Abbots Ann, Hampshire
Historical Description
Abbots-Ann, a parish in Hants, on the river Ann, 1¼ miles SW by W of Andover station on the L. & S.W.R. It has a post office under Andover. Acreage, 3396; population, 589. Red Rice House, an ancient mansion, is the place where George IV. was married to Mrs Fitzherbert. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Winchester; net value, £602. The ancient church belonged to the abbey of Cornelies, in Normandy. The present church is a structure of the 18th century, exceedingly well built, but of faulty design. There is a Congregational chapel.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
| Ancient County | Hampshire | |
| Ecclesiastical parish | Abbot's-Ann St. Mary | |
| Hundred | Andover | |
| Poor Law union | Andover |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The register dates from the year 1561
Churches
Church of England
St. Mary (parish church)
The church of St. Mary, rebuilt in 1716, in the then prevailing semi-Classic style, by Thomas Pitt esq. M.P. of Blandford, Dorset, Governor of Fort St. George, in the East Indies, and of Jamaica, and grandfather of the first Earl of Chatham, is an edifice of brick, and consists of chancel, nave and an embattled tower with pinnacles, containing a clock and 5 bells, rehung in 1894, at a cost of about £70: on a slab in the centre of the chancel is a brass in memory of Elizabeth, wife of John Johnson D.D. rector of this church, who departed this life 4th Sept. 1613: hanging around the church are numerous memorial garlands, some upwards of one hundred years old, the relics of an ancient custom, which is still maintained in this parish; seven of the windows are stained, and include one to the above-mentioned Governor Pitt, who died 28 April, 1726, and was buried at Blandford: the organ was erected in 1888, at a cost of £260: there are about 200 sittings.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Abbots Ann from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Abbot's-Ann (St. Mary))
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Hampshire (County Southampton) is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Abbots Ann are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Hampshire newspapers online:
- Portsmouth Evening News
- Hampshire Telegraph
- Hampshire Advertiser
- Hampshire Chronicle
- Aldershot Military Gazette
Visitations Heraldic
The Visitations of Hampshire, 1530, 1575, & 1622-34 is available to view on the Heraldry page.