Stoke Charity
| Stoke Charity | |
| Hampshire | |
|---|---|
 Stoke Charity | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SU487392 |
| Location: | 51°9’3"N, 1°18’17"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Winchester |
| Postcode: | SO21 |
| Dialling code: | 01962 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Winchester |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Winchester |
Stoke Charity is a small village in Hampshire, on the River Dever, half a mile east of Wonston (allocated to its civil parish) and a mile and a half west of Sutton Scotney. Its nearest town is Winchester, six miles south-west of the village.
In past centuries, the manor was also known as Old Stoke,[1] still remembered in the street name "Old Stoke Road".
Church
The Church of England parish church is St Mary and St Michael. It dates mainly from the 12th and 13th centuries. The Norman nave and chancel may have been added to a small Saxon church to form the north aisle of an enlarged church.
The church stands in a field just to the east of the village.
History
Stoke Charity is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as Stoches. It appears as Stokecharite circa 1270. It was held by Henry de la Charite in the thirteenth century, so 'Charity' is thus a family name.[2]
In 904, Edward the Elder probably granted the area of the present parish to Hyde Abbey as part of the manor of Micheldever.
Stoke Charity also had a manor house and home farm, which employed most of the population as farm labourers up until the late 19th century. Watercress beds were well developed and numerous in Stoke Charity until recently. These were fed by the River Dever, which is a tributary of the River Test. Some watercress beds have been brought back into use as of 2020
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Stoke Charity) |
References
- ↑ The Hampshire Antiquary and Naturalist, Volumes 1-2, p. 89: "The stream was re-crossed at Old-stoke or Stoke Charity, now a bridge, but probably in olden times a ford..."
- ↑ Ekwall, Eilert, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 4th edition, 1960. p. 445 ISBN 0198691033