Crondall
Encyclopedia
Crondall is a village and large civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 in the north east of Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 and is all that remains of the old Hundred
Hundred (division)
A hundred is a geographic division formerly used in England, Wales, Denmark, South Australia, some parts of the United States, Germany , Sweden, Finland and Norway, which historically was used to divide a larger region into smaller administrative divisions...

 of Crondall
referred to in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...

 of 1086. Various earlier spellings have in common the use of a "u" instead of the "o" and the village is still properly pronounced "Crundel" although some recent incomers prefer to pronounce the "o". The map of Hampshire in the 1722 edition of William Camden
William Camden
William Camden was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and officer of arms. He wrote the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and the first detailed historical account of the reign of Elizabeth I of England.- Early years :Camden was born in London...

's Britannia or Geographical Description of Britain and Ireland shows symbols for habitation in Farnborough
Farnborough, Hampshire
-History:Name changes: Ferneberga ; Farnburghe, Farenberg ; Farnborowe, Fremborough, Fameborough .Tower Hill, Cove: There is substantial evidence...

, Cove
Cove, Hampshire
Cove is an ancient village forming the western part of Farnborough in the county of Hampshire in the south-east of England, located 33 miles south west of London...

, Ewshot
Ewshot
Ewshot is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England. It lies in the north east of the county, close to the Surrey border.Ewshot consists of Ewshot Village proper, a later development known as Ewshot Heights plus the outlying hamlets of Beacon Hill, Warren, Doras Green and a newer estate of...

, Aldershot
Aldershot
Aldershot is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located on heathland about southwest of London. The town is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council...

 and Crookham
Church Crookham
Church Crookham is a suburb, village and civil parish on the southern edge of the town of Fleet, in north east Hampshire, England, located south west of London...

 in the Crundhal (Crondall) hundred.

Pre-Norman

An Old English crundel was a chalk-pit or quarry, and the word has survived in the name of Crondall. The remains of one quarry can still be seen as a large depression on the golf course.

Crondall's southern boundary is the North Downs
North Downs
The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. The North Downs lie within two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty , the Surrey Hills and the Kent Downs...

 along which ran the prehistoric Harrow Way
North Downs Way
The North Downs Way is a long-distance path in southern England, opened in 1978. It runs from Farnham to Dover, past Godalming, Guildford, Dorking, Merstham, Otford and Rochester, along the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Kent Downs AONB.East of Boughton Lees, the path splits...

, thought to be the oldest road in Britain which ran from the Cornish tin mines to Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...

 in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

. There is some evidence for Neolithic settlements since there is an Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...

 earthworks at Caesar's Camp. Remains of Roman
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...

 and Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...

 settlements have been found close beside the Harrow Way near Barley Pound. Evidence for Roman occupation can be found in the fields as broken tiles and artefacts. In 1817 an intact Roman mosaic pavement
Mosaic
Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...

 was found by a ploughman, and is commemorated by a tapestry in the parish church. Coins from the third century were found in 1869.

The "Crondall Hoard" of one hundred and one old French coins, two jewelled ornaments, and a chain were found in 1828. Many of these date to the fifth century and ninety seven of the coins are now in the possession of the Ashmolean Museum
Ashmolean Museum
The Ashmolean Museum on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is the world's first university museum...

 at Oxford.

King Alfred the Great bequeathed the Hundred of Crondall to his nephew Eltham in 885. In 975 it was handed over by King Edgar
Edgar of England
Edgar the Peaceful, or Edgar I , also called the Peaceable, was a king of England . Edgar was the younger son of Edmund I of England.-Accession:...

 to the monks at Winchester; and remained in their hands until 1539. At this time Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...

 dissolved the monasteries and within two years Crondall was controlled by the new Dean
Dean (religion)
A dean, in a church context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church.-Anglican Communion:...

 and Chapter of Winchester Cathedral
Winchester Cathedral
Winchester Cathedral at Winchester in Hampshire is one of the largest cathedrals in England, with the longest nave and overall length of any Gothic cathedral in Europe...

. Crondall remained in their hands until 1861, when it was taken over by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners
Ecclesiastical Commissioners
Ecclesiastical Commissioners were, in England and Wales, a body corporate, whose full title is Ecclesiastical and Church Estates Commissioners for England. The commissioners were authorized to determine the distribution of revenues of the Church of England, and they made extensive changes in how...

 http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/DRO_ECG/ECCLESIASTICAL_COMMISSIONERS.html.

Manors

The Hundred of Crondall was divided into 'Manors
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...

', Itchell, Ewshot, Crokeham, Well, Feldmead, Dippenhall, Farnborough and Aldershot. These Manors are all mentioned in the records of Winchester Cathedral
Winchester Cathedral
Winchester Cathedral at Winchester in Hampshire is one of the largest cathedrals in England, with the longest nave and overall length of any Gothic cathedral in Europe...

. All the land within the Hundred was administered by the Lords of the Manor at Crondall on behalf of the monks of St Swithen and later on behalf of Winchester Cathedral
Winchester Cathedral
Winchester Cathedral at Winchester in Hampshire is one of the largest cathedrals in England, with the longest nave and overall length of any Gothic cathedral in Europe...

.

Itchell Manor's gardens (house demolished 1954) were laid out by Capability Brown
Capability Brown
Lancelot Brown , more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English landscape architect. He is remembered as "the last of the great English eighteenth-century artists to be accorded his due", and "England's greatest gardener". He designed over 170 parks, many of which still endure...

. A greenhouse, built 1840, is still in use and a Tudor
Tudor architecture
The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...

 Gateway remains. The Old Itchell Manor House had the reputation of being haunted when members of the Lefroy family were in residence. The apparition took the form of a phantom coach
Coach (carriage)
A coach was originally a large, usually closed, four-wheeled carriage with two or more horses harnessed as a team, controlled by a coachman and/or one or more postilions. It had doors in the sides, with generally a front and a back seat inside and, for the driver, a small, usually elevated seat in...

 racing away from the manor and down nearby Hyde Lane.

Civil War

All Saints' church in Crondall was a minor parliamentary outpost for much of the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

, guarding the western approaches to Farnham.

Tithe map

A Tithe Map
Tithe maps
The term Tithe map is usually applied to a map of an English or Welsh parish or township, prepared following the Tithe Commutation Act 1836. This act allowed tithes to be paid in cash rather than goods. The map and its accompanying schedule gave the names of all owners and occupiers of land in the...

 of The Hundred of Crondall, dated 1846, is housed at the Hampshire County Archive in Winchester.

Industry

Crondall has for centuries been rich farming land. A great variety of soils appear in the area because it lies on the edge of the London Basin
London Basin
The London Basin is an elongated, roughly triangular sedimentary basin approximately long which underlies London and a large area of south east England, south eastern East Anglia and the adjacent North Sea...

 including chalk
Southern England Chalk Formation
The Chalk Formation of Southern England is a system of chalk downland in the south of England. The formation is perhaps best known for Salisbury Plain, the location of Stonehenge, the Isle of Wight and the twin ridgeways of the North Downs and South Downs....

, clay
London Clay
The London Clay Formation is a marine geological formation of Ypresian age which crops out in the southeast of England. The London Clay is well known for the fossils it contains. The fossils from the Lower Eocene indicate a moderately warm climate, the flora being tropical or subtropical...

 and heavy fertile loam
Loam
Loam is soil composed of sand, silt, and clay in relatively even concentration . Loam soils generally contain more nutrients and humus than sandy soils, have better infiltration and drainage than silty soils, and are easier to till than clay soils...

. There are many natural springs
Spring (hydrosphere)
A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...

 in the area that were used as watercress
Watercress
Watercresses are fast-growing, aquatic or semi-aquatic, perennial plants native from Europe to central Asia, and one of the oldest known leaf vegetables consumed by human beings...

 beds and for growing osier trees for basket weaving
Basket
A basket is a container which is traditionally constructed from stiff fibres, which can be made from a range of materials, including wood splints, runners, and cane. While most baskets are made from plant materials, other materials such as horsehair, baleen, or metal wire can be used. Baskets are...

. Some of the baskets were incorporated into the balloon baskets and airship gondolas used by S.F. Cody
Samuel Cody
Samuel Franklin Cowdery was born in Birdville, Texas, USA. He was an early pioneer of manned flight, most famous for his work on the large kites known as Cody War-Kites that were used in World War I as a smaller alternative to balloons for artillery spotting...

 in his early aviation experiments at Farnborough
Farnborough Airfield
Farnborough Airport or TAG London Farnborough Airport is an airport situated in Farnborough, Rushmoor, Hampshire, England...

. The area was also renowned for hops
Hops
Hops are the female flower clusters , of a hop species, Humulus lupulus. They are used primarily as a flavoring and stability agent in beer, to which they impart a bitter, tangy flavor, though hops are also used for various purposes in other beverages and herbal medicine...

 that were grown here for two hundred years until the last war. For many years Crondall had a brickworks
Brickworks
A brickworks also known as a brick factory, is a factory for the manufacturing of bricks, from clay or shale. Usually a brickworks is located on a clay bedrock often with a quarry for clay on site....

 that supplied tile
Tile
A tile is a manufactured piece of hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, or even glass. Tiles are generally used for covering roofs, floors, walls, showers, or other objects such as tabletops...

s and brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...

 to local towns.

Barley Pound, Motte and Bailey

Barley Pound is a large ring-motte with four baileys and is one of the best examples of a ring and bailey fortress in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

. The fortication may be the "Lidelea Castle" which was mentioned in the Gesta Stephani for 1147, when it was besieged and captured by King Stephen
Stephen of England
Stephen , often referred to as Stephen of Blois , was a grandson of William the Conqueror. He was King of England from 1135 to his death, and also the Count of Boulogne by right of his wife. Stephen's reign was marked by the Anarchy, a civil war with his cousin and rival, the Empress Matilda...

. After its return to Henry of Blois
Henry of Blois
Henry of Blois , often known as Henry of Winchester, was Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey from 1126, and Bishop of Winchester from 1129 to his death.-Early life and education:...

, Bishop of Wincheter it was abandoned in favour of Farnham Castle
Farnham Castle
Farnham Castle is a castle in Farnham, Surrey, England .First built in 1138 by Henri de Blois, grandson of William the Conqueror, Bishop of Winchester, the castle was to become the home of the Bishops of Winchester for over 800 years. The original building was demolished by Henry II in 1155 after...

. Archaeological work has uncovered evidence of an 8 inch thick wall along with a masonry keep.

To the east is Powderham Castle which was a siege-castle to Barley Pound. It too was founded by the Bishop of Winchester and built during The Anarchy
The Anarchy
The Anarchy or The Nineteen-Year Winter was a period of English history during the reign of King Stephen, which was characterised by civil war and unsettled government...

 in the reign of King Stephen. It was originally an earth and timber ringwork fortress, encased by a ditch and with a counterscarp bank. Due to the demolition of its encasing rampart, the ringwork now resembles a low flat-topped motte. It now also has a dense cover of trees. Excavations on the mound have uncovered post-holes and large flints which may indicate former buildings.

All Saints, Norman Church

The 12th Century Norman parish church, All Saints, has been called 'The Cathedral of North Hampshire'. It replaced a Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...

 church on the same site and the Saxon font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...

 remains from that period. The east end of the Nave dates to 1170. The original bell tower was poorly designed for the weight of the bells it housed and by 1657 the whole tower had to be dismantled to prevent its total collapse. In 1659 a new brick tower, modelled on St Matthews in Battersea
Battersea
Battersea is an area of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is an inner-city district of South London, situated on the south side of the River Thames, 2.9 miles south-west of Charing Cross. Battersea spans from Fairfield in the west to Queenstown in the east...

, was erected at the NE corner of the original structure.

Among notable interior features are an ancient brass of 1370, the dogtooth mouldings of the chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...

 arch and the imposing arcades and foliate capitals of the Nave. To date All Saints has undergone two major restoration
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...

s, the first in 1847 by the architect Benjamin Ferrey
Benjamin Ferrey
Benjamin Ferrey, F.S.A., F.R.I.B.A. was an English architect who worked mostly in the Gothic Revival.-Family:Benjamin Ferrey was the youngest son of Benjamin Ferrey Snr, a draper who became Mayor of Christchurch. He was educated at Wimborne Grammar School....

 and the second in 1871 under the guidance of Sir George Gilbert Scott
George Gilbert Scott
Sir George Gilbert Scott was an English architect of the Victorian Age, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches, cathedrals and workhouses...

. In 1995 the "National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies" (NADFAS) declared All Saints to be one of the finest examples of architecture of its style in the country. The church is said to be haunted.

The church operates as part of the Parish of Crondall and Ewshot
Ewshot
Ewshot is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England. It lies in the north east of the county, close to the Surrey border.Ewshot consists of Ewshot Village proper, a later development known as Ewshot Heights plus the outlying hamlets of Beacon Hill, Warren, Doras Green and a newer estate of...

.

Residential buildings

Throughout Crondall there are many well-preserved old houses and cottages. The Plume of Feathers pub is a fine example of Tudor architecture and was a resting stop on the turnpike
Turnpike trust
Turnpike trusts in the United Kingdom were bodies set up by individual Acts of Parliament, with powers to collect road tolls for maintaining the principal highways in Britain from the 17th but especially during the 18th and 19th centuries...

 to Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...

.

Notable visitors

A panoramic view of this part of Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

 may be gained from Queens View looking from East to West across Crondall. It takes its name from the fact that Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....

 admired this view whilst inspecting troops garrisioned at nearby Aldershot
Aldershot
Aldershot is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located on heathland about southwest of London. The town is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council...

 "Home of the British Army". Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....

 is reputed to have stayed in the Plume of Feathers in October 1645, when the siege of Basing House
Siege of Basing House
The siege of Basing House near Basingstoke in Hampshire, was a Parliamentarian victory late in the First English Civil War. Whereas the title of the event may suggest a single siege, there were in fact three major engagements...

 was in progress.

Notable residents include Chris Fawkes
Chris Fawkes
Chris Fawkes is a BBC Weather forecaster. He appears regularly on BBC News, BBC World News, BBC Red Button, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 5 Live...

, a weatherman for the BBC.

Statistics

As of 2005, Crondall consists of some or all of the following areas: Bentley, Bucks Horn Oak, Crondall, Ewshot, Mill Lane, Batt's Corner, Charleshill, Churt, Dippenhall, Frensham, Millbridge, Rowledge, Rushmoor, Seale, Spreakley, The Sands, Tilford and Tongham.
  • According to the 2001 census. 3463 people live in Crondall.
  • There are about 1478 dwellings in the ward.
  • The parish covers 10.7 square miles (27.7 km²).

Further reading

  • Arnold Taylor The Seventeenth-Century Church Towers of Battersea (1639) Staines (1631), Crondall (1659) and Leighton Bromswold (?c. 1640), Architectural History Vol. 27, Design and Practice in British Architecture: Studies in Architectural History Presented to Howard Colvin (1984), pp. 281–296 (article consists of 16 pages) Published by: SAHGB Publications Limited
  • Roland P Butterfield Monastery and Manor. The History of Crondall [138p] Printed by EW Langham, Farnham, 1948
  • Roland P Butterfield (editor) Ordained in Powder : The Life and Times of Parson White of Crondall Published 1966 by Herald P in Farnham (Sy.)

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK