Liss
Encyclopedia
Liss is a village
and civil parish
in the East Hampshire
district of Hampshire
, England
. It is 3.3 miles (5.3 km) northeast of Petersfield
, on the A3 road
, on the Hampshire/West Sussex border.
Liss has its own railway station
, on the Portsmouth Direct Line
.
The village lies in the East Hampshire
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The parish consists of 3,567 acres (14 km²) of semi-rural countryside, and is one of the largest in the region.
The earliest written mention of Liss (or Lyss as it was known then) may be that found in the Domesday book
.
The village comprises an old village at West Liss
and the modern village, which congregated around the 19th-century Southern Railway
station, which is largely Victorian
and later. The River Rother
formed the boundary between West and East Liss. West Liss contains most of the historical and architectural interest. Suburbs later spread out toward Liss Forest
.
times have been found.
Evidence of Neolithic
activity is present in axe heads and flint implements. An Irish decorated axe and two bracelets engraved with parallel lines and chevrons have been found, and there are plentiful Bronze Age features on the chalk hangers above the village and at Berry Grove, the Wylds and at Peacewood, Farther Common
. There was settlement in the Rother Valley
by the Bronze Age
. Bowl barrows and other Bronze Age features exist at Berry Grove (Bowl Barrow - Located in the garden, 12 m. in diameter and 1.5 m. high. Has two large oaks growing on it), the Wylds (Bowl Barrow 23.0 m. in diameter, and 2.0 m. high. Surrounded by tree ring of dry stone walling, and planted with fir trees. Traces of human and animal hair found in tree trunk coffin burial) and at Peacewood, Farther Common
(An almost circular enclosure on a slight northern slope. Circular barrow Enclosure contains trees).
The name Liss is Brythonic Celtic in origin presumed. It is cognate with Cornish
'Lis' and Welsh
'Llys', both originally meaning a 'court' or 'hall' and implying a location of importance, probably where the local chieftain dispensed law and collected tax, this referring to the presence of early governmental structures. It also implies that Liss was a place of considerable importance in the area.
There are numerous elements of early Roman infrastructure in the area, and being in proximity to Roman Chichester and Winchester with the course of a Roman road in north-east corner of parish. It appears that the area would have been extensively settled with excavated evidence at Alton, Selbourne etc. and there is doubtless much that remains to be found along the downfoot and the spring line villages. The Liss Archaeological Group have recently uncovered an extensive Roman villa site close to East Liss, with further excavations to be made.
exists in the current Liss village area, and the early Saxon period is also slightly represented archeologically in the whole area of East Hampshire. It seems unlikely that there was any major community on the site of the original or the current villages.
However, the comparative remoteness was useful when in the late Saxon at 900
Alfred the Great
created an Abbey at Lyss Place under the control of St. Mary's Abbey
at Winchester as a retreat for nuns.
In the time of Edward the Confessor
(1042-1066), the penultimate Anglo-Saxon king, there was a mill in operation at Liss paying an annual rent.
Local historians indicate their belief that St Peter's Church has Saxon footings, and that the remaining plan reflects an earlier Saxon Church on the site. However, Taylor and Taylor do not list St Stephen's and no fabric is evident. Hopefully future opportunities for specialist archaeological work will clarify the order of construction.
in 1538.
The earliest wooden Church is normally regarded as one of the two churches mentioned as being held by two priests of the manor of Odiham in Domesday Book. It would have been deeded by King Stephen, with the churches of Bentworth and Odiham for the master of the Choristers' School of Salisbury and the chancellor of the cathedral.
). The Village Stocks were sited here, near an ancient oak, which now entirely hollow remains, in front of the current Spread Eagle Inn.
Liss developed economically in the three centuries following Domesday although being of limited significance politically or economically other than in relation to the monastic establishment at Lyss Place. Part of Liss Place Farm, West Liss. dates from the C.14 with an addition of C.19 date, and a prosperous farming community can reasonably be assumed. Farms existed throughout the parish. To the East, timber framed houses and farms were constructed in the 17th and 18th centuries
A traditional fair was held in May in the field between the Spread Eagle Inn and Church Street, opposite the glebe
meadow where Liss Cricket Club now plays.
Serving the community, St Peter's Church(West)Liss was built in stone in the 13th century, replacing the earlier timber structure. The Chancel, parts of tower, and octagonal piers of arcade date from C.13. The existing Octagonal font, mullioned and transomed window in south aisle and indeed the distinctive weatherboard top stage of tower are later.
Liss Church was attached to the church of Odiham
which appointed the curate-in-charge and remained so until 1867 when it was separated and the Rev. W. French, who had been the curate, was appointed the first Rector of Liss by the Bishop of Winchester
.
The manor, Liss Abbess, remained in the hands of the Abbess and nuns of Winchester until the Dissolution of the Monasteries
in 1538. It then remained Crown property until about 1610. The monastic establishment at Lyss Place then passed into private ownership and was subsequently held variously by the Cole, Fitzpatrick, Taylor and Hawkshaw families.
One route of the Pilgrims' Way
between Winchester and Canterbury passes through Stodham, Balls Farm, Woodlands Farm, Barn Place Farm, Ciddy Hall Farm, Palmers Farm (resting place for pilgrims), Reeds Farm leaving the parish past Brewells Farm.
The bounds of the parish were apparently beaten yearly. Local historians indicate that a small boy was traditionally put in the oven of the Flying Bull Inn, as the parish boundary was believed to pass through the kitchen of the inn.
Major transformations of the landscape physical and social, began at this time.
Stodham Park House was built circa. 1820 as part of the Money family Estate. It has 3 storeys and basement with an imposing 4-pillared porch with steps to the main door. Clara Maria Burdett, apparently tracing her family to the Norman Conquest. married into the Money-Coutts of Stodham Park (d 22.12.1899) and lived at the House. The family donated the existing Village Hall.
The village was radically altered in C.19th essentially being moved East by new developments of that era - and that new centre is late Victorian in character. Specifically, the Southern Railway came from the North East to East Liss (and then along the Rother Valley towards Portsmouth) in 1859. East Liss became the Village of Liss.
The Inclosure (see Inclosure Act
) of the commons and wastelands occurred in 1864. Station Road, St Mary's Road, Western Road, the shopping area, the beginning of Hill Brow Road, Andlers Ash Road, Liss Forest Road, Mint Road, the original village school and the Village Hall were all built on inclosed land. Under the Inclosure Award the West Liss Recreation Ground, the four allotments sites "for the labouring poor of the parish" and a number of roads were created. In 1894 the management of the village's affairs, hitherto undertaken by the Vestry, was transferred to the newly formed Parish Council.
St Mary's Church was built in 1892/94 (Arthur Blomfield
) to serve the new parts of the village replacing St. Peter at West Liss, which remains an intact thirteenth century structure with its few later additions.
The original construction of St Mary's consisted of a chancel with a north transept for the organ and a vestry, and a nave with north and south aisles and a north porch in plain 13th-century style. It is built of local sandstone with dressed quoins, with brick lining.
The Education Board Schools were built in 1872, and enlarged in 1878 and again in 1888.
In 1911, an iron mission hall is recorded at Hill Brow with a Wesleyan chapel at East Liss, and for Plymouth Brethren a meeting-house at West Liss.
The tower of St Mary's was added in 1932 - again from local sandstone - and it became the Parish Church in 1959. In the 1940s and 50's it was often described locally and unflatteringly as the "stump".
, a cement-manufacturing town some five miles south of LaSalle, Illinois. Dorking's stepfather, John C. Baker, lived in Clevedon
, England.
Dorking was rescued in Collapsible B. He was quartered for a time at a New York hospital before making his way to Illinois, where he earned money for a time by relating his experiences in a series of public appearances, reported by the local press.
was built from Liss Station to the Longmoor Military Camp
. This caused a further increase in population, but was closed in 1969. The railway was used as a set for many films including "The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery".
, a development of local authority housing was built in East Liss under the William Beveridge
inspired programs. Since the mid 1960s, a number of large new estates extended the Village, and increased its population. The 1965 Harcos development at Patrick's Copse and Greenfields etc. has been extended several times since the 1970s to cover existing landscaped open ground and traditional marshland.
The early estates contain houses of different sizes, and initially of uniform 1960s estate style. Such development is now subject to much criticism in relation to local architectural style and appropriate rural village design (see Poundbury Village, Cornwall).
Newer, and smaller developments on brownfield sites have been necessitated by increasing population pressure, and government policy which continues.
In the early 1990s Liss Junior School was moved from its central village location to a site 300 yards from the village centre on the Hill Brow Road. Part of the School Building has been reused as the Triangle Centre, while the other Buildings were demolished to make way for new housing on the site and playing fields. A mid 1990s new junior school on the new site by Hampshire County Council’s Architecture and Design Service has received a great deal of praise.
In the 1980s new red brick shopping areas and housing have extended the centre of the Village where rough grazing for horses previously existed, and added a new supermarket unit, other shops and office space. The 1920s white façade of Smiths Garage nearby, has recently (2007) been demolished and the land cleaned for the construction of new housing.
The Village Hall has been modernised, and outside it, a new green oak bus shelter added during 2006. Hampshire County Council's Mobile Library Service has served Liss since the 1960s. The Library Vehicle is parked in the public car park at the bottom of Hill Brow Road at specified times and dates. Various plans by East Hampshire District Council to charge for parking have been opposed by Villagers. Car Parking often occurs unofficially outside the old and new shopping areas of the Village.
There are 3 East Hampshire District Council car parks in Liss.
Station Road Car Park
Station Road, Liss
Village Centre Car Park (Short Stay)
Station Road
Hill Brow Car Park
Hill Brow Road
The construction of the Petersfield & Liphook bypass (see A3 road
), now in that section a four lane motorway-style dual carriageway
past West Liss, has created a considerable environmental impact in the Liss area, and elsewhere. The new dual carriageway
has removed much through traffic from the centres of Petersfield and Liphook, and removed some traffic from the old A3 (now the B2070) at Hill Brow, Liss and apparently more minor volumes of traffic from Farnham Rd, West Liss (formerly part of the A325 Petersfield-Farnham road). The Highways Agency
indicates that quiet road surfaces were not used in construction and that no effort was made to design sound reducing features into the new road, which was normal practice at that time.
The large "Ham Barn" roundabout has been created to distribute vehicles from the A3 on the B3006 towards Liss and Selborne
. Areas of West Liss are now very close to the carriageways which has inevitably changed their rural and medieval character. It is reported that sound from the road can be heard in East and West Liss and throughout the area, in the Hangars and Hill Brow. Environmental damage and limited effectiveness of new road building has been predicted by groups such as Road Alert.
The population of Liss is approximately 6,000. It is assumed that the demographic profile has shifted from a largely rural base to accommodate commuters due to good road (A3
) and railway (Portsmouth Direct Line
) links to London
. Liss is served by Liss railway station
.
There has been recent concern about incidents of anti-social behaviour in the centre of the Village, with local newspaper reports of disturbances and some few violent incidents.
The local newspapers are the broadsheet Petersfield Herald, and the tabloid Petersfield Post.
Liss has a successful Road Running Club, Liss Runners, and long established Association Football Club Liss Athletic and Cricket Club. There is also a tennis club, the Newman Collard and a new Petersfield Golf Club on the site of Tankerdale Farm. The sports facilities etc. for Liss are to be improved by the charity the Newman Collard Pavilion Fund.
of the new South Downs National Park, which will change the basis of planning and conservation practices currently under East Hampshire District Council, formerly Petersfield Rural District Council.
Due to the rapidly declining disrepair of St. Peters Church, the Church Commissioners after a wide and thorough consultation process sold the building to a local evangelical congregation, the International Presbyterian Church. Plans are currently under consideration that would see the church undergo a series of renovations so that it could resume its role as a frequently used place of worship. Renovations are expected to begin in 2012.
Several documents published by the Hampshire County Council suggest that plans for the construction of a new skateboarding park are currently under consideration.
catering for children aged 7–11 (years 3–6). It was opened in 1994 after moving from its old site in the centre of the village. The head teacher is Andrew Burford. There are a number of pre-school nurseries, one of these situated in the Triangle Community Centre which itself was previously the village school.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
and 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...
in the East Hampshire
East Hampshire
East Hampshire is a local government district in Hampshire, England. Its council is based in Petersfield. Other towns are Alton, Horndean and Whitehill-Bordon....
district 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...
, 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...
. It is 3.3 miles (5.3 km) northeast of Petersfield
Petersfield, Hampshire
Petersfield is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is north of Portsmouth, on the A3 road. The town has its own railway station on the Portsmouth Direct Line, the mainline rail link connecting Portsmouth and London. The town is situated on the...
, on the A3 road
A3 road
The A3, known as the Portsmouth Road for much of its length, is a dual carriageway, or expressway, which follows the historic route between London and Portsmouth passing close to Kingston upon Thames, Guildford, Haslemere and Petersfield. For much of its length, it is classified as a trunk road...
, on the Hampshire/West Sussex border.
Liss has its own railway station
Liss railway station
Liss railway station is a stop on the Portsmouth Direct Line, serving the village of Liss in Hampshire, England. As a small station, for most of the day there is one train each way an hour...
, on the Portsmouth Direct Line
Portsmouth Direct Line
The Portsmouth Direct Line is the route of a railway service operated by South West Trains which runs between London Waterloo and Portsmouth Harbour, England...
.
The village lies in the East Hampshire
East Hampshire
East Hampshire is a local government district in Hampshire, England. Its council is based in Petersfield. Other towns are Alton, Horndean and Whitehill-Bordon....
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The parish consists of 3,567 acres (14 km²) of semi-rural countryside, and is one of the largest in the region.
The earliest written mention of Liss (or Lyss as it was known then) may be that found in the Domesday book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
.
The village comprises an old village at West Liss
West Liss
West Liss is the oldest part of the modern village of Liss, in Hampshire, England. It has two pubs, called The Spread Eagle and The Blue Bell....
and the modern village, which congregated around the 19th-century Southern Railway
Southern Railway (Great Britain)
The Southern Railway was a British railway company established in the 1923 Grouping. It linked London with the Channel ports, South West England, South coast resorts and Kent...
station, which is largely Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
and later. The River Rother
River Rother (Western)
The River Rother is a river which flows for thirty miles from Empshott in Hampshire to Stopham in West Sussex, where it joins the River Arun. It should not be confused with the River Rother, in East Sussex....
formed the boundary between West and East Liss. West Liss contains most of the historical and architectural interest. Suburbs later spread out toward Liss Forest
Liss Forest
Liss Forest is a hamlet neighbouring the larger village of Liss, in Hampshire, England. It formerly had its own railway station on the now closed Longmoor Military Railway. Liss Forest has a post office, a pub , and formerly a general store. Liss Forest is surrounded by open forest land much of...
.
Prehistory
Flint spearheads, arrowheads, scrapers, flakes and cores dating from Palaeolithic and MesolithicMesolithic
The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
times have been found.
Evidence of Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
activity is present in axe heads and flint implements. An Irish decorated axe and two bracelets engraved with parallel lines and chevrons have been found, and there are plentiful Bronze Age features on the chalk hangers above the village and at Berry Grove, the Wylds and at Peacewood, Farther Common
Farther Common
Farther Common is a geographical region of East Hampshire in the Parish of Liss, Hampshire, England. It is characterised by greensand topography, woodland and heath, which was a common on the Money-Coutts estate centred at Stodham House, Liss....
. There was settlement in the Rother Valley
River Rother (Western)
The River Rother is a river which flows for thirty miles from Empshott in Hampshire to Stopham in West Sussex, where it joins the River Arun. It should not be confused with the River Rother, in East Sussex....
by the Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
. Bowl barrows and other Bronze Age features exist at Berry Grove (Bowl Barrow - Located in the garden, 12 m. in diameter and 1.5 m. high. Has two large oaks growing on it), the Wylds (Bowl Barrow 23.0 m. in diameter, and 2.0 m. high. Surrounded by tree ring of dry stone walling, and planted with fir trees. Traces of human and animal hair found in tree trunk coffin burial) and at Peacewood, Farther Common
Farther Common
Farther Common is a geographical region of East Hampshire in the Parish of Liss, Hampshire, England. It is characterised by greensand topography, woodland and heath, which was a common on the Money-Coutts estate centred at Stodham House, Liss....
(An almost circular enclosure on a slight northern slope. Circular barrow Enclosure contains trees).
Iron Age, Roman and Romano-Celtic periods
It is likely that the area was also inhabited in the Iron Age, the Roman period and into the Romano-Celtic period prior to the arrival of Saxons in the area.The name Liss is Brythonic Celtic in origin presumed. It is cognate with Cornish
Cornish language
Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
'Lis' and Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
'Llys', both originally meaning a 'court' or 'hall' and implying a location of importance, probably where the local chieftain dispensed law and collected tax, this referring to the presence of early governmental structures. It also implies that Liss was a place of considerable importance in the area.
There are numerous elements of early Roman infrastructure in the area, and being in proximity to Roman Chichester and Winchester with the course of a Roman road in north-east corner of parish. It appears that the area would have been extensively settled with excavated evidence at Alton, Selbourne etc. and there is doubtless much that remains to be found along the downfoot and the spring line villages. The Liss Archaeological Group have recently uncovered an extensive Roman villa site close to East Liss, with further excavations to be made.
Saxon period
No direct evidence of habitation or Anglo-Saxon architectureAnglo-Saxon architecture
Anglo-Saxon architecture was a period in the history of architecture in England, and parts of Wales, from the mid-5th century until the Norman Conquest of 1066. Anglo-Saxon secular buildings in Britain were generally simple, constructed mainly using timber with thatch for roofing...
exists in the current Liss village area, and the early Saxon period is also slightly represented archeologically in the whole area of East Hampshire. It seems unlikely that there was any major community on the site of the original or the current villages.
However, the comparative remoteness was useful when in the late Saxon at 900
900
Year 900 was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar.- Asia :* April 21 – Namwaran and his children, Lady Angkatan and Bukah, are granted pardon by the Datu of Tondo, as represented Jayadewa, Lord Minister of Pila, which released them of all their debts as inscribed in the...
Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great was King of Wessex from 871 to 899.Alfred is noted for his defence of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of southern England against the Vikings, becoming the only English monarch still to be accorded the epithet "the Great". Alfred was the first King of the West Saxons to style himself...
created an Abbey at Lyss Place under the control of St. Mary's Abbey
St. Mary's Abbey
-Ireland:* St. Mary's Abbey, Dublin* St. Mary's Abbey, Glencairn* St. Mary's Abbey, Trim-United Kingdom:* St Mary's Abbey, Kenilworth* St Mary's Abbey, Leiston* St Mary's Abbey, Thetford* St Mary's Abbey, West Malling* St Mary's Abbey, Winchester...
at Winchester as a retreat for nuns.
In the time of Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066....
(1042-1066), the penultimate Anglo-Saxon king, there was a mill in operation at Liss paying an annual rent.
Local historians indicate their belief that St Peter's Church has Saxon footings, and that the remaining plan reflects an earlier Saxon Church on the site. However, Taylor and Taylor do not list St Stephen's and no fabric is evident. Hopefully future opportunities for specialist archaeological work will clarify the order of construction.
Norman period
In 1086, at the time of the Domesday Survey, the manor of Liss might have formed part of the original endowment of the Abbey of St. Mary at Winchester. The manor was later known as Liss Abbess, and the Abbess and nuns of Winchester kept the land until the Dissolution of the MonasteriesDissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
in 1538.
The earliest wooden Church is normally regarded as one of the two churches mentioned as being held by two priests of the manor of Odiham in Domesday Book. It would have been deeded by King Stephen, with the churches of Bentworth and Odiham for the master of the Choristers' School of Salisbury and the chancellor of the cathedral.
13th century onwards
The village centre in what is now West Liss around Church Street and the nearby triangular patch of ground, the Plestor (derived from 'playstow', or playground - see Plestor HousePlestor House
Plestor House is a house in the centre of Selborne, Hampshire, England. The house is named for its location — adjacent to the village's plestor. Architecturally, the house has grown over the centuries. The oldest section, that facing the village green , dates from the third quarter of the 17th...
). The Village Stocks were sited here, near an ancient oak, which now entirely hollow remains, in front of the current Spread Eagle Inn.
Liss developed economically in the three centuries following Domesday although being of limited significance politically or economically other than in relation to the monastic establishment at Lyss Place. Part of Liss Place Farm, West Liss. dates from the C.14 with an addition of C.19 date, and a prosperous farming community can reasonably be assumed. Farms existed throughout the parish. To the East, timber framed houses and farms were constructed in the 17th and 18th centuries
A traditional fair was held in May in the field between the Spread Eagle Inn and Church Street, opposite the glebe
Glebe
Glebe Glebe Glebe (also known as Church furlong or parson's closes is an area of land within a manor and parish used to support a parish priest.-Medieval origins:...
meadow where Liss Cricket Club now plays.
Serving the community, St Peter's Church(West)Liss was built in stone in the 13th century, replacing the earlier timber structure. The Chancel, parts of tower, and octagonal piers of arcade date from C.13. The existing Octagonal font, mullioned and transomed window in south aisle and indeed the distinctive weatherboard top stage of tower are later.
Liss Church was attached to the church of Odiham
Odiham
Odiham is a historic village and large civil parish in the Hart district of Hampshire, England. It is twinned with Sourdeval in the Manche Department of France. The current population is 4,406. The parish contains an acreage of 7,354 acres with 50 acres of land covered with water. The nearest...
which appointed the curate-in-charge and remained so until 1867 when it was separated and the Rev. W. French, who had been the curate, was appointed the first Rector of Liss by the Bishop of Winchester
Bishop of Winchester
The Bishop of Winchester is the head of the Church of England diocese of Winchester, with his cathedra at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire.The bishop is one of five Church of England bishops to be among the Lords Spiritual regardless of their length of service. His diocese is one of the oldest and...
.
The manor, Liss Abbess, remained in the hands of the Abbess and nuns of Winchester until the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
in 1538. It then remained Crown property until about 1610. The monastic establishment at Lyss Place then passed into private ownership and was subsequently held variously by the Cole, Fitzpatrick, Taylor and Hawkshaw families.
One route of the Pilgrims' Way
Pilgrims' Way
The Pilgrims' Way is the historic route supposed to have been taken by pilgrims from Winchester in Hampshire, England, to the shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury in Kent...
between Winchester and Canterbury passes through Stodham, Balls Farm, Woodlands Farm, Barn Place Farm, Ciddy Hall Farm, Palmers Farm (resting place for pilgrims), Reeds Farm leaving the parish past Brewells Farm.
Victorian period
Liss remained primarily an agricultural village in an open setting, but became known in the nineteenth century for the production of peppermint, an industry sponsored by the Money family of Stodham Park. The mint was grown, distilled and sold at four pence a pint.The bounds of the parish were apparently beaten yearly. Local historians indicate that a small boy was traditionally put in the oven of the Flying Bull Inn, as the parish boundary was believed to pass through the kitchen of the inn.
Major transformations of the landscape physical and social, began at this time.
Stodham Park House was built circa. 1820 as part of the Money family Estate. It has 3 storeys and basement with an imposing 4-pillared porch with steps to the main door. Clara Maria Burdett, apparently tracing her family to the Norman Conquest. married into the Money-Coutts of Stodham Park (d 22.12.1899) and lived at the House. The family donated the existing Village Hall.
The village was radically altered in C.19th essentially being moved East by new developments of that era - and that new centre is late Victorian in character. Specifically, the Southern Railway came from the North East to East Liss (and then along the Rother Valley towards Portsmouth) in 1859. East Liss became the Village of Liss.
The Inclosure (see Inclosure Act
Inclosure Act
The Inclosure or Enclosure Acts were a series of United Kingdom Acts of Parliament which enclosed open fields and common land in the country. They removed previously existing rights of local people to carry out activities in these areas, such as cultivation, cutting hay, grazing animals or using...
) of the commons and wastelands occurred in 1864. Station Road, St Mary's Road, Western Road, the shopping area, the beginning of Hill Brow Road, Andlers Ash Road, Liss Forest Road, Mint Road, the original village school and the Village Hall were all built on inclosed land. Under the Inclosure Award the West Liss Recreation Ground, the four allotments sites "for the labouring poor of the parish" and a number of roads were created. In 1894 the management of the village's affairs, hitherto undertaken by the Vestry, was transferred to the newly formed Parish Council.
St Mary's Church was built in 1892/94 (Arthur Blomfield
Arthur Blomfield
Sir Arthur William Blomfield was an English architect.-Background:The fourth son of Charles James Blomfield, an Anglican Bishop of London helpfully began a programme of new church construction in the capital. Born in Fulham Palace, Arthur Blomfield was educated at Rugby and Trinity College,...
) to serve the new parts of the village replacing St. Peter at West Liss, which remains an intact thirteenth century structure with its few later additions.
The original construction of St Mary's consisted of a chancel with a north transept for the organ and a vestry, and a nave with north and south aisles and a north porch in plain 13th-century style. It is built of local sandstone with dressed quoins, with brick lining.
The Education Board Schools were built in 1872, and enlarged in 1878 and again in 1888.
In 1911, an iron mission hall is recorded at Hill Brow with a Wesleyan chapel at East Liss, and for Plymouth Brethren a meeting-house at West Liss.
The tower of St Mary's was added in 1932 - again from local sandstone - and it became the Parish Church in 1959. In the 1940s and 50's it was often described locally and unflatteringly as the "stump".
Titanic
Edward Arthur Dorking, 19, from Liss, Hampshire, was one of the 705 survivors of the RMS Titanic. He boarded at Southampton as a third-class passenger traveling to join his uncle, Fred Cooke, at Oglesby, IllinoisOglesby, Illinois
Oglesby is a city in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,791 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Ottawa–Streator Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Schools:...
, a cement-manufacturing town some five miles south of LaSalle, Illinois. Dorking's stepfather, John C. Baker, lived in Clevedon
Clevedon
Clevedon is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, which covers part of the ceremonial county of Somerset, England...
, England.
Dorking was rescued in Collapsible B. He was quartered for a time at a New York hospital before making his way to Illinois, where he earned money for a time by relating his experiences in a series of public appearances, reported by the local press.
Longmoor Military Railway
In 1933 a military railway known as the Longmoor Military RailwayLongmoor Military Railway
The Longmoor Military Railway was a British military railway in Hampshire, built by the Royal Engineers from 1903 in order to train soldiers on railway construction and operations.-Route:...
was built from Liss Station to the Longmoor Military Camp
Longmoor Military Camp
Longmoor Military Camp is a British Army training camp and training area on the A3 road between Liss and Liphook in Hampshire, England. The village of Greatham lies to the south....
. This caused a further increase in population, but was closed in 1969. The railway was used as a set for many films including "The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery".
Modern period
Immediately following World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, a development of local authority housing was built in East Liss under the William Beveridge
William Beveridge
William Henry Beveridge, 1st Baron Beveridge KCB was a British economist and social reformer. He is best known for his 1942 report Social Insurance and Allied Services which served as the basis for the post-World War II welfare state put in place by the Labour government elected in 1945.Lord...
inspired programs. Since the mid 1960s, a number of large new estates extended the Village, and increased its population. The 1965 Harcos development at Patrick's Copse and Greenfields etc. has been extended several times since the 1970s to cover existing landscaped open ground and traditional marshland.
The early estates contain houses of different sizes, and initially of uniform 1960s estate style. Such development is now subject to much criticism in relation to local architectural style and appropriate rural village design (see Poundbury Village, Cornwall).
Newer, and smaller developments on brownfield sites have been necessitated by increasing population pressure, and government policy which continues.
In the early 1990s Liss Junior School was moved from its central village location to a site 300 yards from the village centre on the Hill Brow Road. Part of the School Building has been reused as the Triangle Centre, while the other Buildings were demolished to make way for new housing on the site and playing fields. A mid 1990s new junior school on the new site by Hampshire County Council’s Architecture and Design Service has received a great deal of praise.
In the 1980s new red brick shopping areas and housing have extended the centre of the Village where rough grazing for horses previously existed, and added a new supermarket unit, other shops and office space. The 1920s white façade of Smiths Garage nearby, has recently (2007) been demolished and the land cleaned for the construction of new housing.
The Village Hall has been modernised, and outside it, a new green oak bus shelter added during 2006. Hampshire County Council's Mobile Library Service has served Liss since the 1960s. The Library Vehicle is parked in the public car park at the bottom of Hill Brow Road at specified times and dates. Various plans by East Hampshire District Council to charge for parking have been opposed by Villagers. Car Parking often occurs unofficially outside the old and new shopping areas of the Village.
There are 3 East Hampshire District Council car parks in Liss.
Station Road Car Park
Station Road, Liss
Village Centre Car Park (Short Stay)
Station Road
Hill Brow Car Park
Hill Brow Road
The construction of the Petersfield & Liphook bypass (see A3 road
A3 road
The A3, known as the Portsmouth Road for much of its length, is a dual carriageway, or expressway, which follows the historic route between London and Portsmouth passing close to Kingston upon Thames, Guildford, Haslemere and Petersfield. For much of its length, it is classified as a trunk road...
), now in that section a four lane motorway-style dual carriageway
Dual carriageway
A dual carriageway is a class of highway with two carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation...
past West Liss, has created a considerable environmental impact in the Liss area, and elsewhere. The new dual carriageway
Dual carriageway
A dual carriageway is a class of highway with two carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation...
has removed much through traffic from the centres of Petersfield and Liphook, and removed some traffic from the old A3 (now the B2070) at Hill Brow, Liss and apparently more minor volumes of traffic from Farnham Rd, West Liss (formerly part of the A325 Petersfield-Farnham road). The Highways Agency
Highways Agency
The Highways Agency is an executive agency, part of the Department for Transport in England. It has responsibility for managing the core road network in England...
indicates that quiet road surfaces were not used in construction and that no effort was made to design sound reducing features into the new road, which was normal practice at that time.
The large "Ham Barn" roundabout has been created to distribute vehicles from the A3 on the B3006 towards Liss and Selborne
Selborne
Selborne is a village in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is south of Alton. It will be just within the extreme northern boundary of the proposed South Downs National Park, which is due to take effect in mid-2010....
. Areas of West Liss are now very close to the carriageways which has inevitably changed their rural and medieval character. It is reported that sound from the road can be heard in East and West Liss and throughout the area, in the Hangars and Hill Brow. Environmental damage and limited effectiveness of new road building has been predicted by groups such as Road Alert.
The population of Liss is approximately 6,000. It is assumed that the demographic profile has shifted from a largely rural base to accommodate commuters due to good road (A3
A3 road
The A3, known as the Portsmouth Road for much of its length, is a dual carriageway, or expressway, which follows the historic route between London and Portsmouth passing close to Kingston upon Thames, Guildford, Haslemere and Petersfield. For much of its length, it is classified as a trunk road...
) and railway (Portsmouth Direct Line
Portsmouth Direct Line
The Portsmouth Direct Line is the route of a railway service operated by South West Trains which runs between London Waterloo and Portsmouth Harbour, England...
) links to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Liss is served by Liss railway station
Liss railway station
Liss railway station is a stop on the Portsmouth Direct Line, serving the village of Liss in Hampshire, England. As a small station, for most of the day there is one train each way an hour...
.
There has been recent concern about incidents of anti-social behaviour in the centre of the Village, with local newspaper reports of disturbances and some few violent incidents.
The local newspapers are the broadsheet Petersfield Herald, and the tabloid Petersfield Post.
Liss has a successful Road Running Club, Liss Runners, and long established Association Football Club Liss Athletic and Cricket Club. There is also a tennis club, the Newman Collard and a new Petersfield Golf Club on the site of Tankerdale Farm. The sports facilities etc. for Liss are to be improved by the charity the Newman Collard Pavilion Fund.
Future
Various local groups and the Parish Council are attempting to preserve the village character, despite pressure for development from central government. The village is included in the western WealdWestern Weald
The western Weald is an area of undulating countryside in Hampshire and West Sussex containing a mixture of woodland and heathland areas.It lies to the south of the towns of Bordon, Haslemere and Rake and to the west of the town of Pulborough. It includes the towns of Liss and Petersfield on its...
of the new South Downs National Park, which will change the basis of planning and conservation practices currently under East Hampshire District Council, formerly Petersfield Rural District Council.
Due to the rapidly declining disrepair of St. Peters Church, the Church Commissioners after a wide and thorough consultation process sold the building to a local evangelical congregation, the International Presbyterian Church. Plans are currently under consideration that would see the church undergo a series of renovations so that it could resume its role as a frequently used place of worship. Renovations are expected to begin in 2012.
Several documents published by the Hampshire County Council suggest that plans for the construction of a new skateboarding park are currently under consideration.
Education
Liss Infants School caters for children aged 4–7, (years R–2), and the headteacher is Teresa Offer. The school is on the adjoining site of Liss Junior School, a state schoolSchool
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
catering for children aged 7–11 (years 3–6). It was opened in 1994 after moving from its old site in the centre of the village. The head teacher is Andrew Burford. There are a number of pre-school nurseries, one of these situated in the Triangle Community Centre which itself was previously the village school.
Notable residents
- AeoneAeoneAeone Victoria Watson , best known as her mononym Aeone is a British artiste and composer, who now lives in Los Angeles, California. Her music has been classified as new age, folk or world music. She has released four albums, one of which was an internet only release. She now works extensively in...
(born Vikki Watson, Liss 1959), singer - Richard DeringRichard DeringRichard Dering — also Deering, Dearing, Diringus, etc. — was an English Renaissance and Baroque composer. Despite being English, he lived and worked most of his life in the Spanish-dominated South Netherlands owing to his Roman Catholic faith.-Biography:Dering was likely a Protestant in England...
(c.1580-1630), composer - Minnie DriverMinnie DriverMinnie Driver is an English actress and singer-songwriter. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the 1997 film Good Will Hunting, as well as for an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe for her work in the television series The Riches.- Early life...
(born 1970), actress and singer, lived with her mother in West Liss, 1975–1984 - Michael John HurdMichael John HurdMichael John Hurd was a composer and musicologist principally known for his choral music.He was born in Gloucester on 19 December 1928 and educated at The Crypt School, Gloucester and Pembroke College, Oxford.He was also a composition pupil of Lennox Berkeley...
(1928–2006), composer and author - Selwyn JepsonSelwyn JepsonSelwyn Jepson was a British author, of the Far House, Farther Common, Liss, Hants.His father was the mystery/detective author Edgar Alfred Jepson , his mother was Frieda Holmes, daughter of the musician Henry Holmes. His sister Margaret , also a novelist, was the mother of Fay Weldon.Jepson was...
(1899–1989), author and screenwriter - Cliff LazarenkoCliff LazarenkoCliff Lazarenko is an English professional darts player who competed for the British Darts Organisation and the Professional Darts Corporation...
(born Liss 1952), English professional darts player - Richard PurchaseRichard PurchaseRichard Purchase was a famous English cricketer who played for the Hambledon Club.He was only 16 when he made his debut in 1773.Born in Liss, Hampshire, he played for his county in 1773 and 1774 but then did not appear again until 1781...
(1757–1837), cricketer - Francis RoseFrancis RoseFrancis Rose MBE was an English field botanist and conservationist. He was an author, researcher and teacher. His ecological interests in Britain and Europe included bryophytes, fungi, higher plants, plant communities and woodlands.Rose was born in south London...
(1921–2006), botanist - Andrew SimmonsAndrew SimmonsAndrew Simmons , better known by his ring name Andy Boy Simmonz, is a British professional wrestler. He is currently working in the independent circuit in the United Kingdom for several promotions. Simmons' most high profile work in the UK came in the Frontier Wrestling Alliance under the face...
(born Liss 1984), British professional wrestler - Monica StorrsMonica StorrsMonica Storrs was a British-born Canadian pioneer and missionary.She was born at St. Peters Vicarage, Grosvenor Gardens, in the City of Westminster, London to parents Lucy Cust and John Storrs. She was educated at and , Blackheath, London.Monica, at two years of age, developed a medical condition...
(1888–1967), pioneer and missionary, lived in Liss - Rick EdwardsRick EdwardsRick Edwards is a British TV presenter who mainly works on Channel 4 and E4. Rick has presented T4 with co-hosts Georgie Okell, Miquita Oliver, Jameela Jamil and Alexa Chung from which he left on 3 July 2011...
(born 1979), TV presenter, lived in Liss 1982-1997