Downton is a hamlet in a coastal neighbourhood in the parish of Milford on Sea,

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, clustered a crossroads on 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 ...

(

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 ...

New Milton New Milton is a market town in southwest Hampshire, England. To the north is in the New Forest and to the south the coast at Barton-on-Sea. The town is equidistant between Lymington and Christchurch, 6 miles (10 km) away. History Ne ...

) with a lane to the sea southwards whilst another lane leads north to the parish of

Hordle Hordle is a village and civil parish in the county of Hampshire, England. It is situated between the Solent coast and the New Forest, and is bordered by the towns of Lymington and New Milton. Like many New Forest parishes Hordle has no vill ...

, north. Most of the population today live in the part that has been re-allocated to the civil parish of

Milford Milford may refer to: Place names Canada * Milford (Annapolis), Nova Scotia * Milford (Halifax), Nova Scotia * Milford, Ontario England * Milford, Derbyshire * Milford, Devon, a place in Devon * Milford on Sea, Hampshire * Milford, Shro ...

(in which statistical urban area the majority of the population at the 2011 Census was included). Part of the

Green belt A green belt is a policy and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges, which hav ...

, its population fluctuates as it has two holiday/static home parks with amenities and some small camp sites.

Lengthened accessway to coast

The part of the cliff and beach known as Taddiford Gap most associated with Downton has become inaccessible directly from Downton due to

coastal erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of waves, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts of storms. The landward ...

. A forest path through Shorefield Holiday Park reaches West Road car park, with amenities, from which Hordle Cliff Beach (also known as Milford Beach) can be accessed, more than five miles of favourable bathing and sunbathing, weather and conditions depending.

History

Downton is first mentioned in the Pipe rolls for 1160 as a 'new place'. The name is first recorded as Dunchinton although more commonly Donketon and Coates states that this is most likely derived from Dunneca's farm or otherwise from *OE ''dunnocatu-n'' (farm of hedge sparrows). In 1263 the estate seems to have belonged to Thomas de Orweye although, by 1397, it had expanded to include part of Everton in Milford. After c. 1500 the manor became part of the extensive possessions of the Milles family of

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 ...

, builders of

Hurst Castle Hurst Castle is an artillery fort established by Henry VIII on the Hurst Spit in Hampshire, England, between 1541 and 1544. It formed part of the king's Device Forts coastal protection programme against invasion from France and the Holy Roman ...

. The manor was purchased at end of the 18th century by Sir

William Cornwallis Admiral of the Red Sir William Cornwallis, (10 February 17445 July 1819) was a Royal Navy officer. He was the brother of Charles Cornwallis, the 1st Marquess Cornwallis, British commander at the siege of Yorktown. Cornwallis took part in a n ...

(with adjoining manors in

) whose heir, Anne Whitby was the grandmother of Col.

William Cornwallis-West William Cornwallis Cornwallis-West VD JP (20 March 1835 – 4 July 1917), was a British landowner, politician for seven years from 1885 and raised the 6th (Ruthin) Denbighshire Rifle Volunteer Corps followed by further ceremonial duties in th ...

. His son

George Cornwallis-West Major George Frederick Myddleton Cornwallis-West (14 November 1874 – 1 April 1951) was a British officer of the Scots Guards. George Cornwallis-West was noted primarily for his marriages, the first to Jennie Jerome, mother of Winston Churchil ...

went bankrupt around 1920 and the estate was sold. The western part, owned by the Ashley Clinton family, was sold a few years later although the planned large scale development was prevented. Piecemeal house building followed for the next few decades. Before the 1980s, the

west of Downton made six sharp turns, but the road has since been straightened. The region has always been one of dispersed settlement although the

inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...

known as ''The Royal Oak'', Downton provided one centre for the provision of services in Hordle. Whilst the inn remains, today the adjacent businesses are car-related. In 2009 permission was granted for

gravel extraction A gravel pit is an open-pit mine for the extraction of gravel. Gravel pits often lie in river valleys where the water table is high, so they may naturally fill with water to form ponds or lakes. Old, abandoned gravel pits are normally used eith ...

on a nearby site, despite opposition from local residents.Group gives up fight to stop gravel pit bid

Southern Daily Echo The ''Southern Daily Echo'', more commonly known as the ''Daily Echo'' or simply ''The Echo'', is a regional tabloid newspaper based in Southampton, covering the county of Hampshire in the United Kingdom. The newspaper is owned by Newsquest, o ...

, 13 December 2009

References

{{authority control Villages in Hampshire