Timsbury
Encyclopedia
Timsbury is a village located in Hampshire
, England
, near the town of Romsey
. It lies mainly along the A3057 road running north from Romsey towards Stockbridge
. It has a population of around 400. Timsbury has grown from a traditional village centred on the Manor House (now split into many dwellings) and the Church of St Andrew. Although there may have been a Saxon church, the current building probably dates from around the early 15th century. Its name is derived from the Old English timber + byrig (dative of burh), meaning 'timber fort or manor'.
Historically, it was to Timsbury that Edmund Sharp and his wife Alice moved from the county of
Berkshire towards the end of the seventeenth century and a direct descendant of Edmund's was Richard Sharp (politician)
, once hailed as possibly being the most popular man in Georgian London. An interesting anecdote has survived concerning one of Edmund's sons, Richard, who, born in 1665 gained a reputation as an accomplished wrestler and ‘cudgeller’in the area. Even in those days cudgelling was a very old custom and especially popular in the West of England where great pride was attached to skills which were often handed from father to son. It was
a fast and furious activity conducted brutally using a short club and the expression ‘to break a head’ was associated with the cudgeller’s sport since the victor was he who first drew blood from a gash to the head. The story recorded by his grandson and clearly cherished by later generations underlines the extent of this Richard’s physical prowess,
While he lived at Romsey he of a summer’s day rode up to
Timsbury, where he lived, where he had been brought up and
where when young he had been so fond of wrestling. It so
happened that a stage was erected and sitting on his horse he
stayed long enough to see a man throw two or three men who had
mounted the stage against him, till all were intimidated from
entering the list; the conqueror …. triumphed on the stage with
so much arrogance that my grandfather was tempted to humble
him; therefore he got off his horse, mounted the stage, threw the
boaster on his back and having humbled the boaster he
immediately took horse and left them.
In time the Sharp family became well established in the Romsey area and during the 18th and 19th centuries many of them held important positions as merchants or influential citizens of Romsey. A brass floor plate in Romsey Abbey commemorates many of them.
In modern Timsbury, the local amenities include one pub of which the most frequented is "The Malthouse", one car garage, a [recycling]] site.
The “Bear and Ragged Staff” pub is also popular for meals having been extended over the centuries, but is located in Michelmersh.
The local telephone exchange is Braishfield with most telephone numbers in the village 01794 368XXX. Because of the distance to Braishfield, broadband links are only about 2 megabit per second.
The village has had mains sewage for a decade though some houses retain the use of local septic tanks. There is no mains gas in the village, so houses are heated either by electricity, or by burning Calor gas or oil from storage tanks.
Local amenities for the combined parish of Michelmersh and Timsbury include the “Jubillee” village hall, the sports hall. Many local organisations use these two halls.
The ladies of Timsbury were bequeathed a hall which with the decline in local WI membership has now been sold to the village band.
The parish publishes a bi-monthly newsletter distributed free to households in the village.
The late cartoonist Thelwell lived in the village adjacent to a horse riding school.
The Timsbury Fishery offers private fishing on the River Test.
The Romsey sports field is on the A3057 in Timsbury.
Timsbury forms a civil parish
with Michelmersh
that forms part of the Test Valley
district.
Adjacent villages include Awbridge
, Kimbridge, Mottisfont
, Mottisfont & Dunbridge railway station, Lockerley
, Houghton, Hampshire
, Horsebridge railway station
, Kings Sombourne, Braishfield
, Hursley
, Ampfield
,
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...
, near the town of Romsey
Romsey
Romsey is a small market town in the county of Hampshire, England.It is 8 miles northwest of Southampton and 11 miles southwest of Winchester, neighbouring the village of North Baddesley...
. It lies mainly along the A3057 road running north from Romsey towards Stockbridge
Stockbridge, Hampshire
Stockbridge is a small town and civil parish in Hampshire, England. It has an acreage of and a population of little under 600 people according to the 2001 census in Hampshire, England. It lies on the River Test, in the Test Valley district and renowned for trout fishing. The A30 road goes through...
. It has a population of around 400. Timsbury has grown from a traditional village centred on the Manor House (now split into many dwellings) and the Church of St Andrew. Although there may have been a Saxon church, the current building probably dates from around the early 15th century. Its name is derived from the Old English timber + byrig (dative of burh), meaning 'timber fort or manor'.
Historically, it was to Timsbury that Edmund Sharp and his wife Alice moved from the county of
Berkshire towards the end of the seventeenth century and a direct descendant of Edmund's was Richard Sharp (politician)
Richard Sharp (politician)
Richard Sharp, FRS, FSA , also known as "Conversation" Sharp, was a hat-maker, banker, merchant, poet, critic, British politician, but above all - doyen of the conversationalists.-Family background:...
, once hailed as possibly being the most popular man in Georgian London. An interesting anecdote has survived concerning one of Edmund's sons, Richard, who, born in 1665 gained a reputation as an accomplished wrestler and ‘cudgeller’in the area. Even in those days cudgelling was a very old custom and especially popular in the West of England where great pride was attached to skills which were often handed from father to son. It was
a fast and furious activity conducted brutally using a short club and the expression ‘to break a head’ was associated with the cudgeller’s sport since the victor was he who first drew blood from a gash to the head. The story recorded by his grandson and clearly cherished by later generations underlines the extent of this Richard’s physical prowess,
While he lived at Romsey he of a summer’s day rode up to
Timsbury, where he lived, where he had been brought up and
where when young he had been so fond of wrestling. It so
happened that a stage was erected and sitting on his horse he
stayed long enough to see a man throw two or three men who had
mounted the stage against him, till all were intimidated from
entering the list; the conqueror …. triumphed on the stage with
so much arrogance that my grandfather was tempted to humble
him; therefore he got off his horse, mounted the stage, threw the
boaster on his back and having humbled the boaster he
immediately took horse and left them.
In time the Sharp family became well established in the Romsey area and during the 18th and 19th centuries many of them held important positions as merchants or influential citizens of Romsey. A brass floor plate in Romsey Abbey commemorates many of them.
In modern Timsbury, the local amenities include one pub of which the most frequented is "The Malthouse", one car garage, a [recycling]] site.
The “Bear and Ragged Staff” pub is also popular for meals having been extended over the centuries, but is located in Michelmersh.
The local telephone exchange is Braishfield with most telephone numbers in the village 01794 368XXX. Because of the distance to Braishfield, broadband links are only about 2 megabit per second.
The village has had mains sewage for a decade though some houses retain the use of local septic tanks. There is no mains gas in the village, so houses are heated either by electricity, or by burning Calor gas or oil from storage tanks.
Local amenities for the combined parish of Michelmersh and Timsbury include the “Jubillee” village hall, the sports hall. Many local organisations use these two halls.
The ladies of Timsbury were bequeathed a hall which with the decline in local WI membership has now been sold to the village band.
The parish publishes a bi-monthly newsletter distributed free to households in the village.
The late cartoonist Thelwell lived in the village adjacent to a horse riding school.
The Timsbury Fishery offers private fishing on the River Test.
The Romsey sports field is on the A3057 in Timsbury.
Timsbury forms a 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...
with Michelmersh
Michelmersh
Michelmersh is a small, scattered village in Hampshire, England some three miles north of Romsey.It forms a civil parish with Timsbury that forms part of the Test Valley district....
that forms part of the Test Valley
Test Valley
Test Valley is a local government district and borough in Hampshire, England, named after the valley of the River Test. Its council is based in Andover....
district.
Adjacent villages include Awbridge
Awbridge
Awbridge is a village and civil parish in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England, about three miles northwest of Romsey, and near the River Test. According to the 2001 census the parish, which includes the villages of Awbridge, Upper Ratley and Lower Ratley, had a population of 695...
, Kimbridge, Mottisfont
Mottisfont
Mottisfont is a village and civil parish in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England, approximately 7km north west of Romsey. The village is best known as the location of Mottisfont Abbey...
, Mottisfont & Dunbridge railway station, Lockerley
Lockerley
Lockerley is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England on the border with Wiltshire. The village lies on the southern bank of the River Dun about two miles upstream from its confluence with the River Test and about east of West Dean which is just over the Wiltshire border. The parish has a...
, Houghton, Hampshire
Houghton, Hampshire
Houghton is a small village and civil parish in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England. The village is situated alongside the River Test. Its nearest town is Stockbridge, which lies approximately 1.8 miles north-east from the village. The village is mostly strung out along the single road...
, Horsebridge railway station
Horsebridge railway station
Horsebridge was a railway station on the closed Sprat and Winkle Line which served the Hampshire village of Houghton. It closed in 1964, a casualty of the closure programme proposed by the Beeching Axe which sounded the death knell for many rural railway stations.- Working years :The station,...
, Kings Sombourne, Braishfield
Braishfield
Braishfield is a village and civil parish north of Romsey in Hampshire, England. It has neither main roads nor railways, but is crossed by the Monarch's Way long-distance footpath...
, Hursley
Hursley
Hursley is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England with a population of around 800 in 2005. It is located roughly mid-way between Romsey and Winchester on the A3090...
, Ampfield
Ampfield
Ampfield is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Test Valley in Hampshire, England, between Romsey, Eastleigh, and Winchester. It had a population at the 2001 census of 1,474....
,