Odiham () is a large historic village 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 authorit ...

in the

Hart Hart often refers to: * Hart (deer) Hart may also refer to: Organizations * Hart Racing Engines, a former Formula One engine manufacturer * Hart Skis, US ski manufacturer * Hart Stores, a Canadian chain of department stores * Hart's Reptile Wo ...

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 twinned with

Sourdeval Sourdeval () is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, the former commune of Vengeons was merged into Sourdeval.Manche Manche (, ) is a coastal French département in Normandy, on the English Channel, which is known as ''La Manche'', literally "the sleeve", in French. It had a population of 495,045 in 2019.Hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...

, on the

South West main line The South West Main Line (SWML) is a 143-mile (230 km) major railway line between Waterloo station in central London and Weymouth on the south coast of England. A predominantly passenger line, it serves many commuter areas including south we ...

. The village had its own

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to des ...

in the nineteenth century, named

The Hundred of Odiham The Hundred of Odiham was a Hundred (a geographical sub-division of the area of a County) of Great Britain in the county of Hampshire. It contained the parishes of; Bentworth, Dogmersfield, Elvetham, Greywell, Hartley Wintney, Lasham, Liss, Odih ...

. The village is situated slightly south of the M3 motorway and approximately midway between the north Hampshire towns of

Fleet Fleet may refer to: Vehicles *Fishing fleet *Naval fleet *Fleet vehicles, a pool of motor vehicles *Fleet Aircraft, the aircraft manufacturing company Places Canada * Fleet, Alberta, Canada, a hamlet England * The Fleet Lagoon, at Chesil Beach ...

and Basingstoke, some 37 miles (59.5 km) north-northeast 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 ...

and 43 miles (69 km) southwest of London.

RAF Odiham RAF Odiham is a Royal Air Force station situated a little to the south of the village of Odiham in Hampshire, England. It is the home of the Royal Air Force's heavy lift helicopter, the Chinook, and of the King’s Helicopter Flight (TKHF) . ...

, home of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

's Chinook heavy lift helicopter fleet, lies to the south of the village.

History

The first written record of Odiham's existence is 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 ...

(1086),Domesday Book, 1086 where it appears with its current spelling, although the spellings ''Odiam'' and ''Wudiham'' have sometimes been used since.

Odiham Castle

King John decided in 1204 to build

Odiham Castle Odiham Castle (also known locally as King John's Castle) is a ruined castle situated near Odiham in Hampshire, United Kingdom. It is one of only three fortresses built by King John during his reign. The site was possibly chosen by King John be ...

and it was built during the years 1207 to 1214 at a cost of over £1000. He already had some ninety strongholds all over the country, and he may have chosen Odiham because it is halfway between

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

and Winchester. In 1216 the French Dauphin

Louis VIII Louis VIII (5 September 1187 – 8 November 1226), nicknamed The Lion (french: Le Lion), was King of France from 1223 to 1226. As prince, he invaded England on 21 May 1216 and was excommunicated by a papal legate on 29 May 1216. On 2 June 1216 ...

besieged King John in the castle for two weeks. King Henry III, son of King John, gave the castle to his sister Eleanor in 1236, so when she married

Simon de Montfort Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester ( – 4 August 1265), later sometimes referred to as Simon V de Montfort to distinguish him from his namesake relatives, was a nobleman of French origin and a member of the English peerage, who led the ...

in 1238 the castle became the de Montfort family home. However, Simon was killed in the Battle of Evesham in 1265 when he led the rebellious barons to fight against the king; Eleanor was sent into exile. During the fourteenth century the castle played a role in several significant events, including a sitting of

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

, and the imprisonment of King

David II of Scotland David II (5 March 1324 – 22 February 1371) was King of Scots from 1329 until his death in 1371. Upon the death of his father, Robert the Bruce, David succeeded to the throne at the age of five, and was crowned at Scone in November 1331, beco ...

in the castle for eleven years. during the reign of

Edward III of England Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ...

. However, by the fifteenth century its only use was as a hunting lodge. Odiham Park was a park which contained a hunting lodge owned by

Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

. On 4 August 1531, he stayed there with

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...

, who would later become his second wife. The castle was described in 1605 as a ruin, which it remains to this day.

Odiham Pest House

The

Pest house A pest house, plague house, pesthouse or fever shed was a type of building used for persons afflicted with communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, cholera, smallpox or typhus. Often used for forcible quarantine, many towns and cities had one ...

was built 1622 and subsequently housed local people and travellers suffering from the

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pe ...

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

and other infectious diseases. Many such "isolation hospitals" were built in that period but the Odiham Pest House is one of only five examples surviving. It was restored by the Odiham Society in 1981 to form a mini Heritage Centre.

William Lily

Thomas Cox wrote in 1738: :''This Place is famous for giving Birth to Mr. William Lily, who wrote the Grammar; which, with some Alterations, is commanded by

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

in King Henry VIII's Reign, to be taught in all Schools. He died master of St. Paul's School, London, Anno 1522.''

Odiham Agricultural Society

On 16 May 1783, a group drawn from 'Gentlemen of Rank, fortune and Ingenuity' plus some 'intelligent farmers' met in The George Inn, Odiham to inaugurate the

Odiham Agricultural Society The Odiham Agricultural Society was formed in 1783 by a collection of prominent citizens in Odiham, Hampshire, UK, for the purpose of encouraging local industrial and agricultural development. Its aim to advance knowledge in livestock breeding a ...

as a 'society for the encouraging of Agricultural and Industry in their village and neighbourhood'. Influenced by key members like Thomas Burgess and Granville Penn, the Society also resolved to reform farriery and animal care by establishing a school to teach veterinary science in England. This was to result in a far-reaching outcome: the foundation of the Royal Veterinary Society and the birth of the veterinary profession in Britain.

Education

* Robert May's School was founded in 1694. In 2020, Hampshire County Council announced plans to close Odiham library.

References

External links

Odiham Parish Council

The Odiham Society

Odiham Community
* ''Hampshire Treasures'' Volume 3 (Hart and Rushmoor) page

an

Stained Glass Windows at All Saints, Odiham, Hampshire
*
Odiham & Greywell Cricket Club
{{authority control Villages in Hampshire Civil parishes in Hampshire Hart District