Anna Valley is part of the village and parish of

Upper Clatford Upper Clatford is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England. The village is in the valley of the River Anton, upstream from the point where it joins the River Test at the south. Clatford is to the south from Andover, Hampshire, Andover ...

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, ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The settlement is located approximately south-west of the market town of Andover. The name 'Anna' derives from the Celtic river 'Anne' meaning 'Ash tree stream' now known as Pillhill Brook on the Ordnance Survey Landranger map, though it is still known as the River Ann to older local people. Tasker Waterloo

Ironworks An ironworks or iron works is an industrial plant where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e. the singular of ''ironworks'' is ''ironworks''. Ironworks succeeded bloome ...

( Taskers of Andover) opened here in 1815 and survived as a manufacturing industry until final closure in 1984. The site is now a modern housing development though there are still signs of Tasker's influence in the village in the form of workmen's houses, a line of terraced houses built for the workers and the former Tasker's hall which is now private housing. Originally much of the land occupied by the later foundry at the far end of the village was marsh land, known as Clatford Marsh. Robert Tasker noted the fact that the village had quarrying rights to chalk in the nearby hillside. By exploiting this right and quarrying an acre of chalk from the hillside it enabled the marshland to be filled with the quarried materials to act as foundations for the new Iron Foundry situated alongside the PillHill brook which would serve as a source of water power for the foundry. This chalk quarry is still very much in evidence (it is owned by the Parish Council) and can be seen from the road and a footpath that passes along the hillside behind the village leading to the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

hillfort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

of Bury Hill. On 20 November 1830 a mob of rioters came from Andover town, they smashed a bridge in Upper Clatford that carried the road over the river Anton and proceeded to vandalise and damage fixtures and equipment at the foundry. A number of arrests were made by a detachment of local Yeomanry and the Duke of Wellington Sir Arthur Wellesley sat on the board of assizes held at Winchester jail when the ringleaders were sentenced to be hanged and a number to be transported to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

for their crimes. In 1843 Tasker Ironworks installed a new cast iron bridge in Upper Clatford that exists today, carrying the road over the

river Anton The River Anton is a chalk stream in Hampshire in south east England. It rises in Andover and flows southwards for approximately to meet the River Test near Chilbolton. The principal tributary of the Anton, the Pillhill Brook, joins the rive ...

towards Church Lane. A later iron foot bridge was installed in Andover in 1851 to carry Ladies Walk over the new Micheldever Road that was cut through the chalk hillside. The village once had 2 public houses, one situated at the bottom of Sam Whites hill, on the road to

, the hill so being named for a former landlord of the pub. A second public house stood almost opposite Tasker Ironworks. On Wednesday July 13, 1910 the British Army airship ''Beta'' was flying over Andover when the crankshaft broke. The airship landed at Little Park Farm and was later towed by

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

to the chalk pit opposite the Taskers of Andover Waterloo Ironworks. A new engine was brought from

Farnborough, Hampshire Farnborough is a town located in the Rushmoor district of Hampshire, England. It has a population of around 57,486 as of the 2011 census and is an important centre of aviation, engineering and technology. The town is probably best known for it ...

and repairs assisted by the Ironworks factory. Beta remained in the chalk pit all night and most of the following day. Crowds gathered to witness this novel sight. The village and post office shop was demolished in December 2013, having closed a few years earlier.

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{{authority control Villages in Hampshire