East Worldham 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 sea ...
district of
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...
, England. It is east of
Alton
Alton may refer to:
People
*Alton (given name)
*Alton (surname)
Places Australia
*Alton National Park, Queensland
* Alton, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Balonne
Canada
* Alton, Ontario
*Alton, Nova Scotia
New Zealand
* Alton, New Zealand, ...
; and south-west of
Wyck Wyck may refer to:
* WYCK, a Pennsylvanian AM broadcasting radio station
*Wyck, Hampshire, a village in England
*Wyck House, a historic house in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
*Wyck (Maastricht)
Wyck (; li, Wiek ) is a neighbourhood in Maastricht, ...
.
Hartley Mauditt and
West Worldham are nearby, which, along with East Worldham, form the Parish of Worldham. The village is just east of 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 contains St Mary's Church and the Three Horse Shoes pub, amongst other buildings. Worldham Golf Course located just to west and Dean Farm Golf Course just to the east. For centuries the village and surrounding parish were owned by
Winchester College
Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of ...
.
History
Archaeological findings in the fields between West and East Worldham reveal that the area has been visited and inhabited since at least the
Palaeolithic
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος '' lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone to ...
era.
An Iron Age Hillfort, dated to around 100 BC, lay on the summit of
King John's Hill, to the east of East Worldham.
The Romans built a road from
Chichester
Chichester () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publi ...
to
Silchester which passed below the hill over what is now Green Street and Pookles Lane.
The village is believed to have been part of "Werildeham", mentioned in the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...
.
There have been multiple spellings of the name, including Werildeham; Wardham, 11th century; Wirldham, 12th century; Verildham, 13th century; Verilham and YV'erlham, 14th century; and Wardelham, 16th century.
![Manor Farm, East Worldham - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Manor_Farm%2C_East_Worldham_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1204470.jpg)
For several centuries, the
manor of East Worldham was held by the Venuz (or Venuiz) family, associated with marshall service, a sergeantry connected with the custody of the forests of
Woolmer
Woolmer is a place in Hampshire, England. Woolmer is situated between Liphook and Bordon. The surrounding Woolmer Forest, a Royal forest, is both a Special Area of Conservation and a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Woolmer was a tiny ham ...
and
Alice Holt. According to Samuel Tymms, "Robert de Venuz held the manors of East Worldham, in Hants, and Draycote, in Wilts, by the sergeantry of performing the office of Marshal. These manors, by the Domesday Survey, are said to be held by Geoffrey le Marshal. From the proximity of the period there appears little doubt but that this Geffrey left two daughters and coheiresses, married to Robert de Venuz and Gilbert le Marshal, which latter seems to have acquired the office indicated by his name, not however without a dispute from his co-inheritor, whose lands being held by virtue of serving the office, would entitle their holder to fill it."
A dispute arose concerning the inheritance of the manor in the early part of the 14th century. The Patent Rolls noted that, as the result of a trial in 1329, it passed, on the death of Margery, widow of John Venuiz, to the Burghersh family. There is also a recorded release by Thomas, son and heir of John de Venuz, to Sir John de Burghersh, knight, of all his right in East Worldham manor.
Thomas Chaucer
Thomas Chaucer (c. 136718 November 1434) was an English courtier and politician. The son of the poet Geoffrey Chaucer and his wife Philippa Roet, Thomas was linked socially and by family to senior members of the English nobility, though h ...
married Matilda, daughter and coheiress of Sir John Burghersh, nephew of
Henry Burghersh
Henry Burghersh (1292 – 4 December 1340), was Bishop of Lincoln (1320-1340) and served as Lord Chancellor of England (1328–1330). He was a younger son of Robert de Burghersh, 1st Baron Burghersh (died 1306), and a nephew of Bartholomew de ...
,
Bishop of Lincoln
The Bishop of Lincoln is the ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury.
The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and ...
, becoming the owner of the manor.
![East Worldham Village Hall - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/East_Worldham_Village_Hall_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1207870.jpg)
Documents indicate the Gurdons or Gordons occupied the village from at least the 13th century when Sir Adam de Gurdon held property. In 1472 the Gurdon holding was purchased by
Winchester College
Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of ...
who would increasingly grow to dominate the parish over the next 500 years.
The Sandals holding later merged with the Gurdons and documents exist indicating the existence of the Sandals in 1255 and another in 1329, witnessed by a John de Sandale.
For centuries, village life centred on the old farm holdings of the Manor; the Shelleys, Freres, Sandals and Gurdons (now merged into Old House Farm), and the Heathers, Clays, Porters, Park, Smiths and some descendants of these families continue to live in the village today and many old farm buildings still exist.
The
naturalist and
ornithologist Gilbert White
Gilbert White FRS (18 July 1720 – 26 June 1793) was a " parson-naturalist", a pioneering English naturalist, ecologist, and ornithologist. He is best known for his ''Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne''.
Life
White was born on ...
immortalised the localities of the region, including East Worldham, in his ''
The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne
''The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne'', or just ''The Natural History of Selborne'' is a book by English parson-naturalist Gilbert White (1720–1793). It was first published in 1789 by his brother Benjamin. It has been continuou ...
'' (1789).
By at least the mid-19th century, East Worldham and most of the parish of Worldham was owned by both Winchester College and the Dutton Estate.
From the early 1860s when Dr. Fell became vicar in the village, East Worldham underwent dramatic change, which the renovation of the church and additions of hop kilns to the local farms and the building of new cottages, most of which form the urban landscape of the village today.
In 1892 Mr Hall of Alton, financed the "lowering of the gradients of Worldham Hill by smoothing out four sections", a steep hill which had caused many problems to the local inhabitants as it lay along the main road to the village.
The first Parish Council meeting took place in 1894 in the schoolroom.
In May 1944, a Junkers JU188 was shot down by a Mosquito nearby and its debris was scattered across the nearby village of West Worldham, including the church wall.
Later, the inhabitants had to be evacuated when a bomb fell into the field opposite Manor Farm, and had to be defused and removed by the
Royal Engineers.
In 1962, the Dutton Estate holdings were sold to seven tenant farmers who retained the land they farmed but sold the remaining woodlands and properties.
Geography
![The Greensand Ridge near East Worldham - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/The_Greensand_Ridge_near_East_Worldham_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1207292.jpg)
East Worldham is located in the eastern central part of Hampshire, in the south-east of England, south-east of
Alton
Alton may refer to:
People
*Alton (given name)
*Alton (surname)
Places Australia
*Alton National Park, Queensland
* Alton, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Balonne
Canada
* Alton, Ontario
*Alton, Nova Scotia
New Zealand
* Alton, New Zealand, ...
. It is situated at above
sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...
. The landscape is dominated by farmland and several woods such as Warner's Wood, Pheasant Wood to the south and Furzefield Copse, Rookery Copse, Great Wood, Tanner's Copse, Pondfield Copse, Monk Wood and New Copse to the north are in the vicinity as is the small hamlet of
Wyck Wyck may refer to:
* WYCK, a Pennsylvanian AM broadcasting radio station
*Wyck, Hampshire, a village in England
*Wyck House, a historic house in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
*Wyck (Maastricht)
Wyck (; li, Wiek ) is a neighbourhood in Maastricht, ...
.
Situated on the edge of a rock terrace, the
chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Ch ...
of Alton is on the west. The village slopes down abruptly to the
gault
The Gault Formation is a geological formation of stiff blue clay deposited in a calm, fairly deep-water marine environment during the Lower Cretaceous Period (Upper and Middle Albian). It is well exposed in the coastal cliffs at Copt Point in ...
adjoining
Kingsley Kingsley may refer to:
People
* Kingsley (given name)
* Kingsley (surname)
Places Australia
* Kingsley, Western Australia
Canada
* Rural Municipality of Kingsley No. 124, Saskatchewan
England
* Kingsley, Cheshire
* Kingsley, Hampshire
*Kingsley ...
on the east.
Oakhanger Stream adjoins the
River Wey
The River Wey is a main tributary of the River Thames in south east England. Its two branches, one of which rises near Alton in Hampshire and the other in West Sussex to the south of Haslemere, join at Tilford in Surrey. Once combined the ...
from East Worldham to Kinglsey. Lodge Hill, or King John's Hill, is the site of a hunting lodge of
John, King of England; it is situated on an isolated eminence to the south-east of the parish by
Woolmer Forest
Woolmer Forest is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Bordon in Hampshire and West Sussex. It is also a Special Area of Conservation and part of the Wealden Heaths Phase II Special Protection Area. Two areas are Nature Conse ...
.
Chloritic Marl, characterised as a narrow band at the base of the
Chalk Marl,
is seen in the lane leading from Alton to West and East Worldham, and also north-west of Selbourne.
Blanket Street connects the village to West Worldham a mile to the south-west and
Hartley Mauditt just beyond that.
At East Worldham this road meets the
B3004 road (Caker's Lane/Green Street) near The Three Horseshoes and is the main road passing through the village from 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 ...
, leading to the
A325 road in the east.
The nearest railway station is
Alton
Alton may refer to:
People
*Alton (given name)
*Alton (surname)
Places Australia
*Alton National Park, Queensland
* Alton, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Balonne
Canada
* Alton, Ontario
*Alton, Nova Scotia
New Zealand
* Alton, New Zealand, ...
, north-west of the village.
Economy
In 2001 East Worldham contained roughly two-thirds of the population of 336 people who lived in the whole Parish of Worldham.
Most houses in the area date to the pre-20th century; however in recent times numerous farm buildings have been converted to housing and for industrial purposes.
According to the parish website, there are now "two significant industrial developments within the parish".
The local economy is based around agriculture, particularly cattle farming.
Beef cattle, sheep, grain crops, and
hops are the main sources of income,
Farmers from the area Worldham traded in
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
Alton
Alton may refer to:
People
*Alton (given name)
*Alton (surname)
Places Australia
*Alton National Park, Queensland
* Alton, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Balonne
Canada
* Alton, Ontario
*Alton, Nova Scotia
New Zealand
* Alton, New Zealand, ...
throughout its history.
Most inhabitants are either retired or commute to nearby towns to work. Golf is also important to the local economy, with Worldham Golf Course located just to west and Dean Farm Golf Course just to the east. The
Jalsa Salana, an annual convention held at Oaklands Farm nearby, attracts numerous people from surrounding areas.
Red Bug Productions are based in the parish cottages along the main road.
Notable landmarks
![West wall of St Mary, East Worldham - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/West_wall_of_St_Mary%2C_East_Worldham_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1703537.jpg)
East Worldham contains 10 Grade II listed buildings. St Mary's Church is of
Transitional Norman architecture and is a Grade II* listed building. Notable features include triple lancet windows, a small pointed tower, three bells, and stained glass by
Hardman & Co. The
chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse.
Ov ...
was restored in 1864, and in 1865, the
nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
was rebuilt. During the late restoration, a stone monument, like a coffin, was found under the floor of the church, which contained the figure of a 13th-century lady.
Magdalen College, Oxford is patron of the
vicarage
A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage.
Function
A clergy house is typically ow ...
. A church school was built in 1864 upon a site donated by
James Dutton, 3rd Baron Sherborne
James Henry Legge Dutton, 3rd Baron Sherborne (30 May 1804 – 8 March 1883), was a British peer.
Background
Sherborne was the son of John Dutton, 2nd Baron Sherborne, of Sherborne, Gloucestershire, by his wife, Hon. Mary Bilson Legge (1780–1 ...
.
![Old Hop Kiln, Blanket Street, East Worldham, Hampshire - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Old_Hop_Kiln%2C_Blanket_Street%2C_East_Worldham%2C_Hampshire_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1369200.jpg)
East Worldham House, a Grade II listed building, dates to the late 18th and early 19th century.
The two-storey house is made with ashlar walls, flat arches and stone cills. The entrance is located on the west side and features a Tuscan porch in the centre, with 5 windows, one of them large.
The interior of the house contains Regency features, with a staircase, panelled doors in architraves, and several fireplaces.
The coach house, 5 metres to the north of the house is also a listed building, dated to the early 19th century. It is made of
malmstone ashlar, with the upper wall of the centre boarded with a hay loft door and has a hipped slate roof. Today this building functions as a garage and workshop.
The Old House Farmhouse on Shelleys Lane is believed by the parish authorities to have originally been the oldest building in the village,
but the current building dates to only the 17th and early and late 19th century.
The walls are made of coursed malmstone with brick dressings, rendered with a
plinth
A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In ...
. The roof is apparently unusual with the "northern half being of steeper pitch, both sections half-hipped, with a slate roof above the wing."
It became a Grade II listed building on 1 May 1983.
The Manor Farmhouse building, also a Grade II listed building, dates to the early 17th century, with alterations in the mid-19th century, containing Victorian window sashes.
![Three Horseshoes Pub, East Worldham - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Three_Horseshoes_Pub%2C_East_Worldham_-_geograph.org.uk_-_98787.jpg)
The Sandals farm contains three cottages dated to the 17th century. Heather Cottage is another 17th-century cottage, with 20th-century additions to the rear, on Worldham Hill, noted for its thatched roof. It is believed to be named after William Heather, a resident mentioned in the 1665 Hearth Tax returns.
It became a listed building on 18 July 1986. The Three Horseshoes Public House was first licensed in 1834 and is one of the main features of the village. It was rebuilt some 50 years later by Henry Newman.
Also of note is the Rectory House on Wyck Lane,
and the Oast House, just to the west of the rectory.
Notable people
*
Alexander Charles Garrett, curate of East Worldham
*
John Wallis, Arabic scholar and vicar of East Worldham
References
External links
Worldham Parish website* ''Hampshire Treasures'' Volume 6 (East Hampshire) page
an
* St Mary Church, East Worldham, Hampshire page
Stained Glass Windows
{{authority control
Villages in Hampshire