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!
Woodmancott History cont'd
Across the fields to Woodmancott
The original church here was burnt down on Easter Day 1854 and then replaced by a new flint church designed by the Hampshire architect, John Colson. Historically, the church was linked to the church at Popham (of which only the cemetery remains) which is less than a mile’s walk through College Wood but is at least three times as far by road since the M3 Motorway was built.
The village had a distinguished resident in the 19th century. George Mongor joined the Army as a private and won the Victoria Cross during the Indian Mutiny when he was only 17 years old. Private Mongor displayed daring gallantry at Secundera Bagh, Lucknow, in November 1857 when he volunteered to accompany an officer when he rescued a corporal who was lying wounded and exposed to very heavy gunfire.
The history summary of the Parish, has been taken, with kind permission of Peter Clarke's family,
from Dever & Down: A History of the Villages in and Around the Dever Valley in Hampshire
by Peter Clarke
St James Church
Looking NE towards Woodmancott
Main Road (A33) looking south from London Lodge with the turning for Woodmancott on the left. C 1910 Note the pile of prepositioned stone for repairing potholes
St James Church