Sydmonton is a small village, estate and former

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 ...

, now in the parish of Ecchinswell, Sydmonton and Bishops Green, in the

Basingstoke and Deane Basingstoke and Deane is a local government district with borough status in Hampshire, England. The main town is Basingstoke, where the council is based. The district also includes the towns of Tadley and Whitchurch, along with numerous vil ...

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. Its nearest town is Newbury, which lies approximately north-west from the village. In 1931 the parish had a population of 139.

Governance

The village is now part of the civil parish of "Ecchinswell, Sydmonton and Bishops Green", historically having been within the parish of

Kingsclere Kingsclere is a large village and civil parish in Hampshire, England. At the centre of the village lies the Church Of England parish church of St. Mary's with its distinctive tower. St. Mary's church has C12 origins. It is cruciform and has N ...

. It is part of the Burghclere, Highclere and St Mary Bourne

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council. The borough council is a

Non-metropolitan district Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially "shire districts", are a type of Districts of England, local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties (colloquially ''s ...

Hampshire County Council Hampshire County Council (HCC) is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hampshire in England. The council was created in 1889. The county council provides county-level services to eleven of the thirteen districts geo ...

. On 1 April 1932 the parish was abolished and merged with Ecchinswell to form "Ecchinswell and Sydmonton".

History

File:Circle of William Segar Sir Henry Kingsmill.jpg, Portrait by William Segar of Sir Henry Kingsmill (1587-1625), (knighted, 1611), of Sydmonton, son of Sir William Kingsmill (d. 1600), by Anne, daughter of William Wilkes of

Middleton Cheney Middleton Cheney is a large village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England. The village is about east of Banbury in Oxfordshire and about west-northwest of Brackley. The A422 road between Banbury and Bra ...

. His wife was Bridget daughter and co-heir of John White of Southwick, Hampshire. File:Portrait of Sir Henry Kingsmill (1587-1625) by William Larkin. oil on panel, 23 x 17 inches.jpg, Portrait of Sir Henry Kingsmill (1587-1625) by William Larkin. (Oil on panel, 23 x 17 inches). Sir Henry lived at Sydmonton from 1619 until his death in 1625. File:Portrait of Bridget White, Lady Kingsmill (died 1670) by William Larkin. oil on panel, 23 x 17 inches.jpg, Portrait of Bridget White, Lady Kingsmill (died 1670) by William Larkin. Buried

. (Oil on panel, 23 x 17 inches). File:Gilbert Jackson portrait of Sir William Kingsmill (1613-1661) in 1642, oil on canvas, 30 x 24 inches.jpg, Gilbert Jackson's portrait of Sir William Kingsmill (1613-1661), of Sydmonton, 1642.

Sydmonton Court

Sydmonton is the home of the 5000 acre Sydmonton Court estate, formerly the seat of the Kingsmill Family, including Admiral Sir Robert Kingsmill. The estate is currently owned by

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948) is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broad ...

, Baron Lloyd-Webber, and is home to the annual Sydmonton Festival. The house is a grade II* listed Tudor manor house originally built to an E-shaped floor plan in the 16th century, but modified several times since then. The estate came into the hands of the Kingsmill family after the Dissolution of the Monasteries when it was granted by Henry VIII to John Kingsmill. It passed down in the family to Elizabeth Corry, daughter of Frances Kingsmill and Hugh Corry, who married Robert Brice.

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

took the name of Kingsmill in 1766, became an admiral and was created Baronet Kingsmill in 1800. He left Sydmonton to the Rev. John Stephens, vicar of Chewton Mendip, Somerset, who also took the name of Kingsmill in 1806. Anne Kingsmill (1661–1720), daughter of Sir William Kingsmill, married Heneage Finch and became Lady Winchilsea and a well-known poet. The Sydmonton Festival is a summer arts festival presented in a deconsecrated 16th century chapel in the grounds of the estate.

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Hampshire Former civil parishes in Hampshire Basingstoke and Deane