Crux Easton, Hampshire
Historical Description
Crux-Easton, a parish in Hants, 5½ miles NNW of Whitchurch station on the G.W.R. and L. & S.W.R., 3½ miles from North Litchfield station on the G.W.R., which is the telegraph office, and 7 WSW of Kingsclere. Post town, Whitchurch; money order office, Hurstbourne Tarrant. Acreage, 1121; population, 76. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Winchester; value, £158 with residence. This parish was at the extreme north-east boundary of the New Forest, and was given by William the Conqueror to his huntsman Croke or Croch. From him it derived its name, Croke's East-Town, now softened into Crooke's-Easton. The spelling " Crux " is quite modern. Croke built a Norman church, the remains of which are scattered about the rectory premises, and consist of many carved stones bearing the Norman zigzag and other characteristics of the Norman period. This church was pulled down by Mrs de Lisle, the owner of the parish, about the year 1760. She had 20 children, and her nine maiden daughters built a grotto in the wood, still called Grotto Copse. They were frequently visited by Pope, and he immortalized the grotto in the following lines :- " Here shunning idleness at once and praise, This radiant pile nine rural sisters raise; The glittering emblem of each spotless dame, Pure as her soul and shining as her fame:- Beauty which nature only can impart, And such a polish as disgraces art; But fate disposed them in this humble sort, And hid in deserts what would charm a court."
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 | Crux-Easton St. Michael | |
| Hundred | Pastrow | |
| Poor Law union | Kingsclere |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
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 Crux Easton from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Crux-Easton (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 Crux Easton 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.