Laverstoke is a village in north west
Hampshire, England.
In the early 18th century,
Laverstoke Mill was purchased by the
Portals, a family of
Huguenot immigrants from
Languedoc who were establishing a successful paper making business. Henry de Portal was naturalised in 1711 and had the mill rebuilt in 1719. In 1724 he won the contract to make Bank of England notes and pioneered the use of the watermark in paper currency.
Henry Portal's son Joseph went on to become
High Sheriff of Hampshire and purchased the Laverstoke estate adjoining the mill. Following generations prospered further, becoming major land owners. By the 1790s they also owned the Manor at Freefolk Priors and Ashe Park House.
Jane Austen
Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...
and her family were acquainted with the Portals and two of her brother Edward's sons went on to marry members of the Portal family.
In 1796 the Portals had the old Laverstoke House demolished and a new house erected in neo-classical style by John Bonomi. It is this house that still stands today (although no longer owned by the Portals and not open to the public).
The
Bombay Sapphire gin distillery has been located in the old paper mill since late 2014.
Literature
In
Richard Adams
Richard George Adams (9 May 1920 – 24 December 2016) was an English novelist and writer of the books ''Watership Down'', ''Maia'', ''Shardik'' and ''The Plague Dogs''. He studied modern history at university before serving in the British Army ...
' ''
Watership Down'', the punt on which the rabbits escape from the Efrafans was boarded on the
River Test at Laverstoke.
See also
*
St Mary's Church, Laverstoke
References
External links
County Council pageParish Council page
Villages in Hampshire
Civil parishes in Basingstoke and Deane
{{Hampshire-geo-stub