Weston Colley
Weston Colley is a hamlet of about twenty dwellings, adjacent to (and within the parochial parish of) Micheldever but in the civil parish of Stoke Charity, within the City of Winchester district of Hampshire, England. Winchester is also the nearest large settlement, lying approximately 7 miles (11 km) south of the hamlet.
Whilst some residents operate cottage industries, there are no overt commercial activities in Weston Colley, save for Weston Farm. The hamlet has no shops, pubs nor places of worship.
History
Within the past thirty years, the landed estate which owned much of Weston Colley has divested itself of its housing portfolio (which has been mostly sold to private residents) but it retains most of the farmland within and around the hamlet, together with Weston Farm, which is run on a long tenancy. The landed estate is now owned by Zurich Financial Services, which acquired it as part of its buy-out of Eagle Star Insurance - which, in-turn, bought the assets from the estate of J. Arthur Rank - based at near-by Sutton Scotney.
The housing stock mainly dates from the 1930s but there are some notable thatched, oak-timber properties which are centuries old.
Geography
Weston Colley is located entirely within the Dever Valley; the River Dever flows through the hamlet but briefly disappears under the tall Victorian railway-track embankment which separates Weston Colley from Micheldever. The busy main London (Waterloo) to Southampton railway still uses the line. There is one proper road through the hamlet, from Northbrook (Micheldever) at one end and toward Stoke Charity at the other. There is also a green lane (unsuitable for most road transport) from Micheldever Station.
Weston Colley sits on southern English chalk downland. This means the valley sides rise gently and the River Dever runs very clear - though it dries in arid summers (chalk being porous). Bare soil is alkaline and populated by chunks of flint. Most of the non-garden area is arable fields with some wooded area by the river. Cows nursing young cattle are often to be seen in small numbers in the water meadow but the dairy has not operated for decades.
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