Tracing the history of two small, closely-linked parishes
which lie to the south of Basingstoke on the edge of the chalk downlands, and a
third parish, Hatch (abandoned towards the end of the 14th century and has
formed part of both of the others), Cliddesden, Hatch and Farleigh Wallop
is the latest publication from the Victoria County History of Hampshire
project. Each settlement has a common manorial descent from the 15th century
onwards and they were managed as components of a single estate under the
lordship of the Wallop family from their seat at Farleigh House. This volume
discusses the manorial owners and the development of the estate, and also
includes much more about the lives and activities of ordinary people living and
working in the settlements.
Religious and social history of the area is covered and the
survival of an unusually full set of records has enabled the history of the
school to be told in detail. This, coupled with lively tales of social
activities, provides a fascinating picture of rural life as it was and as it
has become in the 21st century - largely a home for commuters, with Hatch
absorbed into an ever-growing Basingstoke and farming undertaken from one
centre across nearly all the land.
Published by the Institute of Historical Research at the
University of London, this is the fourth volume from the Victoria County
History of Hampshire following Mapledurwell, Steventon and Basingstoke:
a Medieval Town c.1000-c.1600. Each title provides a scholarly account of
individual villages and towns of interest to their inhabitants, those in the
wider area and to those beyond Hampshire itself.