Botley, Hampshire
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Botley is a historic village in
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...
, England, approximately east of
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
. It was developed as a natural crossing point for the
River Hamble The River Hamble in south Hampshire, England, source (river), rises near Bishop's Waltham and flows for through Botley, Hampshire, Botley, Bursledon, and Lower Swanwick before entering Southampton Water between Hamble Common and Warsash. The ...
, and received its first market charter from Henry III in 1267. The village grew on the success of its mills, its coaching inns, and more recently strawberries, and was described as "the most delightful village in the world" by 18th century journalist and radical politician
William Cobbett William Cobbett (9 March 1763 – 18 June 1835) was an English pamphleteer, journalist, politician, and farmer born in Farnham, Surrey. He was one of an Agrarianism, agrarian faction seeking to reform Parliament, abolish "rotten boroughs", restr ...
.


History

When the Romans built a road from Noviomagus Reginorum (Chichester) to Clausentum (Southampton), it crossed the River Hamble at a natural crossing point located to the south of present-day Botley. The crossing later became the site of Botley's first settlement, which existed at least as far back as the 10th century. Known in Saxon times as "Bottaleah" ("Botta" was probably a person, while "Leah" was the Saxon word for a woodland clearing). Some time prior to the
Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...
, a gradual rise in sea level meant that travellers found the river easier to ford further north of the original Roman crossing, this new crossing place provided a new focal point for the village, which in 1086 was listed in 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
as "Botelie" and included two water-powered mills and had a population of less than 100.http://www.eastleigh.gov.uk/PDF/04AreaProfiles-ParishesInEastleighBorough-Botley-20120530.pdf At that time, the mills were owned by the family of Ralph de Mortimer, a French nobleman who fought at the
Battle of Hastings The Battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, beginning the Norman Conquest of England. It took place appr ...
in 1066, and remained in the family's possession until 1304 when the manor, including the mills, passed to the order of St Elizabeth of Hungary in
Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...
. During the dissolution of the monasteries (1536-1539), the manor and mills were given to Thomas Wriothesly, a commissioner of
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
and later Earl of Southampton. After the third Earl died without a male heir, the manor and mills passed to the Dukes of Portland. From 1838 to 1921, the site was owned by W and J Clarke. As well as grinding and trading cereals, the company traded in coal and, for a short time, manufactured paper. The Botley Flour Milling Company was formed in 1921, and in 1928 it was sold to the current owners, the Appleby family. In 1267 John of Botley, Lord of the Manor, obtained a royal charter from Henry III for holding an annual fair and weekly market in the town. The village did not, however, grow significantly and in 1665 the village still had a population of only 350. During the 18th century, Botley functioned as a small inland port with barges transporting coal, grain, timber and flour along the river. The first bridge over the tidal part of the river was built in 1797 and by the time of the 1801 census 614 people were residing in the village. During the early 19th century, the radical journalist and political reformer
William Cobbett William Cobbett (9 March 1763 – 18 June 1835) was an English pamphleteer, journalist, politician, and farmer born in Farnham, Surrey. He was one of an Agrarianism, agrarian faction seeking to reform Parliament, abolish "rotten boroughs", restr ...
lived in Botley and called it "the most delightful village in the world". From 1805, Cobbett lived initially at Botley House near Botley Mills, and then, from 1812, in a smaller house at Botley Hill. A corn market was opened in 1829 and a cattle market in 1836, while Botley Market Hall – today a
Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...
– was built in 1848. A new church, All Saints, was built nearer the village centre in 1836. The National School opened in 1855 and the Recreation Ground was purchased in 1888. In the mid-nineteenth century the climate made south Hampshire ideal for growing
strawberries The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid plant cultivated worldwide for its fruit. The genus ''Fragaria'', the strawberries, is in the rose family, Rosaceae. The fruit is appreciated f ...
and Botley became the centre for a thriving trade in strawberries. In 1841 Botley railway station was opened by the
London and Southampton Railway London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...
Company. It became a major loading point for the seasonal strawberry traffic, as Botley formed the start of what is now known as the Strawberry Trail.


Places of worship

Botley has had a place of worship since at least the 11th century. The early church, commonly called St Bartholomew's, adjacent to the old village of Boteleigh, was mentioned in 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
of 1086. This church, south of the current village, was largely destroyed after a large poplar tree fell onto the nave in the early 1830s. This reduced the original capacity of 500 to what had been the chancel. The existing structure is 13th-century with an older doorway retrieved from the ruins and reset in the west wall. The east window is
Perpendicular Gothic Perpendicular Gothic (also Perpendicular, Rectilinear, or Third Pointed) architecture was the third and final style of English Gothic architecture developed in the Kingdom of England during the Late Middle Ages, typified by large windows, four-ce ...
in style and dates from the 15th century. The church was formally declared redundant in May 1982., pp.19, 31, 125, 132. A 'Dissenters Church' was built in Winchester Street in 1800, attracting a growing congregation.


All Saints

Following the partial destruction of St Bartholomew's, a replacement church, dedicated to All Saints, was constructed between 1835 and 1836. The new church was closer to the centre of the village; parishioners were finding it increasingly troublesome to take the path across the fields to the old church. The yellow-brick
Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...
church, designed by James William Wild, was consecrated on 22 August 1836. The church's font dates to around the 12th century; possibly from St Bartholomew's, it was recovered from a field in 1740. The church was expanded in 1859, and architect
Thomas Graham Jackson Sir Thomas Graham Jackson, 1st Baronet (21 December 1835 – 7 November 1924) was one of the most distinguished British architects of his generation. He is best remembered for his work at Oxford, including the Oxford Military College at Co ...
designed further expansions in 1892 and 1895. A church room was built in 1967, and a two-storey extension was completed in 2008.


Twin towns

Botley is twinned with: *
Saint-Jean-Brévelay Saint-Jean-Brévelay () is a commune in the Morbihan department of Brittany in north-western France. Population Inhabitants of Saint-Jean-Brévelay are called in French ''Brévelais''. Administration The mayor of Saint-Jean-Brévelay is Guà ...
, France * Plumelec, France * Plaudren, France


References


External links


Botley villageWalks in the Hamble Valley
{{authority control Villages in Hampshire Borough of Eastleigh Civil parishes in Hampshire