Otterbourne
Encyclopedia
Otterbourne is a village in Hampshire
, England
. It is located approximately four miles (6 km) south of Winchester
and eight miles (13 km) north of Southampton
. In October 2002, its population was approximately 1,520, and there were 602 dwellings.
There are three public house
s in the village: the White Horse Inn, the Otter, and the Old Forge. There is also a school, a post office
and village shop. Before the 21st century, the post office and village shop were located opposite Cranbourne Drive at the bottom of Otterbourne Hill. However, at the end of the 1990s, the car garage at the centre of the village was rebuilt to include a petrol station and convenience store. Shortly after the opening of the convenience store, the village shop closed; the store then expanded to include a post office, taking over all previous functions of the old village shop. Until late 2007 the convenience store was running under a SPAR
franchise. It has now been taken over and is owned by Budgens
.
Famous people from Otterbourne include Chris Tremlett
who plays cricket
for England and Surrey
.
Otter Bourne, lies on the old Roman road between Venta Belgarum (Winchester
) and Clausentum (Southampton
). It appears in the Domesday Book
as Otrebourne. A picture of idyllic rural life, it attracted luminaries as their lights slowly dimmed . The physicist Sir Isaac Newton
lodged at Cranbury House
in his twilight years, and John Keble
, a leader of the Oxford Movement
, settled down as vicar of the parish church, St Matthew's, around 1838.
At that time, Otterbourne's illustrious novelist Charlotte Mary Yonge
(1823–1901) was 15 years old; her writings were deeply influenced by Keble's sermons. In her day, she was a major celebrity, publishing more than a hundred novels.
Already by 1840, however, the London
to Southampton
railway opened (later the South Western Main Line
), passing by the village. Within half a century, old Otterbourne had been abandoned, and the village moved half a mile east to its present location.
Charlotte Yonge grew up in Elderfield House, now a Residential Training Centre for former offenders run by the Langley House Trust, a registered charity. On August 17, 2005, resident Anthony Rice murdered Naomi Bryant at her home in Winchester, prompting an independent review (pdf) of his case by HM Inspectorate of Probation.
Otterbourne is home to the Hampshire headquarters
of Southern Water
. The 1980s office building (part of which is leased to the Audit Commission
) is situated on the site of a large water supply works, which takes water from the River Itchen
and a number of borehole
s. Otterbourne water supply works feeds a covered reservoir in the village, which in turn supplies most of the eastern side of Southampton.
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...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is located approximately four miles (6 km) south of Winchester
Winchester
Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...
and eight miles (13 km) north of Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
. In October 2002, its population was approximately 1,520, and there were 602 dwellings.
There are three public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
s in the village: the White Horse Inn, the Otter, and the Old Forge. There is also a school, a post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
and village shop. Before the 21st century, the post office and village shop were located opposite Cranbourne Drive at the bottom of Otterbourne Hill. However, at the end of the 1990s, the car garage at the centre of the village was rebuilt to include a petrol station and convenience store. Shortly after the opening of the convenience store, the village shop closed; the store then expanded to include a post office, taking over all previous functions of the old village shop. Until late 2007 the convenience store was running under a SPAR
SPAR
Spar , trades from approximately 12400 stores in 34 countries worldwide and is the world's largest independent voluntary retail trading chain. Spar was founded in the Netherlands in 1932 by retailer Adriaan Van Well and now, through its affiliate organisations, operates through most European...
franchise. It has now been taken over and is owned by Budgens
Budgens
Budgens Stores Ltd is a chain of foodstores in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1872 by John Budgen, who opened the first store at Maidenhead, Berkshire. Budgens supermarket chain operates over 227 stores and employs over 6,000 staff...
.
Famous people from Otterbourne include Chris Tremlett
Chris Tremlett
Christopher Timothy "Chris" Tremlett is an English cricketer who plays for Surrey County Cricket Club. He is 6 ft 8 in tall and is a fast bowler able to extract bounce on most surfaces. He is a competent number 8 or 9 batsman, with seven first-class fifties to his name...
who plays cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
for England and Surrey
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
.
History
The village of Otterbourne, on the streamStream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...
Otter Bourne, lies on the old Roman road between Venta Belgarum (Winchester
Winchester
Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...
) and Clausentum (Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
). It appears in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
as Otrebourne. A picture of idyllic rural life, it attracted luminaries as their lights slowly dimmed . The physicist Sir Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian, who has been "considered by many to be the greatest and most influential scientist who ever lived."...
lodged at Cranbury House
Cranbury Park
Cranbury Park is a stately home and country estate situated in the parish of Hursley, near Winchester, England. It was formerly the home to Sir Isaac Newton and later to the Chamberlayne family, whose descendants now own and occupy the house and surrounding park and farmland...
in his twilight years, and John Keble
John Keble
John Keble was an English churchman and poet, one of the leaders of the Oxford Movement, and gave his name to Keble College, Oxford.-Early life:...
, a leader of the Oxford Movement
Oxford Movement
The Oxford Movement was a movement of High Church Anglicans, eventually developing into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose members were often associated with the University of Oxford, argued for the reinstatement of lost Christian traditions of faith and their inclusion into Anglican liturgy...
, settled down as vicar of the parish church, St Matthew's, around 1838.
Charlotte Mary Yonge
Charlotte Mary Yonge , was an English novelist, known for her huge output, now mostly out of print.- Life :Charlotte Mary Yonge was born in Otterbourne, Hampshire, England, on 11 August 1823 to William Yonge and Fanny Yonge, née Bargus. She was educated at home by her father, studying Latin, Greek,...
(1823–1901) was 15 years old; her writings were deeply influenced by Keble's sermons. In her day, she was a major celebrity, publishing more than a hundred novels.
Already by 1840, however, the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
railway opened (later the South Western Main Line
South Western Main Line
The South Western Main Line is a railway line between London Waterloo and Weymouth on the Dorset coast, in the south of England. It is a major railway which serves many important commuter areas, as well as the major settlements of Southampton and Bournemouth...
), passing by the village. Within half a century, old Otterbourne had been abandoned, and the village moved half a mile east to its present location.
Charlotte Yonge grew up in Elderfield House, now a Residential Training Centre for former offenders run by the Langley House Trust, a registered charity. On August 17, 2005, resident Anthony Rice murdered Naomi Bryant at her home in Winchester, prompting an independent review (pdf) of his case by HM Inspectorate of Probation.
Waterworks
Headquarters
Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...
of Southern Water
Southern Water
Southern Water is the utility responsible for wastewater collection and treatment in Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, West Sussex, East Sussex and Kent, and for water supply and distribution in the approximately half of this area...
. The 1980s office building (part of which is leased to the Audit Commission
Audit Commission
The Audit Commission is a public corporation in the United Kingdom.The Commission’s primary objective is to improve economy, efficiency and effectiveness in local government, housing and the health service, directly through the audit and inspection process and also through value for money...
) is situated on the site of a large water supply works, which takes water from the River Itchen
River Itchen, Hampshire
The River Itchen is a river in Hampshire, England. It flows from mid-Hampshire to join with Southampton Water below the Itchen Bridge in the city of Southampton. The river has a total length of , and is noted as one of England's - if not one of the World's - premier chalk streams for fly fishing,...
and a number of borehole
Borehole
A borehole is the generalized term for any narrow shaft bored in the ground, either vertically or horizontally. A borehole may be constructed for many different purposes, including the extraction of water or other liquid or gases , as part of a geotechnical investigation, environmental site...
s. Otterbourne water supply works feeds a covered reservoir in the village, which in turn supplies most of the eastern side of Southampton.
External links
- Otterbourne Parish Council
- Hampshire County Council's Otterbourne page
- Otterbourne Village Hall Website
- John Keble 's Parishes John KebleJohn KebleJohn Keble was an English churchman and poet, one of the leaders of the Oxford Movement, and gave his name to Keble College, Oxford.-Early life:...
's Parishes – A History of HursleyHursleyHursley is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England with a population of around 800 in 2005. It is located roughly mid-way between Romsey and Winchester on the A3090...
and Otterbourne. (1898) Edited by Charlotte M. Yonge