Wootton St Lawrence is a small village in the civil parish of

Wootton St Lawrence with Ramsdell Wootton is an English place name meaning ''place by the wood''. The standard pronunciation rhymes the first syllable with ''foot''. Places ;Places in England called Wootton *Wootton, Bedfordshire * Wootton Fitzpaine, Dorset * Wootton, New Forest, h ...

, 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

Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is the largest town in the county of Hampshire. It is situated in south-central England and lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon, at the far western edge of The North Downs. It is located north-east of Southa ...

. The name is derived 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 ...

''wudu tun'' meaning woodland settlement or farm.

History

The manor of Wootton (see

Manydown Manydown — or Manydown Park — was an ancient manor in Wootton St Lawrence, Hampshire, England. The fortunes of the estate were associated with those of the Wither family for more than 400 years. Author Jane Austen (1775–1817) was a freq ...

) was a possession of the prior and convent of St. Swithun from the time of 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 ...

until the dissolution of the monasteries. The Dean and Chapter of Winchester sold the manor to William Wither in 1649. However, the manor was reclaimed by the church after the

restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

and the family received no compensation. The manor returned to the family after the purchase by the Reverend Lovelace Bigg-Wither in 1863, but he sold it to the Bates family 10 years later. Wootton oak timber was used to reconstruct

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 ...

nave c. 1390 by

William of Wykeham William of Wykeham (; 1320 or 1324 – 27 September 1404) was Bishop of Winchester and Chancellor of England. He founded New College, Oxford, and New College School in 1379, and founded Winchester College in 1382. He was also the clerk of wor ...

Governance

Wootton St Lawrence is in the

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 ...

of Wootton St Lawrence with Ramsdell with an elected Parish Council and falls within the local government district of

Basingstoke and Deane Basingstoke and Deane is a local government district and borough in Hampshire, England. Its primary settlement is Basingstoke. Other settlements include Bramley, Tadley, Kingsclere, Overton, Oakley, Whitchurch and the village of Deane, som ...

, part of the shire county of

. On 1 July 1966 the

East Oakley Oakley is a village in the borough of Basingstoke and Deane in Hampshire, England, located around 4.5 miles (7 km) west of Basingstoke. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 5,322. Together with the smaller village of Deane, it forms ...

ward of Wootton St Lawrence Parish Council was added to Oakley Parish Council, with elections in May 1968. The council changed its name to Wootton St Lawrence with Ramsdell Parish Council because the majority of the parish is on the

Ramsdell Ramsdell is a small village in the civil parish of Wootton St Lawrence with Ramsdell, in the Basingstoke and Deane district, in the English county of Hampshire. Ramsdell neighbours with Charter Alley only 1/2 mile up the road. The town of Tadley ...

side of the A339 covering Ramsdell.

Religious sites

The village has a church named St Lawrence and the village is often regarded to its name. The mediaeval church was rebuilt in 1864, retaining the 12th century north arcade and tower and some of the 14th century windows.

Notable residents

* Charles Butler (1560–1647), sometimes called the ''Father of English Beekeeping'',The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Beekeeping,

Roger Morse Roger A. Morse, Ph.D. (July 5, 1927 - May 12, 2000) was an American bee biologist who taught many beekeepers both the rudiments and the finer practices, through his research and publications. During his long career, three new parasites of the hone ...

and

Ted Hooper Ted Hooper MBE NDB (21 September 1918 – 19 March 2010) was a British bee keeper and author of ''Guide to Bees & Honey'' (1976, fourth edition 1997). The book is a standard text recommended by the British Beekeepers' Association (BBKA) as part ...

, 1985, E.P. Dutton, Inc. was

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

of St Lawrence for 48 years until his death in 1647

References

{{authority control Villages in Hampshire Basingstoke and Deane

History

Governance

Religious sites

Notable residents

Further reading

References