Bishop's Waltham

Bishop's Waltham

infobox UK place
country = England
latitude= 50.9536
longitude= -1.2118
official_name= Bishop's Waltham
population= 6,550 [ [http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=795192&c=SO32+1AJ&d=16&e=15&g=453001&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&enc=1&dsFamilyId=779 Census data] ]
shire_district= City of Winchester
shire_county = Hampshire
region= South East England
constituency_westminster= Winchester
post_town= Southampton
postcode_area= SO
postcode_district= SO32
dial_code= 01489
os_grid_reference= SU554174
static_

static_image_caption=Bishop's Waltham high street
london_distance=

Bishop's Waltham is a small town in Hampshire, England with a population of around 6,500 people. It started off as a Saxon village, and steadily grew to become one of Hampshire's largest villages, despite being burnt to the ground by Danes in 1001 AD. By the time of the Domesday book (1086 AD), it had a population of around 450. Now in the 21st Century, it is a small but vibrant town with many smaller villages surrounding it.

Bishop's Waltham is situated at the head of the River Hamble.

In 904, it was given by the king to the Bishop of Winchester. In 1136 Henry de Blois, a later bishop built the now-ruined Bishop's Waltham Palace. It was destroyed on the orders of William Cromwell during the English Civil war. Much of the old Palace is still in the village. Apart from the ruins, which are open to the public and well worth a visit, material from the Palace was used as building materials in town buildings still standing to this day.

The name comprises three parts 'walt' - forest; 'ham' - settlement'; and 'Bishop's'. Local residents often refer to the town simply as 'Waltham', which is reasonable enough as there is no longer a Bishop in residence. The town is twinned with Saint Bonnet le Chateau of France.

William of Wykeham died in the town, while after the Battle of Trafalgar, some French sailors including Admiral Villeneuve were imprisoned there.

There are many Georgian buildings in the town alongside the Norman parish church. The town retains a unique character, having few chain stores and lots of individual shops and services. Local residents and councillors have fought hard to ensure that new buildings complement the beautiful architecture instead of ruining it. Unusually for the United Kingdom, there is a vineyard nearby.

During the 19th century Bishop's Waltham was a successful market town, being home to several agricultural suppliers, merchants and a cattle market. The town also had a large brickworks to its north, along with a gasworks that provided town gas for lighting and heating the town. The town had a large enough working population by the late 19th century to support a Working Men's Institute, which occupied an ornate brick building on Bank Street, which remained open until 2003, when it was converted into housing.

Bishop's Waltham's commercial status warranted the construction of the Bishops Waltham branch Line railway to the town from Botley in 1862. The railway became part of the London and South Western Railway in the 1870s, who operated distinctive steam railcars on the line for passenger services, although the majority of traffic was goods- with bricks coming from the town and coal for the gasworks going to. The LSWR laid on special services to allow farmers to bring their cattle to market at Bishop's Waltham, with trains made of a mix of cattle trucks and carriages. The line was closed to passenger traffic in 1932, but goods services remained, becoming ever less frequent and regular before finally stopping in the 1960s. Bishop's Waltham station was a distinctive brick/half-timbered design, which stood where the main roundabout in the town now is. A short section of the line and a pair of level crossing gates next to the roundabout have been preserved.

Bishop's Waltham was home to Gunner and Company, which was the last provincial private bank in the United Kingdom.

The town, with its "period" charm and excellent selection of privately owned shops, is well worth a visit. The Palace ruins themselves are fascinating, and are excellent for photography, as is the "pond" directly adjacent to it. The Palace grounds are frequently used to hold festivals and other events.

References

External links

* [http://www.hants.gov.uk/localpages/central/bishops_waltham/attract.html Hantsweb entry]
* [http://www.hants.org.uk/bishopswalthamparishcouncil/index.html Parish Council site]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Bishop's Waltham Palace — is a moated Bishop s Palace ruin in Bishop s Waltham, Hampshire, England.It was built by Henry de Blois in 1135.Later used by Winchester Bishop s as they travelled, along with Farnham Castle and Wolvesey Castle.The palace was visited by Henry V… …   Wikipedia

  • Waltham Chase — infobox UK place country = England latitude= 50.936071 longitude= 1.195118 official name= Waltham Chase population= shire district= shire county = Hampshire region= South East England constituency westminster= post town= postcode area= postcode… …   Wikipedia

  • Waltham St Lawrence — is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire.Location and amenitiesWaltham St Lawrence is located in a rural setting in East Berkshire, south of the A4 trunk road and north of the M4 motorway, between Maidenhead and… …   Wikipedia

  • Bishop Stopford's Maths and Computing School — Infobox Secondary school name = Bishop Stopford s Maths Computing School native name = motto = animus noster dei gloria established = 1967 type = Voluntary aided [ [http://www.bishopstopfords.enfield.sch.uk/i governors.php School web sit:… …   Wikipedia

  • Bishop of Ossory — St Canice s Cathedral, Kilkenny, the episcopal seat of the pre Reformation and Church of Ireland bishops …   Wikipedia

  • Bishop's Stortford railway station — Infobox UK station name = Bishop s Stortford manager = National Express East Anglia locale = Bishop s Stortford borough = East Hertfordshire code = BIS usage0405 = 2.215 usage0506 = 2.181 usage0607 = 2.295 platforms = 3 start = May 16 1842 Bishop …   Wikipedia

  • Bishop of Brentwood — The Bishop of Brentwood is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brentwood in the Province of Westminster.bishopric bishopric=Brentwood province=Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster diocese=Diocese of Brentwood founded=20 July 1917… …   Wikipedia

  • Bishop of Barking — The Suffragan Bishop of Barking is an episcopal post in the Church of England. [ Crockford s Clerical Directory 2008/2009 (100th edition) , Church House Publishing (ISBN 978 0 7151 1030 0).] The current bishop is The Rt Revd David Hawkins, former …   Wikipedia

  • Bishops Waltham branch — DescriptionThe Bishops Waltham branch was a railway line in Hampshire. It ran from Botley on the Eastleigh Fareham line to Bishops Waltham. The line was opened by the LSWR on 1 June 1863, closed to passengers on 31 December 1932 and finally… …   Wikipedia

  • John Waltham — Infobox bishopbiog name =John Waltham religion =Catholic See =Diocese of Salisbury Title = Bishop of Salisbury Period = 1388 ndash;1395 Predecessor = Ralph Ergham Successor =Richard Mitford ordination = bishops = post = date of birth = place of… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”