1770s. * Sir Christopher Cradock, (1862–1914), admiral. *

Sarah Doudney Sarah Doudney (15 January 1841, Portsea, Portsmouth, Hampshire – 8 December 1926, Oxford)Charlotte Mitchell"Doudney, Sarah (1841–1926)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, May 2005, ret ...

, (1841–1926), novelist, children's writer and hymn writer, lived in the village with her parents until 1871. *

Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood (12 December 1724 – 27 January 1816) was an Admiral (Royal Navy), admiral in the Royal Navy. As a junior officer he saw action during the War of the Austrian Succession. While in temporary command of , he drove a ...

(1724–1816), admiral *

(1572-1631),

Lord Chief Justice Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

(entombed in the church) *

, (1789–1833), actor. Kean had a house in

. His remains may have been moved to Catherington from

Richmond, Surrey Richmond is a town in south-west London,The London Government Act 1963 (c.33) (as amended) categorises the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames as an Outer London borough. Although it is on both sides of the River Thames, the Boundary Commis ...

during restoration work there in 1904. * Sir Charles Napier, (1786–1860), admiral. *

Caryl Thain Caryl Thain (11 April 1895 – 24 September 1969) was an English cricketer. Thain was a right-handed batsman who bowled right-arm fast-medium. He was born at Catherington, Hampshire. Thain made his first-class debut for Surrey against G ...

(1895-1969), cricketer and President of

Surrey County Cricket Club Surrey County Cricket Club (Surrey CCC) is a first-class club in county cricket, one of eighteen in the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Surrey, including areas that now form South London ...

References

External links

Catherington Village Residents' AssociationHampshire County CouncilEast Hampshire District CouncilBritish History Online
{{authority control Villages in Hampshire