Hartley Wintney is a large 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
Hart 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 lies about northwest of
Fleet and east of
Basingstoke. The parish includes the smaller contiguous village of
Phoenix Green as well as the
hamlets of Dipley,
Elvetham,
Hartfordbridge, and
West Green.
The
2011 census recorded the parish's population as 4,999.
Character
The parish includes large wooded areas such as Yateley Heath Wood and part of Hazeley Heath. The
River Hart flows through the parish northeast of the town. The
River Whitewater forms the western parish boundary. The southern boundary now follows the
M3 motorway.
The town has a typical wide Hampshire main street, lined with local businesses, shops, an osteopath, public houses and a
Baptist church
Baptists are a denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers ( believer's baptism) and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches generally subscribe to the doctrines of ...
. The town has also a
Methodist church. The
Roman Catholic church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
of St
Thomas More was built in the 1960s. In 2016 a fire destroyed its roof.
The town is known for its numerous antique shops. At the southern end is the green and with thatched duck house. The pond is called Hatton's Pond, after a landlord of the Waggon and Horses public house in about 1870. The red-brick
Church of England parish church of St
John the Evangelist overlooks the green.
Beyond the green are the Mildmay
oak trees. They were planted at the behest of Lady St John Mildmay in response to a call in 1807 by
Admiral Collingwood after the
Battle of Trafalgar for landowners to plant oaks to provide timber for naval ships. The cricket green, home of the oldest cricket club in Hampshire, is behind the shops, with a second duckpond and Dutch-gabled farmhouse, Causeway Farm, a short distance away through a stand of oaks.
In 1831 the parish (then excluding Elvetham and part of Hartfordbridge) had a population of 1,139. In 2004 the
ward had a population of 4,954. The town is twinned with
Saint-Savin near Poitiers, France and with
Malle in
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 ...
.
Hartley Row is a former hamlet within Hartley Wintney. As late as 1969, bus timetables referred to the village as Hartley Row.
History
In
prehistory
Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use ...
the area was probably fairly heavily wooded with a lake and a marshy area. 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 does not record Hartley Wintney by name. Both before and after the
Norman conquest of England
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 ...
it was probably part of the royal
manor of
Odiham.
The earliest record of Hartley Wintney by name is from the 12th century, when
Wintney Priory of
Cistercian nuns was founded there. In the 13th century its
toponym
Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''wikt:toponym, toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for ...
was variously recorded as ''Hercelega'', ''Hurtlegh'' or ''Hertleye Wynteneye''. This last version means "forest clearing where the deer graze by Winta's island". Winta was probably a
Saxon who held the island in the marshes. The toponym was recorded as ''Hurtleye Winteney'' or ''Wytteneye'' in the 14th century and ''Herteley Witney'' in the 16th century.
About 100 years after the Norman conquest Hartley Wintney was made a separate manor held by the FitzPeter family. It was Geoffrey FitzPeter who founded the Cistercian priory. A deer park stretched from Odiham to the
outskirts of the
settlement and to the north. It was used for 600 years by royalty and others for hunting, and its wood was used for fuel.
Parish churches
St Mary's Church, about south of the centre of the town, is Hartley Wintney's original Church of England parish church. It was built in the 13th century and given new windows in the 14th and 15th centuries. In the 19th century the brick
transepts and west tower were added and more windows were inserted. St Mary's is a
Grade II* listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
.
In 1869–70 a new parish church of St John the Evangelist was built nearer the centre of the town. It is a
Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...
building designed by EA Lansdowne. In the 20th century the
Diocese of Winchester declared St Mary's
redundant and vested it in the
Churches Conservation Trust, leaving St John's as the parish's sole Anglican place of worship.
Elvetham

Elvetham is a hamlet about east of Hartley Wintney. Until the 20th century it was a separate civil parish. Hartfordbridge, about northeast of Hartley Wintney, was partly in Elvetham parish and partly in Hartley Wintney.
Elvetham was a manor by the time of
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was King of England from 1042 until his death in 1066. He was the last reigning monarch of the House of Wessex.
Edward was the son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. He succeede ...
in the 11th century. There has been a
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 ...
there since at least 1535, when
John Seymour entertained
Henry VIII there.
Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford entertained
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...
there in 1591. Of that house no trace remains. The present
Elvetham Hall was designed by
Samuel Sanders Teulon and built in 1859–62. It is now a
Grade II* listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
. Formerly the seat of the
Barons Calthorpe, the house is now a 70-bedroom hotel, conference and banqueting venue.
Elvetham had a parish church from an early date, but in 1840 it was dismantled. The present
Romanesque Revival church of St Mary the Virgin in the grounds of Elvetham Hall was completed in 1841. In the 20th century the Diocese of Winchester declared it redundant. The church is now one of Elvetham Hall's conference and banqueting venues.
Air crash
On 5 October 1945 a
Consolidated B-24 Liberator GR.VI aircraft of
No. 311 Squadron RAF
No. 311 (Czechoslovak) Squadron RAF was a Demographics of Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak-manned bomber squadron of the Royal Air Force in the World War II, Second World War. It was the RAF's only Czechoslovak-manned medium bomber, medium and heav ...
crashed and burst into flames in a field on the Elvetham Hall estate. All of its passengers and RAF crew were
Czechoslovak. All twenty-three people aboard were killed, including five young children who were aged from 18 months to three years old. The Flight List had the names of the five crew and the seventeen civilians who were on board the plane. However an extra civilian was found, a woman. Thirteen of the civilians were buried in a communal grave in
Brookwood Civil Cemetery, and the crew received a military burial 100 metres away in
Brookwood Military Cemetery. The extra casualty was Edita Sedlakova who had initially been offloaded in favour of a replacement but she had stowed aboard the flight. Sedlakova had not long been married to the Flight Engineer, Zdenek Sedlak, and this was their honeymoon flight home. Edita lies in the communal grave while Zdenek is in the Military Cemetery. Edita was just 19 years old.
Other notable buildings

*
West Green House is an 18th-century country house owned by the
National Trust. The gardens are open to the public.
*Victoria Hall, at the west end of Hartley Wintney, was designed by
Thomas Edward Collcutt. It was built in 1897 and opened by Lady Calthorpe on 20 October 1898 to celebrate the
Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria. It won the
Hart Design Awards best new building award in 2002 for a sensitive restoration and extension.
Sport and leisure
Hartley Wintney F.C. is a
Non-League football club that plays at The Memorial Playing Fields.
The village is believed to have one of the oldest continuously used
cricket
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
grounds in England. In 2020 the Hartley Wintney Cricket Club celebrated its 250th anniversary.
Transport
Road
The town is on the
A30 at its junction with the
A323 Fleet Road, almost equidistant between Basingstoke to the west and
Camberley to the east. This was the main trunk road to the West Country and Southampton until 1971, when the M3 motorway was opened.
Railway
The nearest railway station is at on the
South West Main Line. It is about south of Hartley Wintney and is signposted from the village.
Bus
Stagecoach South route 7 runs between
Aldershot
Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...
and
Phoenix Green. In addition, route 65X runs between
Alton College and Phoenix Green via Hartley Wintney and route 408 runs between
Farnborough College of Technology and Odiham via Hartley Wintney during term time.
Hartley Wintney Community Bus Service runs a regularly weekday commuter service to Winchfield railway station and services to
Hook
A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's d ...
,
Yateley,
Frogmore and The Meadows. A Saturday service goes to
Camberley as well as The Meadows from Hartley Wintney, via
Yateley and
Frogmore.
Nearby towns
*
Hook
A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's d ...
– west
*
Fleet – southeast
*
Yateley – northeast
*
Sandhurst – northeast
*
Farnborough – east-southeast
*
Camberley – east-northeast
*
Aldershot
Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...
– southeast
*
Basingstoke – west
*
Reading – north
*
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
(central) – east-northeast
Notable residents
*
Field Marshal Alan Brooke (1883–1963), later
Viscount Alanbrooke, had his home in the town 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 ...
and continued to live here until his death in 1963. He is buried in St Mary's
churchyard
In Christian countries, a churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church (building), church, which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language and in both Scottish English and Ulster S ...
, next to his daughter who was killed in a horseriding accident. His younger son, the
third Viscount Alanbrooke (1932-2018) lived in the village until his death.
*
Matthew Bennett (historian), a historian specialising in Medieval warfare and former Senior Lecturer in the Department of Communication and Applied Behavioural Science at
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, is a long-term village resident.
*
Richard C. Davis, originator of the American television programme ''
Flip This House'', rents a farm in Hartley Wintney. The programme focused on the process of buying, remodelling, and selling houses for profit.
* Lieutenant-General
Henry Hawley (died 1759), the infamous butcher at the
Battle of Culloden, lived at
West Green House and is buried in the
family vault beneath St Mary's Church.
*
Thomas Howard (1781–1864),
Hampshire county cricket
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
er, lived all his life at Hartley Wintney.
* Admiral Sir
William Milbourne James was born in the town in 1881.
*
Henry Kirkwood (1886–1954), first-class cricketer and British Army officer.
*
William Lethaby (1857–1931),
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
and
architectural historian, is buried in St Mary's parish churchyard.
*
Philip Scrutton (1923–1958), leading English amateur golfer, died in a road traffic accident in Hartley Wintney on 30 October 1958 aged 35.
*
William Lowe (1873–1945), cricketer for
Cambridge University
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
and
Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...
, died in Hartley Wintney.
*
Claude Myburgh (1911–87), cricketer and soldier, lived for his latter years at Inholmes Court.
* Admiral Sir
Richard Onslow (1904–75) lived in Hartley Wintney at Bears Barn in the latter part of his naval career.
*
Justin Rose (born 1980),
2013 US Open golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...
champion, was at one time a member of the local golf course.
* Sir
Benjamin Rudyerd (1572–1658), politician and poet, grew up in Hartley Wintney.
*
Spencer Wilks (1891–1971), president of the
Rover Company
The Rover Company Limited was a British car manufacturing company originally founded in 1878, beginning car manufacturing in 1904. It primarily operated from its base in Solihull, Warwickshire. Rover also manufactured the Land Rover series from ...
and
Maurice Wilks (1904–63), Chairman of the Rover Company.
*
Adrian Stoop (1883–1957),
Rugby union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
player for
Harlequins and
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, lived at The Grange in Hartley Wintney.
*
Gerald Tuck (1902–1984), cricketer and
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
officer.
Preservation Society
Hartley Wintney Preservation Society was founded in 1966 but in 2019 chose to change its name to Hartley Wintney Heritage Society, to more accurately reflect the Society's positive and forward-thinking attitudes. The Hartley Wintney Heritage Society strongly oppose the benches on the cricket green.
Hartley Wintney Preservation Society
/ref>
References
Bibliography
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External links
{{authority control
Civil parishes in Hampshire
Hart District
Villages in Hampshire