Hambledon is a small

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 ...

in the county 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 England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, situated about 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 ...

within the

South Downs National Park The South Downs National Park is England's newest national park, designated on 31 March 2010. The park, covering an area of in southern England, stretches for from Winchester in the west to Eastbourne in the east through the counties of Hamp ...

Hambledon cricket club Broadhalfpenny Down

Hambledon is best known as the 'Cradle 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 ...

'. It is thought that

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, ...

, one of the oldest cricket clubs known, was formed about 1750. Hambledon was England's leading cricket club from about 1765 until the formation of MCC (

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

) in 1787. The famous ''Bat and Ball Inn'' in Hyden Farm Lane is next to the historic cricket ground at

Broadhalfpenny Down Broadhalfpenny Down (pronounced /ˌbrɔ:dˈheɪpniː/; '' brawd-HAYP-nee'') is a historic cricket ground in Hambledon, Hampshire. It is known as the "Cradle of Cricket" because it was the home venue in the 18th century of the Hambledon Club, b ...

where the Hambledon club originally played. The inn was run by

Richard Nyren Richard Nyren (1734 – 1797) was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket during the heyday of the Hambledon Club. A genuine all-rounder and the earliest known left-hander of note, Nyren was the captain of Hampshire when ...

, who was also captain of the club. The modern Hambledon Cricket Club's ground is at Ridge Meadow, about 0 away. Hambledon is a rural village surrounded by fields and woods. There are about 400 households with just under 1,000 residents. The hamlet of

Chidden Chidden is a Hamlet (place), hamlet in Hampshire, England. It is in the parish of Hambledon, Hampshire, Hambledon north of Hambledon village, and is a former tithing of the parish.'The parish of Hambledon', in A History of the County of Hampshir ...

, north of Hambledon, is in the parish. The nearest villages are Clanfield,

Denmead Denmead is a village in Hampshire near Portsmouth, England. It is part of the City of Winchester district. As of 2005, it had a population of 6,457 and an electorate of 4,987. At the 2011 Census the population had increased to 6,736 Denmead occ ...

and

Soberton Soberton is a village in the Meon Valley, Hampshire, England, east of the A32 and a few miles south of the village of Droxford. It appears in the Domesday Book as "Sudbertone" or "Sudbertune". For administration, it is in the Hampshire County C ...

. Due to the climate and location Hambledon also has its very own

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

, producing its own

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

Education

There is a

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...

, Hambledon Primary School, recently rated as 'Outstanding' by

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a Non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...

Religious buildings

The parish church, St Peter's and St Paul's, has elements that date back to the Saxon period. The church was significantly expanded in the 13th century and a tower was added. The tower was rebuilt at the start of the 17th century and most recently in 1794. The church underwent a restoration in the 1870s. Admiral Sir

Erasmus Gower Admiral Sir Erasmus Gower (3 December 1742 – 21 June 1814) was a Welsh naval officer and colonial governor. Naval career Gower, aged 13, joined the Royal Navy in 1755 under the patronage of his uncle, Captain John Donkley. He was present at ...

, governor of Newfoundland, is buried in the church. The regimental colours of the Hambledon Volunteers during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

hang over the south aisle.Village website
/ref> The Georgian old Vicarage is Grade II listed and noted for its fine Dutch gables.

Notable residents

Hambledon is the place of birth and death of

William Lashly William Lashly (25 December 1867 – 12 June 1940) was a Royal Navy seaman who served as lead stoker on both the ''Discovery'' expedition and the ''Terra Nova'' expedition to Antarctica, for which he was awarded the Polar Medal. Lashly wa ...

(1867–1940), a member of

Robert Falcon Scott Captain Robert Falcon Scott, , (6 June 1868 – c. 29 March 1912) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the ''Discovery'' expedition of 1901–1904 and the ill-fated ''Terra Nov ...

's Antarctic expeditions.

References

External links

Hambledon website
Hambledon {{Hampshire-geo-stub