Amport

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Amport
Hampshire
Location
Grid reference: SU305444
Location: 51°11’52"N, 1°33’53"W
Data
Population: 1,189  (2011)
Post town: Andover
Postcode: SP11
Dialling code: 01264
Local Government
Council: Test Valley

Amport is a village in Hampshire, found a few miles to the west of Andover. Its parish incorporates the small hamlet of East Cholderton and has a population of about 1,200.

The village has a village green surrounded by thatched cottages. It sits in the valley of the Pillhill Brook, a tributary of the River Anton, which itself is tributary to the River Test,[1] a chalk stream famous for its trout-fishing. For those who enjoy a country walk, there are many attractive routes in the countryside around the village.

About the village

Amport House on the outskirts of the village, which is now occupied by the tri-service chaplains’ school, was originally home to the Marquesses of Winchester; it has gardens designed by celebrated architect, Edwin Lutyens and laid out by Gertrude Jekyll. The House currently houses The Museum of Army Chaplaincy.

Amport's greatest attraction, however, is the world-renowned Hawk Conservancy, where skilled falconers daily fly a wide variety of hawks, owls and eagles, including two American Bald Eagles.

Parish church

The church, St Mary's, which was built in the fourteenth century, has a peal of six bells which are rung regularly. There is a church school, founded by a lady benefactor, Mrs Sophia Sheppard, the widow of Rev. Thomas Sheppard, in the early nineteenth century.[2]

Amport Parish Church April 2014

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material
about Amport)

References

  1. Ekwall, Eilert, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 4th edition, 1960. p. 15 ISBN 0198691033
  2. William White (1878) History, Gazetter and Directory of the County of Hampshire. p112