Alverstoke (St. Mary)
The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £21. 6. 0½., and in the gift of the Bishop of Winchester: the tithes have been commuted for £1250, and the glebe consists of 45 acres. The church, which occupies a site in the village beautifully secluded by trees, has undergone many changes since its foundation, and is now in a state of renovation, which has been effected with a judicious regard to its original character: a tablet was erected in 1844, to the memory of the officers and soldiers of the 44th regiment, who fell in the Affghan war. There are several churches and chapels in the parish; one at Gosport, consecrated in 1696, and dedicated to the Holy Trinity; a small chapel closely adjoining the liberty of Gosport; another at Elson, on the northern side of the parish; one, lately erected, very near to the parish church, among the new buildings at Anglesey; and one at Forton. The church at Elson is dedicated to St. Thomas, and was consecrated in Aug. 1845: the living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Rector. The dissenters, also, have several places of worship.
Transcribed from A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858.