Priors Dean is a hamlet in the

Hampshire Downs The Hampshire Downs form a large area of downland in central southern England, mainly in the county of Hampshire but with parts in Berkshire and Wiltshire. They are part of a belt of chalk downland that extends from the South Downs in the southe ...

about west of

Liss Liss, Lyss or LISS may refer to *Liss (band), a Danish musical group *Liss (name), a given name and surname *Liss, Hampshire, a village in England **West Liss, the oldest part of Liss village **Liss Forest, a hamlet near Liss **Liss Athletic F.C. ...

and about north of

Petersfield Petersfield is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is north of Portsmouth. The town has its own railway station on the Portsmouth Direct line, the mainline rail link connecting Portsmouth a ...

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. It is a

deserted medieval village In the United Kingdom, a deserted medieval village (DMV) is a former settlement which was abandoned during the Middle Ages, typically leaving no trace apart from earthworks or cropmarks. If there are fewer than three inhabited houses the convent ...

first mentioned in the 1100s. Since 1932 it and

Colemore Colemore is a hamlet and former village in the Hampshire Downs about northwest of Petersfield. It was united with Priors Dean to form the civil parish of Colemore and Priors Dean in 1932. Colemore is a largely abandoned village. There were ho ...

have been in a single

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 ...

of Colemore and Priors Dean. The nearest railway station is at .

History

The village first shows some signs of settlement in the

neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

with flint tools and pottery found in the vicinity of the village.

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

Burial mounds A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of Soil, earth and Rock (geology), stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a ...

also lie to the north east of the Church. Roman pottery and other finds were also whilst field walking in the 1970s and 1980s although not in a large enough quantity to suggest settlement. The village is first mentioned during the reign of Henry 2 in 1154-1189 as ‘Dene’ deriving from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

‘denu’ meaning valley. The village came under the possession of the

Southwick Priory Southwick Priory or Our Lady at Southwick () was a priory of Augustinian canons founded in Portchester Castle on Portsmouth Harbour and later transferred north to Southwick, Hampshire, England. It ceased at the Dissolution of the Monasteries ...

in 1203 giving it its prefix. The main site of archaeological importance in the village is the

whose extent is not completely known, but likely covers the immediate area around the Church. No full investigation of the site has been done as to date and hence the reason for desertion is unknown. East Hampshire has a large number of abandoned villages, some abandoned during the 1300s thanks to 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 pes ...

, and others due to more peaceful means like water access difficulties like

Abbotstone Abbotstone is a hamlet in the United Kingdom in English county of Hampshire. It is located 2 miles from the nearest town, New Arelesford, 6 miles from Winchester and 54 miles from London. It lies at an elevation of 67 metres within the district of ...

. Neighbouring

was also abandoned and hasn't seen archaeological investigation either.

Church

The small church which now stands alone is all that is left of the medieval village. Its origins are in the early norman period around 1120–30 or potentially 11th-century; either late

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

or early

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

of which some architectural details still remain. For example the sandstone entrance has a typical 12th Century zig-zag decoration. The church has no known dedication. Medieval details are well preserved like the 13th and 14th century windows on the south wall the first of which has been long since filled in. The church was

restored ''Restored'' is the fourth studio album by American contemporary Christian music musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004 by BEC Recordings. Track listing Standard release Enhanced edition Deluxe gold edition Standard ...

in 1856, when the Norman revival

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. Ove ...

arch was built and the bell turret and spire were added. Inside the church are several 17th-century

monuments A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...

. It is a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Manors

Priors Dean has two

manor houses A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals wi ...

. Priors Dean Manor House, opposite the church, is a 17th-century brick building with 18th-, late 19th- and early 20th-century alterations. Goleigh Manor House, just over north of Priors Dean, was built in 1479.

References

External links

Hamlets in Hampshire {{Hampshire-geo-stub

History

Church

Manors

References

Further reading

External links