Curdridge
| Curdridge | |
| Hampshire | |
|---|---|
 Curdridge Church | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SU528138 |
| Location: | 50°55’17"N, 1°15’2"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 1,398 (2011) |
| Post town: | Southampton |
| Postcode: | SO32 |
| Dialling code: | 01489 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Winchester |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Meon Valley |
Curdridge is a village in the south of Hampshire, in a rural setting to the east of Southampton’s swollen urban area; eight miles west of the city. A mile to the south-west, where the mail route crosses the River Hamble, is Botley
The parish also contains the similarly-named village of Curbridge, by a creek and the Hamble. The village has a small school, and a railway station, Botley station, halfway between Curdridge and Botley.
The 2011 census recorded a population of 1,398 people in 520 households.
Church
The village Church is the church of St Peter.[1] It was largely built in 1887 and 1888 to a design by Thomas Graham Jackson.[1] A tower was added in 1895.[1]
Folklore and local legends
The local legends of two women with tragic lives are often mixed and confused in the village's folklore.[2]
Kitty Nocks
According to local legend, Kitnocks Hill, on the Wickham road, takes its name from a young girl called Kitty Nocks, or some variation thereof, who drowned, either by suicide or accident while eloping with a lover of whom her father did not approve. Her ghost, reportedly seen by locals returning from Southampton on the bus, is now said to haunt the top of the hill.[2]
Kate Hunt
According to local legend, Mill Hill on the Botley road was, in the 17th century, home to an elderly witch called Kate Hunt, who moved felled trees with magic, rode to Bishops Waltham on a farm gate and changed into a white hare. The elderly woman was found dead after locals from Pink Mead Farm shot the hare with a silver coin.[2]
Events
The Curdridge Country Show takes place each summer in a field off Reading Room Lane.[3]
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Curdridge) |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Nikolaus Pevsner: The Buildings of England: Hampshire & The Isle of Wight, 1967 Penguin Books ISBN 978-0-300-09606-4
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 O'Leary, Michael (2011). Hampshire and Isle of Wight Folk Tales. The History Press. ISBN 978-0752461236.
- ↑ The Curdridge Country Show
