Avington, Hampshire
Encyclopedia
Avington is a small village in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 county of Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

.

It is located on the banks of the River Itchen
River Itchen, Hampshire
The River Itchen is a river in Hampshire, England. It flows from mid-Hampshire to join with Southampton Water below the Itchen Bridge in the city of Southampton. The river has a total length of , and is noted as one of England's - if not one of the World's - premier chalk streams for fly fishing,...

 to the northeast of the city of Winchester
Winchester
Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...

. Administratively it forms part of the Itchen Valley
Itchen Valley
Itchen Valley is a civil parish in the English county of Hampshire.Forming part of the City of Winchester district, it comprises the villages of Avington, Easton, Itchen Abbas and Martyr Worthy, with a population of 1,267 at the time of the 2001 Census....

 civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 that, in turn, is part of the City of Winchester
City of Winchester
Winchester is a local government district in Hampshire, England, with city status. It covers an area of central Hampshire including the city of Winchester itself, and neighbouring towns and villages including New Alresford, Colden Common and Bishops Waltham....

 district.

It has the honour of being mentioned in a folk song title "Avington Pond", which can found on the CD "Folk Songs of Hampshire"

Governance

The village of Avington is part of the civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 of Itchen Valley
Itchen Valley
Itchen Valley is a civil parish in the English county of Hampshire.Forming part of the City of Winchester district, it comprises the villages of Avington, Easton, Itchen Abbas and Martyr Worthy, with a population of 1,267 at the time of the 2001 Census....

 and is part of the City of Winchester
City of Winchester
Winchester is a local government district in Hampshire, England, with city status. It covers an area of central Hampshire including the city of Winchester itself, and neighbouring towns and villages including New Alresford, Colden Common and Bishops Waltham....

 non-metropolitan district
Non-metropolitan district
Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially shire districts, are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a so-called "two-tier" arrangement...

 of Hampshire County Council
Hampshire County Council
Hampshire County Council is the county council that governs the majority of the county of Hampshire in England. It provides the upper tier of local government, below which are district councils, and town and parish councils...

.

Landmarks

The house in Avington Park dates back to the late C16, but was considerably altered in 1670 by the addition of two wings and a classical portico. The owner of Avington at this time was George Brydges, one of Charles II's courtiers. On the death of George Brydges's son in 1751 Avington Park passed to his cousin James Brydges, Marquess of Carnarvon, who became 3rd Duke of Chandos in 1771. He carried out major alterations in the late C18, and was also responsible for the building of the parish church which overlooks the park. The house is now privately owned and is Grade I Listed.Parts of the house can be visited in the summer months and Bank holidays between 2.30pm and 5pm due to the Historical Houses Association . Apart from original painted frescoes and sublime gilding (redone with an English Heritage grant in 2000) there is much to see including a Grinling Gibbons mirror, a William de Morgan jug and several momentos from the Battle of Trafalgar.

Religious sites

The parish church of St. Mary was built in 1768-71 by James Brydges of Avington Park, 3rd Duke of Chandos. As well as containing memorials inside to the Brydges family and Percy Bysshe Shelley's brother, John, there are also some unusual box pews reputedly made from Spanish mahogany taken from one of the Armada fleet.

External links

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