Copythorne is a

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 ...

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 ...

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, within the boundaries of the New Forest National Park.

Overview

Copythorne is in the north-eastern part of the New Forest. The village is on the A31 Romsey Road, just south of the

M27 motorway The M27 is a motorway in Hampshire, England. It is long and runs between Cadnam and Portsmouth. It was opened in stages between 1975 and 1983, providing the largest two urban areas in Hampshire ( Southampton and Portsmouth) with a direct m ...

which splits the parish into two.Copythorne Parish Web site
/ref> There is an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

parish church dedicated to Saint Mary, an Infants School, and a hall. The parish contains the villages of

Bartley Bartley is a family name and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname *Barrington Bartley (born 1980), Jamaican-American cricketer *Charles Bartley (1921–1996), American scientist * David M. Bartley (born 1935), American poli ...

, Cadnam, Newbridge, and Winsor, together with the hamlet of Wigley and part of the hamlet of Ower. To the north of the village is Copythorne Common; parts of Cadnam Common and Furzley Common are also in the parish, as well as Shelly Common in the far north. There is woodland in the south and north of the parish, and Paultons Park – an old estate with a modern theme park – is also in the parish.

History

Copythorne is first recorded as Coppethorne in the 14th century.Copythorne, Old Hampshire Gazetteer
/ref> The name means "Cropped (haw)thorn", which relates to the practice of

pollarding Pollarding is a pruning system involving the removal of the upper branches of a tree, which promotes the growth of a dense head of foliage and branches. In ancient Rome, Propertius mentioned pollarding during the 1st century BCE. The practice ...

trees to provide feed for animals. There are several

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 ...

barrows in the parish, locally called "Money Hills". At approximately the site of the present church, the Roman road from Nursling suddenly turned south towards Cadnam roundabout. In the

middle ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

much of the land in the area was part of the monastic estates of Amesbury, Netley, and

Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbur ...

. After the Dissolution many of these lands become part of the Paultons estate. Saint Mary's Church in Copythorne is a red brick structure built in 1834, with alterations made around 1891–2. The

of Copythorne was one of those created out of the ancient parish of Eling in 1894.Victoria County History of Hampshire: Eling
/ref>

Scouts

Copythorne is home to Stanley’s Own scout group, one of the longest established Scout Groups and was founded in 1910 by Major R C H Sloane-Stanley who was a colleague of Baden Powell. It has its Headquarters in Romsey Road, Copythorne. The original Scout Hut was built in 1912 and is probably the oldest Headquarters in Hampshire still in use.

Carnival

The carnival in Copythorne has been running since 1947, the aim of the carnival weekend is to raise funds for the local scout group the 2nd New Forest North (Stanleys Own) Scouts, Charity Number 1015583.

Notes

External links

Copythorne Parish Councilstanleysown.org.uk/Copythorne carnival
{{authority control Villages in Hampshire