Ellisfield is a village in the

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 ...

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 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 Cliddesden is a parish in Hampshire, England located 3 miles south of Basingstoke, close to the M3 motorway. In the 2001 census it had a population of 489, increasing to 497 at the 2011 Census. The land and housing are currently protected as it ...

, Dummer and Farleigh Wallop.

History

The name Ellisfield derives from the Old English word ''ielfsanfeld'', meaning ''open land of Iellfsa''. At the time of the

Domesday Survey 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 ...

(1086) Ellisfield was part of the estate of the Bishop of Bayeux. It was held by Hugh de Port and later the St Johns. The manor was held by a favourite of Henry VIII, Sir William Sandys, in 1496. He later became

Lord Chancellor The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. Th ...

and was created Baron Sandys. In 1657, the fifth Lord Sandys served with

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

at the

Battle of Cheriton The Battle of Cheriton of 29 March 1644 was an important Parliamentarian victory during the First English Civil War. Sir William Waller's "Army of the Southern Association" defeated a Royalist force jointly commanded by the Earl of Forth and ...

. The property was sold and divided, to be reformed in 1789 by John Wallop, Earl of Portsmouth.

Demography

Ellisfield has a population of approximately 250 people.In 1871 the population was 245. William White (1878) History, Gazetter and Directory of the County of Hampshire. p. 225

Landmarks

There is a pub, The Fox, and a church, St Martin's, which has 13th-century origins. There is no school or local shop, with primary-age children being educated usually in either

Preston Candover Preston Candover is a village and large civil parish in Hampshire, England. It has two churches, only one of which is still in use. Its nearest town is Basingstoke, approximately away. It has an acreage of , which lies on comparatively low grou ...

village schools. There are 12

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

properties in the village, including the church, which is Grade-II* listed. Part of Ellisfield has been designated as a conservation area by

Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council 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 ...

. The conservation area comprises four of the settlements that lead to the creation of the village: Merritt's Farm, Ellisfield Manor, The Old Manor and Ellisfield Green. All are joined by a series of lanes running east/west, linking the A339 with the B3046. Part of this route formed the

Harrow Way The Harrow Way (also spelled as "Harroway") is another name for the "Old Way", an ancient trackway in the south of England, dated by archaeological finds to 600–450 BC, but probably in existence since the Stone Age. The Old Way ran f ...

, an ancient trackway across Southern England from Dover to Stonehenge and then

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. The remainder of the village lies outside the Conservation Area, further south along Green Lane, College Lane and Axford Road. Affordable housing has been built outside of the conservation area at Farrier's Field on land donated by the

Earl of Portsmouth Earl of Portsmouth is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1743 for John Wallop, 1st Viscount Lymington, who had previously represented Hampshire in the House of Commons. He had already been created Baron Wallop, of Fa ...

(who owns the Farleigh Estate).

References

* Tom Kime ''Aelle's Field: A History of Ellisfield Village Church'' (available from the church)

External links

Ellisfield Village Community Website

Ellisfield Parish Council Website
* ''Hampshire Treasures'' Volume 2 (Basingstoke and Deane) page

an

Stained Glass Windows at St. Martin Ellisfield, Hampshire

{{authority control Villages in Hampshire