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!
The Crease
The Crease 1920's
The triangular area, with the tree on it in the centre of the village and known as the Crease, was in all probability where the village Cross stood and the present name is a corruption of the word “Cross”.
The Crease is at the junction of Church Street, Duke Street and Sloe Lane, the road to Stoke Charity. In the middle of the Crease there used to be a cottage with a shoemaker’s shop and a small garden. After the cottage went, there was a tree in the middle of the road.
Recently, the old, broken seat on the Crease was replaced by a new bench built around the beech tree in memory of Doctor Peter Lee who was GP in the village for many years.
Click here to read the musings of a child growing up near the Crease in 1940s
1960
Cottages looking towards Duke Street
Horses being driven towards The Crease
1960