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!
Micheldever Village History cont'd
School 1900s
After the railway arch the lane from Weston Colley continues to Northbrook past an old Methodist chapel. Today, Micheldever village embraces both the settlements of Northbrook and Southbrook on either side of the River Dever.
There also used to be a smithy next to The Crease and, in the 19th century, the village boasted many other shops and craftsmen including (according to White’s Directory of 1859) a post office, wood dealer, blacksmith, butcher, saddler, tailor, shoemaker, and several carpenters and farmers. The village used to have a flourishing basket and mat-making industry – the sedge was cut in the river, allowed to dry in an open shed for three weeks, then plaited and the plaits sewn together.
The Northbrook Hall today is home to various local organisations, the Dever Valley History Society, the Micheldever Wine Circle, the Micheldever Variety Group and a Luncheon Club. The village is fortunate to have a recreation ground presented to the village by Lord and Lady Rank while they lived at Sutton Scotney. Outside the Hall is a war memorial commemorating those villagers who gave their lives in the two World Wars.
Duke Street leads eastwards from the village into a long straight stretch of road across all that remains of Cowdown Common. The road is flanked by beech trees which were planted by pupils from Micheldever School to commemorate the new Millennium to replace an avenue of trees which was felled in the 1950s. A new business park with a number of industrial units has been developed at Cowdown Farm.
The history summary of the Parish, has been taken, with kind permission of Peter Clarke's family,
from Dever & Down: A History of the Villages in and Around the Dever Valley in Hampshire
by Peter Clarke
1900s
Avenue of beech trees
1900s