North Baddesley
| North Baddesley | |
| Hampshire | |
|---|---|
 Six Oaks Road, North Baddesley | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SU395199 |
| Location: | 50°58’40"N, 1°26’15"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 12,878 (2011) |
| Post town: | Southampton |
| Postcode: | SO52 |
| Dialling code: | 023 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Test Valley |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Romsey and Southampton North |
North Baddesley is a large village in Hampshire, three miles east of the town of Romsey and six miles north of Southampton. It has been swollen by housing developments since the mid-twentieth century so that with a population of just over 10,000 people in the wider village area, this is one of the largest villages in the southern counties: larger than many market towns.
The vilage is in the valley of the River Test, though two miles east of the river itself: the brook which runs through North Baddesley is the Tanner's Brook.
Contents
History
The Domesday Book of 1086 shows North Baddesley as Badeslei: the name is from the Old English Bæd or Bæddi as a proper name, so 'Bæd's Meadow'. It was then a small village with a church, four farms, seven smallholdings and a wood sufficient for ten hogs valued at 60 shillings.
In 1304, the Knights of St John of Jerusalem, later known as the Knights Hospitaller, acquired the manor of North Baddesley, and the little church of All Saints was re-dedicated to St John the Baptist, the patron saint of Hospitallers. The church was almost opposite the Hospitallers preceptory, on the site now occupied by the present manor house. The Knights acquired the overlordship rights in the late 14th century. The Black Death of 1348–49 resulted in the transfer of the Hospitallers' Hampshire headquarters from Godsfield near New Alresford to North Baddesley.
The Knights Hospitaller were in Baddesley for about 400 years until 1541. Following the dissolution of the monasteries, the dissolution of monastic orders followed: the Hospitallers were suppressed and their possessions were forfeit to the Crown. Thereafter the manor changed hands several times.
The Civil War of 1642–46 passed the village by, though the then lord of the manor, Samuel Dunch was a strong Parliamentarian and he was later related to the Cromwell family through the marriage of his son John in 1650 to Ann Major of Hursley Park, whose sister Dorothy was married to the Protector's son, Richard Cromwell.
In 1767 the manor was bought by Thomas Dummer of Cranbury Park, Otterbourne, from whom it devolved to the Chamberlayne family. The Joyce family bought the manor house from the Chamberlayne's in 1981 and have lived there ever since.
Baddesley gradually expanded down Nutburn Road and in 1876 the first buildings south of the crossroads were erected. The school opened to serve both Baddesley and Chilworth, with Mr Dibble the headmaster living in the adjoining schoolhouse.
The modern village (south of Botley Road), was built on open farmland and common-land belonging formerly to the Willis Fleming family of North Stoneham Park, who were major local landowners.[1] This is reflected in the names of local roads, Willis Avenue and Fleming Avenue.
The arrival of the 20th century was to change Baddesley forever, propelling it from a small hamlet with a population of 393 in 1901 to that of the largest village in area. In 2001, it had a population in excess of 10,000, akin to that of a small town, consisting predominantly of the 1960s / 70s style small housing. Development continues.
Church
St John's Church is a mainly 17th-century building set on a hill-brow with a view over countryside. Baddesley Manor, opposite the church, is an 18th-century building as the successor of the mediæval Preceptory of the Knights Hospitaller.
Development
North Baddesley, although still a village, has many of the features, though few of the facilities, of a small town. In 1921 the population was fewer than 400, but by the outbreak of war in 1939 it was almost 1,000. Its proximity to Southampton and Eastleigh gave rise to considerable pressure for development after the war and large estates of modern houses were built. The most recent of the parish's developments is orientated to the north of Botley Road running up Nutburn Road.
There is a Community Centre on Fleming Avenue, and the church hall at All Saints church in the centre of the village also provides space to many community initiatives.
The old village stands to the north, and the manor house incorporates part of the Preceptory of the Knights Hospitaller, which was the Hampshire headquarters of the order after 1365. Reminders of this are found in the local place-names of Zionshill and Knightwood. The parish church is also of mediæval foundation and is dedicated to St John the Baptist, the patron saint of the Knights Hospitaller.
Baddesley Common
Baddesley Common and Emer Bog are areas of grassland heath and bog, like those of the New Forest further west. There is a wide variety of the plants which thrive in this environment and it has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Marsh gentian (Gentiana pneumonanthe), cross-leaved heath, lousewort, heath spotted orchid and petty whin are some specialist plants that occur in the wet heath areas.
White admiral and purple emperor butterflies glide through the woods and dragonflies chase over the bog and ponds. Several hundred different species of moth have been recorded.
There is also a boardwalk trail towards the back of the bog, which can be strolled to observe the woodland wildlife.
See also
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about North Baddesley) |
References
- ↑ "The Fleming Estate in Hampshire & the Isle of Wight". Willis Fleming Historical Trust. http://www.willisfleming.org.uk/estates/hants_and_iow/.
- 'The Changing Face of North Baddesley', Una Lonergan & Beryl Green, 1996
