Netley Marsh 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 ...

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, ...

, close to the town of Totton. It lies within the

New Forest District New Forest is a local government district in Hampshire, England. Its council is based in Lyndhurst, although the largest town is Totton. The district also includes the towns of Fordingbridge, Lymington, New Milton and Ringwood. The district ...

, and the

New Forest National Park The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...

. It is the supposed site of the battle between an invading

Anglo Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to Ge ...

army, under Cerdic and a British army under the probably fictitious king

Natanleod Natanleod, according to the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', was a king of the Britons. His inclusion in the ''Chronicle'' is widely believed to be the product of folk etymology. History Under the year 508, a date which is not to be relied upon,Campbe ...

in the year 508.

Overview

Netley Marsh lies to the west of

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

. The village is on the A336 road from

Cadnam Cadnam is a village situated in Hampshire, England, within the boundaries of the New Forest National Park. The village has existed since the medieval period, when it was (and still is) an important crossroads between Southampton and the towns of ...

to Totton. The parish is bounded by Bartley Water in the south, and River Blackwater in the north. The village of Woodlands is in the south of the parish, and the hamlets of Hillstreet and

Ower Ower is a hamlet in the New Forest district of Hampshire, England. Its nearest towns are Totton – approximately to the southeast, and Romsey – around to the north-east. Ower lies on the A36 road northwest of Totton. It lies most ...

(chiefly in

Copythorne Copythorne is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England, within the boundaries of the New Forest National Park. Overview Copythorne is in the north-eastern part of the New Forest. The village is on the A31 Romsey Road, just south of the ...

parish) are to the north. The

M27 motorway The M27 is a motorway in Hampshire, England. It is long and runs between Cadnam and Portsmouth. It was opened in stages between 1975 and 1983, providing the largest two urban areas in Hampshire (Southampton and Portsmouth) with a direct moto ...

runs through this parish, taking roughly the route of the

Roman road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...

from Nursling to

. Since 1971, the village has been host to the annual Netley Marsh Steam and Craft Show, a three-day event dedicated to demonstrations of steam-powered vehicles and

traction engine A traction engine is a steam engine, steam-powered tractor used to move heavy loads on roads, plough ground or to provide power at a chosen location. The name derives from the Latin ''tractus'', meaning 'drawn', since the prime function of any ...

s held in July of each year. Netley Marsh is the base for the international development charity Tools for Self Reliance, which refurbishes and ships old tools and sewing machines to Africa.

History

Netley Marsh is often identified with the "Natanleaga" described in the ''

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the ninth century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of ...

'' under the year 508, where it is reported that the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

kings Cerdic and Cynric "killed a certain British king named

, and five-thousand men with him – after whom the land as far as Cerdic's ford was named ''Natanleaga''". Whatever the truth concerning the battle, it is unlikely that there was a king called Natanleod – he was probably invented to explain the place-name Natanleaga. In fact the place-name is probably derived from the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

elements * ("wet", a reconstructed cognate of German ) and , meaning "wet wood". The original meaning would have ceased to be apparent after the word * fell out of use. Netley is next recorded as "Nateleg" in 1248. The name "Netley Marsh" appears as such on maps from 1759. The church, dedicated to Saint Matthew, was built around 1855, and consists of a

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

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 ...

with a bell turret on west side of the chancel. To the west of the village the Hampshire Reformatory School opened in 1855.Victoria County History of Hampshire: Eling
/ref> It was built for the purpose of reclaiming juvenile offenders, and had accommodation for 60 boys. It was closed in 1908. The

of Netley Marsh was one of the parishes formed from the ancient parish of Eling in 1894. The village suffered some damage during

World War II 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 ...

, when one day in 1942 an enemy plane dropped bombs on the church and along Woodlands Road, causing the deaths of three people.Parish Plan 2010
page 13, Netley Marsh Parish A stained glass window in the church that was destroyed during the war was replaced in 1954.

Tatchbury

One mile north of Netley Marsh is the ancient site of Tatchbury. There is 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 ...

Hill fort 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 ...

here called Tatchbury Mount. It has been partly built over by the hospital buildings of Tatchbury Mount Hospital but the outline of the fort can still be seen. Next to the hill fort is the ancient manor of Tatchbury. Its history dates from the 10th century when a hide and a half of land in Tatchbury and Slackstead was given to Hyde Abbey (near

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 ...

) on its foundation in 903 by

Edward the Elder Edward the Elder (870s?17 July 924) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 899 until his death in 924. He was the elder son of Alfred the Great and his wife Ealhswith. When Edward succeeded to the throne, he had to defeat a challenge from his cousi ...

. 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 ...

refers to another half hide being given to the Abbey sometime after 1066 by Edsi the Sheriff.Domesday Map – Tatchbury
Another entry in the Domesday Book refers to two hides which had been placed into the New Forest at ''Teocreberie'' – this may to refer to Exbury rather than Tatchbury. Cf
Domesday Map – Exbury
/ref> The abbot and convent evidently held the manor in

demesne A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land subinfeudation, sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. ...

from the 12th to the 13th century, and a rent from Litchfield and Tatchbury was included in the estates of the Abbey at the time of the Dissolution. Another estate in Tatchbury is recorded in the 13th century which may have been the nucleus of the later manor which was held in 1316 by Elias Baldet, and of which John Romsey died seised in 1494, holding it of the warden of

Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...

. The Oviatt family held the manor for much of the 17th and 18th century, before passing to the Wake family who held it until the late 19th century. Tatchbury Manor House today is mostly a brick Victorian building, but which incorporates part of the old 13th century manor house.

References

External links

Netley Marsh Parish CouncilNetley Marsh WeatherNetley Marsh Steam and Craft Show
{{authority control Villages in Hampshire