Elvetham

"ELVETHAM, a parish in the hundred of Odiham, county Hants, 3 miles N.W. of Winchfield, its post town, and 4 N.E. of Odiham. The Fleetpond station of the London and South-Western railway is about 2 miles S.E. of the village. The springs in this neighbourhood are highly chalybeate. A range of gently rising hills crosses the parish from; N. to S. On the flat summit of one of these is the village of Hartford Bridge. The soil in the higher ground is gravelly, and in the valley a rich loam, alternating with sand and peat. The living is a rectory* in the diocese of Winchester, value £235. The church is an ancient structure. The parochial charities produce about £60 per annum, £27 of which is the school endowment. Elvetham Hall is the seat of Lord Calthorpe, who is lord of the manor. It formerly belonged to the Marquis of Hertford, who, in 1591, entertained Queen Elizabeth hers for four days. The tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge. "

[From The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) - transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]