Itchen Abbas
| Itchen Abbas | |
| Hampshire | |
|---|---|
 Disused mill stream at Itchen Abbas | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SU532319 |
| Location: | 51°5’5"N, 1°14’27"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 567 |
| Post town: | Winchester |
| Postcode: | SO21 |
| Dialling code: | 01962 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Winchester |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Winchester |
Itchen Abbas is a village in the heart of Hampshire, on the braided streams of the River Itchen upstream of Winchester, about four miles north-east of the city.
A major oil pipeline from Hamble to Aldermaston runs through Itchen Abbas.[1]
Parish church
The Church of England parish church of St. John the Baptist was originally Norman and retains an original Norman doorway and chancel arch.[2] St. John's was rebuilt in 1867 to a Norman Revival design by the architect William Coles.[2] It is a charming Victorian Church with a barrel-vaulted roof. The church lost all remaining Victorian fittings when it was re-ordered in 2009; the pews replaced with stackable chairs, and the original floor covered with carpeting, leaving the church with a much-impaired acoustic, and a rather bland interior.
History
Itchen Abbas is mentioned in the Hampshire Folk Song "Avington Pond" as the place where the builders of the pond were paid their wages. They were given their money in the Plough public house.
Abbey House, half a mile north-east of the village, is a Grade II listed country house of five bays and two stories built in 1693.[3] Originally a rectory, it was altered in the 19th century.[4]
The Alton, Alresford and Winchester Railway opened Itchen Abbas railway station in 1865. British Railways closed the line and station in 1973.
Charles Kingsley was a regular visitor to Itchen Abbas. The village and river provided inspiration for the setting of his novel The Water Babies.
The village is the site of Sir Edward Grey's fishing hut, where he spent the night of 3 August 1914 before travelling to London to announce the United Kingdom's entry into the First World War.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Itchen Abbas) |
References
- ↑ "TEMPORARY ROAD CLOSURE – AVINGTON LANE, ITCHEN ABBAS.". Winchester City Council. http://www.winchester.gov.uk/Documents/PublicNotices/2006/November/061102MakeOrderAvingtonLaneITCHENABBAS502.pdf.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Pevsner & Lloyd, 1967, page 308
- ↑ Nikolaus Pevsner: The Buildings of England: Hampshire & The Isle of Wight, 1967 Penguin Books ISBN 978-0-300-09606-4
- ↑ National Heritage List 1095873: Abbey House (Grade II* listing)
- A History of the County of Hampshire - Volume 4 pp 191-192: Parishes: Itchen Abbas (Victoria County History)
- Nikolaus Pevsner: The Buildings of England: Hampshire & The Isle of Wight, 1967 Penguin Books ISBN 978-0-300-09606-4
