Ellisfield is a small, rural 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...

, England

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...

 approximately 5 miles south-east of Basingstoke

Basingstoke

Basingstoke is a town in northeast Hampshire, in south central England. It lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon. It is southwest of London, northeast of Southampton, southwest of Reading and northeast of the county town, Winchester. In 2008 it had an estimated population of...

 town centre on the other side of the M3 motorway from the town. As a parish it is grouped together with Cliddesden

Cliddesden

Cliddesden is a parish in Hampshire, England located 3 miles south of Basingstoke, close to the M3 motorway. In the 2001 census it had a population of 489...

, Dummer and Farleigh Wallop

Farleigh Wallop

Farleigh Wallop is a small village and civil parish in Hampshire, England, approximately south of Basingstoke. The parish includes about .Since 1486, Farleigh Wallop has been the home of the Wallop family, including John Wallop, Henry Wallop, and Gerard Wallop, 9th Earl of Portsmouth.-External...

.

History

The name Ellisfield derives from the Old English word ‘ielfsanfeld’ meaning ‘open land of Iellfsa’. At the time of the Domesday Survey, Ellisfield was part of the estate of the Bishop of Bayeax. It was held by Hugh de Port and later the St Johns. The manor was held by a favourite of Henry VIII

Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...

, Sir William Sandys, in 1496. He later became Lord Chancellor

Lord Chancellor

The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...

 and was created Baron Sandys

Baron Sandys

Baron Sandys is a title that has been created three times, once in the Peerage of England, once in the Peerage of Great Britain and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom....

. In 1657, the fifth Lord Sandys served with Charles I

Charles I of England

Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...

 at the Battle of Cheriton

Battle of Cheriton

The Battle of Cheriton was an important Parliamentarian victory in the English Civil War. It took place on 29 March 1644 and resulted in the defeat of a Royalist army, which threw King Charles I onto the defensive for the remainder of the year.-Campaign:...

. The property was sold and divided, to be reformed in 1789 by John Wallop, Earl of Portsmouth

John Wallop, 2nd Earl of Portsmouth

John Wallop, 2nd Earl of Portsmouth , styled Hon. John Wallop from 1743 to 1749 and Viscount Lymington from 1749 to 1762, was a British nobleman.He was the son of John Wallop, Viscount Lymington and his wife Catherine...

.

Landmarks

There is a pub, The Fox, and a church, St Martin's, which has 13th Century origins. There is a no school or local shop, with primary age children being educated usually in either Preston Candover

Preston Candover

Preston Candover is a village and large civil parish in Hampshire, England. It has two churches, only one of which is still in use. Its nearest town is Basingstoke, approximately away...

 or Cliddesden

Cliddesden

Cliddesden is a parish in Hampshire, England located 3 miles south of Basingstoke, close to the M3 motorway. In the 2001 census it had a population of 489...

 village schools. There are 12 listed properties in the village including the church which is Grade-II* listed meaning it is regarded as being of national importance.

Part of Ellisfield has been designated as a conservation area by Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council. The Conservation Area comprises four of the settlements that lead to the creation of the village: Merritt’s Farm, Ellisfield Manor, The Old Manor and Ellisfield Green. All are joined by a series of lanes running east/west, linking the A339

A339 road

The A339 is a long A road in England. It is the main road between Newbury in Berkshire and Alton in Hampshire.-Points of interest:...

 with the B3046. Part of this route formed the Harrow Way

Harrow Way

The Harrow Way forms the western part of the Old Way, an ancient trackway in the south of England, dating from the Neolithic period, which can be traced from Rochester and the Channel ports in the Straits of Dover along the North Downs and through Guildford, Farnham, Andover and Basingstoke to...

, an ancient trackway across Southern England from Dover

Dover

Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...

 to Stonehenge

Stonehenge

Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks...

 and then Cornwall

Cornwall

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

. The remainder of the village lies outside the Conservation Area, further south along Green Lane, College Lane and Axford Road.

However, affordable housing has been built within the conservation area at Farrier's Field by the Farleigh Estate on land donated by the Earl of Portsmouth

Earl of Portsmouth

Earl of Portsmouth is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1743 for John Wallop, 1st Viscount Lymington, who had previously represented Hampshire in the House of Commons. He had already been created Baron Wallop, of Farleigh Wallop in Hampshire in the County of Southampton,...

(who owns the Farleigh Estate).

External links

• Ellisfield Parish Council
• Hampshire Treasures Volume 2 (Basingstoke and Deane) pages 111, 113, 114, and 115,
• The History of St Martin's Church, Ellisfield
• Stained Glass Windows at St. Martin Ellisfield, Hampshire
• Ellisfield Conservation Area
• Ellisfield off road cycle trail