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This article is about the English village. For other uses, see Bentworth (disambiguation).

Bentworth
St Mary's Church, Bentworth
Population466 (2001)
OS grid referenceSU664401
• London44 mi (71 km) ENE
Civil parish
  • Bentworth
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townAlton
Postcode districtGU34
Dialling code01420
PoliceHampshire and Isle of Wight
FireHampshire and Isle of Wight
AmbulanceSouth Central
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Hampshire

Bentworth is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It lies about 4 miles (6.4 km) northwest of the town of Alton, just west of the A339 road, from which it lies 9.4 miles south of Basingstoke. The parish covers an area of 3,763 acres (15.23 km2), of which about seven per cent is woodland. Bentworth contains one of the highest points in Hampshire at more than 700 feet (210 m). According to the 2001 census, Bentworth has a population of 466.

The village has a long history which can be traced to Saxon times, of which Roman remains have also been found in the area. After the Norman conquest in 1066, the manor of Bentworth was not named in the Domesday Survey of 1086 but was part of the Odiham Hundred. The village of Bentworth has grown in recent years, with the construction of several houses, as well as the post-Second World War development in Glebe Fields.

The parish contains several large houses, such as the pre and post-1832 Bentworth Hall, Burkham House, Gaston Grange and Thedden Grange. The 500-acre ([convert: unit mismatch]) estate of Bentworth Manor was split up as a result of various sales from the 1930s to 1950s. St Mary's Church, a Grade II* listed building, is at the centre of the village and has parts that probably date from the late 1100s.

The village has two public houses – the Star Inn and the Sun Inn – and a primary school, established in 1848. It was formerly served by the Bentworth and Lasham railway station on the Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway, until the railway's closure in 1932. The nearest railway station is now 3.6 miles (5.8 km) east of the village, at Alton.

Village name

The village name has been spelt in different ways, including: Bentewurda or Bintewurda (in about 1100) and Bynteworth (about 1400).[1] The original meaning of the name Bent-worth may have been a place of cultivated land, or a way through land such as woodland.[2]

History

Prehistoric and Roman times

Farmland near Childer Hill, Bentworth

The route between the Roman town of Silchester to the north of Basing, and the Roman settlement of Vindomis, just east of the modern town of Alton, passed through the Bentworth and Lasham area, the road today being the A339. [3][4]

Prehistoric remains found in the parish of Bentworth include a Stone Age implement discovered in 1942 in a field near Childer Hill, east of the village centre on the way to Thedden. The implement is now in Newbury Museum.

A Bronze Age cremation urn was found in 1955 just north of Nancole Copse, about 4km north of St Mary's church.[5] The urn is now in the Curtis Museum in Alton, together with a bronze Roman coin of Valentinian I that was found in a garden about 1km south of St Mary's near Tinker's Lane.[5] Belgic pottery and animal bones were found in 1954 at Holt End between Bentworth and Medstead.[5] Pottery, bone objects, spindle-whorls (stone discs with a hole in the middle used in spinning thread) and fragments of Roman roofing tiles were found at Wivelrod House between Bentworth and the village of Beech.[5]

Medieval times

The Norman King Henry I, from the Chronicle of Matthew Paris

Bentworth is not mentioned by name in the Domesday Survey that was ordered by the first Norman king, William the Conqueror. However, the Domesday entry for the Hundred of Odiham mentions that it had a number of outlying parishes including Bentworth.[6] Soon after Domesday, Bentworth became an independent manor in its own right. In about 1111 it was given by King Henry I "Beauclerc", the youngest son of William the Conqueror, together with four other English manors, to the diocese of Rouen and Geoffrey, Count of Anjou.[7] When King John began losing his possessions in Normandy he took back the ownership of many manors, including Bentworth. He then ceded the manor of Bentworth in 1207–8 to the Bishop of Winchester, Peter des Roches.[8] It was John who signed Magna Carta in June 1215 at Runnymede, staying at the small castle of Odiham 10km north-east of Bentworth the night before.[9] However, the manor was returned to the Archbishops of Rouen, who successively held the manor until 1316, when Edward II appointed Peter de Galicien custodian of the manor in that year.[10]

Some time after 1280 a new stone hall-house was built in Bentworth, possibly by the constable of Farnham castle, William de Aula.[11] It is a typical medieval hall-house and has been variously called Bentworth Hall (until 1832) and Bentworth Manor House. Today it is known as Hall Place. In 1330 Matilda de Aula was given permission to have a private chapel at Bentworth Hall. In 1336 ownership of the manor of Bentworth passed to William Melton, Archbishop of York.[10] Upon his death in 1340 he left his possessions to his nephew William de Melton, son of his brother Henry. In 1348, William de Melton obtained the king's permission to give his manor to William Edendon, Bishop of Winchester, and then ownership of the manor of Bentworth passed by marriage to the Windsor family, who had been constables of Windsor Castle. However, Bentworth Hall was evidently returned to the Melton family, as it is mentioned among his possessions in a document dated 1362–3, and passed to his son, Sir William de Melton.[10] Sir William's son, John de Melton, inherited the house in 1399 and was still being recorded as owner of the manor of Bentworth in 1431.[10][12] He died in 1455, and was succeeded by his son (d.1474), then his grandson John Melton.[13] The manor of Bentworth remained in possession of the Windsor family for at least one hundred and fifty years.[10]

Elizabethan to Georgian times

In 1590, Henry Windsor (1562–1605), the 5th Lord Windsor, sold the "sub-manor of Bentworth" to the Hunt family, who had been tenants since the beginning of that century.[10] Ownership passed in 1610 to Sir James Woolveridge of Odiham and in 1651 to Thomas Turgis, a wealthy London merchant.[10] His son, also Thomas, was described as one of the richest commoners in England and in 1705 he left the manor of Bentworth to his relative William Urry, of Sheat Manor, Isle of Wight.[10]

A map showing the parish of Bentworth in 1811

In 1777 the Urry descendants were his daughters Mary and Elizabeth, who married two Catholic brothers, Basil and William Fitzherbert of Swynnerton Hall, Staffordshire.[10] Their sister-in-law was Maria Fitzherbert, the secret wife of the Prince Regent, later King George IV.[14] In about 1800, Mary Fitzherbert (who had 11 children), became owner of Bentworth Manor and Manor Farm (now Hall Place).[10]

19th century to the Second World War

In 1832, the Bentworth Hall estate was sold at auction at Garraway’s Coffee House in London by the Fitzherbert family to Roger Staples Horman Fisher for about £6000. Almost immediately he started building the present Bentworth Hall.[15] The post-1832 Bentworth Hall is located about a kilometre south of the old hall at 51°8′52″N 1°3′0″W / 51.14778°N 1.05000°W / 51.14778; -1.05000, some 500 metres east of the Bentworth–Medstead road and the hamlet of Holt End at the end of a 800-metre private drive.

File:Bentworth Manor1890.jpg
The original Bentworth Hall (now Hall Place) c. 1890, the remains of the chapel (c. 1330) on the right

In 1848 the Bentworth Hall estate was sold to Jeremiah Robert Ives, including the Old Manor House (now Hall Place) and the post-1832 Bentworth Hall.[16] The Ives family later included the author George Cecil Ives (see later) who lived for a time at Bentworth Hall with his widowed mother, Emma.[17] Further detail on the two Bentworth Halls is given later together with drawings and photos under "Bentworth Manor and Hall".

File:Bentworth - Hooker the Carrier.jpg
Mr Hooker the Bentworth carrier, c. 1880

In 1852 the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) opened a railway station in Alton, connecting to London via Farnham and Woking.[18] In 1901 the Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway opened with Bentworth and Lasham station to the north of Bentworth village.[19] In 1870–72, the Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales by John Marius Wilson described Bentworth as follows:

Bentworth is a village and parish in Alton district, Hants. The village stands 3½ miles WNW of Alton r. station, and has a post office under Alton. The parish comprises 3,688 acres. Real property, £4,091. Pop., 647. Houses, 123. George Withers, the poet; sold property in Bentworth at the outbreak of the civil war (1642), to raise a troop of horse. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Winchester. Value, £760, Patron, the Rev. Mr. Mathews. There is a dissenting Chapel.[20]

The north side of Bentworth village green in 1905, looking north. The Star Inn is off the picture to the right

In 1897, Emma Ives died and ownership of the Bentworth Hall estate passed to her son Colonel Gordon Maynard Gordon-Ives who had in 1890 built and lived in Gaston Grange. After his mother died he continued to live there, leasing Bentworth Hall to W. G. Nicholson, a Member of Parliament.

In 1905 a telegraph office was operated by a W. Payne in what was then called Telegraph Lane, now Burkham Lane, close to the present A339, east of Burkham village which was formerly the track of the old railway.[9]

Colonel Gordon-Ives died 8 September 1907 and the Bentworth Hall estate passed to his son, Cecil Maynard Gordon-Ives, a Captain in the Scots Guards in the Great War", who occupied it until his death on 23 July 1923 (see the earlier section on "Memorials" for a photo of the Gordon-Ives family plaque inside Bentworth Church on the north wall).[21]

The Bentworth Hall Estate of 479 acres was then offered for sale by John D Wood & Co in 1924 and again by them in 26 June 1930, when an A. Willis purchased it.[9]

After this, Major John Arthur Pryor lived at Bentworth Hall until the estate was taken over by the military during World War II.[22]

Second World War

The villages of Bentworth and Lasham both had roles in the Second World War.

In late 1940, a children's home was built in Drury Lane in Bentworth for those who had been evacuated from London during the London Blitz.[23] As the war progressed there was a need for more airfields in the South of England, and Lasham Airfield was built in 1942 between Lasham Village and a historic avenue of trees ("The Avenue") planted in about 1810 by the Jervoise family (who own the Herriard Estate today). Until 1942 the Basingstoke-Alton road passed through Lasham village but its route north of Lasham was needed for the airfield and the road was diverted to the West towards Bentworth, today being the A339.

Payne's Telegraph Office at Burkham, c. 1905

In June 1942, a bomb fell dangerously close to St Mary's Church, Bentworth, landing in the field north of the church. The large dip can still be found today, approximately 20 metres (66 ft) away from the Church. [24] Later in 1942, Thedden Grange was used as a prisoner of war camp until 1944, and was known as 'Fisher's Camp'.[25]

Bentworth Hall was alreay used by a number of organisations. In 1941 it was used by the Mobile Naval Base Defence Organization (MNBDO) and later it was an out-station of the Royal Navy's Haslar Hospital in Portsmouth, the bedrooms being used as wards. [26] Later it was occupied by officers from the airfield at Lasham (probably as an Officers Mess), one commander keeping an aircraft in a field towards Medstead and using it as transport to Lasham Airfield. Before the invasion of Normandy (D-Day), Nissen Huts were built in the woods to the south west of Bentworth Hall and troops were accommodated there before being taken south to embark for the invasion.[27]

Post-war

After the war, there was a need for more houses and the council estates of Glebe Fields and Glebe Close were built in early 1946. The name "Glebe" is because the land was originally owned by the church. [28]

Two Berens bears at the entrance to the Bentworth Hall drive, between the two lodge houses

In 1947, the Bentworth Hall estate was bought by Major Herbert Cecil Benyon Berens, who was a director of Hambros bank in London from 1968.[29] In 1950, Major Berens built two new lodge houses at the junction of the drive to Bentworth Hall with the main road through the village towards Medstead. The Berens Family crest included a bear, and when Major Berens acquired the Bentworth Hall estate, carvings of bears were put up in various places. Two can be seen at the entrance to the Bentworth Hall drive, between the two lodge houses.

In 1951, the Moon Inn on Drury Lane was destroyed by a fire along with the children's home.[30] Later, parts of the Bentworth Hall estate were sold to local farms, and some clearing of trees and hedges produced larger fields that were easier to crop.

Major Berens died at Bentworth Hall on 27 October 1981 and after this the remaining estate was put up for sale.[31] It was first offered as a single property and then as several, Bentworth Hall and its outbuildings being divided into a number of separate dwelling units, which is the position today.

Geography and climate

Map showing location in relation to major towns in southern England

Bentworth village and parish lies on high downland about 4 miles (6.4 km) northwest of the town of Alton and about 8 miles south of Basingstoke, just west of the A339 road. By road, Bentworth lies 9.4 miles south of Basingstoke, 16.7 miles northeast of Winchester and 32 miles north of Portsmouth.[32] The parish covers an area of 3,763 acres (15.23 km2), of which about 280 acres (1.1 km2) are woodland.[10] The elevation of the ground at Bentworth church is 574 feet (175 m) and the highest point in the parish is 2.5 km to the south at Wivelrod is 712 feet (217 m), making it one of the highest points in Hampshire.[33][34] The soil is clay and loam, the subsoil chalk; the chief crops are wheat, oats, and turnips.[10]

The lower ground to the South and East of the Bentworth and to the south of the nearby villages of Lasham and Shalden drains towards the River Wey which rises to the surface on the west side of Alton.[35] Down the road to Medstead near Hall Place (the pre-1832 Bentworth Manor or Hall) is the village duckpond and the cottages opposite have a date of 1733. Such names as Colliers Wood and Nancole Copse in the parish point to the early operations of the charcoal burners, the colliers of the Middle Ages.[10] Other woods in the area include Gaston Wood, Childer Hill Copse, Miller's Wood, Thedden Copse, Well Copse, Binster Hill Wood, North Wood, Binney Copse, Wadgett's Copse, Bylander's Copse, Redens Copse, Nancole Copse, Weasel Wood, Widgell Copse, South Lease Copse, Stubbins Copse and Mayhew's Wood.[32] The names of Windmill Field and Mill Piece indicate the site of one or more ancient mills.[10]

Wheat and oil-seed rape fields beside the footpath near Powells Farm

Because Bentworth lies on higher ground, its temperatures are therefore lower than in the valleys and on the coast. Due to the proximity to the sea, in winds with a southerly component, humidity is higher and cloud bases are lower than further inland. In summer when cumulus (convection) cloud is present, in the late afternoon the sea breeze occasionally reaches the area with a consequent change of wind to south and an increase in humidity. The annual average (mean) temperature is approximately 19 °C (66.2 °F) and shows the usual seasonal and diurnal variation. January is the coldest month with mean minimum temperatures between 0.5 °C (32.9 °F) and 2 °C (35.6 °F). June and July are the warmest months with average daily maxima around 25.5 °C (77.9 °F).[36]

Administration

The Civil Parish of Bentworth (Bentworth CP), starting to the north and working clockwise, extends from north of Burkham House, then runs south east along the A339, turns south to Thedden Grange and the hamlet of Wivelrod, then west to north of Medstead and north again to Ashley Farm and back to the Burkham area. Historically, Bentworth's parish was considerably larger than it is today, with nearby settlements like Bradley, Beech, Moundsmere, Medstead and Lower Wield incorporated under the parish of Bentworth. Even though the parish of Bentworth has lost a lot of land over the years, the parish gained a further 95 acres (38 ha) in 1991 along with and regained Home Farm from the parish of Bradley.[37]

Bentworth was the largest parish within the Hundred of Odiham, after Odiham itself. The Hundred of Odiham once contained the modern parishes of; Bentworth, Dogmersfield, Elvetham, Greywell, Hartley Wintney, Lasham, Liss, Odiham, Rotherwick, Shalden, Sherfield-on-Loddon, Weston Patrick, and Winchfield. At the time of the Domesday Survey the area of the later Hundred of Odiham were included in two separate hundreds, Odiham and Hefedele (also known as Edefele and Efedele). The former comprised Lasham and Shalden and half a hide which had been taken from the nearby village of Preston Candover,[38] and the latter included Odiham, Winchfield, Elvetham, Dogmersfield, and a former parish named Berchelei.[39] For the manors of Bentworth, Greywell, Hartley Wintney, Liss, Sherfield-upon-Loddon, and Weston Patrick, there are no entries in the Survey, but they were all probably included in the large manor of Odiham.[40]

Villages and hamlets

Within the Bentworth parish there are several hamlets, the largest of which is Burkham to the north of Bentworth Village. Other hamlets include Wivelrod to the southeast, Holt End to the south on the road to Medstead, Thedden to the east and Ashley to the west.

Ashley

Ashley (51°9′25″N 1°4′28″W / 51.15694°N 1.07444°W / 51.15694; -1.07444) is a small hamlet and farm at the western corner of the Civil Parish of Bentworth, towards the village of Lower Wield. Before border changes in 1994, Ashley was in the Civil Parish of Wield and part of the Winchester City Council area.[41] It is now in the area of the East Hampshire District Council (EHDC).

Burkham

Rural scenery near Burkham

Burkham (also written as Brocham (14th century); Barkham (16th century); Berkham and Burcum (18th century) (51°10′44″N 1°4′15″W / 51.17889°N 1.07083°W / 51.17889; -1.07083) is a hamlet on the north side of the parish of Bentworth about 3 kilometres northwest of Bentworth church. It was first mentioned as part of the Manor of Bentworth in documents of the Archbishop of Rouen around 1115, in which it is described as a 'berewite' (an outlying estate) of Bentworth Manor. In returns dated 1316, John Daleron held 'Brocham'. In 1590 Robert Hunt acquired the manor of Bentworth from Henry Lord Windsor, and this included the Burkham area. Later, Robert Magewick purchased Burkham for £160.[12] and George Magewick (1647–1736) was described as the owner of Burkham Farm in 1684. In 1748 James Magewick Battin, presumably a descendant, held the manor, and he is given as the owner in a 1778 Survey of Hampshire.[10]

At the north end of the hamlet is the Georgian building of Burkham House.[42] This was first recorded in a document dated 1784 in which there was a reference to a "Manor or Mansion House of Burkham", owned by Thomas Coulthard (1756–1811). Burkham House was acquired in 1882 by Arthur Frederick Jeffreys, later Member of Parliament for Basingstoke.[10] Ownership was retained by the Jefferys family until 1965 when the estate was put up for sale.

The Home Farm area consists of 339 acres (137 ha) of farmland, copse and uncultivated land. Part of this area between Burkham and Bentworth was bought by the Woodland Trust and opened to the public in 1991.[43] The Trust planted new trees between Wigdell Copse and Nancole Copse, and the area is well used by walkers and those exercising dogs.

Holt End and New Copse

Holt End (51°8′30″N 1°3′50″W / 51.14167°N 1.06389°W / 51.14167; -1.06389) is an area of Bentworth to the south towards Medstead. The word Holt means "a small grove of trees, copse, or wood",[44] and Holt End thus means the end of a wood. Further down the road to Medstead is "New Copse" (named after the wood between here and Medstead).[45] Here, a road called Jennie Green Lane branches off the main Bentworth-Medstead road and runs east towards the east end of Medstead and Beech.

Thedden

Thedden Grange

Thedden (51°8′48″N 1°1′26″W / 51.14667°N 1.02389°W / 51.14667; -1.02389) is part of the parish of Bentworth between the villages of Bentworth and Beech. Thedden Grange is about 2.5 kilometres southeast of Bentworth church and is a country house that in the past was part of the Bentworth Manor estate.[46]

Wivelrod

Wivelrod (51°8′28″N 1°2′9″W / 51.14111°N 1.03583°W / 51.14111; -1.03583) is a hamlet in the south-east corner of the parish of Bentworth. It is mentioned in documents dating 1259 and there are tumuli and burial mounds around Wivelrod Hill, near the present-day Alton Abbey.[47] In the 18th century Wivelrod was part of the Bentworth Hall estate and a part was sold in 1832 when the estate was bought by Roger Staples Horman Fisher.[48] A spot height of 217m (712ft) between Wivelrod and Medstead is one of the highest points in Hampshire and is at the top of Beech hill just west of Alton Abbey on the road to Medstead.

Notable landmarks

Listed buildings in the Parish of Bentworth

The following are the listed buildings in the Parish of Bentworth. The listings are graded:[49]

  • Barn 20 Metres South East of Parsonage Farmhouse (II)
  • Barn 45 Metres North East of Weller's Place Farmhouse (II)
  • Barn 55 Metres South West of Summerley (II)
  • Bentworth Blackmeadow (II)
  • Cartshed 35 Metres North of Hall Farmhouse (DL)
  • Chapel Immediately West of Hall Farmhouse (II*)
  • Church of St Mary (II*)
  • Granary 20 Metres North West of Manor Lodge (II)
  • Greensleeves (II)
  • Half Barn 30 Metres North of Weller's Place Farmhouse (II)
  • Hall Farmhouse (II*)
  • Hankin Family Tomb in Churchyard of St Mary's Church (II)
  • Holt Cottage (II)
  • Hooker's Place (II)
  • Hunt's Cottage (II)
  • Ivall's (II)
  • Ivall's Cottage (II)
  • Ivall's Farmhouse (II)
  • Linzey Cottage (II)
  • Manor Lodge (II)
  • Mulberry House (II)
  • Penton Cottage (II)
  • Service Block Attached to Manor Lodge (II)
  • Stable Block 40 Metres North of Weller's Place Farmhouse (II)
  • Strawtop (II)
  • War Memorial in Churchyard of St Mary's Church (II)
  • Wardies (II)
  • Wivelrod Farmhouse (DL)

St Mary's Church and war memorial

St Mary's Church, from the north-east
Church interior

The Church of St Mary is at the centre of the village immediately east of the school at 51°9′29″N 1°3′0″W / 51.15806°N 1.05000°W / 51.15806; -1.05000. It is located about 150 metres north east of the Star Inn and the small roundabout on the main road through the village between the A339 and Medstead. There is evidence to suggest that a Saxon church was located here and was rebuilt.[10] The present church has a chancel (the space around the altar for the clergy and choir) that is 27 feet (8.2 m) by 17 feet 4 inches (5.28 m), with a north vestry 48 feet 7 inches (14.81 m) by 17 feet (5.2 m).[10] The nave roof and chancel arch probably date from the late 1100s and the chancel itself was built in about 1260 together with the lower part of the tower.[50][10] However, in 1608 the church suffered a "fire happening by lightening from heaven" and some of the earlier structure was damaged.[15] The present church has flint walls with stone dressings and stepped buttresses, a plinth, and corbelled tracer lights in the nave.[10] The west tower was rebuilt in 1890 and has diagonal buttresses with an elaborate arrangement of steps (some with gabled ornamentation), and at the top is a timber turret, surmounted by a broach spire.[10] A small mural monument at the south-east of the chancel is to Nicholas Holdip, "pastor of the parish" 1606, and his wife Alicia (Gilbert).[10] In the north aisle wall is another mural tablet to "Robert Hunt of Hall Place in this Parish", 1671, with the arms, Azure a bend between two water bougets or with three leopards' heads gules on the bend.[10] The crest is a talbot sitting chained to a halberd. There are four bells; the treble and second by Joseph Carter, 1601, the third by Henry Knight, 1615, and the tenor by Joseph Carter, 1607.[10] The church became a Grade: II* listed building on 31 July 1963.[50]

Memorials

Ives plaque inside the church on the north wall

In Elizabethan/Stuart times, the poet and writer George Wither (1588–1667) was born in Bentworth and baptised in this church (for more detail and a drawing, see later).[5]

In Victorian times, the author George Cecil Ives lived at the post-1832 Bentworth Hall with his mother Emma Gordon-Ives. A memorial to the Ives family is in the churchyard close to the school and has a stone slab for George Ives that reads "George Cecil Ives MA, Author, 1867–1950, Late of Bentworth Hall." The stone slab for his mother reads "The Honourable Emma, wife of J.R. Ives, Daughter of Viscount Maynard Lord Lieutenant of Essex, died March 14th 1896 aged 84." There is also a plaque for members of the Ives family inside the church on the north wall.

The Hankin family tomb with the church in the background

The Hankin Family Tomb in the churchyard, was Grade II listed on 8 December 2005.[51] It was made in 1816 of Portland stone and is a "rectangular chest tomb on a moulded base, with a two-part cover consisting of a low hipped top slab and lower moulded cornice."[51] The panels at the sides contain various inscriptions including the one on the south panel which reads: "Sacred to the memory of John Hankin who departed this life January 12th 1816, aged 55 years", and the one on the north side which reads: "Sacred to the memory of Elizabeth, widow of John Hankin, who departed this life September 13th 1831, aged 67 years."[51]

War Memorial
St Mary's Church war memorial, with poppy wreath
St Mary's Church, looking east. The war memorial can be seen between the church and the gate

The War Memorial in Churchyard of St Mary's Church, made of Doulting limestone, was erected by Messrs. Noon and Company of Guildford in 1920 to commemorate the local men who had lost their lives in World War I.[52] The decision to build a memorial at the church was decided during a parish meeting on 7 February 1920 and it was formally dedicated on 28 November 1920 by the Reverend A.G. Bather and unveiled by Major General Jeffreys of Burkham, officer in command of the London District.[52] The war memorial has a four step base, with a "tapering octagonal shaft on a small square plinth block" placed upon it and a Latin cross at the top of the shaft.[52] The dedication inscription on the top west facing step of the base reads: "Sacred to the men of Bentworth who fell in the Great War 1914–1918 leaving to us who pass where they passed an undying example of faithfulness and willing service."[52] There are also four names inscribed on the top step panel facing south including the name of Lieutenant Colonel Neville Elliot-Cooper of the Royal Fusiliers and several names on other steps.[52] On the third step facing west, is the inscription: "1939–1945. And in second dedication to the memory of those others who passing later also fell leaving no less glorious name."[52] The memorial was listed as a Grade II listed building on 8 December 2005.[52]

Bentworth Manor and Hall

Hall Place, formerly Bentworth Hall or Manor, is a Grade II* listed medieval hall-house, located south of the road to Medstead just south west of Tinker's lane at 51°9′19″N 1°3′11″W / 51.15528°N 1.05306°W / 51.15528; -1.05306. It was built in the early 14th century with additions in the 17th and 19th centuries.[53]

Hall Place in 2012
The south side of Bentworth Hall in about 1905

The hall is believed to have been constructed by either the constable of Farnham Castle, William de Aula, or John of Bynteworth (Bentworth), and served for some time as the manor court.[11][53] The de Aula family, however, are documented as being the first owners, followed by the de Meltons.[11]

The hall has thick flint walls, gabled cross wings,[54] with a Gothic stone arch and 20th-century boarded door and two-storey porch. [53] The west wing of the house has a stone-framed upper window and large attached tapered stack.[53] The east wing has sashes dated to the early 19th century.[53] The old fireplace remains in the north-facing room with it roll moulding and steeply pitched head.[11] A chapel in the grounds was part of the house complex and was added soon after building in 1330 under the request of Matilda de Aula.[11]. The later history of Bentworth Hall or Manor and its estate cannot be detached from the main history of the manor and parish of Bentworth, and is documented in a section above.

In 1832, the Bentworth Hall estate was sold to Roger Staples Horman Fisher. Almost immediately he started building the present Bentworth Hall.[15] The post-1832 Bentworth Hall is located about a kilometre south of the old hall at 51°8′52″N 1°3′0″W / 51.14778°N 1.05000°W / 51.14778; -1.05000, some 500 metres east of the Bentworth-Medstead road and the hamlet of Holt End at the end of a 800-metre private drive, and is now split into several private dwellings.

Gaston Grange

Gaston Grange (51°8′50″N 1°4′15″W / 51.14722°N 1.07083°W / 51.14722; -1.07083) is west of the Bentworth-Medstead road towards Upper Wield, south of Gaston Wood. This area was part of the Bentworth Hall estate and is now privately owned. In the late 19th century, Emma Gordon-Ives owned Bentworth Hall and in 1890[55] her son Colonel Gordon Maynard Gordon-Ives built Gaston Grange 1500 metres to the east of Bentworth Hall. In 1914, his son Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Gordon lived in Gaston Grange. He served in the First World War and was also a politician dealing with Northern Ireland matters, dying in July 1923.[56] After his death, in July 1924 the Bentworth Hall Estate was offered for sale by Messrs John D Wood & Co, 6 Mount St., W1. and at this time consisted of 479 acres. The house once had a grand ballroom which was removed in the 1920s.[55] The white painted house has masonry walls, a timber pitched roof with what is likely Welsh blue grey slate, and a wooden staircase made by the Devon-based firm Dart & Francis.[55] Gaston Grange has been extensively renovated in recent times.[55]

Mulberry House

Mulberry House, Bentworth, the old Rectory

Mulberry House (51°9′27″N 1°2′51″W / 51.15750°N 1.04750°W / 51.15750; -1.04750) is a late Georgian building, dated to 1818, and was the former Rectory, next to the churchyard on the southeast side.[57] The house has stucco walls, with painted brickwork and slate roof.[57] It is a square two-storey building, with a symmetrical front consisting of 3 windows, a doric columned porch, half-glazed doors and a low-pitched hipped roof, with a raised lead flat in the centre.[57] It became a Grade II listed building on 31 July 1985.[57] The present Rectory is a more modern house on the other side of the main road through the village, opposite Mulberry House.

Other houses

Ivalls Cottage in about 1900, taken from the Star Inn looking towards Medstead
Holt Cottage, built in 1503

Ivalls Cottage (51°9′22″N 1°3′6″W / 51.15611°N 1.05167°W / 51.15611; -1.05167) is located opposite the post box near the village green and next to Tinker's Lane. A Grade II listed building since 31 May 1985, the cottage was originally built during the 16th century, with late 18th-century and early 19th-century additions and 20th-century extensions at the sides.[58] The cottage is built from red brick and flint in Flemish bond, with cambered openings on the ground floor with a part-thatched, part-tiled roof.[58] The roof is hipped at the west end, with lower eaves at the rear intercepted by eyebrow dormers.[58] Ivalls Farm House (51°9′22″N 1°3′0″W / 51.15611°N 1.05000°W / 51.15611; -1.05000) is on the south side of the road to Medstead near the Star Inn. It is a timber framed and cruck-built (A-frame) tiled roof building with a lobby entrance, previously a farmhouse, originally built around 1600.[59] The south end dates to the 18th century.[59] The tiled roof, with 4 small gabled dormers, half-hipped at the north west angle, was restored in the late 20th century.[59] It became a Grade II listed building on 31 July 1963.[59]

Holt Cottage (51°8′50″N 1°3′31″W / 51.14722°N 1.05861°W / 51.14722; -1.05861) is a small thatched cottage on the road to Medstead and was built in 1503. A Grade II listed building since 31 May 1985, much of the current building dates to the 17th and early 19th centuries.[60] The roof is half-hipped at the south end and hipped at the north, with painted brickwork in monk bond.[60]

Public houses

The centre of Bentworth showing the post box, the village notice board and the Star Inn
The Sun Inn, Bentworth

Near the centre of the village are two public houses: the Star Inn [1] (51°9′24″N 1°3′3″W / 51.15667°N 1.05083°W / 51.15667; -1.05083), which is opposite the village green, and the Sun Inn [2](51°9′27″N 1°2′38″W / 51.15750°N 1.04389°W / 51.15750; -1.04389).[9][61] The Star Inn was built by Giles Willis in 1841 and is just south of the church close to the road to Medstead. It is the venue for the annual Bentworth Blues Festival, held in August.[62] The Sun Inn is on the east side of the village on the road to Alton and Thedden ("Sun Hill"), and was first licensed in 1838, the building previously being part of the Bentworth Manor estate. There was also a third pub called the Moon or Half Moon Inn [15] just north of the church on Drury Lane, first licensed in 1841, the gross value being listed as £19. [63]. To the west beyond Ashley Farm is another public house, the Yew Tree. [3].

Demographics

As of the 2001 UK census, Bentworth had a total population of 466. For every 100 females, there were 94.2 males. The average household size was 2.50.[64] Of those aged 16–74 in Bentworth, 33.6% had no academic qualifications or one GCSE, lower than the figures for all of East Hampshire (37.1%) and England (45.5%).[65][66] According to the census, 29.9% were economically inactive and of the economically active people 1.3% were unemployed.[65] Of Bentworth's 466 residents, 18.5% were under the age of 16 and 14.2% were aged 65 and over; the mean age was 42.05. 78.8% of residents described their health as "good".[67]

The Domesday Book entry for the Hundred of Odiham surmised that the hundred in 1066 was very large with 248 households and recorded 138 villagers. 60 smallholders and 50 slaves.[6] Tax was assessed to be very large at 78.5 exemption units.[6] 56 ploughlands, 16.5 lord's plough teams and 41 men's plough teams were recorded.[6] The Lord of the hundred in 1066 was Earl Harold.[6] In 1789 the population of Bentworth was 425.[68]

Population growth in the Parish of Bentworth since 1801
Year 1801 1811 1821 1831 1841 1851 1881 1891 1901 1911 1921 1931 1951 1961 2001
Population 425 406 548 592 609 610 558 604 571 586 522 570 614 596 466
% change  – −4.5 +35.0 +8.0 +2.9 +0.2 −8.5 +8.2 −5.5 +2.6 −10.9 +9.2 +7.7 −2.9 −21.8
Source: A Vision of Britain through Time, and statistics.gov.uk

Education and activities

St Mary's School, Bentworth, with the church spire behind
File:Bentworth fete x 2.jpg
Two scenes from a typical Bentworth village fête

St Mary's Bentworth Primary School is immediately west of the church together with a school hall and playing field that are also used for events such as the annual summer village fete. The school was originally built in 1848 with a single classroom.[69] As of 2012, the school had 101 pupils, with pupils not only from Bentworth but also from surrounding villages.[70] St Mary's school has a refurbished library, IT and interactive whiteboard facilities, and recently an adventure playground was installed in the school grounds and the pond and wildlife area redeveloped for educational purposes.[69] The school hall is used for other village activities such as the Bentworth Garden Club,[71] performances by the Bentworth Mummers (the local amateur theatrical group), other meetings, and as the local polling station during elections. In November 2010, the Bentworth Mummers put on a performance of Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen.[72] Bentworth Cricket Club is just south of the village. The village has five tennis courts, one just to the south of the church and school, one just further to the southeast along the main village street, another at Hall Farm, and two more either side of the Sun Inn along Well Lane approaching the village.[32]

Transport

Main article: Bentworth and Lasham railway station

The nearest railway station is 3.6 miles (5.8 km) east of the village, at Alton. Between 1901 and 1932 the Bentworth and Lasham railway station was available to passenger traffic on the Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway. It was located just north of the present A339 Alton-Basingstoke road between Bentworth and Lasham and was designed by John Wallis Titt.[73] The station opened on 1 June 1901 and closed during the First World War on 1 January 1917 because it was a minor line and difficult to keep running at the peak of the war.[74] It was reopened on 18 August 1924, until 1932 when the station was closed to passengers, being used for goods until its final closure in June 1936.[74] The problem was that it was a small rail link between Alton and Basingstoke, both having better rail connections. Meanwhile, Alton was on the line from London Waterloo to Winchester and Basingstoke.[75] In the 1960s, the connection between Alton and Winchester was broken because of railway closures and the construction of the M3 motorway east of Winchester.[76] Today, the rail line continues west of Alton to Alresford as the "Watercress Line" or Mid Hants Railway, running historic steam engines.[77] The level crossing on Lasham Hill north of the station appeared in the 1928 film The Wrecker and the line was also used in the 1937 film Oh, Mr Porter!.[78] The small station waiting room was demolished in 2003.

Notable people

File:GCIves.jpg
George Cecil Ives, c. 1900
George Wither, poet and Roundhead supporter

In the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, the poet and satirist George Wither (1588–1667) was born in Bentworth.[79] He was baptised in the church of St Mary and later, supporting Oliver Cromwell's cause during the English Civil War, sold land in the parish to raise a troop of horses for the Roundhead (anti-Royalist) cause.[1][80] The Wither family lived in Bentworth until the 17th century.

In his earlier life, George Cecil Ives (1867–1950), an author, criminologist and gay rights campaigner, lived at the post-1832 Bentworth Hall with his mother, Emma Gordon-Ives.[17]

References

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