Sway (village)
Encyclopedia
Sway is a village
in Hampshire
in the New Forest
national park in England
. The civil parish
was formed in 1879, when lands were taken from the extensive parish of Boldre
. The village has shops and pubs, and a railway station
on the main line from Weymouth and Bournemouth
to Southampton
and London Waterloo. Sway is on the southern edge of the woodland and heathland of the New Forest. Much of the children's novel The Children of the New Forest
is set in the countryside surrounding Sway.
is on the main line from Weymouth and Bournemouth
to Southampton
and London Waterloo with train services operated by South West Trains
. From Brockenhurst
, one can catch the "Lymington Flyer"
services connect with the ferry to Yarmouth
on the Isle of Wight
. Sway is twinned with the village of Bretteville
, France
.
The northern part of the parish contains areas of woodland, heathland, acid grassland, scrub and valley bog, supporting a richness and diversity of wildlife.
origin, and its name, from the Old English name "Svieia", means "noisy stream" which is a probable reference to the Avon Water
. Stone Age
implements have been found here and Bronze Age
barrows
containing funerary urns.
Sway is listed four times in the Domesday Book
of 1086. Two hides
were held from Roger de Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury
by Fulcoin and Nigel respectively. A certain Edmund at the same date was holding one hide in Sway which Algar had held from King Edward
. Romsey Abbey
also held one hide in Sway.
Some time prior to 1150 Hugh de Witteville gave "his whole land of Sway with its men and one mill" to Quarr Abbey
, and about the same date Ralph Fulcher donated land at Sway to the same abbey. In the 13th century Christchurch Priory
also gained land in Sway, which increased in the 14th century by the grant of land in Sway from John, vicar of Christchurch. Free warren in Sway was granted to the priory in 1384. Romsey Abbey also held land in Sway, afterwards known as the manor of Sway Romsey or South Sway. The Abbess of Romsey was holding land in Sway together with the Abbot of Quarr and the Prior of Christchurch in 1316.
In 1543, at the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries
, the lands possessed by Quarr and Christchurch were granted to Sir John Williams and others, by whom it was subsequently conveyed to John Mill, the purchaser and grantee of much monastic property in the neighbourhood. The combined lands became known as the manor of Sway Quarr. The manor of Sway Romsey (South Sway) remained separate but were also granted at the Dissolution to Sir John Williams and henceforth had the same owners as Sway Quarr. The estate then followed the descent of Battramsley
manor until 1627, when it was sold by George Wroughton to John Button of Buckland Lymington
, and in 1670 he or his son appeared before the justice seat held at Lyndhurst
as the lord of the manor of Sway. Before the end of the century, however, it had passed to Edmund Dummer of Swaythling
. It then passed by inheritance into the Bond family who held the estate down to the 19th century.
One other Domesday Book manor within the parish of Sway is known as Arnewood, which prior to 1066 had been held by Siward from Earl Tostig. The estate seems to have belong to Christchurch
Manor in the 13th and 14th centuries, although one small part of it was held differently and later became joined to the nearby manor of Ashley
to become "Ashley Arnewood". In 1384 the Earl of Salisbury
and lord of Christchurch sold the manor of Arnewood to Thomas Street. The manor passed through various hands in the following centuries, but by the 19th century it belonged, like the other manors of Sway, to the Bond family.
St Luke's Church was built in 1839. The ecclesiastical parish of Sway was created in 1841. The civil parish
of Sway was formed in 1879, when 2200 acres (8.9 km²) were taken from the extensive parish of Boldre
. The railway
came to Sway in 1888, when Sway railway station
was built.
In the village was Arnewood House (now destroyed by fire) which was the home of the Children of the New Forest in Captain Marryat's book. Marryat also used the surrounding countryside as the setting for the book.
In World War II
, an Emergency Landing Ground for aircraft was established just south of the village, and was used by aircraft based at RAF Christchurch
for overnight stays to protect them from German attack at Christchurch. However, the Luftwaffe
bombed Sway on several occasions, and by 1941, after just one year of operation, the site was abandoned.
Built by Andrew Thomas Turton Peterson
on his private estate from 1879-1885, its design (and the use of concrete) was influenced by the follies
Peterson had seen during his time in India
. It is constructed entirely out of concrete made with Portland cement
, with only the windows having iron supports. It remains the tallest non-reinforced concrete structure in the world.
It was originally designed as a mausoleum
, with a perpetual light at the top. However this was not allowed by Trinity House, as it was thought the light would confuse shipping. It also served to publicise the superiority of Portland cement; even then not fully accepted.
The tower is visible from much of the New Forest, and most of the western Solent
. A smaller 50 feet (15.2 m) folly, built as a 'prototype', stands in a group of trees to the north of the taller tower.There are many small concrete features (mainly walls) to be found in Milford, Sway and Hordle.
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...
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...
in the New Forest
New Forest
The New Forest is an area of southern England which includes the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in the heavily-populated south east of England. It covers south-west Hampshire and extends into south-east Wiltshire....
national park in 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...
. 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...
was formed in 1879, when lands were taken from the extensive parish of Boldre
Boldre
Boldre is a village and civil parish in the New Forest district of Hampshire. It is situated inside the New Forest National Park borders, near the Lymington River, and is about two miles north of Lymington...
. The village has shops and pubs, and a railway station
Sway railway station
Sway railway station is a railway station serving the village of Sway in Hampshire, England. It is located on the South Western Main Line from London Waterloo to Weymouth....
on the main line from Weymouth and Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
to 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...
and London Waterloo. Sway is on the southern edge of the woodland and heathland of the New Forest. Much of the children's novel The Children of the New Forest
The Children of the New Forest
The Children of the New Forest is a children's novel published in 1847 by Frederick Marryat. It is set in the time of the English Civil War and the Commonwealth.-Plot summary:...
is set in the countryside surrounding Sway.
Overview
Sway has shops, two pubs, and a number of restaurants and hotels. There is also a Church of England primary school. The village is home to football clubs, a fencing club, an archery club, and a gardening club. Sway railway stationSway railway station
Sway railway station is a railway station serving the village of Sway in Hampshire, England. It is located on the South Western Main Line from London Waterloo to Weymouth....
is on the main line from Weymouth and Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
to 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...
and London Waterloo with train services operated by South West Trains
South West Trains
South West Trains is a British train operating company providing, under franchise, passenger rail services, mostly out of Waterloo station, to the southwest of London in the suburbs and in the counties of Surrey, Hampshire, Dorset, Devon, Somerset, Berkshire, and Wiltshire and on the Isle of Wight...
. From Brockenhurst
Brockenhurst
Brockenhurst is a village situated in the New Forest, Hampshire, England. The New Forest is a national park and Brockenhurst is therefore surrounded by woodland that attracts thousands of visitors all year round. The nearby towns surrounding Brockenhurst are Lymington and Lyndhurst. Brockenhurst...
, one can catch the "Lymington Flyer"
Lymington Branch Line
The Lymington Branch Line is a railway that runs from Brockenhurst to Lymington Pier, both in the New Forest. The railway line is around long, and is single track throughout its length. It diverges from the South Western Main Line at Lymington Junction; and, at Lymington Pier, trains connect with...
services connect with the ferry to Yarmouth
Yarmouth, Isle of Wight
Yarmouth is a port and civil parish in the western part of the Isle of Wight, off the southern coast of mainland England. The town is named for its location at the mouth of the small Western Yar river...
on the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
. Sway is twinned with the village of Bretteville
Bretteville-sur-Ay
Bretteville-sur-Ay is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. Bretteville is twinned with the village of Sway, England....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
The northern part of the parish contains areas of woodland, heathland, acid grassland, scrub and valley bog, supporting a richness and diversity of wildlife.
History
Sway is a settlement of Anglo-SaxonAnglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
origin, and its name, from the Old English name "Svieia", means "noisy stream" which is a probable reference to the Avon Water
Avon Water (Hampshire)
Avon Water is a small river in the south of England, flowing through the New Forest in Hampshire to the sea. It should not be confused with the larger River Avon, which also flows through Hampshire....
. Stone Age
Stone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
implements have been found here and 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...
barrows
Tumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...
containing funerary urns.
Sway is listed four times 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...
of 1086. Two hides
Hide (unit)
The hide was originally an amount of land sufficient to support a household, but later in Anglo-Saxon England became a unit used in assessing land for liability to "geld", or land tax. The geld would be collected at a stated rate per hide...
were held from Roger de Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury
Roger de Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury
Roger de Montgomerie , also known as Roger the Great de Montgomery, was the first Earl of Shrewsbury. His father was also Roger de Montgomerie, and was a relative, probably a grandnephew, of the Duchess Gunnor, wife of Duke Richard I of Normandy...
by Fulcoin and Nigel respectively. A certain Edmund at the same date was holding one hide in Sway which Algar had held from King Edward
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....
. Romsey Abbey
Romsey Abbey
Romsey Abbey is a parish church of the Church of England in Romsey, a market town in Hampshire, England. Until the dissolution it was the church of a Benedictine nunnery.-Background:...
also held one hide in Sway.
Some time prior to 1150 Hugh de Witteville gave "his whole land of Sway with its men and one mill" to Quarr Abbey
Quarr Abbey
Quarr Abbey is a monastery between the villages of Binstead and Fishbourne on the Isle of Wight in southern England. The name is pronounced as "Kor" . It belongs to the Order of St Benedict. The present imposing brick construction was completed in 1912. A community of about a dozen monks maintains...
, and about the same date Ralph Fulcher donated land at Sway to the same abbey. In the 13th century Christchurch Priory
Christchurch Priory
Christchurch Priory is an ecclesiastical parish and former priory church in Christchurch in the English county of Dorset .-Early history:...
also gained land in Sway, which increased in the 14th century by the grant of land in Sway from John, vicar of Christchurch. Free warren in Sway was granted to the priory in 1384. Romsey Abbey also held land in Sway, afterwards known as the manor of Sway Romsey or South Sway. The Abbess of Romsey was holding land in Sway together with the Abbot of Quarr and the Prior of Christchurch in 1316.
In 1543, at the time of 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...
, the lands possessed by Quarr and Christchurch were granted to Sir John Williams and others, by whom it was subsequently conveyed to John Mill, the purchaser and grantee of much monastic property in the neighbourhood. The combined lands became known as the manor of Sway Quarr. The manor of Sway Romsey (South Sway) remained separate but were also granted at the Dissolution to Sir John Williams and henceforth had the same owners as Sway Quarr. The estate then followed the descent of Battramsley
Battramsley
Battramsley is a hamlet in the civil parish of Boldre, in the New Forest in Hampshire, England.-Overview:Battramsley is a hamlet located just west of the village of Boldre, on the A337 road between Brockenhurst and Lymington. There is one pub called The Hobler Inn.-History:Battramsley is listed in...
manor until 1627, when it was sold by George Wroughton to John Button of Buckland Lymington
Lymington
Lymington is a port on the west bank of the Lymington River on the Solent, in the New Forest district of Hampshire, England. It is to the east of the South East Dorset conurbation, and faces Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight which is connected to it by a car ferry, operated by Wightlink. The town...
, and in 1670 he or his son appeared before the justice seat held at Lyndhurst
Lyndhurst
Lyndhurst may refer to:United Kingdom* Lyndhurst, HampshireUnited States* Lyndhurst, New Jersey* Lyndhurst, Ohio* Lyndhurst, Virginia* Lyndhurst, Wisconsin* Lyndhurst , New YorkAustralia* Lyndhurst, Victoria...
as the lord of the manor of Sway. Before the end of the century, however, it had passed to Edmund Dummer of Swaythling
Swaythling
Swaythling was once a village but over the years it has gradually become a suburb and electoral ward of Southampton in Hampshire, England. The ward has a population of 13,394....
. It then passed by inheritance into the Bond family who held the estate down to the 19th century.
One other Domesday Book manor within the parish of Sway is known as Arnewood, which prior to 1066 had been held by Siward from Earl Tostig. The estate seems to have belong to Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
Manor in the 13th and 14th centuries, although one small part of it was held differently and later became joined to the nearby manor of Ashley
Ashley, West Hampshire
Ashley is a village located in the southwest of Hampshire, England. It lies on the eastern outskirts of New Milton in the New Forest district, and is two miles inland from the sea. Its history dates back to the Domesday book of 1086, when two estates were recorded. In the 15th century much of...
to become "Ashley Arnewood". In 1384 the Earl of Salisbury
Earl of Salisbury
Earl of Salisbury is a title that has been created several times in British history. It has a complex history, being first created for Patrick de Salisbury in the middle twelfth century. It was eventually inherited by Alice, wife of Thomas, Earl of Lancaster...
and lord of Christchurch sold the manor of Arnewood to Thomas Street. The manor passed through various hands in the following centuries, but by the 19th century it belonged, like the other manors of Sway, to the Bond family.
St Luke's Church was built in 1839. The ecclesiastical parish of Sway was created in 1841. 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 Sway was formed in 1879, when 2200 acres (8.9 km²) were taken from the extensive parish of Boldre
Boldre
Boldre is a village and civil parish in the New Forest district of Hampshire. It is situated inside the New Forest National Park borders, near the Lymington River, and is about two miles north of Lymington...
. The railway
South Western Main Line
The South Western Main Line is a railway line between London Waterloo and Weymouth on the Dorset coast, in the south of England. It is a major railway which serves many important commuter areas, as well as the major settlements of Southampton and Bournemouth...
came to Sway in 1888, when Sway railway station
Sway railway station
Sway railway station is a railway station serving the village of Sway in Hampshire, England. It is located on the South Western Main Line from London Waterloo to Weymouth....
was built.
In the village was Arnewood House (now destroyed by fire) which was the home of the Children of the New Forest in Captain Marryat's book. Marryat also used the surrounding countryside as the setting for the book.
In World War II
World 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...
, an Emergency Landing Ground for aircraft was established just south of the village, and was used by aircraft based at RAF Christchurch
RAF Christchurch
Christchurch Airfield was located southeast of the A337/B3059 intersection in Somerford, Christchurch, Dorset, England.It was a civil airfield starting from 1926, then it was used during World War II by the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Force Ninth Air Force...
for overnight stays to protect them from German attack at Christchurch. However, the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
bombed Sway on several occasions, and by 1941, after just one year of operation, the site was abandoned.
Sway Tower
Sway is perhaps best known for Sway Tower. It is 66 metres (200 ft) tall and is a Grade II listed building. It is also known as "Peterson's Folly"Built by Andrew Thomas Turton Peterson
Andrew Thomas Turton Peterson
Andrew Thomas Turton Peterson was an Anglo-Indian barrister, spiritualist, socialist and amateur architect.After three years at school, Peterson ran away to sea, working at a salt works in India. Returning to England, he trained as a lawyer and married Charlotte Myers St Clair, daughter of a...
on his private estate from 1879-1885, its design (and the use of concrete) was influenced by the follies
Folly
In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but either suggesting by its appearance some other purpose, or merely so extravagant that it transcends the normal range of garden ornaments or other class of building to which it belongs...
Peterson had seen during his time in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. It is constructed entirely out of concrete made with Portland cement
Portland cement
Portland cement is the most common type of cement in general use around the world because it is a basic ingredient of concrete, mortar, stucco and most non-specialty grout...
, with only the windows having iron supports. It remains the tallest non-reinforced concrete structure in the world.
It was originally designed as a mausoleum
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
, with a perpetual light at the top. However this was not allowed by Trinity House, as it was thought the light would confuse shipping. It also served to publicise the superiority of Portland cement; even then not fully accepted.
The tower is visible from much of the New Forest, and most of the western Solent
Solent
The Solent is a strait separating the Isle of Wight from the mainland of England.The Solent is a major shipping route for passengers, freight and military vessels. It is an important recreational area for water sports, particularly yachting, hosting the Cowes Week sailing event annually...
. A smaller 50 feet (15.2 m) folly, built as a 'prototype', stands in a group of trees to the north of the taller tower.There are many small concrete features (mainly walls) to be found in Milford, Sway and Hordle.
External links
- Sway Parish Council
- Sway Tower, BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight