Steep
| Steep | |
| Hampshire | |
|---|---|
 Steep village centre during winter | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SU746253 |
| Location: | 51°1’22"N, -0°56’15"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 849 |
| Post town: | Petersfield |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | East Hampshire |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
East Hampshire |
Steep is a village and parish in eastern Hampshire within the East Meon Hundred. Its nearest town is Petersfield, which lies a mile and a half south of the village, just off the A3 road. The nearest railway station is in Petersfield. It has two public houses, The Harrow and the Cricketers Inn, with the former being an 18th-century Grade II-listed building. According to the 2011 census, it had a population of 849. North and South Ambersham form a detached part of the ancient parish and county locally situate in Sussex.
Iron Age and Roman remains have been found in the area. The church of All Saints was built around 1125. Since 1899 the village has been the location of Bedales School, a progressive public school.
History
Prehistory to Roman
The village name has been spelled in various ways, including La Stuppe, La Stiepe, and Stupe (14th century) and Steepe (17th century).[1] There is evidence of Roman occupation in the village, with pottery, coins, baths and a Roman villa[2] being discovered on Bell Hill, directly opposite the village centre.[3] A Roman earthworks ridge was also found on Stoner Hill, which suggests evidence of Roman roads passing through the causeway.[3] Iron Age remains found in the area include pottery, boilers, and a site of a "sub-rectangular enclosure" found in Steep village centre. A Bronze Age barrow house was also excavated in the parish.[3]
Mediæval to Tudor
The village was not mentioned in the Domesday Survey of 1086, however it was likely included under the entry of 'Menes'.[1] Steep was not likely settled until late in the Anglo-Saxon period when it was first documented under the name of 'Stepe Place' in the 12th century. The church of All Saints was built around 1125, and the oldest surviving dwelling in the village dates from the late 16th century, which lies opposite the church.[2] In the early mediæval period, Steep was included as a 'sub-parish' of East Meon.[1][2]
By 1600, Steep had a prospering local cloth-making industry and two fulling mills in operation, which were driven by the nearby Ashford Stream. The early 17th century was also described by historian William Page as a "great rebuilding" of the village, in which redevelopment of many wooden buildings were replaced by stone structures.[2] However, a decline in the cloth-making industry caused a depression in the latter half of the 17th century, which resulted in the closure of both mills.[2][1]
19th century to Second World War
By the 1830s the British Agricultural Revolution had disturbed traditional society and created a class of labourers who struggled to support their families in rural areas. This led to an unrest known as the Swing riots which swept across southern Britain, consequently reaching Selborne and Liphook in September 1830.[2] The Parliamentary Enclosure Acts of 1856 established a new land pattern for nearby Steep Marsh and Stroud, which still exists today. There was also extensive land drainage between 1860 and 1880; conduits and sluices were constructed to take water from Ashford Stream for the artificial flooding of hay meadows. In Steep, hops were grown for use in local breweries, watercress produced for commercial use, and a condensed milk factory was in operation in Steep Marsh.[2]
Voluntary schools were built in Steep in 1875, and the first almshouses were constructed by William Eames in 1882.[1] Bedales School was constructed in 1899 at a cost of approximately £60,000, which at the time of 1912, had an enrolment of 160 children.[1] However, another source described the school as being constructed in 1900, and was formerly located in Lindfield, Sussex.[2] The First World War poet Edward Thomas lived in the village; his children attended Bedales School and his wife also taught there.[4]
Notable landmarks
The church of All Saints was first constructed in the 12th century and has some parts which still date to its original design.[4] It has a chancel that measures 16 ft by 13 ft, a nave which measures 50 ft by 16 ft and north and south aisles which run from 13 ft to 5 ft wide, respectively. The eastern bays of the south arcade of the nave date from 1180; however, it seems probable that the oldest masonry on the site belongs to an older church from either Colemore or Ropley.[1] Before the north aisle was constructed, there is evidence to suggest that a wooden north-west tower existed.[1]
In approximately 1200 a north aisle was added, with its width being determined by the projection of the north transept chapel, with the west and east walls taken down at the time. The different thickness of the walls in the present church suggests that the wall for the length of the first three bays of the arcade was taken down and rebuilt in the 13th century. The church underwent a restoration in 1839, with £370 being spent, and in 1875 at a cost of £2,377.[1]
The Harrow is a Grade II-listed public house which was first built in the 18th century.[5] It is on the Campaign for Real Ale's National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors.[6]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Page, William (1908). "History of Steep". British History Online. pp. 77–81. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/hants/vol3/pp77-81. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 "Steep Parish Plan". Hampshire County Council. 2012. http://www.steepvillage.com/files/Steep-Parish-Plan-2012.pdf. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "British Archaeological Sites in Steep". Archaeology UK. http://www.digital-documents.co.uk/cgi-bin/web-archi.pl?ARCHIFormNGRLetter=SU&ARCHIFormNGR_x=74&ARCHIFormNGR_y=25&password=freesearch@freesearch.com&TownName=STEEP&county=Hampshire&distance=10000&period=&font_size=&placename=Steep&info2search4=archi_town_search&keywords=. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Hampshire Treasures: Steep". Hampshire County Council. p. 301. http://www.hants.gov.uk/hampshiretreasures/vol06/page301.html. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
- ↑ National Heritage List 1253271: The Harrow, Steep
- ↑ Brandwood, Geoff (2013). Britain's best real heritage pubs. St. Albans: CAMRA. p. 45. ISBN 9781852493042.