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!
“A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world.”
quotation Louis Pasteur
NORSEBURY & WESTON COLLEY
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Walk the Area
To the north of Stoke Charity lies a pre-historic hill fort called Norsebury Ring. This site has nothing to do with Norsemen – the name has its origins in the Old English ‘ness’ meaning a prominent nose of land and ‘burh’ meaning a defensive feature.
A mile or so to the east lies Weston Colley in the lee of the railway embankment. The name indicates that it was a farmstead to the west of Micheldever. No-one quite knows what Colley signifies. Perhaps it comes from the Old English ‘col-leah’ meaning a charcoal clearing in a wood.
