Itchen Stoke and Ovington () is an English civil parish consisting of two adjoining villages 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, west of
Alresford town centre in the valley of the
River Itchen, north-east of
Winchester
Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...
, and south-east of
Itchen Abbas
Itchen Abbas is a village on the River Itchen about north-east of Winchester in Hampshire, England. The village is part of the Itchen Valley civil parish.
A major oil pipeline from Hamble to Aldermaston runs through Itchen Abbas.
Parish churc ...
.
Itchen Stoke
The village population is 210, including Abbotstone.
Its most notable buildring is the
Church of St Mary, a redundant Anglican church built by the civil engineer and architect
Henry Conybeare
Henry Conybeare (22 February 1823 – 23 January 1892) was an English civil engineer and Gothic revival architect who designed two notable churches and greatly improved the supply of drinking water to Mumbai.
Early life in England and work in Ind ...
in 1856, now under the care of the
Churches Conservation Trust
The Churches Conservation Trust is a registered charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk in England. The charity cares for over 350 churches of architectural, cultural and historic significance, which have been transferred in ...
. It is in an early French style, Grade II* listed and made of brown and grey rubble stone with limestone dressings.
History
The manor of Itchen Stoke was granted to the
Bishop of Winchester
The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' (except dur ...
by
King Edgar in 960.
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 manusc ...
records the manor as having passed to
Romsey Abbey
Romsey Abbey is the name currently given to a parish church of the Church of England in Romsey, a market town in Hampshire, England. Until the Dissolution of the Monasteries it was the church of a Benedictine nunnery. The surviving Norman-era c ...
, which retained it until the
Dissolution of the Monasteries. It then passed to
Sir William Paulet, later the first
Marquess of Winchester
Marquess of Winchester is a title in the Peerage of England that was created in 1551 for the prominent statesman William Paulet, 1st Earl of Wiltshire. It is the oldest of six surviving English marquessates; therefore its holder is considered ...
and stayed with his family until the time of the
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
. Itchen Stoke Mill (with an attached miller's cottage) is of ancient origin. The current building dates from the 18th century and straddles the mill race. Itchen Stoke House is 19th century, has nine bays and is central with small grounds; this being the former
rectory
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 ...
.
Abbotstone
This outlying north-east hamlet of a few houses has a population of 32.
[Page, William, ed. (1911]
"Parishes: Itchen Stoke with Abbotstone"
''The Victoria History of the County of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight'' Constable, London, Vol. 4, pp. 192–95, It was formerly in its own civil parish
and lies along the
Ellisfield
Ellisfield is a village in the Basingstoke and Deane district of Hampshire, England. It lies approximately south of Basingstoke on the other side of the M3 motorway from the town. As a parish it is grouped together with Cliddesden, Dummer and ...
to
Itchen Abbas
Itchen Abbas is a village on the River Itchen about north-east of Winchester in Hampshire, England. The village is part of the Itchen Valley civil parish.
A major oil pipeline from Hamble to Aldermaston runs through Itchen Abbas.
Parish churc ...
portion of the
Three Castles Path
The Three Castles Path is a 60-mile long-distance footpath in England from Winchester Great Hall, Hampshire, to Windsor Castle, Berkshire, via the ruins of Odiham Castle (also known as 'King John's Castle').
Winchester Great Hall is the only ...
[Leapman, Michael (26 September 1993) "Travel: In the footsteps of King John; Juggling route maps and rail timetables, Michael Leapman walks the Three Castles Path from Windsor to Winchester" ''The Independent'' London, Sunday Review section, p. 75.] Abbotstone contains an abandoned medieval village,
with further details at the charity
English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
's website
and evidence of fortifications,
as well as several abandoned quarries.
The traveller
Celia Fiennes
Celia Fiennes (7 June 1662 – 10 April 1741) was an English traveller and writer. She explored England on horseback at a time when travel for its own sake was unusual, especially for women.
Early life
Born at Newton Tony, Wiltshire,"June 7th ...
, who made extensive tours riding
side-saddle
Sidesaddle riding is a form of equestrianism that uses a type of saddle which allows female riders to sit aside rather than astride an equine. Sitting aside dates back to antiquity and developed in European countries in the Middle Ages as a way ...
, passed through "Aberstone" in 1691. She noticed the house of the
Duke of Bolton
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...
"which stands on the side of a hill where are fine Gardens and much fruite."
Ovington
![River Itchen Ovington (riverbed)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/River_Itchen_Ovington_%28riverbed%29.JPG)
The village on the opposite south bank, of the
River Itchen, known upstream as the
River Alre
The River Alre (also, occasionally, Arle) is a tributary of the River Itchen in Hampshire in the south of England. It rises in Bishop's Sutton and flows west for to meet the Itchen below New Alresford.
The river is a classic English chalk st ...
in
New Alresford
New Alresford or simply Alresford ( or ) is a market town and civil parish in the City of Winchester district of Hampshire, England. It is northeast of Winchester and southwest of the town of Alton.
New Alresford has independent shops, a ...
and
Old Alresford
Old Alresford ( or ) is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England. It is north of the town of New Alresford, northeast of the city of Winchester, and south-west of the town of Alton.
In 1851, George Sumner, son of Charles Richard ...
, has a population of 163
and several homes, including an Old Rectory. Its largest building in the central area is
Ovington House
Ovington House is a late 18th century house in Ovington, Hampshire.
History
The house was built for James Standerwick. It was inherited by his daughter Elizabeth Standerwick, who married, Sir Thomas Richard Swinnerton Dyer, 7th Baronet (c. 17 ...
, of no great antiquity, but its North Lodge is listed as Grade II. There is a pub, the Bush Inn.
Its church is dedicated to St Peter and is Grade II listed.
Extending to the far south into 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 ...
, the parish reaches a
Scheduled ancient rectangular enclosure.
History
The name appears in the Domesday Book as "Ofinetune", which means "the place above" in Old English.
The revenues from the
manor at Ovington supported Itchen's nuns until 1284 when it was sold to the monks of
St. Swithun's Priory,
Winchester Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity,Historic England. "Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (1095509)". ''National Heritage List for England''. Retrieved 8 September 2014. Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winches ...
. On the
Dissolution of the monasteries (1534–61), it was transferred to the newly formed Dean and Chapter of the cathedral. The manorial rights were disputed in 1855–59 between the Baroness van Zandt and the Bishop of Winchester. After this was resolved, it became the property of the Hewson family.
[
]
Governance
The parish elects every four years one representative to Hampshire County Council
Hampshire County Council (HCC) is an English council that governs eleven of the thirteen districts geographically located within the ceremonial county of Hampshire. As one of twenty-four county councils in England, it acts as the upper tier of ...
, this is currently:
The parish elects one representative to the City of Winchester District Council, currently:
References
External links
A vision of Ovington @ visionofbritain.org
Stained Glass Windows at St. Peter, Ovington, Hampshire
Stained Glass Windows at St. Mary, Itchen Stoke, Hampshire
{{authority control
Civil parishes in Winchester