The London and Southampton Railway was first proposed in 1831 and the bill approved by Parliament in 1834 at a cost of £900,000. The section between Basingstoke and Winchester opened on 11 May 1840 – and was the final part of the London and Southampton Railway to be completed. Prior to its construction, all of the traffic between London and Southampton was carried by eight stage coaches, four wagons per week, and one barge weekly on the Basingstoke Canal!
The London and Southampton Railway was first proposed in 1831 and the bill approved by Parliament in 1834 at a cost of £900,000. The section between Basingstoke and Winchester opened on 11 May 1840 – and was the final part of the London and Southampton Railway to be completed. Prior to its construction, all of the traffic between London and Southampton was carried by eight stage coaches, four wagons per week, and one barge weekly on the Basingstoke Canal!
The London and Southampton Railway was first proposed in 1831 and the bill approved by Parliament in 1834 at a cost of £900,000. The section between Basingstoke and Winchester opened on 11 May 1840 – and was the final part of the London and Southampton Railway to be completed. Prior to its construction, all of the traffic between London and Southampton was carried by eight stage coaches, four wagons per week, and one barge weekly on the Basingstoke Canal!
Census Records
1861
The 1861 census was held on the night of 7th / 8th April 1861.
Below is a summary of the census records. However, if you wish to view individual details, please click on the link to see the details of the census records in two different formats.
In the 1861 census, Micheldever is split into the three tythings of Southbrook, Northbrook and Weston. None of the houses are numbered and very few are named. Quite a few men working locally on the farms were lodgers. There were approximately 1040 inhabitants at the time. The predominant surnames were: Baverstock, Butler, Collis, Fifield, Grunsell, Hobbs, Knight, Miles, Tarrant, Whatmore.
The main occupations were agricultural labourer/farmworker/carter/general labourer, however, a number were also employed on the railway. Most women who worked were domestic servants.
Principle farms itemised are as follows:
Bradley Farm, farmed by Edward Studley, being 180 acres, employing 5 men and 2 boys. (sch 34) (See 1851 census)
New Down Farm, farmed by Edmund Robertson, being 1200 acres and employing 18 men and 10 boys.(sch 15) (see 1851 census)
Weston House Farm with 777 acres, farmed by Charles Cundill (see 1851 census)
There was a large farm in Southbrook, simply called Farmhouse (Borough Farm?), the farmer being Charles Pain (sch 5)who farmed 1155 acres, employing 20 men and 8 boys. (son of William Pain – see 1851 census).
There was another farmhouse (in West Stratton?), farmed by Thomas Courtney, of 850 acres with 14 men and 16 boys. (sch 63) (see 1851 census)
Charles Ball, who was a farmer and thatcher in 1851 is now a woodman (sch 83).
In Southbrook, there were four grocer's shops, run by Richard Collis (farmer in 1851) (sch 122) – Perry's Acre (see buildings history on village website), David Collis (sch 62) and Charles Criswick (sch 79) (are these the ones in Duck Street in 1881?) and one run by Peter Knight, which was also a Draper’s shop (in Church Street in 1881?) (sch 1). There was also a Butcher's shop (in Church Street in 1881?), run by William Gale (sch 149) (Barn Cottage). Southbrook had two other business premises, a Blacksmith, Stephen Dicker (sch 123), and a Shoemaker, Henry Collis (sch 138) (in Duck Street in 1881?), who employed 3 men and one boy.
There was a Grocer’s shop in Northbrook Tything run by Charles Piper. (sch 42)
In Southbrook Tything, the vicar was still Thomas Clark, born in Ireland, and he lived in the Vicarage, with his wife, 4 daughters and 4 servants. (sch 99). There is a memorial to him, his three wives and three of his children who died young, in St Mary's Church Micheldever on the Northern flank. His grave is located to the left of the altar. (The Vicarage was located in what is now known as The Old Bakehouse).
The school was run by Charlotte Stricland (schoolmistress) and Alfred Parker (schoolmaster), who lived on the premises (sch 177-8) (Micheldever Cottage).
There was one public house unnamed whose publican was now Frederick Ward. (sch 109)
The matron of the Alms Houses was Sarah Tull and there were 28 residents. John Day the father was still in charge there. (sch 154-176) (see 1851 census)
There was a police constable, Henry Simpkins, aged 36. (sch 128)
Other notable buildings in Northbrook Tything were the Western Hotel run by Maria Fay (Fry)and her daughter Caroline (sch 33); Western House (John Wolf is the head - see 1851 census) (sch 32); Warren House, owned by Charles Cooper, a farmer (sch 28); Northbrook House, owned by William Longstaff, living there with his 2 daughters and 5 servants. (sch 4)
In Southbrook Tything there was the Manor House (sch 2), where the head was Elizabeth Pain, widow of Henry Pain (see 1851 census). She was living there with her 3 daughters, 1 son, a groom, a cook and a housemaid (sch 2)
In St Mary's Church there is a tablet in remembrance of Eliza Hamilton, wife of a Major J J Hamilton of the Bengal Staff Corps and Mysore Commission who died in Bangalore, India in 1862. It states that she lived most of her life in this parish, that she laboured in her work of love amongst those around her and that she was the second daughter of Ann Batt (sch 121). As she was living in Micheldever in 1861 and died in India in 1862, she did not survive long in the climate there.
Thanks to Tricia Patston and Colin Filmer for creating these census records.