Micheldever 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 ...

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, situated north of Winchester. It lies upon the

River Dever The River Dever is a chalk stream in Hampshire in the south of England. It rises at West Stratton near Micheldever and flows westwards for to meet the River Test at Wherwell. Course The source is at Above Ordnance Datum (AOD) alongside the ...

. The river, and village, formerly part of Stratton Park, lie on a Hampshire grass downland, underlain with chalk and flint. Parts of the river now disappear in summer through lack of replenishment, evaporation and, more specifically, the porous nature of the bedrock.

Governance

Micheldever Parish

Micheldever Parish is the most northerly in the borough of The City of Winchester. The parish incorporates Micheldever,

Micheldever Station Micheldever Station is a village in Micheldever, a parish of Hampshire, England. Following the construction of the 'Andover Road' railway station (later renamed Micheldever), a cluster of houses and small shops including The Canada Stores were a ...

(a separate village), East Stratton,

West Stratton West Stratton is a village in the civil parish of Micheldever in the City of Winchester district of Hampshire, England. According to the Post Office the 2011 Census was included in the civil parish of Kimpton, Hampshire, Kimpton. The village lies ...

, Weston Colley, and Woodmancott.

Council

Micheldever is part of the Wonston and Micheldever ward which elects 3 councillors to

Winchester City Council The City of Winchester () is a local government district in Hampshire, England, with a city status. The district covers the ancient settlement of the city of Winchester itself, but also covers a large area of central Hampshire including Bis ...

, as well as the wider Itchen Valley ward which elects a single councillor 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 ...

Facilities

The village has a church ( St Mary the Virgin; Church of England), a telephone exchange, a Church of England primary school, and a pub (The Half Moon And Spread Eagle).

Micheldever Nude

A renowned photograph by

Bill Brandt Bill Brandt (born Hermann Wilhelm Brandt; 2 May 1904 – 20 December 1983)Paul DelanyBill Brandt: A Life was a British photographer and photojournalist. Born in Germany, Brandt moved to England, where he became known for his images of British ...

, ''Micheldever Nude'' (1948), was taken inside Micheldever House, the home of the photographer's father, L. W. Brandt. L. W. Brandt died in 1965, aged 89, and is believed to be buried in Micheldever churchyard.

Buildings

The oldest property in Micheldever village itself lies on The Crease, Duke Street. Shillingbury (88) and Corner Cottage (89) make up the old Hall House built 1453. Made from traditional materials and methods The Crease lies to the south east of St. Mary The Virgin church. Local folklore has for a long time believed it to be a Pilgrims' Hospice. However, although the land was owned by the Abbot and Monks of Newminster, it is more likely to have been a wealthy

yeoman Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of servants in an English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in mid-14th-century England. The 14th century also witn ...

. Shillingbury forms the main hall, cross passage and first bedchamber. Corner Cottage forms the parlour and second bedchamber together with an extension to join it to the old Forge. The building is the only house to have been built using a

jetty A jetty is a structure that projects from land out into water. A jetty may serve as a breakwater, as a walkway, or both; or, in pairs, as a means of constricting a channel. The term derives from the French word ', "thrown", signifying some ...

without a

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cant ...

. The hall contains a rare jointed cruck, an arched beam from one side of the house to the other. In the 16th century the hall was floored. The large carved beam that supports the floor is thought to have come from

Hyde Abbey Hyde Abbey was a medieval Benedictine monastery just outside the walls of Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was dissolved and demolished in 1538 following various acts passed under King Henry VIII to dissolve monasteries and abbeys (see Dis ...

Transport

The village is served by

Micheldever railway station Micheldever railway station, in the village of Micheldever Station, serves Micheldever (approximately to the south) and the surrounding area in Hampshire, England. It is a flint building with an added veranda. The station is on the South West ...

– located to the north – on the main

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

line between

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, in the village of

. It is the only station between Basingstoke and Winchester; its remote existence explained by its original name of ''Andover Road''; the town of

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia *Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Andove ...

not receiving its own station until much later. Micheldever Station was the starting point for the first automobile journey in Britain, in 1895. upCrossCountry train travelling northbound through Micheldever Station August 2014 Micheldever is located from the

A303 The A303 is a trunk road in southern England, running between Basingstoke in Hampshire and Honiton in Devon via Stonehenge. Connecting the M3 and the A30, it is part of one of the main routes from London to Devon and Cornwall. It is a pri ...

to the

West Country The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Glo ...

, and from Junction 8 of the M3 motorway. The village lies approximately off the A33 road, originally a Roman road which, until the opening of the M3 extension in 1985, was the main route for traffic between

and

First automobile journey

Micheldever Station was the starting point for the first automobile journey in Britain, in 1895. The vehicle, a Daimler-engined

Panhard-Levassor Panhard was a French motor vehicle manufacturer that began as one of the first makers of automobiles. It was a manufacturer of light tactical and military vehicles. Its final incarnation, now owned by Renault Trucks Defense, was formed ...

, had been ordered from France by the Hon Evelyn Ellis (1843–1913). It was transported across the channel by ferry and then to Micheldever Station by train. Ellis received delivery on the platform and drove the vehicle to

Datchet Datchet is a village and civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England, located on the north bank of the River Thames. Historically part of Buckinghamshire, and the Stoke Hundred, the village was eventuall ...

, deliberately testing an

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

that required all self-propelled vehicles on public roads to travel at no more than 4 mph and to be preceded by a man waving a red flag. Ellis was not arrested and the Act was repealed in 1896.

Waste conversion plant

Clean Power Properties had plans to build a waste conversion plant at Micheldever Station. This had been referred to in the press as a waste incinerator. The plans were withdrawn in 2015.

In Tolkien's works

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...

Middle-earth Middle-earth is the fictional setting of much of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy. The term is equivalent to the '' Miðgarðr'' of Norse mythology and ''Middangeard'' in Old English works, including ''Beowulf''. Middle-earth is ...

, one of the

hobbit Hobbits are a fictional race of people in the novels of J. R. R. Tolkien. About half average human height, Tolkien presented hobbits as a variety of humanity, or close relatives thereof. Occasionally known as halflings in Tolkien's writings, ...

settlements in

The Shire The Shire is a region of J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth, described in ''The Lord of the Rings'' and other works. The Shire is an inland area settled exclusively by hobbits, the Shire-folk, largely sheltered from the goings-on in th ...

is called

Michel Delving The Shire is a region of J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth, described in ''The Lord of the Rings'' and other works. The Shire is an inland area settled exclusively by hobbits, the Shire-folk, largely sheltered from the goings-on in th ...

, a pun on both the real world village and an Anglo-Saxon phrase meaning extensive digging.The Secret Shire of the Cotswolds
/ref>

References

External links

The Half Moon and Spread EagleHantsWeb - MicheldeverMicheldever Parish Council
* {{authority control Villages in Hampshire