Newton Valence
Encyclopedia
Newton Valence is a village
and civil parish
in the East Hampshire
district of Hampshire
, England
. It is 4.4 miles (7.1 km) south of Alton
, just off the A32 road.
The nearest railway station is Liss
, 4.5 miles (7.3 km) southeast of the village, although the station at Alton
is a similar distance to the north.
The village sits high in the westernmost chalk
hills of the South Downs
: maximum elevation 191 metres (627 feet) above sea level. Much of the surrounding landscape is within the East Hampshire Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
.
Farming is the most obvious economic activity. Arable
farming (mainly wheat
, maize
and oil-seed rape
) and sheep-grazing predominate.
The Anglican church of St Mary's was restored
in 1871 and is faced in flint
. The nave
and chancel
are early English, about 1300; the west tower is also early English, but has an embattled top, made of brick and dated to 1812. There are five bells in the tower, the largest weighing nine hundredweight
(approximately 458 kilogrammes). The tower's black-faced clock was restored as a Millennium
Project. There are two piscina
s and a large Norman
font
.
The yew
tree next to the church is one of the most venerable in the district now that the famous yew at Selborne Church has died. Its age has been estimated at about 1,000 years.
Adjoining the churchyard is the Manor House
(17th–18th Century), now divided into two dwellings. The oldest portion has two storeys of coursed stone blocks with brick dressings, plinth and band, and a long ridge slate roof. There is a red brick Georgian
portion, with parapet and hipped tile roof. The Victorian
wing, of yellow brick, is of two storeys with a low pitched slate roof and sash windows.
Opposite the driveway to the church is a dew pond
which was repuddled in the 1990s. Nearby, on a triangle of grass between Newton Lane and the track to Selborne Common
, is a small sarsen stone
.
.
's Natural History of Selborne http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/1408. White's brother, John, used to live in Newton Valence. Gilbert would cross Selborne Common to visit him: a walk of about two miles, made easier in 1753 when they finished construction of the Zig-Zag path which, ascending from Selborne
to the Common, is still in use today.
Within the parish boundary is Noar Hill
, part of which is given over to a nature reserve
noted for its flowers and butterflies.
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 4.4 miles (7.1 km) south of Alton
Alton, Hampshire
Alton is a historic market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of the English county of Hampshire. It had a population of 16,584 at the 1991 census and is administered by East Hampshire district council. It is located on the source of the River Wey and is the highest town in...
, just off the A32 road.
The nearest railway station is Liss
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...
, 4.5 miles (7.3 km) southeast of the village, although the station at Alton
Alton railway station
Alton railway station is a railway station in the town of Alton, in the English county of Hampshire. The station is the terminus for two railway lines; the Alton Line which runs to Brookwood and onto London Waterloo and the Mid Hants Watercress Railway, which runs to Alresford. The latter once ran...
is a similar distance to the north.
The village sits high in the westernmost chalk
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
hills of the South Downs
South Downs
The South Downs is a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen Valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, near Eastbourne, East Sussex, in the east. It is bounded on its northern side by a steep escarpment, from whose...
: maximum elevation 191 metres (627 feet) above sea level. Much of the surrounding landscape is within the East Hampshire Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an area of countryside considered to have significant landscape value in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, that has been specially designated by the Countryside Agency on behalf of the United Kingdom government; the Countryside Council for Wales on...
.
Farming is the most obvious economic activity. Arable
Agronomy
Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants for food, fuel, feed, fiber, and reclamation. Agronomy encompasses work in the areas of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and soil science. Agronomy is the application of a combination of sciences like biology,...
farming (mainly wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
, maize
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
and oil-seed rape
Rapeseed
Rapeseed , also known as rape, oilseed rape, rapa, rappi, rapaseed is a bright yellow flowering member of the family Brassicaceae...
) and sheep-grazing predominate.
The church and grounds
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
in 1871 and is faced in flint
Flint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
. The nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
and chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
are early English, about 1300; the west tower is also early English, but has an embattled top, made of brick and dated to 1812. There are five bells in the tower, the largest weighing nine hundredweight
Hundredweight
The hundredweight or centum weight is a unit of mass defined in terms of the pound . The definition used in Britain differs from that used in North America. The two are distinguished by the terms long hundredweight and short hundredweight:* The long hundredweight is defined as 112 lb, which...
(approximately 458 kilogrammes). The tower's black-faced clock was restored as a Millennium
Millennium
A millennium is a period of time equal to one thousand years —from the Latin phrase , thousand, and , year—often but not necessarily related numerically to a particular dating system....
Project. There are two piscina
Piscina
A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a piscina. Roman Catholics usually refer to the drain, and by extension, the basin, as the sacrarium...
s and a large Norman
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
.
The yew
Taxus baccata
Taxus baccata is a conifer native to western, central and southern Europe, northwest Africa, northern Iran and southwest Asia. It is the tree originally known as yew, though with other related trees becoming known, it may be now known as the English yew, or European yew.-Description:It is a small-...
tree next to the church is one of the most venerable in the district now that the famous yew at Selborne Church has died. Its age has been estimated at about 1,000 years.
Adjoining the churchyard is the Manor House
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
(17th–18th Century), now divided into two dwellings. The oldest portion has two storeys of coursed stone blocks with brick dressings, plinth and band, and a long ridge slate roof. There is a red brick Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
portion, with parapet and hipped tile roof. The Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
wing, of yellow brick, is of two storeys with a low pitched slate roof and sash windows.
Opposite the driveway to the church is a dew pond
Dew pond
A dew pond is an artificial pond usually sited on the top of a hill, intended for watering livestock. Dew ponds are used in areas where a natural supply of surface water may not be readily available. The name dew pond is first found in the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society in 1865...
which was repuddled in the 1990s. Nearby, on a triangle of grass between Newton Lane and the track to Selborne Common
Selborne Common
Selborne Common comprises of woodland and relict wood-pasture to the west and south of Selborne, at , in the English county of Hampshire. It is owned and managed by the National Trust.-Topography:...
, is a small sarsen stone
Sarsen
Sarsen stones are sandstone blocks found in quantity in the United Kingdom on Salisbury Plain, the Marlborough Downs, in Kent, and in smaller quantities in Berkshire, Essex, Oxfordshire, Dorset and Hampshire...
.
Amenities
The village has a Sports and Social Centre (half of the Victorian school; the other half has been converted to a dwelling), but no shops or public housePublic house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
.
Prehistoric settlement
Known traces of prehistoric settlement are:- A Bronze AgeBronze AgeThe 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 barrowBowl barrowBowl Barrow is the name for a type of burial mound or tumulus. A barrow is a mound of earth used to cover a tomb. The bowl barrow gets its name from the fact that it looks like an upturned bowl...
: 36 metres in diameter and 1.8 metres high (north-east of Lodge Farm; damaged by ploughing) - An Iron AgeIron AgeThe Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
field systemField systemThe study of field systems in landscape history is concerned with the size, shape and orientation of a number of fields. These are often adjacent, but may be separated by a later feature.-Types of field system:...
: at the southern edge of Goldridge Plantation, comprising a series of three contour lynchetLynchetA lynchet is a bank of earth that builds up on the downslope of a field ploughed over a long period of time. The disturbed soil slips down the hillside to create a positive lynchet while the area reduced in level becomes a negative lynchet. They are also referred to as strip lynchets.They are a...
s extending for nearly 1.6 km.
Other information
The village features in Gilbert WhiteGilbert White
Gilbert White FRS was a pioneering English naturalist and ornithologist.-Life:White was born in his grandfather's vicarage at Selborne in Hampshire. He was educated at the Holy Ghost School and by a private tutor in Basingstoke before going to Oriel College, Oxford...
's Natural History of Selborne http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/1408. White's brother, John, used to live in Newton Valence. Gilbert would cross Selborne Common to visit him: a walk of about two miles, made easier in 1753 when they finished construction of the Zig-Zag path which, ascending from 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....
to the Common, is still in use today.
Within the parish boundary is Noar Hill
Noar Hill
Noar Hill, near Selborne in East Hampshire, is best known for its nature reserve.-Etymology:Nore is an obsolete spelling of nor, north...
, part of which is given over to a nature reserve
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
noted for its flowers and butterflies.