Cadnam
| Cadnam | |
| Hampshire | |
|---|---|
 Cottage and chapel at Cadnam | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SU295137 |
| Location: | 50°55’20"N, 1°34’51"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Southampton |
| Postcode: | SO40 |
| Dialling code: | 023 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | New Forest |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
New Forest East |
Cadnam is a village in Hampshire, within the boundaries of the New Forest. The village has existed since the Middle Ages, when it was (and still is) an important crossroads between Southampton and Christchurch in the far south-west of the county and on to Poole in Dorset.
Overview
The village is within the edge of the New Forest, at a meeting of old roads. Surrounding villages are Copythorne to the northeast, and Bartley to the southeast. The road southwards leads to Lyndhurst, and thence to Christchurch.
Cadnam remains an important crossroads between Southampton and the towns of Christchurch, Bournemouth and Poole, and though the village attempts to retain a rural forest feel, it is stuck beside the motorway: the M27 motorway begins at a vast roundabout (‘Junction 1’) at Cadnam.
The village has a number of pubs, including the White Hart and The Sir John Barleycorn. There is also a hotel, The Bartley Lodge Hotel, and a Methodist church.
History
Cadnam is first recorded in the 1270s as ‘’Cadenham’’.[1] The name apparently means 'Cadda’s homestead'.[1]
In the 13th century there was an estate at Cadnam and at nearby Winsor which belonged to the nuns of Amesbury. In 1286, the abbey obtained a grant of free warren in both estates.[2] It seems to have formed part of the manor of Wigley, and the rent of tenants at Cadnam was paid to Amesbury Abbey until the Dissolution of the Monasteries.[2]
Land at Cadnam and Winsor was granted with the manor of Wigley to Edmund Vaughan in 1545.[2] All of these lands subsequently became part of the Paultons estate.[2]
A Congregational chapel at Cadnam was founded in 1790.[2]
The Cadnam Oak
The Cadnam Oak, at the south-east corner of a crossroads in Cadnam (SU292136), is thought to be a "boundary tree" of the New Forest.[3] Legend has it that the Cadnam Oak puts forth green leaves on Christmas Day, being leafless immediately before and after the day.[4] The current tree is actually a descendent of the first Cadnam Oak, but the fame still continues.[4] Popular tradition even has it that the tree only buds on Old Christmas Day on 6 January, refusing to acknowledge the Gregorian calendar change of 1752.[4]
Sport and leisure
- Cricket: Cadnam Cricket Club (established in 1880) who play on the Lambs Corner ground
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Cadnam) |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Cadnam, Old Hampshire Gazetteer
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Eling – A History of the County of Hampshire - Volume : {{{2}}} (Victoria County History)
- ↑ Hampshire Treasures Volume 5 (New Forest) Page 69
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Wendy Boase, (1976), The folklore of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, page 118. Batsford
