Place:South Stoneham, Hampshire, England

source: Family History Library Catalog

source: Family History Library Catalog

A Vision of Britain through Time provides the following description of South Stoneham from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72:

"STONEHAM (South), a parish, a [registration] sub-district, and a [registration] district, in Hants. The parish lies on the river Itchin and the Southwestern railway, around Portswood [railway] station; contains an ancient village of its own name, and the post-offices of Portswood and Bittern, under Southampton; is partly within Southampton borough; comprises five tythings; and is cut ecclesiastically into the sections of South Stoneham, Westend St. James, Portswood-Christchurch, Portswood-St. Dennis, and Bittern. Acres: 8,877. Real property: £33,225. Population in 1851: 4,961; in 1861: 7,761. Houses: 1,528. The property is much subdivided. The head living is a vicarage in the diocese of Winchester. Value: £500. Patron: the Rector of Southampton-St. Mary. The church is good. The other livings are separately noticed.

"The sub-district contains also Botley parish, and comprises 10,764 acres. Population: 8,621. Houses: 1,709.

"The district comprehends also Millbrook and St. Mary-Extra sub-districts, and comprises 30,715 acres. Poor rates in 1863: £9,173. Pop. in 1851: 15,974; in 1861: 25,542. Houses: 4,989. Marriages in 1863: 180; births: 976 (of which 30 were illegitimate); deaths: 468 (of which 148 were at ages under 5 years, and 10 at ages above 85). Marriages in the ten years 1851-60: 1,187; births: 6,353; deaths: 3,529. The places of worship, in 1851: 14 of the Church of England, with 5,773 sittings; 6 of Independents, with 693 [sittings]; 2 of Baptists, with 170 [sittings]; 3 of Wesleyans, with 644 [sittings]; 2 of Bible Christians, with 12 [sittings]; and 1 of Latter Day Saints, with 18 [sittings]. The schools were 17 public day-schools, with 1,635 scholars; 35 private day schools, with 587 [scholars]; 24 Sunday schools, with 1,882 [scholars]; and 1 evening school for adults, with 15 [scholars]. The workhouse is in Shamblehurst tything."

History

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

The original parish of South Stoneham covered over 8,000 acres (32.37 km2; 12.50 sq mi) and extended along the eastern side of the River Itchen from the site of the present day Eastleigh in the north to just above Northam Bridge in the south, and from Swaythling to the outskirts of the original town of Southampton on the western side of the river, and, prior to boundary changes in 1891-94, comprised the eight tithings of Allington, Barton, Bitterne, Boyatt, Eastleigh, Pollack, Portswood, and Shamblehurst. Other than the parish church of St Mary and a few adjacent houses, there was no village of "South Stoneham".

By the 16th century, South Stoneham was described as "an appropriation of St. Mary's Church, Southampton" and both churches were in the gift and under the special jurisdiction of the Bishop of Winchester. The living at South Stoneham then became the gift of the rector of St. Mary's, Southampton, who held the right of presentation until the early 20th century.

In 1851 the parish had a population of 4961.

As a result of the expansion of Southampton, the Local Government Act 1894 caused much of the parish of South Stoneham to be incorporated into newly formed neighbouring civil parishes, with the remaining parish covering 1,296 acres (5.24 km2; 2.03 sq mi). However the parish was still extensive, taking in the areas of Bevois Valley, Portswood, Mansbridge and what is now Bitterne Park as well as part of the village of Swaythling (the northern part of the village was in the North Stoneham parish). It also included Allington (now within Westend) and Shamblehurst (now in Hedge End).

end of Wikipedia contribution

A Summary

South Stoneham was an ancient parish in the Mainsbridge Hundred and a civil parish. It was reduced in size in 1894 when the parishes of Eastleigh, Bittern, Westend and Portswood were created and Botley was expanded. Chandlers Ford was created from Stoneham in 1897. In 1920 the remainder of South Stoneham parish was abolished and the area divided between the parishes Southampton St. Nicholas and Westend. (Source: A Vision of Britain through Time

Research Tips

• Victoria County History of Hampshire, volume 3, chapter on South Stoneham.
• 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