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Along Widley Walk, which is to the east of Fort Widley, is the
original and now deserted mediaeval site of the village of Widley.
The village consisted of a church, a manor house and quite a number of small cottages. All that remains of the village is the graveyard of the church, the rest of the village now being farm or woodland.
The church was first mentioned in 1154 AD, although it is understood to have been a place of worship since the
900s. The original church was extended in 1709, 1813 and 1824. Unfortunately the later extensions not only removed most of the oldest part of the structure and its architectural features, but also important structural elements of it, which resulted in its partial collapse in 1847. The church was partially demolished in 1849, and a new church built from the rubble which opened in
1850.
The second churches life was short however. The building of new churches in the area, and the land taken from the parish to create
the new parishes of Waterlooville, Purbrook, Portsdown and Cosham left Widley with very few parishioners.
It has also been stated that the old Widley Village was forcibly
moved east to its present location during the 1860s so as to
"deny the enemy any cover" during the construction of
the Palmerston Forts.
After 1907, the church was locked up. It suffered much vandalism after 1945 which resulted in the roof being removed in 1950. In January 1953 the church was bulldozed and the graveyard cleared. The area remained neglected until 1976 when local history enthusiasts tided the site and recorded some of the remaining gravestones.
Once more the site was neglected until 1989 since when endeavours have been made to keep it rubbish and weed free. The original foundations have been exposed and marked by a dry rubble wall.
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Aerial
photo site location Grid
Ref SU659074 |
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Behind
the wall lies the site of the old church and graveyard. In the
background is Mill Farm. |
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The
site of the church is now marked out by a dry rubble wall, which
appears to contain some interesting pieces. There are supposed to
be some underground features (crypt?) somewhere here. I took a lot
of the information presented above from the white notice behind
the wall. |
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At
the back of the graveyard are some of the surviving
tombstones. Charles
Dickens infant brother Alfred was buried here in 1814. |
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St
Mary Magdalene Church: built 1850 demolished 1953. This site has
had a church on it since 1154. |
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NEW
- 21-05-2004 A
1910 photo of the Church with its parishioners in their Sunday
best. |
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NEW
- 06-02-2005 The
church had a seating capacity of 214 with its traditional box
pews. There were possibly thousands of burials over the 700 of
years of church's lifetime including those of titled and wealthy
landowners. Source:
Peter Rogers |
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NEW - 02-11-2006 |
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I went to Wymering church yesterday to see the church where
one of my ancestors, Thomas Palmer, was vicar in 1737. He was vicar of
Wymering and Widley at that time. I asked the person who allowed me to
look around the church, where Widley church was and he told me that Widley
church was no longer there. That is why I was looking on the web to see if
I could find some information or pictures of it when I came across your
website.
I was born in Meonstoke, near Droxford but we moved to
Shedfield was I was about 6. My father worked for Cases Bakery in Wickham
and was a bakers roundsman. He used to deliver around Denmead, Lovedean,
Horndean, Hambledon and HMS Dryad and many other places near.
If it wasn't for you, the history of this area would be lost forever.
Keep up the good work!! Very well done!!
Helen Boyes - October 2006 |
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