Alton, Hampshire
The River Wey has its source in the town, and the place-name
Alton comes from an Anglo-Saxon words
æwiell ("spring, stream, well, related to Old English
wella 'stream') and
tun 'farm' meaning "farmstead at the source of the river".
[Coates, Richard: 1989: Place Names of Hampshire: Batsford:: ISBN 0 7134 5625 6][.]The place-name was recorded as
Aweltone in 1279.
Battle against the Danes (1001)
In 1001 Danish forces invaded England, plundering, ravaging and burning, and spreading terror and devastation. When they reached Alton, the men of Hampshire came together and fought against them. About 81 English were killed, including Ethelwerd the King's high-steward, Leofric of Whitchurch, Leofwin the King's high-steward, Wulfhere a bishop's thane, and Godwin of Worthy, Bishop Elfsy's son. Danish casualties were higher, but the Danes won the battle and fleeing Englishmen took refuge in
Winchester.
[.][.]Domesday Book (1086)
Alton is listed as having the most valuable recorded market in the
Domesday Book under the name
Aoltone in the 'Odingeton Hundred - Hantescire'
[Domesday Book, 1086] The Treaty of Alton (1101)
:The
Treaty of Alton was an agreement signed in
1101 between
William the Conqueror's eldest son
Robert, Duke of Normandy and his brother
Henry I of England. Henry had seized the throne while his elder brother was away on the
first crusade. Robert returned to claim the throne, landing in
Portsmouth. The two brothers met in Alton and agreed terms which formed the Treaty of Alton. Part of the main street through Alton is called Normandy Street, probably reflecting this event.
Markets, Fairs and the Royal Charter (1307)
The first recorded Saturday market in Alton was in 1288. It was much bigger than the current weekly market and established Alton as a significant market town. Blome wrote in 1673 of a 'market on Saturdays, which is very great for provisions, where also are sold good store of living cattle'
[Blome's Hampshire, 1673]. The Saturday market is also featured on Kitchin's map of Hampshire (1751) which marks the town as
Alton Mt. Sat.[ (viewed on website: ) ]In 1307
King Edward II presented the town with a
Charter giving it the right to hold an annual
fair, mainly for cattle and toys.
Mediaeval fairs were like markets but they were held once a year and attracted buyers and sellers from a wide area. Alton still has an annual fair, but it now takes the form of a
fun fair.
Foundation of Eggar's School (1640)
Eggar's School was founded in 1640 by John Eggar of Moungomeries as the
Free Grammar School. It later became known as Eggar's Grammar School. It occupied a site in Anstey Road until it moved to a new site in
Holybourne in 1969.
The Battle of Alton (1643)
:A battle was fought in Alton during the
English Civil War. A small
Royalist force were quartered in the town when on
13 December 1643 they were surprised by a
Parliamentary army of around 5,000 men. The Royalist
cavalry fled, leaving Sir
Richard Bolle and his
infantry to fight. Outnumbered, the Royalists were forced in St Lawrence Church, where Bolle was killed along with many of his men. Over 700 Royalist soldiers were captured and bullet holes from the battle are still visible in the church today.
The Plague (1665)
In 1665 Alton suffered an outbreak of
bubonic plague, but soon recovered.
Fanny Adams (1867)
:The
Victorian era also left its mark when, on Saturday,
August 24th,
1867 a young eight-year old girl
Fanny Adams was murdered. Her assailant Frederick Baker, a local solicitors clerk, was one of the last criminals to be executed in Winchester, and one of the original public notices advertising his forthcoming execution hangs in the Crown Public House. Fanny Adams' grave can still be seen in Alton cemetery. The brutal murder, so the story goes, coincided with the introduction of tinned meat in the
Royal Navy, and the sailors who did not like the new food said the tins contained the remains of "Sweet Fanny Adams", hence the expression which for over a century has meant "sweet nothing".
More recent developments
Here are a few events in the past two hundred years:
* 1813 - new
Town Hall was built
* 1844 - Alton gained a gas supply
* 1852 - rail connection to
London* 1856 - the Curtis Museum was founded
* 1862 -
sewage works was built
* 1865 - rail connection to
Winchester* 1876 -
waterworks was built
* 1874 - All Saints Church was consecrated
* 1880 - the
Assembly Rooms were built
* 1908 - Lord Mayor Treloar Hospital was built
* 1927 - Alton gained electricity
* 1938 - Alton Convent School for Girls opened
* 1966 - St Mary's Roman Catholic Church was built
* 1972 - Alton by-pass was built
* 1972 - Alton Sports Centre opened
* 1974 - Alton Health Centre opened
* 1975 - Alton
Community Centre opened
* 1978 - Alton College opened
* 1992 - Alton gains its own local radio station, Wey Valley Radio (now
Delta FM)
* 2005 - Alton Maltings Centre, a renovated
Maltings building, opens.
Traditional industries in Alton
Brewing used to be one of Alton's main industries.
Hops and
barley were grown in the surrounding area and the barley would have been
malted in the town. The
maltings still stand in Lower Turk Street, though it is no longer used for that purpose. They belonged to Halls Brewery from 1841 and were still producing malt in 1949.
There have been a number of breweries in Alton since 1763. Today, Coors Brewers Ltd, Alton, produces
Carling,
Grolsch and Worthington.
The most prominent local independent brewers are the
Triple fff Brewing Company Ltd who own two Alton pubs, the Railway Arms and the Olde Leathern Bottle. They started producing real ale in 1997, and have won over 35 industry awards, including A Best Beer Gold Award at the
Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) beer festival.
Alton was also famous in the eighteenth century for the manufacture of paper
and of dress materials including ribbed
druggets,
shallons,
silks and
serges,
bombazine and figured
barragons
[.][Brookes, R: 1815 (16th edn): General Gazetteer, The: (London)].
A one-day event in mid-summer to celebrate local food and drink.
The Alton Food Festival is part of the Hampshire Food Festival, a county-wide mid-summer fortnight to celebrate and promote local produce.
*
Alton Food Festival 2006*
William de Alton, (approx 1330-1400)
Dominican Friar, writer and theological philosopher during
King Edward II's reign became famous for asserting that the
Virgin Mary was polluted with
original sin*
Edmund Spenser (1552-1599), the Elizabethan poet and contemporary of
William Shakespeare, lived in a well preserved
Tudor cottage at 1 Amery Street in about 1590. A plaque on the house states that he "lived some time in these parts".
*
John Pitts, biographical author, was born in Alton in 1560
*
William Curtis (1746 - 1799), botanist, was born in Alton and served his apprenticeship as an
apothecary before devoting the rest of his life to the study of British plants.
*
Jane Austen (1775 â€" 1817),
Georgian novelist, lived in
Chawton just outside Alton from 1809 until her death, and wrote or revised six novels here
*
Cardinal Newman (1801-1890), English Catholic, lived in Alton from 1816 to 1819.
*
Ian Bone (1947 - ) anarchist, studied at Eggar's school in Alton
Alton is home to
Treloar's, an independent educational establishment founded in
1907 by Sir William Purdie Treloar,
Lord Mayor of London, to provide education for young people with physical disabilities. Treloar's now runs
Treloar College, a college of
further education in
Holybourne, and
Treloar School in Upper Froyle about three miles away. Treloar's provides specialist facilities, therapy and medical care to enable pupils to achieve their academic potential and develop their confidence and independence. Former pupils include actress
Julie Fernandez, mouth and foot painting artist Tom Yendell, and actress and aspiring playwright Robyn Hunt.
The State
secondary schools in Alton are
Eggar's School (formerly the
Grammar School), and
Amery Hill School. There is also a private secondary school for girls,
Alton Convent School.
Sixth-form education is provided by
Alton College which has gained very good inspection reports from
Ofsted. Former students of Alton College include
Yvette Cooper (Member of Parliament),
Alison Goldfrapp (musician).
Alton has the following facilities:
Allen Gallery is Alton's art gallery and houses a large ceramics collection
The Palace Cinema is in Normandy Street and shows a regular programme of films[
1]
Holybourne Theatre is on the site of a former
Nissen hut that was converted into a theatre by German prisoners-of-war during
World War II. Plays have been performed there since 1950, but the official opening was not until 1971.[
2]
Alton Maltings Centre was built in around 1850 and was used as a
maltings until about 1970. It was renovated in 2004-5 and is now used by Harvest Church and is available for hire for events such as conferences, receptions, business meetings, etc[
3]
Alton Sports Centre is open to the public and includes a swimming pool, gym, indoor and outdoor courts, etc
Curtis Museum was founded in 1856 by Dr
William Curtis and houses one of the finest local history collections in Hampshire
Town Gardens, with
bandstand (built in 1935 for the
Silver Jubilee of
King George V), a children's playground, flower beds, trees and shrubs (4.5 acres)
Anstey Park, a large open space with playing fields and a small children's playground (32 acres)
King's Pond, with parking, a surfaced path all round, ducks and swans (11 acres)
The Butts, 2 acres of common land now used for visiting circuses and fairs, and used in medieval and Tudor times for the weekly archery practice which all men were legally required to do (see
archery butts)
Flood meadows, about 15 acres close to the source of the River Wey through which rivulets weave and public footpaths give access through the diverse plant and animal life
Tourist Information Centre in Cross and Pillory Lane (near Market Square in the centre of the town); guided walks of the town start from here and also from the railway station
Alton has a lively tradition of music, dance and drama groups including:
Alton Morris formed in 1979. They have been
Morris Dancing both in UK and abroad, and often perform at Alton street events.[
4]
Minden Rose Garland Dance team are a Ladies Morris Dance side formed in 1982. They perform displays of garland, stick and hankie dances.[
5]
Alton Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society was established in 1921 and performs two musical shows and one play each year in a wide variety of musical and dramatic styles.[
6]
Alton Community Choir sings unaccompanied Hampshire folk songs as well as some African,
gospel,
blues and
calypso musicHolybourne Dramatic club was formed in January 1948 and performs in Holybourne Theatre
*All Saints
Anglican Church, Queens Road
*Alton Abbey (1895) in nearby Beech is a
Benedictine monastery in the
Church of England[
7]
*Alton
Baptist Church
*Alton
Methodist Church, Drayman's Way[
8]
*Alton United Reformed Church, Normandy Street
*
Brethren's Meeting Room, Vicarage Hill
*Friends' Meeting House (
Quaker) (1672)
*Harvest Church, Alton Maltings Centre, Maltings Close [
9]
*Jubilee Church, Four Marks and Medstead [
10]
*Kingdom Hall, Holybourne (
Jehovah's Witnesses)
*St Lawrence's
Anglican Church (1070), Church Street[
11]
*St Mary
Catholic Church, Normandy Street
*The Butts Church, 56 Spenser Close [
12]
*The
Salvation Army, Amery Street
*Three Counties Church, Mount Pleasant Road
Alton station is located on the
National Rail network at the end of the
Alton Line with a regular service to
London Waterloo. Journey time is usually just over an hour, stopping at
Bentley,
Farnham,
Aldershot,
Ash Vale,
Brookwood and
Woking.
Alton railway station also serves as a terminal for the
Mid Hants Watercress Railway, a restored steam railway running between Alton and
New Alresford, so called because it used to be used to transport fresh
watercress to London.
The origins of the Watercress Line date back to 1861, the year in which
Parliament granted consent for what was then known as the
Alton, Alresford and Winchester Railway. Four years later the Mid Hants Railway opened, and the train service continued until the line was closed in 1967. Then in 1973 the line was partially re-opened, in 1983 it was extended further, and in 1985 it was re-opened as far as Alton to connect with the mainline London service
.
Alton is located at (51.1493, -0.9755)
1.
Grid reference: *
Alton Official Guide*
Alton*
Allen Gallery (Hampshire's outstanding collection of pottery)
*
The Jane Austen Museum*
Curtis Museum*
The Watercress Line*
The Alton Maltings Centre*
Holybourne Theatre*
The Palace Cinema*
Delta FM, Alton's local radio station
*
Land and properties managed by Alton Town Council*
East Hampshire District Council*
Alton Sports Centre*
Historical quotes and old maps*
Old Hampshire maps*
Information about Alton on The River Wey and Wey Navigations Community SiteEducational establishments:
*
Treloar's (School and College)*
Alton College*
Amery Hill School*
Alton Convent School*
Eggar's SchoolLocal Organisations:
*
Lions Club of Alton*
The Alton Society*
Alton Rotaract Club*
Links to 90 voluntary and community groups around Alton
