Kingsclere, Hampshire
Historical Description
Kingsclere, a small town and a parish in Hants. The town stands on a small tributary of the Embourn river, and on the edge of a range of hills flanking the NE side of a " weald'' valley about 5 miles long and 2 wide, 3¾ S of the boundary with Berks, 4 from Burghclere station on the G.W.R., and 9 NW of Basingstoke. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Newbury. It was a seat of the West Saxon kings, has declined from ancient importance to a condition little above that of a large rural village, is a seat of petty sessions, and has three churches, three dissenting chapels, three free schools, and a workhouse. The parish church is Norman and cruciform, has a well-proportioned central tower, was restored in 1848, and contains a monument to Dr Webbe, chaplain of Charles II., a handsome monument to Sir Henry Kingmill of 1635, an interesting brass of 1519, and several other brasses. The church of St Paul Woodlands stands at the distance of more than 3 miles from the town, was built in 1845, is in the Decorated English style, and consists of nave, aisles, and chancel. The free school was endowed in 1618 and rebuilt in 1861. The workhouse is on the road to Newbury. The Albert Hall is a handsome building of red brick built in 1886. Fairs are held on Whit-Tuesday and the Tuesday after 10 Oct., and malting is carried on. Acreage, 13, 126; population of the civil parish, 2628; of the ecclesiastical, 1500. The manor continued long with the Crown, had a hunting-lodge of the Plantagenet kings at Freemantle Park, now under the plough, passed to the De la Poles and others, and belongs now to Lord Bolton. Vestiges of two Roman camps are on the hills. The head living is a vicarage, and that of St Paul Woodlands with St Peter Headley also is a vicarage, in the diocese of Winchester; net value of the former, £280 with residence; of the latter, £320 with residence, including endowment for Headley. Patron of the former, Lord Bolton; of the latter, the Vicar of Kingsclere.
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 | Kingsclere St. Mary | |
| Hundred | Kingsclere | |
| 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 Kingsclere from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Kingsclere (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 Kingsclere 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
North End (Kingsclere)Visitations Heraldic
The Visitations of Hampshire, 1530, 1575, & 1622-34 is available to view on the Heraldry page.