The London and Southampton Railway was first proposed in 1831 and the bill approved by Parliament in 1834 at a cost of £900,000. The section between Basingstoke and Winchester opened on 11 May 1840 – and was the final part of the London and Southampton Railway to be completed. Prior to its construction, all of the traffic between London and Southampton was carried by eight stage coaches, four wagons per week, and one barge weekly on the Basingstoke Canal!
The London and Southampton Railway was first proposed in 1831 and the bill approved by Parliament in 1834 at a cost of £900,000. The section between Basingstoke and Winchester opened on 11 May 1840 – and was the final part of the London and Southampton Railway to be completed. Prior to its construction, all of the traffic between London and Southampton was carried by eight stage coaches, four wagons per week, and one barge weekly on the Basingstoke Canal!
The London and Southampton Railway was first proposed in 1831 and the bill approved by Parliament in 1834 at a cost of £900,000. The section between Basingstoke and Winchester opened on 11 May 1840 – and was the final part of the London and Southampton Railway to be completed. Prior to its construction, all of the traffic between London and Southampton was carried by eight stage coaches, four wagons per week, and one barge weekly on the Basingstoke Canal!
Manor Farm House
Manor Farm House 1920
A record is made in the Russell Estate archives (R4/6047) in 1756 of the View of Buildings on his Grace the Duke of Bedford’s estate by Thos Moore:
“large old farm house built with bricks and stones with roof part tiled and part thatched in very bad repair. Two large barns containing 16 bays, stable, cart house, dove house. Timber sound and good.”
The house was sold by the Duke of Bedford in 1801 as part of the Stratton estate to Sir Francis Baring for £150,000 when the latter was at the height of his spectacularly successful career in the City. On the death of Sir Francis in 1810 the estate passed to his son, Sir Thomas Baring
From census records and Trade Directories it is possible to trace occupation of the farm but not precise dates on which the tenancy changed:
Directory 1855/1859 Henry Pain
Census 1861 Elizabeth Pain, (56) Widow
Census 1891 John Neate
Directory1867/1880 John and Mary Neate.
Census 1881 John and Mary Neate.
Directory 1895/1907 Joseph Pickford
Census 1901 Joseph Pickford
Directory 1911/1915 Albert E. Parsons
Census 1911 Albert Parsons.
Directory 1923 Harold Wells.
Manor Farm House was Listed as being of Special Architectural interest 16/11/1983.
Recent History
Dr and Mrs Lougee were tenants of Lord Rank at Manor Farm House for a while when Dr Lougee came to join Dr Edelsten at the Gratton Surgery after the War.
Jill and Peter Lee bought the house from Eagle Star in April 1978. The Branch Surgery was moved from Waterside Cottage to Manor Farm House in that year where it remained until 1992 when it was again moved this time to adjacent Stables Cottage.
It would seem that this Stable block was moved north to the church wall in 1756. The south wall of the churchyard is mainly brick, but there is a part with flint and quarried stones, like those of the church tower. David Spurling, from Hyde 900, has looked at these stones in the walls, and they are from the same 3 quarries as those of the church tower, which itself was built with stones from Hyde Abbey. That flint and quarried stone section of the wall is the back wall of the Stable building, the front being the same materials.
The rest of Stable Cottage was added at different times, the west part was a farm workshop used for maintenance and trailer construction until the farmyard became redundant in about 1990.
In 1978 the house was used by the BBC as one of the locations for "Mallice Aforethought" based on the classic 1931 book by Francis Iles
Thanks to Peter and Jill Lee for providing this information
Manor Farm House was bought by Simon & Alexandra Young in November 2008. The Lees retained Stable Cottage as their new residence. The house and garden underwent extensive renovation works in 2011 & 12 under the guidance of Architect Ian Adam-Smith and Landscape designer Nicholas Tripp who incidentally lived in the village at the time..
1920
View of the house from the garden 2012
The garden 2012
1920