Hurstbourne Tarrant

Summary

Hurstbourne Tarrant is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England.[2][3] It lies to the north of the county in the Test Valley.

Hurstbourne Tarrant
The George and Dragon
Hurstbourne Tarrant is located in Hampshire
Hurstbourne Tarrant
Hurstbourne Tarrant
Location within Hampshire
Population864 (2011 Census including Pill Heath)[1]
OS grid referenceSU3837253292
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townAndover
Postcode districtSP11
Dialling code01264
PoliceHampshire and Isle of Wight
FireHampshire and Isle of Wight
AmbulanceSouth Central
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Hampshire
51°16′39″N 1°27′05″W / 51.277490°N 1.451262°W / 51.277490; -1.451262

History edit

The Tarrant part of the name originates from 1226, when the village was given to the Cistercian Tarrant nunnery. The civil parish includes the village of Ibthorpe.[3]

During the Second World War, Hurstbourne Tarrant was the decoy site for RAF Andover, the headquarters of RAF Maintenance Command. This was one of four airfields in Hampshire to be given a decoy site in 1940, to deceive enemy aircraft into attacking a spurious target. The decoy site at Hurstbourne Tarrant was a type 'K' decoy site with fake aircraft and buildings. From September 1940, fake machine gun posts were added to Hurstbourne Tarrant.[4]

 
Uphusband near Andover by John Nixon (1755–1818), showing The George and Dragon, a coaching inn

William Cobbett declared Hurstbourne Tarrent and its location as worth going miles to see with beauty at every turn.[5] He referred to it in his book Rural Rides (1830; but serialised from 1822) as Uphusband.

Hurstbourne House edit

Hurstbourne House is a grade II listed late 17th-century country house at the edge of the village. It was renovated in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It is home to the Sharpe family. The original central range was built in two storeys, and has 19th-century three-storey cross-wings at each end. The walls are stucco rendered and the roof tiled. The frontage has three bays, the central one recessed.[6]

Notable residents edit

The American Victorian/Edwardian artist Anna Lea Merritt lived in the village before her death in 1930.[7]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  2. ^ Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 185 Winchester & Basingstoke (Andover & Romsey) (Map). Ordnance Survey. 2013. ISBN 9780319228845.
  3. ^ a b "Ordnance Survey Election Maps". www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk. Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  4. ^ Historic England. "Official UK National Monument Record webpage on Hurstbourne Tarrant decoy site (1465311)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  5. ^ The Kings England Hampshire and I.O.W., Arthur Mee., Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton (1950). ASIN:B000S3760G
  6. ^ "Hurstbourne House, Hurstbourne Tarrant". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  7. ^ "Anna Lea Merritt". nmwa.org. National Museum of Women in the Arts. Retrieved 12 January 2024.

External links edit

  Media related to Hurstbourne Tarrant at Wikimedia Commons