Place:Southwick, Hampshire, England

source: Family History Library Catalog

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

Southwick is a village which, since 1932 has shared a civil parish council with the deserted village of Widley in Hampshire, England. It is located 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the Portsmouth bridge measured from the Portsea Island side, and is occupied entirely by tenants in the style of the Middle Ages, where the entirety is wholly owned by the Southwick Estate. The only residence in the parish in private hands is a house named Church Lodge.

Southwick was initially the site of Southwick Priory, formed in the 12th century. On the Dissolution of the Monasteries (1535-1540) during the Reformation the estate, including the village, was granted to John White. In 1813 a new manor house, Southwick House, was completed. This house was gutted by fire in 1838, but was renovated by 1841. The house and part of the estate was requisitioned by the government during World War II and has been used by various parts of the armed forces, including as HMS Dryad, ever since.

Southwick is rare in that the village is still entirely owned by the Southwick Estate (except for Church Lodge). The most obvious sign of this is that all the houses, except manor houses, have dark red-painted front doors - a condition laid down in the tenancy agreements. The only exceptions to this are the White House, the residence of the vicar, and Church Lodge. The church itself is Grade I listed early medieval, known as St James, but officially "St James without (i.e. outside) the priory gate".

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Southwick was an ancient parish in Portsdown Hundred. It became a civil parish in Fareham Rural District in 1894. In 1932 it absorbed part of the village of Widley and was renamed Southwick and Widley Civil Parish. In 1974 it was transferred to the newly-formed non-metropolitan District of Winchester (also know as the City of Winchester).

Widley

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

Widley is an area of the Greater Portsmouth conurbation in the southeast of England near Waterlooville and Purbrook. It is on the dip slope of the South Downs just north of the ridge called Portsdown Hill.

The original village of Widley stood approximately 1 mile to the west of the current centre, around the site of the present Widley Farm. The settlement moved to be sited on the then newly built Cosham to Horndean turnpike road at the time of the building of the Portsdown forts (circa 1860) adjacent to Portsdown Hill. The local Christ Church was built as a place of worship for soldiers based in the forts. Remains of the village's former chapel can be found close to Widley Farm; members of the family of Charles Dickens are buried in the graveyard.

Politically, the majority of Widley is part of Purbrook Ward of Havant Borough Council. However, a small strip to the south is part of the City of Portsmouth unitary authority and the most western parts (including Widley Farm) are in the Southwick and Widley parish of Winchester City Council.

Research Tips

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