Itchen Abbas is a village and former

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

, now in the parish of Itchen Valley, in the

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

district, in the county of

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, England. The village is on the River Itchen about north-east of

Parish church

The Church of England parish church of St John the Baptist was originally Norman and retains an original Norman doorway and

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

arch.Pevsner & Lloyd, 1967, page 308 St. John's was rebuilt in 1867 to a Norman Revival design by the architect William Coles. It is a charming Victorian Church with a barrel-vaulted roof. The church lost all remaining Victorian fittings when it was re-ordered in 2009; the pews replaced with stackable chairs, and the original floor covered with carpeting, leaving the church with a much-impaired acoustic, and a rather bland interior.

History

The

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

in 1086 recorded that the manor of Icene (Itchen) was held by Hugh son of Baldri ( Hugh fitzBaldric), that it had previously been held by St Mary's Abbey, Winchester, that the abbess claimed it, and that King William had restored it to the abbey; hence the village became known as Itchen Abbess which evolved to Itchen Abbas. Itchen Abbas is mentioned in the Hampshire folk song "Avington Pond" as the place where the builders of the pond were paid their wages. They were given their money in the Plough

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

. Abbey House, north-east of the village, is a Grade II listed

country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...

of five bays and two stories built in 1693. Originally a rectory, it was altered in the 19th century. The Alton, Alresford and Winchester Railway opened Itchen Abbas railway station in 1865. British Railways closed the line and station in 1973. Charles Kingsley was a regular visitor to Itchen Abbas. The village and river provided inspiration for the setting of his novel '' The Water Babies''. The village is the site of Sir Edward Grey's fishing hut, where he spent the night of 3 August 1914 before travelling to London to announce the United Kingdom's entry into

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In 1931 the civil parish had a population of 303. On 1 April 1932 the parish was abolished to form Itchen Valley. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

a fuel pipeline was laid from a depot at Hamble to a depot near Aldermaston, passing through Itchen Abbas, as part of the Government Pipelines and Storage System (now Exolum Pipeline System). In 2006 the pipeline was still operating.

References

Sources and further reading

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External links

{{authority control Villages in Hampshire Former civil parishes in Hampshire City of Winchester