Pre-Norman
An Old English crundel was a
chalk-pit or quarry, and the word has survived in the name
of Crondall. The remains of these quarries can still be seen as
large depressions on the local golf course.
Crondall's southern boundary is the
North Downs along which ran the prehistoric
Harrow Way, thought to be the oldest road in Britain which
ran from the
Cornish tin mines to
Dover
in Kent.
There is some evidence for Neolithic settlements since there are
is an iron age earthworks at Caesar's Camp. Remains of
Roman and
Norman settlements have been found close beside the Harrow
Way near Barley Pound. Evidence for Roman occupation can be
found in the fields as broken tiles and artifacts. In 1817 an
intact Roman
mosaic pavement was found by a ploughman, and is
commemorated by a tapestry in the parish church. Coins of the
from the third century were found in 1869.
More coins, the "Crondall Hoard" of one
hundred and one coins, two jewelled ornaments, and a chain were
found in 1828. Many of these date to the fifth century and
ninety seven of these coins are now in the possession of the
Ashmolean Museum at Oxford.
King Alfred the Great
bequeathed the Hundred of Crondall to his nephew Eltham in 885.
In 975 it was handed over by
King Edgar to the monks at Winchester; and remained in their
hands until 1539. At this time
Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries and within two years
Crondall was controlled by the new
Dean and Chapter of
Winchester Cathedral. Crondall remained in their hands until
1861, when it was taken over by the
Ecclesiastical Commissioners
[1].
The Manors
The Hundred of Crondall was divided into 'Manors',
Itchell, Ewshot, Crokeham, Well, Feldmead, Dippenhall,
Farnborough and Aldershot. These Manors are all mentioned in the
records of
Winchester Cathedral. All the land within the Hundred was
administered by the Lords of the Manor at Crondall on behalf of
the monks of St Swithen and later on behalf of Winchester
Cathedral.
Itchell Manor (house demolished 1954). Gardens
were laid out by
Capability Brown. A greenhouse, built 1840, still in use and
a Tudor Gateway also remains. The Old Itchell Manor House had
the reputation of being haunted when members of the Lefroy
family were in residence. The apparition took the form of a
phantom coach racing away from the manor and down nearby Hyde
Lane.
Civil War
All Saints’ church in Crondall, Hampshire, was
a minor parliamentary outpost for much of the war, guarding the
western approaches to Farnham
Tithe map
The Hundred of Crondall Tithe Map was dated
1846 and it is housed in the Hampshire County Archive at
Winchester.
Industry
Crondall has for centuries been rich farming
land. A great variety of soils appear in the area because it
lies on the edge of the
London Basin including
chalk,
clay and heavy fertile
loam.
There are many natural
springs in the area that were used as
watercress beds and for growing
osier
trees for
basket weaving. Some of the baskets were used as balloon
baskets and airship gondolas used by
S.F. Cody in his early aviation experiments at Farnborough.
The area was also renowned for
Hops
that were grown here for two hundred years until the last war.
For many years Crondall had a brickworks that supplied
tiles
and
brick to the local towns.
Architecture
Barley Pound a large
ring-motte with two to three baileys and it is one of the best
examples in
Hampshire of a ring and bailey fortress. The site may be
Lidelea Castle Pound, the castle of the bishops of
Winchester, that was sieged in 1147 causing it to be abandoned
in favour of
Farnham Castle.
All Saints, Norman Church
The 12th Century Norman parish church, All
Saints, Crondall has been called 'The Cathedral of North
Hampshire'. It replaced a
Saxon church on the same site and the
Saxon font remains from that period. The east end of the
nave dates to 1170. Among notable interior features are the
dogtooth mouldings of the chancel arch and the imposing arcades
and foliate capitals of the Nave. To date All Saints has
undergone two major restorations, the first in 1847 by the
architect
Benjamin Ferrey and the second in 1871 under the guidance of
Sir
George Gilbert Scott. In 1995 the "National Association of
Decorative and Fine Arts Societies" (NADFAS) declared All Saints
to be one of the finest examples of architecture of its style in
the country.
Residential buildings
Throughout Crondall there are many
well-preserved old houses and cottages. The
Plume of Feathers pub is a fine example of
Tudor architecture and was a resting stop on the
turnpike to
Portsmouth.
Notable visitors
A fine panoramic view of this beautiful part
of
Hampshire may be gained from Queens View looking from East
to West across Crondall. It takes its name from the fact that
Queen Victoria admired this view whilst inspecting the
garrisoned troops at nearby
Aldershot "Home of the British Army".
Oliver Cromwell is reputed to have stayed in the Plume of
Feathers in October 1645, when the siege of
Basing House was in progress.
