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!
Census Records
1881
The 1881 census was held on Sunday 3rd April 1881.
Below is a summary of the census records. However, if you wish to view individual details, please click on the link to see the details of the census records in two different formats.
It is now possible to locate most of the houses in the census as they are named or given a number and/or street name. There were approximately 900 inhabitants in the area; outside Micheldever itself, there were sizeable communities at Northbrook (145), Southbrook (56), Station (122), West Stratton (74) and Weston (111). Predominant surnames were: Ball, Baverstock, Butler, Collis, Fifield, Knight, Miles and Whatmore. Whilst Micheldever is still the predominant place of birth, there seemed to be slightly more born out of county than in 1871. One was born in the US as a British subject and Mr Coulthurst's 3 daughters of Warren Farmhouse were born in Canada, 1 in Toronto and 2 in Quebec.
The main occupations were agricultural labourer/farmworker/general labourer, however, a number were also employed on the railway. Most women who worked were domestic servants. There were 4 inhabitants described as invalids, 1 imbecile, 1 blind and 1 had lost one eye.
Principle farms itemised are as follows: Bradley Farm, West Stratton Farmhouse, New Down Farm, Boro Farm, Manor Farm, Warren Farmhouse,and Weston Farmhouse. Bradley Farm was now occupied by retired farmer Charles Pain (but not the one at Boro Farm in 1871) and his brother Henry (sch 4).
West Stratton Farmhouse is farmed by William Parsons, 850 acres employing 19 men and 3 boys (sch 29). New Down Farm is farmed by a William Drake. It consists of 1100 acres with 18 men and 7 boys. (sch 39) Boro Farm is still farmed by Charles Pain, currently 1175 acres, employing 18 men, 9 boys. His son John has a plaque in St Mary's Church, Micheldever on the South wall. He was churchwarden for 54 years. (sch 52).
Manor Farm House is farmed by John Neate, who was at Southbrook Farmhouse in 1871 (the same place?). He farms 900 acres, employing 12 men, 10 boys (sch 53). There is an impressive grave to the right of the footpath leading from the Church Car Park which contains the remains of John Reekes Neate, his wife Mary and son George.
Warren Farmhouse, Micheldever Station is owned by a gentleman, Nicholas Coulthurst, who lives there with his wife, 3 daughters, 4 servants. (sch 221). This was one of the Weston Farms, occupied by one Mr Lancashire in 1871.
Weston Farmhouse is farmed by Ernest Bailey (perhaps a brother or cousin of George of 1871). He has 783 acres with 16 men, 9 boys. (sch 265)
Waterloo Cottages are no longer specifically named and there are now just 4 households at Canada Cottages (Sch 201-4).
In Micheldever itself, there were four grocer's shops. Three were in Duck Street (now Duke Street); one run by Richard Collis aged 71 (sch 59) (who ran a grocer's shop in 1861 & 1871), another by his son Joshua Collis, a baker aged 33 (sch 61) one of these must be Perry's Acre; and one by Fanny Criswick, aged 33, living with her sister Annie an invalid (sch 79), both daughters of Charles. This will probably be Holly House (see 1871). One was in Church Street, run by Elizabeth Knight. There was also a butcher's shop in Church Street, run by William Gale, aged 62, a farmer who owned 80 acres of land, employing 4 men and 1 boy (Barn Cottage). Duck Street had two other business premises, a blackmith now Walter Diddam (sch 58) and a shoemaker, still Henry Colliss (sch 73).
West Stratton had one grocer's shop, run by William Cole, aged 35, who describes himself not only as a grocer and baker, but also as a farmer with 10 acres of land. (sch 105)
The vicar, William Arthur Whitestone, aged 50 from Dublin, lived at Rectory House in Duck Street (sch 25) with his wife and one son. He was also vicar for East Stratton.
The School Master, Edward Lawrence, aged 24, lived at School House, Church Street with his wife and son. (sch 116) The school mistress, Mary Harris, aged 30, lived in the School Mistress' House (Micheldever Cottage?) in the Southbrook area of the village with her mother, who was an invalid. (sch 90)
There were two pubs, one being the Half Moon, Annell Lane (now Winchester Road) (publican Henry Woodvine) in Micheldever itself, and the other the Full Moon in Northbrook. The publican at the latter (George Gutteridge) was also a blacksmith and three other blacksmiths lodged at the pub. Sch (245)
The Almshouses had 17 inhabitants, including the Head's family of 6; the Parish Clerk, Charles Ball, was the Head. Two of the lodgers were also resident there in 1871 (sch 89).
At the Station, there was a post office, run by Arthur Fifield (sch 205) and the Western Hotel run by Caroline Fry (sch 206). Some families lived in rooms above the Station building itself.
Elizabeth Pain, now 76, is still living at Weston House with one daughter Maud born in 1830 (listed in 1871 as Mary born in 1830 ) and three servants. (sch 269)
Comparing the inhabitants of Weston Cottages in 1881 with those in 1871, the following eight families are still living there: Mundy, Wake, Baverstock, Clarke, Clarke, Avery, Wilkins, Jeffrey. Only the Braxtons from 1871 are still at Boro Cottages.
Thanks to Tricia Patston and Colin Filmer for creating these census records.