Cadnam 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 ...

situated in

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 ...

. The village has existed since the

medieval 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, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

period, when it was (and still is) an important crossroads between

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

and the towns of

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

Overview

Cadnam is part of the

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 ...

Copythorne Copythorne is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England, within the boundaries of the New Forest National Park. Overview Copythorne is in the north-eastern part of the New Forest. The village is on the A31 road, A31 Romsey Road, just south ...

, a smaller village lying a mile to the north. The village is situated at the crossroads between the

Romsey Romsey ( ) is a historic market town in the county of Hampshire, England. Romsey was home to the 17th-century philosopher and economist William Petty and the 19th-century British prime minister, Lord Palmerston, whose statue has stood in the t ...

to Ringwood road (the

A31 road The A31 is a major trunk road in southern England that runs from Guildford in Surrey to Bere Regis in Dorset. Route of road The road begins in Guildford at the start of Farnham Road near Guildford Station, coming out of the town and passin ...

) and the

Fordingbridge Fordingbridge is a town and broader civil parish with a population of 6,000 on the River Avon in the New Forest District of Hampshire, England, near the Dorset and Wiltshire borders and on the edge of the New Forest, famed for its late medieva ...

B3079. This makes it an important link between

and the

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

s of

via Ringwood, and towns in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

via Fordingbridge. The

A337 road The A337 road is a road in southern England that runs from the M27 motorway in Hampshire to Christchurch in Dorset. Route of Road The A337 begins at junction 1 of the M27 motorway near Cadnam. It heads south through the New Forest to the large ...

links Cadnam with the small port at

Lymington Lymington is a port town on the west bank of the Lymington River on the Solent, in the New Forest district of Hampshire, England. It faces Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, to which there is a car ferry service operated by Wightlink. It is within the ...

. The western end (Junction 1) 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 ...

is at Cadnam. Surrounding villages are

to the northeast, and

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 po ...

to the southeast. There are a number of

pub 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 ...

s in Cadnam, including the White Hart (after

White Hart The White Hart (" hart" being an archaic word for a mature stag) was the personal badge of Richard II, who probably derived it from the arms of his mother, Joan "The Fair Maid of Kent", heiress of Edmund of Woodstock. It may also have been a ...

), The Sir John Barleycorn (after

John Barleycorn "John Barleycorn" is an English and Scottish folk song listed as number 164 in the Roud Folk Song Index. John Barleycorn, the song's protagonist, is a personification of barley and of the alcoholic beverages made from it: beer and whisky. ...

) and The Coach And Horses located halfway through Cadnam on Southampton Road. There is also a hotel, The Bartley Lodge Hotel, and a Methodist church. The village has a petrol station with a convenience store. Cadnam is home to Cadnam

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 ...

Club (established in 1880) who play on the Lambs Corner ground (adjacent to the road to Lyndhurst).

History

Cadnam is first recorded in the 1270s as Cadenham.Cadnam, Old Hampshire Gazetteer
/ref> The name apparently means the

farmstead A homestead is an isolated dwelling, especially a farmhouse, and adjacent outbuildings, typically on a large agricultural holding such as a ranch or station. In North America the word "homestead" historically referred to land claimed by a set ...

("ham") of a man named ''Cadda''. In the 13th century there was an estate at Cadnam and at nearby Winsor which belonged to the nuns of Amesbury, who in 1286 obtained a grant of

free warren A free warren—often simply warren—is a type of franchise or privilege conveyed by a sovereign in medieval England to an English subject, promising to hold them harmless for killing game of certain species within a stipulated area, u ...

in both estates.Victoria County History of Hampshire: Eling
/ref> It seems to have formed part of the manor of Wigley, and the rent of tenants at Cadnam was paid to Amesbury Abbey until 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 ...

. Land at Cadnam and Winsor was granted with the manor of Wigley to Edmund Vaughan in 1545. All of these lands subsequently became part of the Paultons estate. A

Congregational chapel Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

at Cadnam was founded in 1790.

The Cadnam Oak

The Cadnam Oak, at the south-east corner of a crossroads in Cadnam (), is thought to be a "boundary tree" of the New Forest. Legend has it that the Cadnam Oak puts forth green leaves on

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...

, being leafless immediately before and after the day.Wendy Boase, (1976), ''The folklore of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight'', page 118. Batsford The current tree is actually a descendant of the first Cadnam Oak, but the fame still continues. Popular tradition even has it that the tree only buds on Old Christmas Day on 6 January, refusing to acknowledge the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...

change of 1752.

Notable residents

* Bentley Collingwood Hilliam *

Sir Charles Lyell Sir Charles Lyell, 1st Baronet, (14 November 1797 – 22 February 1875) was a Scottish geologist who demonstrated the power of known natural causes in explaining the earth's history. He is best known as the author of ''Principles of Geolo ...

spent much of his childhood at Bartley Lodge * *

Notes

External links

{{authority control Villages in Hampshire