Ecchinswell, Sydmonton and Bishops Green

Ecchinswell, Sydmonton and Bishops Green (occasionally referred to as just Ecchinswell and Sydmonton) is a civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

within the district of Basingstoke and Deane

Basingstoke and Deane

Basingstoke and Deane is a local government district and borough in Hampshire, England. Its primary settlement is Basingstoke. Other settlements include Bramley, Tadley, Kingsclere, Overton, Oakley, Whitchurch and the hamlet of Deane, some from Basingstoke....

in Hampshire

Hampshire

Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

, United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

.

Sydmonton is the home of Sydmonton Court, estate of the Kingsmill Family, including Admiral Sir Robert Kingsmill

Sir Robert Kingsmill, 1st Baronet

Sir Robert Brice Kingsmill, 1st Baronet was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars in a career that spanned nearly 60 years...

. The estate is currently owned by Andrew Lloyd Webber

Andrew Lloyd Webber

Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...

and is home to the annual Sydmonton Festival

Sydmonton Festival

The Sydmonton Festival is a summer arts festival presented in a deconsecrated 16th century chapel on the grounds of Sydmonton Court, Andrew Lloyd Webber's Hampshire estate...

Geography

Watership Down

Watership Down, Hampshire

Watership Down is a hill, or down, at Ecchinswell in the civil parish of Ecchinswell, Sydmonton and Bishops Green in the English county of Hampshire. It rises fairly steeply on its northern flank , but to the south the slope is much gentler . .The Down is best known as the setting for Richard...

, location of the famous Richard Adams

Richard Adams

Richard Adams was a non-conforming English Presbyterian divine, known as author of sermons and other theological writings.-Life:...

' novel of the same name

Watership Down

Watership Down is a classic heroic fantasy novel, written by English author Richard Adams, about a small group of rabbits. Although the animals in the story live in their natural environment, they are anthropomorphised, possessing their own culture, language , proverbs, poetry, and mythology...

, is just South of Ecchinswell. Ladle Hill

Ladle Hill

Ladle Hill lies on Great Litchfield Down, near the village of Burghclere and Watership Down, in north Hampshire. It is immediately to the East of Beacon Hill. Part of the hill is a biological SSSI, number 1000642, first notified in 1978. It is 232 metres high and has a hill forts and Tumulus...

on Great Litchfield Down, also lies to the south. Part of the hill is a 10.37 hectares (25.6 acre) biological SSSI, first notified in 1978. The hill has a partially completed Iron Age

Iron Age

The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...

hill fort

Hill fort

A hill fort is a type of earthworks used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Some were used in the post-Roman period...

on its summit, and the surrounding area is rich in Iron age tumuli, enclosures, lynchets and field systems. Ladle hill and Watership down are easily accessed from the Wayfarer's Walk cross county footpath that passes through the parish.

Geography

See also