(^38) Hampshire Life: February 2019
This village is on the ball when it comes
to sparkling wine and soft drinks
SECRET ROYAL VISIT
NO.2
Nearly 300 years after
Hambledon received its
first royal visitor another arrived,
just as clandestinely. It was
May 1944 and the area around
Hambledon was rammed with
troops and military hardware
awaiting the signal for D-Day. On
May 22 King George VI arrived to
review those troops. His trip was
meant to be a closely-guarded
secret but word got round and
His Majesty was greeted by
enthusiastic villagers.
MAKING A TOAST
In 1951, Major General
Sir Guy Salisbury-
Jones, decided to
plant a vineyard on a field at
Hambledon’s Mill Down House.
Advised by Pol Roger Champagne
house, he then single-handedly
started the British wine industry.
The estate was revived by Ian
Kellett in 1999, and with more
assistance from Pol Roger
launched a suite of sparkling
wines. Hambledon is now
acknowledged as Britain’s oldest
commercial vineyard.
FOOD AND DRINK
If you’re looking
for a quiet drink or
something to eat
then The Bat and Ball inn at
Hyden Farm Lane is an ideal
pub for all the family. There is
a large restaurant to the rear of
the building, with a wide and
comprehensive menu. The Vine
in West Street has a programme
of live music, as well as Burger
Nights and Fizzy Fridays, and
The Old Forge Tea Rooms sells
everything from jacket potatoes
to cream teas.
WHAT’S GOING ON
Well cricket, obviously
- currently the
Hambledon Cricket
Club fields three XIs and three
Colts sides. There are senior team
home fixtures for every Saturday
afternoon from April through to
September. Tennis is popular,
too, with a public court situated
just behind the Church. It is a
free facility for all villagers, with
racquets supplied too. Film Night
is held on the first Sunday of the
month and there is a Folk Club as
well as a programme of walks.
THE MURDERSTONE
Take a turn about
Claire’s Copse to the
west of the village and
you’ll soon discover why it’s often
referred to as Headstone Copse.
A small stone – now Grade II
listed - marks the location of a
terrible crime. In August 1782
labourer James Stares, collected
some cash he was owed and was
joined on his walk home by a
young blacksmith, John Taylor.
The next day Stares’ battered and
bloody corpse was discovered
and Taylor’s mother identified a
bloodied smock as that of her son.
Although he never admitted guilt,
Taylor was tried and hanged and
the Stares family erected what
has been known ever since as The
MurderstoneSECRET ROYAL VISIT
NO.1
In October 1651
villagers may have
thought they recognised the
dark-haired man who was being
spirited into the house of Ursula
Symons who lived on West
Street. And they’d be right. Prince
Charles Stuart, later King Charles
II, was offered a night’s stay, as
he escaped abroad from defeat by
Roundhead forces at the Battle of
Worcester. He managed to flee to
safety and the now-named King’s
Rest house still stands.HAMBLEDON
A LOOK BACK IN TIME
History began for
Hambledown during the
Bronze Age. By 100 AD,
however, the Romans had moved
in, establishing a villa at Bury
Lodge. The first mention is in a
charter by King Edgar dated 956,
granting land at Chidden, and
the village’s Saxon church and
medieval buildings bear witness
to its success as a settlement. It
grew with the granting of the
right to hold a weekly market and
prospered until visitors began
going to Portsmouth instead.WORDS: Faith Eckersall ILLUSTRATION: Lucy Atkinson10 THINGS YOU
DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT