Aldershot, Hampshire
Historical Description
Aldershot, a town, a camp, and a parish in Hants, 34 miles from London, and 3 from Farnham. The town stands near the Basingstoke Canal, with stations on the L. & S.W.R. and S.E.R., and a post, money order, and telegraph office, with a sub-office at Aldershot Green, and also two banking offices. It suddenly rose from seclusion to importance by the formation of the neighbouring military camp. The town was made a Local Government District by the Act 20 and 21 Vict. c. 22, and is under the management of a Board of 12 members, 9 chosen by the ratepayers and 3 by the Secretary of State for War. The Aldershot Gas and Water Co. supplies both town and camp. There are two brick and tile works. Races are held here in the spring. There are several churches, and chapels for Wesleyans, Baptists, Primitive Methodists, and Roman Catholics, and a Soldiers' Home. The parish church of St Michael contains several monuments of the Tichbourne family, who formerly resided in the parish. The living is a perpetual curacy of the annual value of about £300. Holy Trinity Church, in Victoria Road, was erected in 1878; it is a fine building in the Early English style. There are 800 sittings. The living is a vicarage; value, about £400. A vicarage house was erected in 1884. Under the Local Government Act Aldershot parish was separated from Farnham union, and became a contributory union, using the Farnham workhouse as heretofore. The parish is divided into two wards for County Council purposes, and comprises an area of 4178 acres; population, 25,595. The camp is situated close to the town, on Aldershot Heath, which consists of the Bagshot sand, and stretches away to the downs of Surrey. It was formed in 1854, covers an area of 7 square miles, and is divided by the Basingstoke Canal into two parts, containing accommodation for upwards of 20,000 men. The North and South camps and permanent barracks, which were erected at a great cost, contain the usual accessories to a military camp, such as churches, libraries, schools, hospitals, &c. Quarters for the commanding officers are on a rising ground overlooking it from the SW; the Queen's Pavilion, built at a cost of £5000, is beyond these quarters. A large volunteer meeting is held at the camp every year, which is attended by a considerable number of volunteer corps. On a hill overlooking the camp is the equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington which formerly stood at the top of Constitution Hill, near Hyde Park, London. The average number of troops in the camp is about 10,000, though this number is largely exceeded at times. There is a post, money order, and telegraph office at the camp.
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 | Aldershott St. Michael | |
| Hundred | Crondall |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Cemeteries
The cemetery, near Redan Hill, was formed in 1860, at a cost of £1,700, and enlarged in 1894, at a cost of £1,050; in 1911 there were 13 acres of ground, with two chapels, one for the Church of England and one for Nonconformists.
Church Records
The register of St. Michael's dates from the year 1571.
The register of Holy Trinity church dates from the year 1878.
Churches
Church of England
St. Michael (parish church)
The parish church of St. Michael is an ancient edifice of brick in the Early English style, and consists of chancel, nave of five bays, north aisle, south porch and embattled western tower containing 6 bells, 3 of which were added in 1910: in the chancel are tablets to the Tichborne family, once lords of the manor and owners of lands in this parish, and memorial windows placed in 1886 to the late Capt. G. Newcome, in 1896 to the Rev. H. J. West, vicar 1873-93, and in 1897 to the late Major H. G. Newcome: the church was restored and some stained windows erected during the period 1873-91, at a cost of £1,600: in 1910 the chancel, nave and north aisle were pulled down and rebuilt: there are now 600 sittings.
The Holy Trinity, Victoria Road (parish church)
Holy Trinity church, in Victoria road, erected during 1875-9, at a cost of £10,000, for a district formed in 1878, in the new part of the town, is a structure of brick with stone facings, in the Early English style, from designs by Mr. Stapley, architect, of Farnham, and consists of chancel, nave with clerestory, aisles, north and west porches and vestry: the carved stone pulpit was presented by Mrs. Anderson and the brass lectern by Mrs. McDonald: there are 900 sittings, 600 being free.
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 Aldershot from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Aldershott (St. Michael))
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Hampshire (County Southampton) is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Aldershot 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
Villages, Hamlets, &c
Westend (Aldershot)Visitations Heraldic
The Visitations of Hampshire, 1530, 1575, & 1622-34 is available to view on the Heraldry page.