Oakhanger, Hampshire
| Oakhanger | |
| Hampshire | |
|---|---|
 St Mary Magdalene, Oakhanger | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SU769359 |
| Location: | 51°6’54"N, 0°54’10"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Bordon |
| Postcode: | GU35 |
| Dialling code: | 01420 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | East Hampshire |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
East Hampshire |
Oakhanger is a village in Hampshire, a mile and a half from its nearest town is Bordon, in the east of the county, on the B3004 road. The village is part of the parish of Selborne.
Formerly Oakhanger had its own military railway station, Oakhanger Halt, on the Longmoor Military Railway, until the closure of the line. The nearest station today is four miles away, in Alton.
A Roman road passed through Oakhanger although no traces of it remain today. The village contains four Grade II listed buildings, including Oakhanger Farmhouse and its three outbuildings. Oakhanger also has one pub, The Red Lion. St Mary Magdalene's Church was built in 1873. The former Royal Air Force station, RAF Oakhanger, still retains its satellite domes, although the station is now privately run.
The village name has been spelled in various ways, including Acangre (10th century), Hohangra (early 12th century), Ochangra, Achangre, and Hachangre (late 12th century).[1]
History
Mesolithic remains have been found in nearby Shortheath Common.
A Roman road passed through the village although there are no visible signs of its existence. Roman traces have bene found here, including a large Roman hoard of 11,000 silver pieces.
The first mention of Oakhanger in records is in a charter from the early 10th century, which stated the boundaries of lands granted by King Edward the Elder to Frithestan, the Bishop of Winchester. In the reign of Edward the Confessor the lands of Oakhanger were assessed to be worth 40 shillings.
At the time of the Domesday Book in 1086, Oakhanger was held by Edwin (whose identity is unclear) from the King, and a tenant named Richard held it of Edwin. During the 12th century the manor was evidently held by a family that took the surname of 'Oakhanger' from, the village, and they retained it until 1319 when John Paynel died leaving his daughter Maud, the wife of Nicholas de Upton, heir to two parts of Oakhanger.[1]
In 1589, Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick, who then owned the manor, died without heir, so the estate escheated to the Crown along with the rest of his property.[1]
Edward Wilcox gave the manor of Oakhanger to his only daughter and heir Margaret in 1724, who seven years later, sold the lands to John Conduit. By the will of Conduit, Oakhanger was passed on to his only daughter and heir Catherine, who married Lord Viscount Lymington in 1736. By an Act of Parliament of 1748–9 for selling the settled estates of Catherine Lymington, Oakhanger was then sold to Henry Bilson Legge. In 1750, Henry Bilson Legge married Mary, and created the title of Baroness Stawell in 1760. Their son, Henry Bilson-Legge, Lord Stawell, married the daughter of Viscount Curzon, who died without male heirs in 1820. Their only daughter Mary married John Dutton, the only son and heir of James Sherborne, from whom the manor of Oakhanger was passed by inheritance to Henry John Dutton, the last owner as of 1908.[1]
In 1905, the War Department commissioned the Longmoor Military Railway, which ran from the Longmoor Camp near Liphook to Bordon. It was extended south to Liss in 1933, and around this time Oakhanger Halt railway station was built as the main station for the Bordon Garrison, until the line's closure in 1969.[2][3]
RAF Oakhanger was built in 1954 for the use of experimental space communications, when it bounced a voice signal off the moon and received it back. The station was bought out by a private company in 2003 and is now privately run.[4]
About the village
The village is in the parish of Selborne.[1] The landscape is dominated by farms and heathland such as Shortheath Common, Oakhanger Farm and parts of the Woolmer Forest, which surrounds Bordon.
The soil is described as is a wet, sandy loam "remarkable for trees, but infamous for roads".[1] Selborne's parish contains another village, Blackmoor, which stands to the south.
The Oakhanger Stream, a tributary of the River Wey, rises on Shortheath Common, whence it runs down to Selborne, making the overall length about four miles.
The village also has a small shop and café known as the Chocolate Frog Company, on the outskirts of Oakhanger Farm.[5]
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Oakhanger, Hampshire) |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 A History of the County of Hampshire - Volume 3 pp 4-16: The Parish of Selborne (Victoria County History)
- ↑ "Disused Stations: Oakhanger Halt". Disused Stations. http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/o/oakhanger_halt/.
- ↑ "Longmoor Military Railway history". IRSociety. http://www.irsociety.co.uk/Archives/9/longmoor.htm.
- ↑ McGraw-Hill (1997). "RAF Oakhanger" (in en). Aviation Week & Space Technology (McGraw-Hill) 17 (12–14): 51–56. https://books.google.com/books?id=gYBKAQAAIAAJ&q=Current+issues+for+RAF+Oakhanger+and+Number+1001+Signals+Unit.
- ↑ Chocolate Frog Company
