This is a single blog post which I will be editing for the foreseeable time. I have organised it over the 70 or so Civil Parishes that cover my grid (see below). It is centred around New Alresford, Hampshire.
See my projects page for more details.
You can search for grid references and also for place names.
Please don't assume my notes in this blog are necessarily 100% accurate - this is not my intention. Instead I plan to develop the material, editing and re-editing as I proceed, which will be greatly enhanced if I receive feedback and ideas from anyone discovering my project. So if you wish to contribute you can contact me via this website or the associated Instagram account @EveryOsSquare. (Apologies as I can't make this clickable - Instagram require me to have a business account).
I volunteer as a tower guide at Winchester Cathedral so there are likely to be several references in the historical links back to the cathedral. The Bishops of Winchester, from early medieval times, had significant control over much of southern England which means the local history, until Tudor times, frequently has links to Winchester.
Key:
HER: Historic Environment Record.
At Hantsweb (https://maps.hants.gov.uk/historicenvironment/) you can find a tool to search HCC's historical records.
A quick example to explain how my grid references work.
Winchester Cathedral is located, using a 4 digit OS reference, at SU4829. On my grid it will fall around 13M. I say "around" as I won't be trying to replicate the accuracy of the Ordnance Survey maps. If I need precision to locate something specific I will mention this in the notes.
West Meon
28I, 29J
September 2026.
Leaving the village, walking north, I tried to find evidence of the Roman excavation which began in the 1980s, sadly the path was gated. I've identified several locations nearby which I will return to over the next few weeks, one is the grave of the spy, Guy Burgess. I could have taken a snapshot of the family burial site, but as this is primarily a photo project, I shall return with a different idea as to how I might better record the monument. Why his remains were returned from Russia and permitted to be interred with his father does seem perverse, at least at a superficial level, seeing how he betrayed the country and likely compromised many field agents. Compassion? Legal?
Here are two photos from this trip:
Itchen Valley
17Q, 18Q
Sun and cloudy around midday. A pleasant walk, but not so good for photography. Walked from Avington in a loop past the estate, across river and back through Itchen Abbas.
Avington House. After The Commonwealth (1649-60) Charles II commissioned the building of a palace in Winchester where Peninsula Barracks now stands - he was planning his version of Versailles. While waiting for his King's House to be completed he stayed in cathedral accommodation. Problems soon arose when he installed his mistress, Nell Gwyn, in an annex to the deanery. The clergy objected to this and as a consequence she was moved to Avington House where she stayed for 10 years.
The last hanging for horse theft in England was in 1825. The man's name was John Hughes. He is buried under the old yew tree at the Church of St. John the Baptist in Itchen Abbas. Not directly connected, but the last hanging on Gallows Hill in Winchester was a few years earlier in 1819. Her name was Sarah Huntingford. I need to make sure I locate where the Winchester gallows once stood ...
The unusual red-brick church in Avington (St.Mary's) - there are only a handful in Hampshire - is reached by a path of white paving slabs. At least that's what I thought as I started walking from the road towards the church entrance. Wrong. The paving slabs are in fact old headstones. I hadn't appreciated how common this re-use was. I'm sure it stirred up many arguments, for or against, when it was first laid. Apparently it's often done in Europe, both inside and outside churches.
Mill race. Sadly indifferent lighting. On another day, with interesting light, this could make a nice photo. Down river in Winchester the 10th century at the National Trust mill is being repaired (October 2026) with new sluice gates. The restoration company (@ianclarkrestoration) doing the work is based here in Itchen Abbas.
Avington House. The River Itchen. Mill race. St Mary's.
