Preston Candover is a village and large civil parish 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. It has two churches, only one of which is still in use. Its nearest town is

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 ...

, approximately away. It has an acreage of , which lies on comparatively low ground, south of the high country round the surrounding villages of

Farleigh Wallop Farleigh Wallop is a small village and civil parish in Hampshire, England, approximately south of Basingstoke on the slopes of Farleigh Hill (208 m). The parish includes about . Since 1486, Farleigh Wallop has been the home of the Wallop fami ...

and Nutley, and north-west of that which rises to

Wield Wield is a civil parish in Hampshire, England, within the district of East Hampshire. It includes two neighbouring villages, Upper Wield and Lower Wield. At the 2011 Census the population was 254. The parish council meets quarterly at the par ...

and beyond to

Bentworth Bentworth is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. The nearest town is Alton, which lies about east of the village. The parish covers an area of and at its highest point is King's Hill, above sea ...

. The village itself lies on the lowest ground towards the west of the parish on the road which comes northeast from

Northington Northington is a village and civil parish in the City of Winchester district of Hampshire, England. It lies half a mile from the neighbouring village, Swarraton. Its nearest railway station is at New Alresford, on the Mid-Hants railway line. Re ...

and the two other Candovers, and runs across the parish to enter Nutley at Axford and continues uphill to Farleigh Wallop and then to Basingstoke. The village was home to the late

Lord Sainsbury of Preston Candover John Davan Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Preston Candover, (2 November 1927 – 14 January 2022) was a British businessman and politician. He served as the President of Sainsbury's, and sat in the House of Lords as a life peer and member of th ...

and his wife

Anya Linden Anya Linden, Baroness Sainsbury of Preston Candover (''née'' Eltenton; 3 January 1933) is an English retired ballerina and patron of the arts. Born in Manchester, she spent her childhood in California, where she received her early training wi ...

, of the supermarket

Sainsbury family The Sainsbury family (also Lord Sainsbury and family and incorrectly the Sainsbury's family) founded Sainsbury's, the UK's second-largest supermarket chain. Today, the family has many interests, including business, politics, philanthropy, arts, and ...

History

The village of Preston Candover is probably of Saxon origin. It was originally called ''Prestecandavere'', the Candover belonging to the Priests. The name derives in part from the Candover Brook which rises from springs just to the south of the village, and from a religious community which flourished here before the Norman Conquest. By the eleventh century Preston parish had been carved up into six manors. The land from which they drew their revenues became organised into the common field system. This was based initially on three large fields worked in common by the villagers, although new fields were added as the population grew. The fields were divided into furlongs, each furlongs being divided in turn into strips of about in size. A family's holding consisted of a number of strips dotted about each of the common fields. Much of the higher ground in the valley was devoted to rough grazing and also held in common, this land comprising Preston and Nutley Down, Southwood Green, and Oakhills Common. At one time Preston Down was joined to those of Brown and Chilton Candover, and this made it an ideal route for the drovers and their herds. The trackway across the down today is known as the B3046 route.

Victorian times

By Victorian times Preston Candover and Nutley had a population of over 500 people. The land was divided between six main farms, ranging in size from 200 to . The village at Preston formed a long straggling settlement. The cottages were a mixture of styles, some timber framed, others built of brick or of flint with brick dressings. The roofs were either thatched or tiled. The villages of Preston Candover and Nutley each had a church dedicated to St Mary. Preston's church lay at the southern end of the village. It had been built in the seventeenth century, the original church, dating from 1190, having been destroyed by fire. The village also had a Methodist Chapel, built in 1865.

1901 to the present

A major change in the appearance of the village occurred in the 1920s at the point where the Basingstoke–Alresford road met the road to Wield. Previously there had been just a pond lying at the fork in the road. In 1870 a parish pump was installed next to the pond. In dry summers it was much used by farmers from Wield and

Ellisfield Ellisfield is a village in the Basingstoke and Deane district of 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, Dummer and ...

, while the brick steps became a favourite spot for visiting Methodist preachers to conduct meetings and for pedlars to display their wares. A memorial was erected in 1919 in honour of the 16 men of the parish killed in action during the

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The Candovers are now today a main crossing point to

New Alresford New Alresford or simply Alresford ( or ) is a market town and civil parish in the City of Winchester district of Hampshire, England. It is northeast of Winchester and southwest of the town of Alton. New Alresford has independent shops, a t ...

and

, but still the three villages still remain in peaceful countryside. To this present day there is a primary school opposite the playing fields and tennis courts in the village, which has a nursery and a primary school up to year 6. Mrs Simrit Otway is the headteacher.

Governance

The village of Preston Candover is part of 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 authority ...

of Preston Candover, which is part of the parish council of Preston Candover and Nutley. It is also part of the Upton Grey and the Candovers

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

Basingstoke and Deane borough council 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 Southam ...

. The borough council is a

Non-metropolitan district Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially "shire districts", are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties (colloquially ''shire counties'') in a two-tier arrangement. Non-m ...

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 ...

References

External links