East Meon is a village and

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 ...

in the

East Hampshire East Hampshire is a local government district in Hampshire, England. Its council is based in the town of Petersfield, although the largest town is Alton. The district also contains the town of Bordon along with many villages and surroundin ...

district 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. It is west of

Petersfield Petersfield is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is north of Portsmouth. The town has its own Petersfield railway station, railway station on the Portsmouth Direct line, the mainline rai ...

. The village is located in the Meon Valley approximately north of

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

and southwest of London, on the headwaters of the

River Meon The River Meon () is a chalk stream in Hampshire in the south of England. It rises at East Meon then flows in a generally southerly direction to empty into the Solent at Hill Head near Stubbington.Hampshire County Council (2006). Activitie ...

. The parish has an area of . The boundaries of the present parish of East Meon date back to 1894. About a mile to the west rises the prominent hill of Henwood Down (201 m). The

South Downs Way The South Downs Way is a long distance footpath and bridleway running along the South Downs in southern England. It is one of 16 National Trails in England and Wales. The trail runs for from Winchester in Hampshire to Eastbourne in East Susse ...

passes over the southern spur of the hill.

Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...

1:50,000 ''Landranger'' series.

Petersfield railway station Petersfield railway station serves the market town of Petersfield, Hampshire, England. It is on the Portsmouth Direct line, down the line from via Woking. The station The station has two tracks, and two platforms, although in the past had a t ...

is the nearest station, east of the village.

History

There are

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

burial barrows within the parish of East Meon which date back to around 2000 BC. There is also an

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 ...

fort, situated just outside the parish boundaries on

Old Winchester Hill {{Infobox SSSI , image= OldWinchesterHill.JPG , image_caption = , name= Old Winchester Hill , aos= Hampshire , interest=Biological , gridref={{gbmappingsmall, SU 642 208 , area= {{convert, 66.2, ha, acre, abbr=off , notifyda ...

, constructed approximately 500 years before the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

invaded Britain. There is also evidence of Roman occupation in and around the village. East Meon itself may have started life somewhere between 400 and 600 AD. Then it was part of a Royal Manor belonging first to

King Alfred the Great Alfred the Great ( ; – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who both died when Alf ...

who left it in his will to his youngest son

Æthelweard Æthelweard, also spelled Ethelweard, Aethelweard, Athelweard, etc., is an Anglo-Saxon male name. It may refer to: * King Æthelweard of the Hwicce (''fl''. 7/8th century) * King Æthelweard of East Anglia (''fl.'' mid-9th century) * Æthelweard ( ...

(c.880-922). 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 ...

of 1086 shows that the Manor then belonged to

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

; it records six mills and land for 64 ploughs. About 1280 a family from East Meon, who changed their name to de Meones, moved to

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, where they became substantial landowners and gave their name to the suburb of

Rathmines Rathmines (; ) is an inner suburb on the Southside (Dublin), Southside of Dublin in Ireland. It begins at the southern side of the Grand Canal of Ireland, Grand Canal and stretches along the Rathmines Road as far as Rathgar to the south, Ranela ...

. Opposite the church is the old Court House, with a

mediaeval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and t ...

hall dating from the late 15th century. At this time, and for many centuries, East Meon belonged to successive

Bishops of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' the offic ...

. The Court House was its administrative centre and home to a number of

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

s who played host to the Bishop when he visited East Meon. They also recorded all manorial imports and exports. East Meon played its part in the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

of the 1640s. The Parliamentarians camped near the village before the

Battle of Cheriton The Battle of Cheriton of 29 March 1644 was an important Parliamentarian victory during the First English Civil War. Sir William Waller's "Army of the Southern Association" defeated a Royalist force jointly commanded by the Earl of Forth an ...

in 1644, and it is said that they stole the lead lining from the font to make their bullets. The battle turned out to be a turning point in the war. 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 ...

Hitler's Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

dropped 38 high explosive bombs and an estimated 3,500 incendiary bombs in the Parish; the only loss of life, however, was a pig. In 1986, the 900th anniversary of the Domesday Book, East Meon was chosen as "The Domesday Village", with a model in

Winchester Castle Winchester Castle is a medieval building in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded in 1067. Only the Great Hall still stands; it houses a museum of the history of Winchester. History Early history Around AD 70 the Romans constructed a ...

's Great Hall depicting the village as it was then – the model can still be seen alongside the famous

tapestry Tapestry is a form of Textile arts, textile art which was traditionally Weaving, woven by hand on a loom. Normally it is used to create images rather than patterns. Tapestry is relatively fragile, and difficult to make, so most historical piece ...

Bayeux Bayeux (, ; ) is a commune in the Calvados department in Normandy in northwestern France. Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. It is also known as the fir ...

in Normandy.

All Saints' Church

The village church, named "All Saints," was built after the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

, and dates between 1075 and 1150. It resembles Winchester Cathedral in style, and like the cathedral, it contains a black marble

baptismal font A baptismal font is an Church architecture, ecclesiastical architectural element, which serves as a receptacle for baptismal water used for baptism, as a part of Christian initiation for both rites of Infant baptism, infant and Believer's bapti ...

created at

Tournai Tournai ( , ; ; ; , sometimes Anglicisation (linguistics), anglicised in older sources as "Tournay") is a city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Hainaut Province, Province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies by ...

, in what is now

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, c. 1130–40. The Tournai font is one of four such fonts in the county of Hampshire. Inside the church, there is a stone, which has the words "Amens Plenty" carved into it, which is said to sit atop the graves of four men buried in the standing position.

Community

There are groups for a variety of interests within the local area. There are also charitable organisations which work in and around the village.

Groups

* The East Meon Garden Club is a society which organises two East Meon Gardens Open Days, in April and June, seven evening meetings, two visits to gardens and the opportunity to buy seeds and plants, fertilisers and bulbs at discounted prices. It runs a Plant Sale and the annual Flower Show. * The Care Group work arranging transport to local surgeries and hospitals for people who are unable to get there by themselves. * There is a weekly lunch held in the Village Hall which is open to local residents over the age of 60. The meat is provided by a local butcher.

Local Charity

* Forbes Almhouses are perhaps the longest-established institution in East Meon for administering help to the poor and elderly, the Forbes Almshouses are administered and funded by a Charitable Trust, whose aim is to provide basic housing for those of very limited means. * The Sexton is an independent organisation, registered with The Charities Commission, which funds work on the more unruly sections of the graveyard of All Saints. It also has a mandate to protect the natural habitats of the Church grounds. The Sexton has no direct links to the church itself. * The Good Causes fund is responsible for considering requests for funding, and ensuring that they are within the guidelines laid down by The Charities Commission. Numerous causes have benefited from the £29,000 donated since the Fund's inception including the Village Hall, youth organisations, the Luncheon Club, East Meon School, Meon Matters, junior sports activities and the Queen's Golden Jubilee and

Millennium A millennium () is a period of one thousand years, one hundred decades, or ten centuries, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...

celebrations.

Village Hall

The Village Hall is a venue with one large hall and a smaller room attached, together with a kitchen, toilets and a stage. There is an annual May Fair.

Sport

Cricket

The Cricket Club is a village affair, with its team rooted firmly in East Meon. The club is a Sunday side mainly playing timed matches. Its ground is located at the South East of the village where the team plays a mixture of local sides and travelling sides from the middle of April to the end of September, the annual sixes competition and village party takes place at the end of June with local sides competing for the East Meon Sixes trophy, and a tour of the Isle of Wight follows in the middle of July. Needle matches are those against nearby villages, particularly Steep and West Meon. More social events include the games played against the Court House XI, Captain Scott's XI, XIIth Men, IBM, Stoke Makers and the Izaak Lions.

References

External links

Hampshire County Council page for East MeonEast Meon Web Site
{{authority control Villages in Hampshire