Bentworth, Hampshire
Historical Description
Bentworth, a village and a parish in Hants. The village stands 4½ miles WNW of Alton railway station on the L. & S.WR., and has a post office under Alton, which is the money order and telegraph office. The parish comprises 3763 acres; population, 604. The manor was inherited from his father by George Withers the poet, and was sold by him at the outbreak of the Civil War to raise a troop of horse. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Winchester; net value, £544. There is a dissenting chapel. The church is an ancient flint structure in the Early English style.
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 | Bentworth St. Mary | |
| Hundred | Odiham | |
| Poor Law union | Alton |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The register dates from the year 1603.
Churches
Church of England
St. Mary (parish church)
The church of St. Mary is an ancient flint structure in the Early English style, consisting of chancel, nave, aisles and south porch with small tower containing 4 bells: the east window and others are stained, and include one to the Rev. Henry Staverton Mathews M.A. rector 1847-87: the tower was restored in 1891, and an oak shingled spire added: there are about 300 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 Bentworth from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Bentworth (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 Bentworth 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.