Tangley is a
village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...
in the English county of
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
. Tangley is situated north of the old market town of
Andover
Andover may refer to:
Places Australia
*Andover, Tasmania
Canada
* Andover Parish, New Brunswick
* Perth-Andover, New Brunswick
United Kingdom
* Andover, Hampshire, England
** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station
United States
* And ...
and the village of
Charlton, Hampshire.
Tangley Parish covers an area of and has just under 600 residents in three villages, Tangley,
Wildhern and
Hatherden and the hamlets of Charlton Down and
Little Hatherden. It lies in the north west corner of Hampshire and most of it is an officially designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The houses are typical of the different kinds to be found in the area with the older ones being of flint and brick and chalk cob with thatched or tiled roofs.
A walk through the parish of Tangley takes one through woodland, downland and farmland. The
village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...
s are scattered over the chalklands south of the Hampshire downs, on high land which overlooks the Bourne valley to the north and the remains of Chute Forest to the west.
History
The name Tangley is Anglo-Saxon. The earliest reference, in 1174, calls it Tangelea, meaning a wood or clearing (leah) on a tongue, or perhaps tongues, of land. Tangelea 1175. Possibly 'woodland clearing at the spits of land'. Old English tang + leah
In the sixteenth century the manor of Tangley was owned by the Reade family, whose most distinguished member was Sir
Richard Reade
Sir Richard Reade (1511–1576) was an English-born judge in sixteenth-century Ireland, who held the office of Lord Chancellor of Ireland.
Background and early career
He was born at Nether Wallop in Hampshire, second son of Richard Reade (d ...
(1511–1575), who served as
Lord Chancellor of Ireland in the 1540s.
Tangley has a War Memorial dedicated to those who gave their lives in the Great War of 1914–1918.
Tangley has become famous for the devastating fire that consumed its manor house, and resulted in the deaths of MP
Michael Colvin
Michael Keith Beale Colvin (27 September 1932 – 24 February 2000) was a British Conservative Party politician. He was first elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bristol North West in 1979. From 1983 onwards, he was the MP for Romsey ...
and his wife in February 2000.
The small Victorian church of St Thomas is surrounded by its old graveyard with ancient yew trees. People have prayed here for centuries and three sarsen stones remain, as possible evidence there was pagan worship there before Christian times.
Landmarks
Tangley was the last point for the drovers who walked their sheep over the downs to the Weyhill Fair in October each year. Tangley offered refreshments and lodging to the drovers, and their flocks in the form of five inns or beer houses, of which two remain – The Fox to the south and The Cricketer's in the centre of the village.
Cricketers ArmsThe Fox Inn
Tangley Parish Hall, which was rebuilt in 1959, is situated in the peaceful village of Wildhern. It lies on a -acre site which is in a designated area of outstanding natural beauty.
External links
Tangley parish websiteVisions of Britain - Tangley
References
{{authority control
Villages in Hampshire
Test Valley