Place:Andover, Hampshire, England

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

source: Family History Library Catalog

source: Family History Library Catalog

the text in this section is a condensation of an article in Wikipedia

Andover is a town of many industries in the English county of Hampshire. The town is on the River Anton some 18 miles (29 km) west of the town of Basingstoke, 18 miles (29 km) northwest of the city of Winchester and 25 miles (40 km) north of the city of Southampton. In 2015 the town's population is estimated at 64,000.

Watermills have played an important part in Andover's history. The Domesday Book of 1086 provides the earliest record of watermills in Andover and identified six mills. Rooksbury Mill is one of the few surviving mill buildings in Andover. The existence of Rooksbury Mill is first recorded by name in the 17th century. Functioning as a flour mill, it has passed through a succession of owners. A large flour mill, operated by the wel-known British company of McDougalls, is still situated close to the railway station. There was also a large woolen industry. In 1809 Taskers Waterloo Ironworks opened at Anna Valley in Abbots Ann parish and flourished.

During the 18th century, being situated on the main Exeter – Salisbury – London road, Andover became a major stopping point on the stagecoach routes, more than 30 stagecoaches passing through the town each day. In 1789 a canal to Southampton was opened, though this was never a commercial success and closed in 1859.

Andover was linked to Basingstoke and thus to London by railway when the Andover junction station was opened on 3 July 1854; this railway also linking the town to Salisbury.

Administrative Expansion

Andover was made a municipal borough in 1883. In 1932 it absorbed part of the parish of Abbots Ann, and all of the sections of Knights Enham and Foxcott. In the nationwide reorganization of local administration that occurred in 1974, the town was made part of the Test Valley non-metropolitan district, along with the area covered by Andover Rural District.

Charlton

the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

Charlton is a small village and civil parish northwest of Andover. Due to the expansion of Andover in recent years the two settlements are now effectively contiguous. As of 2005, the village had a population of more than 2,000 people. A map of 1900 indicates that Charlton was located between Foxcott and Knights Enham.

Research Tips

• Victoria County History of Hampshire, volume 3, chapter on Andover with Foxcott.
• GENUKI has a list of archive holders in Hampshire including the Hampshire Record Office, various museums in Portsmouth and Southhampton, the Isle of Wight Record Office and Archives.
• The Hampshire Online Parish Clerk project has a large collection of transcriptions from Parish Registers across Hampshire.
• A listing of all the Registration Districts in England and Wales since their introduction in 1837 together with tables listing the parishes that were part of each district and the time period covered, along with detailed notes on changes of parish name, mergers, etc. Do respect the copyright on this material.
• The three-storey City Museum in Winchester covers the Iron Age and Roman periods, the Middle Ages, and the Victorian period.
• Volumes in The Victoria County History Series are available for Hampshire through British History Online. There are three volumes and the county is covered by parishes within the old divisions of "hundreds".

A collection of maps on the A Vision of Britain through Time website illustrating the English county of Hampshire over the period 1832-1932 (the last two are expandible):

• The Hundreds of Hampshire, a map from HMSO Boundary Commissioners, dated 1832
• Hampshire showing parishes in their Rural Districts as of 1900, a map from the Ordnance Survey
• Hampshire showing parishes in their Rural Districts after the alterations of 1932, a map from the Ordnance Survey

• A group of maps of the post-1974 municipal districts or boroughs of Hampshire on Wikipedia Commons