Chilworth is a village in 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...

, UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, very close to the city of Southampton

Southampton

Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...

. Good travel connections and restricted development have led to the village becoming particularly affluent. The village was referred to as Celeworda in the Domesday book, and is now in two parts; modern Chilworth lying along the straight 'new' stretch of the Southampton to Romsey road, and old Chilworth built around the 'old' road.

Chilworth Old Village

Chilworth Old Village, at the west end, consists of former farm workers' thatched cottages interspersed with modern houses and bungalows built in the 1950s. The Anglican Church of St Denys, which lies on the edge of the Old Village, was rebuilt in 1812 and is noted for its old bells which date from about the year 1200. Chilworth Old Village was designated a conservation area on 1 November 1989. Most of the buildings from the 16th century are situated in the Chilworth Old Village Conservation Area. The exceptions are Manor Farm and the Beehives, the latter of which are the lodges to Chilworth Manor and Conference Centre.

University of Southampton Science Park

Chilworth is home to the University of Southampton

University of Southampton

The University of Southampton is a British public university located in the city of Southampton, England, a member of the Russell Group. The origins of the university can be dated back to the founding of the Hartley Institution in 1862 by Henry Robertson Hartley. In 1902, the Institution developed...

 Science Park (formerly the Chilworth Science Park') which houses the main satellite uplink earth station of British Sky Broadcasting

British Sky Broadcasting

British Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....

 (BSkyB). This facility uplinks signals (both Sky and some third party) to the Astra

SES Astra

Astra is the name for the geostationary communication satellites, both individually and as a group, which are owned and operated by SES S.A., a global satellite operator based in Betzdorf, in eastern Luxembourg. The name is sometimes also used to describe the channels broadcasting from these...

 satellites at 28.2° east

Astra 28.2°E

Astra 28.2°E is the name for the group of Astra communications satellites co-located at the 28.2° East position in the Clarke Belt that are owned and operated by SES based in Betzdorf, Luxembourg...

 and Eutelsat

Eutelsat

Eutelsat S.A. is a French-based satellite provider. Providing coverage over the entire European continent, as well as the Middle East, Africa, India and significant parts of Asia and the Americas, it is one of the world's three leading satellite operators in terms of revenues.Eutelsat’s satellites...

's Eurobird 1

Eurobird 1

Eurobird 1 is a Eutelsat operated Eurobird satellite, used primarily for digital television. It is located at 28.5° east in the Clarke Belt, just within the range of most satellite dishes pointed at SES Astra's Astra 2A, 2B and 2D at 28.2° east...

 at 28.5°E.

Facilities

There is a small public house on the main road through the village called The Chilworth Arms (formerly The Clump). The original name of the pub, 'The Clump' comes from an old earthwork. Chilworth has a village hall and football field near the pub and there is a kennels and cattery in Chilworth Common, one of the local wooded areas. The thatched post office building was originally built as a kennel for the local hounds before being handed over to the village in 1900. Now both the Post Office and the convenience store is closed.

Chilworth Manor

Chilworth Manor was a mansion house on the Chilworth Estate
. John Willis Flemming rebuilt the house in 1904. The Flemmings sold Chilworth Manor in 1947. In 1967 it was sold by British entrepreneur Jock Young's wife (CEO of "Unity Heating") - Catherine Ann Young, to Southampton University and converted into a hall of residence. In 1990 it was developed into a Conference and Training Centre. In 2001, AHM, a specialist management company, acquired the property
.

Notable residents

Notable Chilworth residents have included circus impressario Jimmy Chipperfield

Jimmy Chipperfield

John James "Jimmy" Chipperfield was an English footballer.Prior to World War I, Chipperfield played for Luton Clarence and Luton Town. He played as a wartime guest for Arsenal during World War I, finishing as the club's top scorer in the London Combination in both 1916-17 and 1918-19...

 and Southampton football stars Matthew Le Tissier

Matthew Le Tissier

Matthew "Matt" Le Tissier is a retired English footballer who played for Southampton and England.An attacking midfielder with exceptional technical skills, Le Tissier is the second-highest ever scorer for Southampton behind Mick Channon and was voted PFA Young Player of the Year in 1990. He was...

, Francis Benali

Francis Benali

Francis Vincent Benali is an English professional footballer and coach who spent most of his playing career at Southampton.-Schoolboy football:...

 and James Beattie

James Beattie (footballer)

James Scott Beattie is an English footballer who currently plays for Sheffield United as a striker.Born in Lancaster, Lancashire he came through the ranks at Blackburn Rovers eventually signing professionally for them in 1995...

.

Richard Cockle Lucas

Richard Cockle Lucas

Richard Cockle Lucas was an English sculptor and photographer.-Career:Lucas was born in Salisbury, Wiltshire, the son of Richard Lucas and his wife, Martha Sutton ....

(1800–1883), the sculptor, lived in Chilworth from 1854 onwards, originally at "The Tower of the Winds" (which stood opposite the former "Clump Inn"), and later at the nearby "Chilworth Tower".

Village design statement

In February 2006 the Test Valley Borough Council issued a Village Design Statement for Chilworth in order to foster a vibrant community and preserve Chilworth's very special characteristics; its woodland, architecture and village environment.

External links

• Southampton Science Park
• St Denys' Chilworth
• Map of the Manor of Chilworth in the County of Southampton belonging to Peter Serle Esq., 1755
• The Chilworth Arms
• Listed Buildings in Chilworth Test Valley
• British History Online - Chilworth
• History and Evolution - Chilworth Test Valley