Copythorne is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

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, within the boundaries of the

New Forest National Park The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...

Overview

Copythorne is in the north-eastern part of the

New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...

. The village is on the A31 Romsey Road, just south of the

M27 motorway The M27 is a motorway in Hampshire, England. It is long and runs between Cadnam and Portsmouth. It was opened in stages between 1975 and 1983, providing the largest two urban areas in Hampshire (Southampton and Portsmouth) with a direct mot ...

which splits the parish into two.Copythorne Parish Web site
/ref> There is an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

parish church dedicated to Saint Mary, an Infants School, and a hall. The parish contains the villages of

Bartley Bartley is a family name and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Barrington Bartley (born 1980), Jamaican-American cricketer *Charles Bartley (1921–1996), American scientist * David M. Bartley (born 1935), American pol ...

Cadnam Cadnam is a village situated in Hampshire, England, within the boundaries of the New Forest National Park. The village has existed since the medieval period, when it was (and still is) an important crossroads between Southampton and the towns of D ...

, Newbridge, and Winsor, together with the hamlet of Wigley and part of the hamlet of

Ower Ower is a hamlet in the New Forest district of Hampshire, England. Its nearest towns are Totton – approximately to the southeast, and Romsey – around to the north-east. Ower lies on the A36 road northwest of Totton. It lies mostly ...

. To the north of the village is

Copythorne Common Copythorne Common is a nature reserve west of Southampton in Hampshire. It is managed by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust. It is part of the New Forest, which is a Special Area of Conservation and a Site of Special Scientific Inter ...

; parts of Cadnam Common and Furzley Common are also in the parish, as well as Shelly Common in the far north. There is woodland in the south and north of the parish, and

Paultons Park Paultons Park is an amusement park located in the New Forest National Park, near the village of Ower, in Hampshire, England, with over 70 rides and attractions. The Peppa Pig World themed area is based on the children's animated television ser ...

– an old estate with a modern theme park – is also in the parish.

History

Copythorne is first recorded as Coppethorne in the 14th century.Copythorne, Old Hampshire Gazetteer
/ref> The name means "Cropped (haw)thorn", which relates to the practice of

pollarding Pollarding is a pruning system involving the removal of the upper branches of a tree, which promotes the growth of a dense head of foliage and branches. In ancient Rome, Propertius mentioned pollarding during the 1st century BCE. The practice oc ...

trees to provide feed for animals. There are several

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

barrows in the parish, locally called "Money Hills". At approximately the site of the present church, the

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

from

Nursling Nursling is a village in Hampshire, England, situated in the parish of Nursling and Rownhams, about north-west of the city of Southampton. Formerly called Nhutscelle (in an 8th-century life of Saint Boniface), then Nutsall, Nutshalling or Nutshu ...

suddenly turned south towards

roundabout. In the

middle ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

much of the land in the area was part of the monastic estates of

Amesbury Amesbury () is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It is known for the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge which is within the parish. The town is claimed to be the oldest occupied settlement in Great Britain, having been first settle ...

Netley Netley, officially referred to as Netley Abbey, is a village on the south coast of Hampshire, England. It is situated to the south-east of the city of Southampton, and flanked on one side by the ruins of Netley Abbey and on the other by the Ro ...

, and

Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury ...

. After the

Dissolution Dissolution may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books * ''Dissolution'' (''Forgotten Realms'' novel), a 2002 fantasy novel by Richard Lee Byers * ''Dissolution'' (Sansom novel), a 2003 historical novel by C. J. Sansom Music * Dissolution, in mu ...

many of these lands become part of the Paultons estate. Saint Mary's Church in Copythorne is a red brick structure built in 1834, with alterations made around 1891–2. The

of Copythorne was one of those created out of the ancient parish of Eling in 1894.Victoria County History of Hampshire: Eling
/ref>

Scouts

Copythorne is home to Stanley’s Own scout group, one of the longest established Scout Groups and was founded in 1910 by Major R C H Sloane-Stanley who was a colleague of Baden Powell. It has its Headquarters in Romsey Road, Copythorne. The original Scout Hut was built in 1912 and is probably the oldest Headquarters in Hampshire still in use.

Carnival

The carnival in Copythorne has been running since 1947, the aim of the carnival weekend is to raise funds for the local scout group the 2nd New Forest North (Stanleys Own) Scouts, Charity Number 1015583.

Notes

External links

Copythorne Parish Councilstanleysown.org.uk/Copythorne carnival
{{authority control Villages in Hampshire