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Baughurst is a village and civil parish in the English county of Hampshire. It is located west of the town of Tadley, 6 miles (9.7 km) north of Basingstoke. In the 2001 UK census it had a population of 2,473, which had increased to 2,489 in the 2011 census. The village is known for its historical association with Tadley in the manufacture of besom brooms. [edit] History
A number of tumuli are in the parish, suggesting that a settlement may have been in the Baughurst area in the Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Roman times. Portway, the Roman road between London (Londinium) and Dorchester (Durnovaria) via nearby Silchester (Calleva Atrebatum), ran through the parish. The recorded history of Baughurst traces to Anglo Saxon Britain.[1] In 885, the area was given to the Bishop of Winchester, and became part of Hurstbourne Priors near Andover.[1] Baughurst was not mentioned in the Domesday Survey of 1086; it was probably still part of Hurstbourne Priors. During the late 13th century, a number of tithings within Baughurst were held by the Coudray family on behalf of Edward I.[1] In 1440, Baughurst became part of the Manor of Manydown near Basingstoke.[1] In the mid-16th century, Baughurst's tithings were bought by the Palmes family. Around the same time, the Dissolution of the Monasteries occurred and Aldermaston returned to Winchester Cathedral in 1541. It later swapped to Manydown once more, before being sold in 1649 and returned to Winchester in 1660.[2] After the Civil War, the area became one of the wealthiest Quaker centres in the south of England. After George Fox's visit to Basingstoke in 1657, a dissident – James Potter – was imprisoned for standing up in church and reading from a Quaker paper which conflicted with standard church beliefs.[1] After his release, Potter established a Friends meeting house in the village. After the Act of Toleration 1689, Baughurst became less valuable to the Quakers – many joined the Anglicans. The majority, however, began following the Methodist movement of John and Charles Wesley, who regularly visited Baughurst.[2] The Wesleys' friend, George Whitefield, lived in Baughurst around 1736.[1] In the late 18th century, Jane Austen (who lived in nearby Steventon) visited Baughurst Priory. She wrote about her visit in a letter to her sister Cassandra.[1] In 1847, Baughurst became part of the Duke of Wellington's Stratfield Saye estate. The subsequent dukes were the main land owners of Baughurst until 1943.[1] In 1942, land was cleared to build RAF Aldermaston. One of the RAF base's hangars, located at Baughurst Plantation, was used to assemble Spitfires.[1] Between 1943 and 1945, the plant produced approximately 500 photo-reconnaissance aircraft, including Mark IX and XIX.[3] It also produced some Mark IX and XIV fighter aircraft.[3] Over the next 30 years, the parish's population grew from 490 to 2,250. This because of the RAF base and, later, the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment.[1] [edit] ToponymyA number of explanations for the name "Baughurst" exist. "Hurst" was Old English for a thick wood[1] or wooded hill. "Baughurst" may either refer to the wood inhabited by a Saxon named Beagga, or by badgers; "wood of the badgers".[1] The latter is referred to in the name of one of the village's pubs, "The Badger's Wood". A number of alternative spellings of Baughurst have been recorded, including Bagganhyrst (11th century), Baggehurst (12th century), Bagehurst (15th century), Baugust (18th century), and Baghurst (19th century).[1] [edit] Research Tips
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