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Overton, Hampshire
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Overton, Hampshire
Overton is a village and parish in Hampshire, England, west of Basingstoke and east of Andover and Whitchurch. The village contains the smaller hamlets of Southington, Northington, Ashe, Polhampton, and Quidhampton, the latter two lying to the north of the village. The River Test has its source 1 mile (1.6 km) to the east in Ashe.
There is evidence of habitation since the Stone and Bronze Ages with finds and barrows nearby.
The area around Overton has been inhabited for millennia with evidence of Stone Age, Bronze Age and Celtic occupation scattered across the parish and surrounding countryside, including tumuli at Popham Beacons at the southern tip of the parish; Abra Barrow on the boundary south west of Overton; a long barrow to the west of Willesley Warren Farm in the north of the parish; strip lynchets on Rotten Hill and the Harrow Way, an ancient track which runs across the parish north of the village.
Roman occupation in the area is shown by the discovery of Roman pottery shards in Little Meadow and the Port Way Roman Road marks the northern boundary of the parish.
The development of the village began in earnest during the 10th century when Frithstan, the Bishop of Winchester, in a chartership dated 909, was granted "Uferantun" by King Edward the Elder. Overton developed over the next century and by the time of Domesday Book the settlement included a large number of dwellings, the Church of St Mary and several corn mills primarily due to its location on the River Test. By the 12th century Overton was a significant location with a royal residence, Tidgrove Kings House, being developed just north of Overton. The residence was built for Henry II for use on journeys between Windsor and either Winchester or Hamwych (Southampton) which was the customary port for travel to and from his French possessions. The importance and expansion continued throughout the 12th and 13th centuries facilitated in 1218 by Henry III providing a royal grant to the bishop of Winchester for a market in "his manor of Overton" when burgage tenure was introduced. By this period Overton was becoming a major settlement on the north–south route to and from Winchester.
In 1246 Henry III granted a fair on the "eve, feast and morrow of the Translation of St. Thomas of Canterbury" which can be considered as the first "official" sheep fair and by the late 13th century Overton had grown to such a size that in 1295 two representatives were sent to Parliament and by the early 14th century the town was providing a rent of £12 0s 9½d to the bishopric (equivalent to £2.75 million in 2015).
Overton was significantly impacted by the Black Death, rents fell by over a half, parliamentary representatives were withdrawn to save costs, the tourns (medieval courts) were not held and the population stagnated. Despite this stagnation Overton survived by consolidating farms and by support from the bishopric though the effects lasted until the end of the 14th century.
By the 15th century trade began to increase enough to support an inn and the White Hart, the oldest inn in Overton, was first recorded in 1442. In this period a new fulling mill was built and there was a large increase in population. It was in this period that Thomas Wolsey, Bishop of Winchester, obtained licence in 1519 to hold an additional fair at Overton on the "eve, the feast and the morrow of the Feast of St. George the Marty".
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Overton, Hampshire
Overton is a village and parish in Hampshire, England, west of Basingstoke and east of Andover and Whitchurch. The village contains the smaller hamlets of Southington, Northington, Ashe, Polhampton, and Quidhampton, the latter two lying to the north of the village. The River Test has its source 1 mile (1.6 km) to the east in Ashe.
There is evidence of habitation since the Stone and Bronze Ages with finds and barrows nearby.
The area around Overton has been inhabited for millennia with evidence of Stone Age, Bronze Age and Celtic occupation scattered across the parish and surrounding countryside, including tumuli at Popham Beacons at the southern tip of the parish; Abra Barrow on the boundary south west of Overton; a long barrow to the west of Willesley Warren Farm in the north of the parish; strip lynchets on Rotten Hill and the Harrow Way, an ancient track which runs across the parish north of the village.
Roman occupation in the area is shown by the discovery of Roman pottery shards in Little Meadow and the Port Way Roman Road marks the northern boundary of the parish.
The development of the village began in earnest during the 10th century when Frithstan, the Bishop of Winchester, in a chartership dated 909, was granted "Uferantun" by King Edward the Elder. Overton developed over the next century and by the time of Domesday Book the settlement included a large number of dwellings, the Church of St Mary and several corn mills primarily due to its location on the River Test. By the 12th century Overton was a significant location with a royal residence, Tidgrove Kings House, being developed just north of Overton. The residence was built for Henry II for use on journeys between Windsor and either Winchester or Hamwych (Southampton) which was the customary port for travel to and from his French possessions. The importance and expansion continued throughout the 12th and 13th centuries facilitated in 1218 by Henry III providing a royal grant to the bishop of Winchester for a market in "his manor of Overton" when burgage tenure was introduced. By this period Overton was becoming a major settlement on the north–south route to and from Winchester.
In 1246 Henry III granted a fair on the "eve, feast and morrow of the Translation of St. Thomas of Canterbury" which can be considered as the first "official" sheep fair and by the late 13th century Overton had grown to such a size that in 1295 two representatives were sent to Parliament and by the early 14th century the town was providing a rent of £12 0s 9½d to the bishopric (equivalent to £2.75 million in 2015).
Overton was significantly impacted by the Black Death, rents fell by over a half, parliamentary representatives were withdrawn to save costs, the tourns (medieval courts) were not held and the population stagnated. Despite this stagnation Overton survived by consolidating farms and by support from the bishopric though the effects lasted until the end of the 14th century.
By the 15th century trade began to increase enough to support an inn and the White Hart, the oldest inn in Overton, was first recorded in 1442. In this period a new fulling mill was built and there was a large increase in population. It was in this period that Thomas Wolsey, Bishop of Winchester, obtained licence in 1519 to hold an additional fair at Overton on the "eve, the feast and the morrow of the Feast of St. George the Marty".
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