About the Parish
Description of Wonston Parish
The Parish of Wonston lies 5 miles north of the centre of Winchester and consists of the villages of Sutton Scotney, Wonston, Hunton, Stoke Charity and Norton. Although historically designated as Wonston Parish, some two thirds of the Parish population live in its next-door neighbour village of Sutton Scotney.
The Parish covers an area of 5,493 acres, of which 8 are covered by water. The River Dever runs through the villages of Stoke Charity, Hunton, Wonston, Sutton Scotney and Norton. The greater part of the land is included in the northern slope of the high ridge of downland which rises north-west of Winchester and slopes down towards the north to the tributary of the Test as it runs a generally north-western course through the centre of Wonston Parish. The Parish boundaries from east to west narrow near the river, which is where the village of Wonston is situated, west of which is the larger and more significant village of Sutton Scotney.
Sutton Scotney. This is an old village, extended in modern times, at the point where the old Winchester to Oxford and London to Salisbury roads met. Not only has the village been bypassed by the A34 but the railway which ran from Didcot to Winchester has long since been closed. One of the main features of the village is Sutton Manor, home for elderly people, also Naomi House and Jack’s Place, a hospice for children and young adults. Other significant features of the village are the Victoria Diamond Jubilee Institute, opened in 1897, the Dever Stores, the Spar Convenience Store inside the Texaco Filling Station (also home to our Post Office) the Coach and Horses Inn, and the Gratton recreation ground which was purchased from the Rank Foundation in 2013 and is leased to the Gratton Trust.
North of Sutton Scotney are Cranborne and Norton Farms, the centres of the original manors of Cranborne and Norton, the lands of which stretch away in a long narrow piece of land of about two miles of open field and downland to a dark clump of woodland which covers the north-east corner of the Parish. This joins the south-eastern edge of the Freefolk Woods as they run west and form the northern boundary of the Parish.
Two roads from Winchester lead to Wonston; one the road through the Worthies and Stoke Charity which approaches Wonston from the east; the other, the Roman road to Andover, which runs north-west from the city then close past the west end of South Wonston up to Sutton Scotney. Leaving Sutton Scotney at the south end of the village and turning east, the road leads to the village of Wonston.
Wonston. There used to be a set of stocks on ‘The Green’ but the village still has many old buildings, including The Old House - the former rectory to the church - which is mediaeval and the oldest parts date back to the late Fourteenth Century. There are also thatched cottages of 16th, 17th, 18th and 19thCentury origin. Holy Trinity, a typical mediaeval church, has had a chequered history, having been twice ravaged by fire, first in 1714 and again in 1908. Another building of historical interest, but no longer in being, was a factory built by Vickers in the Second World War for assembling and storing aircraft parts. The Wonston Arms public house continues to provide a key amenity for the local community. Continuing east from Wonston, the road leads to the village of Stoke Charity.
Stoke Charity. The most notable feature of this village is the Norman church of St Mary and St Michael, included in Simon Jenkins’ book of ‘1,000 Best English Churches’, and also described by John Betjeman as ‘gem-like’. Besides cottages dating back to the 16th and 17th Centuries, the principal building is the 16th Century Michaelmas House, which was probably originally the Manor Farm. Close by is the River Dever with a lake, formerly watercress beds and, before that, the manor’s fishponds. Leaving the lake to the right, the road bends round to the left past active watercress beds and into Hunton. This hamlet is dominated by Hunton Manor, built in the 18th Century, below which is a cluster of pretty thatched cottages. There is also the tiny church of St James, nestling in a meadow alongside the River Dever and first referred to in 1291.
For the remaining part of the Parish, if one sets off from the north end of Sutton Scotney over the road bridge across the River Dever, this area is called Egypt, probably because it was frequented by gypsy travellers. Continuing in a north-easterly direction for about three-quarters of a mile, the road comes to Cranbourne and a little further up the road is the entrance to Norton Park Hotel.
Norton. The principal building in this hamlet is the Manor House, mainly of early 18th Century origin, which was in private ownership by families such as Bond (of Basildon Bond stationery) and Tate (of Tate and Lyle) until 1999 when it was converted into a country house hotel.
The soil of the whole Parish is loam with a subsoil of chalk, and the chief crops grown on the 3,964¾ acres of arable land are wheat, barley, oats, and turnips. Although the Parish is generally speaking well wooded, there is very little woodland, only 148½ acres, and that mostly in the north-east corner, while 1,003½ acres are given up to pasture land. Farming is therefore a prime activity throughout Wonston Parish. However, it is worth adding that there are a large number of businesses currently trading in Sutton Scotney alone, despite the Parish being essentially rural.