Wickham
Encyclopedia
Wickham, formerly spelled Wykeham, is a small historic village
and civil parish in Hampshire
, southern England, located about three miles north of Fareham
. It is within the City of Winchester
local government district, although it is considerably closer to Fareham than to Winchester
. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 4,816.
The centre of Wickham is focused on its wide and well-proportioned square, which is lined with historic buildings and is designated a conservation area
.
It was the fording place of the River Meon
on the Roman road
between Noviomagus Regnorum (Chichester
) and Venta Belgarum (Winchester
), and the inferred divergent point of the route to Clausentum (Bitterne
). The Roman road from Wickham to Chichester is still followed today by local roads, passing behind Portsdown Hill to the north of Portsmouth Harbour and then onwards via Havant
. In contrast, the route to Winchester is mostly likely lost through neglect in the Dark Ages, before present field patterns emerged.
There have been a reasonable number of sites identified nearby associated with Romano-British industry. These have mainly been pottery kilns focused around the limit of navigation of the River Hamble
, near Botley
. It is also here that a ford on the Clausentum road has been identified.
Wickham has occasionally been hypothesised as an alternative to Nursling
(on the River Test
) or Neatham
(near Alton
) for the Roman station Onna listed in the Antonine Itinerary
. However, no definite location for Onna has been determined.
It was the birthplace of William of Wykeham
, founder of Winchester College
and New College, Oxford
.
The Admiralty Shutter Telegraph Line had a station at Wickham.
The village was an intermediate station
on the Meon Valley Railway
, a late Victorian route, until the line closed in 1955. At one time this railway was conceived as a direct route from London
to the Isle of Wight
. The closed line is now established as a cycle path and bridleway along the valley of the River Meon.
The village has a community centre which is home to many activities, including the Home-Start Meon Valley Charity.
A traditional gypsy horse fair is held annually, every May 20 (or another day if a Sunday), and is a picturesque if controversial scene in the village Square.
The first Wickham Festival was held from 3–6 August 2006 in the Community Centre and environs. Artists performing included Daby Blade from Senegal, Spiers and Boden
, Los Pacaminos
, Richard Thompson, Shooglenifty
, Sparks
, Oysterband
, Fiddlers' Bid
, Osibisa
, Flook, Steeleye Span
and The Larry Love Showband
Conor Wickham.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
and civil parish 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...
, southern England, located about three miles north of Fareham
Fareham
The market town of Fareham lies in the south east of Hampshire, England, between the cities of Southampton and Portsmouth, roughly in the centre of the South Hampshire conurbation.It gives its name to the borough comprising the town and the surrounding area...
. It is within the City of Winchester
City of Winchester
Winchester is a local government district in Hampshire, England, with city status. It covers an area of central Hampshire including the city of Winchester itself, and neighbouring towns and villages including New Alresford, Colden Common and Bishops Waltham....
local government district, although it is considerably closer to Fareham than to 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...
. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 4,816.
The centre of Wickham is focused on its wide and well-proportioned square, which is lined with historic buildings and is designated a conservation area
Conservation Area (United Kingdom)
In the United Kingdom, the term Conservation Area nearly always applies to an area considered worthy of preservation or enhancement because of its special architectural or historic interest, "the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance," as required by the Planning ...
.
It was the fording place of the River Meon
River Meon
The River Meon is a river that flows through an area of Hampshire in southern England known as the Meon Valley, it flows generally southwards from the South Downs to the Solent. For most of its route it is a chalk stream, with a length of 21 miles .The River Meon rises approximately...
on the Roman road
Roman road
The Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...
between Noviomagus Regnorum (Chichester
Chichester
Chichester is a cathedral city in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, South-East England. It has a long history as a settlement; its Roman past and its subsequent importance in Anglo-Saxon times are only its beginnings...
) and 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 the inferred divergent point of the route to Clausentum (Bitterne
Bitterne
Bitterne is an eastern suburb and Electoral Ward of Southampton, England.Bitterne derives its name not from the similarly named bird, the Bittern but from the bend in the River Itchen; the Old English words byht and ærn together mean "house near a bend", most likely a reference to Bitterne Manor...
). The Roman road from Wickham to Chichester is still followed today by local roads, passing behind Portsdown Hill to the north of Portsmouth Harbour and then onwards via Havant
Havant
Havant is a town in south east Hampshire on the South coast of England, between Portsmouth and Chichester. It gives its name to the borough comprising the town and the surrounding area. The town has rapidly grown since the end of the Second World War.It has good railway connections to London,...
. In contrast, the route to Winchester is mostly likely lost through neglect in the Dark Ages, before present field patterns emerged.
There have been a reasonable number of sites identified nearby associated with Romano-British industry. These have mainly been pottery kilns focused around the limit of navigation of the River Hamble
River Hamble
The River Hamble is a river in Hampshire, England. It rises near Bishop's Waltham and flows for some 7.5 miles through Botley, Bursledon and Swanwick before entering Southampton Water near Hamble-le-Rice and Warsash....
, near Botley
Botley, Hampshire
Botley is a historic village in Hampshire, England that obtained a charter for a market from Henry III in 1267. The area has been settled since at least the 10th century....
. It is also here that a ford on the Clausentum road has been identified.
Wickham has occasionally been hypothesised as an alternative to Nursling
Nursling
Nursling is a village in Hampshire, England, situated about 6 kilometres north-west of the city of Southampton. Formerly called Nhutscelle , then Nutshalling until the mid-19th century, it has now been absorbed into the suburbs of Southampton, although it is not officially part of the city...
(on the River Test
River Test
The River Test is a river in Hampshire, England. The river has a total length of 40 miles and it flows through downland from its source near Ashe, 10 km to the west of Basingstoke , to the sea at the head of Southampton Water...
) or Neatham
Neatham
Neatham is a Roman hamlet in the civil parish of Holybourne in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. Its nearest town is Alton, which lies south-west from the hamlet.- Roman period – Vindomis :...
(near Alton
Alton, Hampshire
Alton is a historic market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of the English county of Hampshire. It had a population of 16,584 at the 1991 census and is administered by East Hampshire district council. It is located on the source of the River Wey and is the highest town in...
) for the Roman station Onna listed in the Antonine Itinerary
Antonine Itinerary
The Antonine Itinerary is a register of the stations and distances along the various roads of the Roman empire, containing directions how to get from one Roman settlement to another...
. However, no definite location for Onna has been determined.
It was the birthplace of William of Wykeham
William of Wykeham
William of Wykeham was Bishop of Winchester, Chancellor of England, founder of Winchester College, New College, Oxford, New College School, Oxford, and builder of a large part of Windsor Castle.-Life:...
, founder of Winchester College
Winchester College
Winchester College is an independent school for boys in the British public school tradition, situated in Winchester, Hampshire, the former capital of England. It has existed in its present location for over 600 years and claims the longest unbroken history of any school in England...
and New College, Oxford
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.- Overview :The College's official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always...
.
The Admiralty Shutter Telegraph Line had a station at Wickham.
The village was an intermediate station
Wickham (Hants) railway station
Wickham railway station served the village of Wickham in Hampshire, England between 1903 and 1955.-History:The station was opened by the London and South Western Railway on 1 June 1903. It was on the Meon Valley line between and ; , between Wickham and Fareham, opened in 1907...
on the Meon Valley Railway
Meon Valley Railway
The Meon Valley Railway was a cross-country railway in Hampshire, England that ran for between Alton and Fareham, closely following the course of the River Meon. At its northern end, it joined with the Mid-Hants Railway to Winchester, the Alton Line to Brookwood and the Basingstoke and Alton...
, a late Victorian route, until the line closed in 1955. At one time this railway was conceived as a direct route from 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 the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
. The closed line is now established as a cycle path and bridleway along the valley of the River Meon.
The village has a community centre which is home to many activities, including the Home-Start Meon Valley Charity.
A traditional gypsy horse fair is held annually, every May 20 (or another day if a Sunday), and is a picturesque if controversial scene in the village Square.
The first Wickham Festival, 2006
Spiers and Boden
Spiers and Boden are an English folk duo. John Spiers plays melodeon and concertina, while Jon Boden sings and plays fiddle and guitar while stamping the rhythm on a stomp box.-Biography:...
, Los Pacaminos
Paul Young (singer and guitarist)
Paul Antony Young is an English pop musician. Formerly the frontman of the short-lived bands Kat Kool & The Kool Cats, Streetband and Q-Tips, his following solo success as a solo recording artist turned him into a 1980s teenage pop idol...
, Richard Thompson, Shooglenifty
Shooglenifty
Shooglenifty are an Edinburgh-based six-piece Celtic fusion band that tours internationally. The band blends Scottish traditional music with influences ranging from electronica to alternative rock...
, Sparks
Sparks (band)
Sparks is an American rock and pop band formed in Los Angeles in 1968 by brothers Ron and Russell Mael , initially under the name Halfnelson...
, Oysterband
Oysterband
Oysterband is a British electric folk or folk rock band formed in Canterbury in or around 1976.-Early history:...
, Fiddlers' Bid
Fiddlers' Bid
Fiddlers' Bid are a Shetland based instrumental group known for playing contemporary arrangements of traditional Shetland fiddle tunes. The seven piece line-up consists of four fiddles, acoustic guitar, bass guitar and piano/Clàrsach....
, Osibisa
Osibisa
Osibisa is a British Afro-pop band, founded in London in 1969 by four expatriate African and three Caribbean musicians. Osibisa were one of the first African bands to become widely popular, leading to claims of founding World Music.-History:...
, Flook, Steeleye Span
Steeleye Span
Steeleye Span are an English folk-rock band, formed in 1969 and remaining active today. Along with Fairport Convention they are amongst the best known acts of the British folk revival, and were among the most commercially successful, thanks to their hit singles "Gaudete" and "All Around My Hat"....
and The Larry Love Showband
Alabama 3
Alabama 3 are a British band mixing rock, dance, blues, country, and gospel styles, founded in Brixton, London, in 1995. In the United States, they are known as A3, allegedly to avoid any possible legal conflict with the country music band Alabama...
Conor Wickham.