Normans 1066 – 1154 Period
Merdon Castle
Between Standon and Hursley just off the A3090 sits Merdon Castle This little known ancient monument is now in private hands and so getting sight of it is tricky. If you drive along Castle Merdon Lane you can stop and take a look over the wall and you will see the earthworks on which this…
Read MoreSt Michael and All Angels Knights Enham
The church of St Michael and All Angels Knights Enham, is a 12th century gem in Hampshire, 800 years worth of history to mull over. Situated in a lane alongside a farm, it’s easy to imagine souls of hundreds of years entering its doors.
Read MoreSt Leonard’s Church Hartley Mauditt
St Leonards church in Hartley Mauditt Hampshire, sits in splendid isolation, it doesn’t even have its manor house for company. The ownership of the manor itself touches on key families in Medieval England.
Read MoreNorman Churches
Hampshire is blessed with magnificent Norman churches whose wide arches are beautifully decorated with all manner of carving and whose fonts are square and strong.
Read MorePortchester Castle
Portchester Castle is breathtakingly beautiful, sitting on the northern shore of Portsmouth Harbour. Its Roman walls and bastions are as imposing today as they must have appeared seventeen hundred years ago.
Read MoreSite of William the Conqueror’s Palace
Stroll up a tiny alley way in Winchester to see a vestige of what once was the site of William the Conqueror’s palace and a little way along the church of St Lawrence where his chapel once stood.
Read MoreSt Simon and St Jude Bramdean
In the ‘valley where the broom grows’, well actually not in the valley but sitting high above it, is the church of St Simon and St Jude Bramdean. You do not glimpse it from the road but this C12th church gazes down on its community, well above the winter bourne that floods the road below…
Read MoreMeonstoke Font
The font at St Andrew’s church Meonstoke, is a simple C12th example with a beautiful lead lining.
Read MoreBeautiful Brockenhurst Church
The oldest church in the New Forest, Brockenhurst church, the church of St Nicholas, has a beautifully mellow look, as though it has occupied this position for ever. And it nearly has. Like several other Hampshire churches, St Nicholas is positioned on a mound, a sign that this position has been held sacred maybe since…
Read MoreSt Dionisius’s Priory Southampton
A old 1784 image of St Dionisius’s Priory Southampton Hampshire, founded by King Henry I in the 1120’s.
Read MoreAll Saints Church Little Somborne
All Saints Church Little Somborne is an Anglo Saxon church that sits close to Somborne Park in Hampshire and has remained largely untouched for seven hundred years. It is a looked after by the Church Conservation Trust.
Read MoreUntangling the Early Church in Hampshire (Part 2)
The pattern of the early church in Hampshire can be a complicated matter. Domesday records approximatley 128 churches but was that a complete tally?
Read MoreTitchfield, an Ancient Market Place
Titchfield in Hampshire is now a sleepy village but this belies its important role in the history of the county.
Read MoreKnights Hospitaller in Godsfield
The Knights Hospitaller in Godsfield and Baddesley Hampshire were established in the C12th to aid those on pilgrimage between Southampton, Winchester and beyond.
Read MorePristine Norman Architecture at Winchfield Church
Wonderful Norman architecture at Winchfield church Hampshire, along with it’s manor house all that remains of medieval village
Read MoreAshley Castle
Henry de Blois built Ashley Castle during the period of the Anarchy as part of his support for his brother King Stephen. Built in 1138, it was destroyed in 1155 before being rebuilt during the reign of King John.
Read MoreSt Peter ad Vincula Colemore
The church of St Peter ad Vincula Colemore is an isolated church that sits alongside its ancient manor house. It looks as if time has past it by and is a wonderfully evocative picture of a time long ago in Hampshire History.
Read MoreSt Swithun’s Church Martyr Worthy
St Swithun’s church Martyr Worthy is a Norman church but its tall narrow doorways might tempt you to think otherwise. There has been a church at Martyr Worthy Hampshire since Domesday.
Read MoreBaptismal Font Newton Valance
The ancient Baptismal font in St Mary’s church Newton Valance Hampshire may be as old as the ancient yew that stands guard over the church
Read MoreSt Mary Magdalene West Tisted
St Mary Magdalene church in West Tisted is one of Hampshire’s hidden gems. To find it involves taking a small path over a moat. The church sits within the grounds of a manor house whose history is tied up with the English Civil War and the Tichborne family. The church itself is much older, early…
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