Alton

Statistics
Population:	16,584
Ordnance Survey
OS grid reference:	SU716394
Administration
District:	East Hampshire
Shire county:	Hampshire
Region:	South East England
Country:	England
Other
Ceremonial county:	Hampshire
Historic county:	Hampshire
Services
Police force:	Hampshire Constabulary
Post office and telephone
Post town:	GUILDFORD
Postal district:	GU34
Dialling code:	01420
Politics
UK Parliament:	East Hampshire
European Parliament:	South East England

Alton is a small market town in Hampshire, England, to the southwest of Farnham. It had a population of 16,584 at the 1991 census, and is administered by East Hampshire district council. It also is home to Treloar College, the National Specialist college for Young Disabled People.

Jane Austen lived at the nearby village of Chawton.

History

Origins

A Roman road ran from Chichester to Silchester and there is evidence of a Roman posting station at Neatham near Alton, probably called Vindomis, and a ford across the River Wey. Centuries later, a Saxon settlement was established in the area and a large seventh century cemetery has been discovered during building excavations. It contained a selection of grave goods which included the Alton Buckle which is on display in the Curtis Museum, and is considered to be the finest piece of Anglo Saxon craftsmanship found in Hampshire. The buckle was found in the grave of a warrior, and has a silver-gilt body, set with garnets and glass.^[1]

The River Wey has its source in the town, and the name Alton comes from an Anglo-Saxon word "aewielltun" meaning "farmstead at the source of the river".^[2][3]

Battle against the Danes (1001)

In 1001 Danish forces invaded England, plundering, ravaging and burning, and spreading terror and devastation. When they reached Alton, the men of Hampshire came together and fought against them. About 81 English were killed, including Ethelwerd the King's high-steward, Leofric of Whitchurch, Leofwin the King's high-steward, Wulfhere a bishop's thane, and Godwin of Worthy, Bishop Elfsy's son. Danish casualties were higher, but the Danes won the battle and fleeing Englishmen took refuge in Winchester.^[4][5]

Domesday Book (1086)

Alton is listed as having the most valuable recorded market in the Domesday Book under the name Aoltone in the 'Odingeton Hundred - Hantescire'^[1][6]

The Treaty of Alton (1101)

The Treaty of Alton was an agreement signed in 1101 between William the Conqueror's eldest son Robert, Duke of Normandy and his brother Henry I of England. Henry had seized the throne while his elder brother was away on the first crusade. Robert returned to claim the throne, landing in Portsmouth. The two brothers met in Alton and agreed terms which formed the Treaty of Alton. Part of the main street through Alton is called Normandy Street, probably reflecting this event.

Markets, Fairs and the Royal Charter (1307)

The first recorded Saturday market in Alton was in 1288. It was much bigger than the current weekly market and established Alton as a significant market town. Blome wrote in 1673 of a 'market on Saturdays, which is very great for provisions, where also are sold good store of living cattle'^[7]. The Saturday market is also featured on Kitchin's map of Hampshire (1751) which marks the town as Alton Mt. Sat.^[8]

In 1307 King Edward II presented the town with a Charter giving it the right to hold an annual fair, mainly for cattle and toys. Mediaeval fairs were like markets but they were held once a year and attracted buyers and sellers from a wide area. Alton still has an annual fair, but it now takes the form of a fun fair.^[3]

Foundation of Eggar's School (1640)

Eggar's School was founded in 1640 by John Eggar of Moungomeries as the Free Grammar School. It later became known as Eggar's Grammar School. It occupied a site in Anstey Road until it moved to a new site in Holybourne in 1969.^[9]

The Battle of Alton (1643)

A battle was fought in Alton during the English Civil War. A small Royalist force were quartered in the town when on 13 December 1643 they were surprised by a Parliamentary army of around 5,000 men. The Royalist cavalry fled, leaving Sir Richard Bolle and his infantry to fight. Outnumbered, the Royalists were forced in St Lawrence Church, where Bolle was killed along with many of his men. Over 700 Royalist soldiers were captured and bullet holes from the battle are still visible in the church today.

The Plague (1665)

In 1665 Alton suffered an outbreak of bubonic plague, but soon recovered.^[10]

Fanny Adams (1867)

The Victorian era also left its mark when, on Saturday, August 24th, 1867 a young eight-year old girl Fanny Adams was murdered. Her assailant Frederick Baker, a local solicitors clerk, was one of the last criminals to be executed in Winchester, and one of the original public notices advertising his forthcoming execution hangs in the Crown Public House. Fanny Adams' grave can still be seen in Alton cemetery. The brutal murder, so the story goes, coincided with the introduction of tinned meat in the Royal Navy, and the sailors who did not like the new food said the tins contained the remains of "Sweet Fanny Adams", hence the expression which for over a century has meant "sweet nothing".

More recent developments

Here are a few events in the past two hundred years:^[10]

• 1813 - new Town Hall was built
• 1844 - Alton gained a gas supply
• 1852 - rail connection to London
• 1856 - the Curtis Museum was founded
• 1862 - sewage works was built
• 1865 - rail connection to Winchester
• 1876 - waterworks was built
• 1874 - All Saints Church was consecrated
• 1880 - the Assembly Rooms were built
• 1908 - Lord Mayor Treloar Hospital was built
• 1927 - Alton gained electricity
• 1938 - Alton Convent School for Girls opened
• 1966 - St Mary's Roman Catholic Church was built
• 1972 - Alton by-pass was built
• 1972 - Alton Sports Centre opened
• 1974 - Alton Health Centre opened
• 1975 - Alton Community Centre opened
• 1978 - Alton College opened
• 1992 - Alton gains its own local radio station, Wey Valley Radio (now Delta FM)
• 2005 - Alton Maltings Centre, a renovated Maltings building, opens.

Traditional industries in Alton

Brewing used to be one of Alton's main industries. Hops and barley were grown in the surrounding area and the barley would have been malted in the town. The maltings still stand in Lower Turk Street, though it is no longer used for that purpose. They belonged to Halls Brewery from 1841 and were still producing malt in 1949.

There have been a number of breweries in Alton since 1763. Today, Coors Brewers Ltd, Alton, produces Carling, Grolsch and Worthington.

The most prominent local independent brewers are the Triple fff Brewing Company Ltd who own two Alton pubs, the Railway Arms and the Olde Leathern Bottle. They started producing real ale in 1997, and have won over 35 industry awards, including A Best Beer Gold Award at the CAMRA beer festival.^[11]

Alton was also famous in the eighteenth century for the manufacture of paper^[3] and of dress materials including ribbed druggets, shallons, silks and serges, bombazine and figured barragons^[12][13].

Alton Food Festival

A one-day event in mid-summer to celebrate local food and drink.

The Alton Food Festival is part of the Hampshire Food Festival, a county-wide mid-summer fortnight to celebrate and promote local produce.

Famous people

• William de Alton, (approx 1330-1400) Dominican Friar, writer and theological philosopher during King Edward II's reign became famous for asserting that the Virgin Mary was polluted with original sin^[1]

• Edmund Spenser (1552-1599), the Elizabethan poet and contemporary of William Shakespeare, lived in a well preserved Tudor cottage at 1 Amery Street in about 1590. A plaque on the house states that he "lived some time in these parts".^[12][1]
• John Pitts, biographical author, was born in Alton in 1560^[14]
• William Curtis (1746 - 1799), botanist, was born in Alton and served his apprenticeship as an apothecary before devoting the rest of his life to the study of British plants.^[1]
• Jane Austen (1775 – 1817), Georgian novelist, lived in Chawton just outside Alton from 1809 until her death, and wrote or revised six novels here^[1]
• Cardinal Newman (1801-1890), English Catholic, lived in Alton from 1816 to 1819.^[15]
• Ian Bone (1947 - ) anarchist, studied at Eggar's school in Alton

Education in Alton

Alton is home to Treloar's, an independent educational establishment founded in 1907 by Sir William Purdie Treloar, Lord Mayor of London, to provide education for young people with physical disabilities. Treloar's now runs Treloar College, a college of further education in Holybourne, and Treloar School in Upper Froyle about three miles away. Treloar's provides specialist facilities, therapy and medical care to enable pupils to achieve their academic potential and develop their confidence and independence. Former pupils include actress Julie Fernandez, mouth and foot painting artist Tom Yendell, and actress and aspiring playwright Robyn Hunt.

The State secondary schools in Alton are Eggar's School (formerly the Grammar School), and Amery Hill School. There is also a private secondary school for girls, Alton Convent School.

Sixth-form education is provided by Alton College which has gained very good inspection reports from Ofsted. Former students of Alton College include Yvette Cooper (Member of Parliament), Alison Goldfrapp (musician).

Recreational Facilities

Alton has the following facilities:

• Allen Gallery is Alton's art gallery and houses a large ceramics collection
• The Palace Cinema is in Normandy Street and shows a regular programme of films
• Holybourne Theatre is on the site of a former Nissen hut that was converted into a theatre by German prisoners-of-war during World War II. Plays have been performed there since 1950, but the official opening was not until 1971.
• Alton Maltings Centre was built in around 1850 and was used as a maltings until about 1970. It was renovated in 2004-5 and is now used by Harvest Church and is available for hire for events such as conferences, receptions, business meetings, etc
• Alton Sports Centre is open to the public and includes a swimming pool, gym, indoor and outdoor courts, etc
• Curtis Museum was founded in 1856 by Dr William Curtis and houses one of the finest local history collections in Hampshire
• Town Gardens, with bandstand (built in 1935 for the Silver Jubilee of King George V), a children's playground, flower beds, trees and shrubs (4.5 acres)
• Anstey Park, a large open space with playing fields and a small children's playground (32 acres)
• King's Pond, with parking, a surfaced path all round, ducks and swans (11 acres)
• The Butts, 2 acres of common land now used for visiting circuses and fairs, and used in medieval and Tudor times for the weekly archery practice which all men were legally required to do.
• Flood meadows, about 15 acres close to the source of the River Wey through which rivulets weave and public footpaths give access through the diverse plant and animal life
• Tourist Information Centre in Cross and Pillory Lane (near Market Square in the centre of the town); guided walks of the town start from here and also from the railway station

Music, dance and drama in Alton

Alton has a lively tradition of music, dance and drama groups including:

• Alton Morris formed in 1979. They have been Morris Dancing both in UK and abroad, and often perform at Alton street events.
• Minden Rose Garland Dance team are a Ladies Morris Dance side formed in 1982. They perform displays of garland, stick and hankie dances.
• Alton Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society was established in 1921 and performs two musical shows and one play each year in a wide variety of musical and dramatic styles.
• Alton Community Choir sings unaccompanied Hampshire folk songs as well as some African, gospel, blues and calypso music
• Holybourne Dramatic club was formed in January 1948 and performs in Holybourne Theatre

Places of worship

• All Saints Anglican Church, Queens Road
• Alton Abbey (1895) in nearby Beech is a Benedictine monastery in the Church of England
• Alton Baptist Church
• Alton Methodist Church, Drayman’s Way
• Alton United Reformed Church, Normandy Street
• Brethren's Meeting Room, Vicarage Hill
• Friends' Meeting House (Quaker) (1672)
• Harvest Church, Alton Maltings Centre, Maltings Close
• Jubilee Church, Four Marks and Medstead
• Kingdom Hall, Holybourne (Jehovah's Witnesses)
• St Lawrence's Anglican Church (1070), Church Street
• St Mary Catholic Church, Normandy Street
• The Butts Church, 56 Spenser Close
• The Salvation Army, Amery Street
• Three Counties Church, Mount Pleasant Road

Rail connections

Alton station is located on the National Rail network at the end of the Alton Line with a regular service to London Waterloo. Journey time is usually just over an hour, stopping at Bentley, Farnham, Aldershot, Ash Vale, Brookwood and Woking.

Alton railway station also serves as a terminal for the Mid Hants Watercress Railway, a restored steam railway running between Alton and New Alresford, so called because it used to be used to transport fresh watercress to London.

The origins of the Watercress Line date back to 1861, the year in which Parliament granted consent for what was then known as the Alton, Alresford and Winchester Railway. Four years later the Mid Hants Railway opened, and the train service continued until the line was closed in 1967. Then in 1973 the line was partially re-opened, in 1983 it was extended further, and in 1985 it was re-opened as far as Alton to connect with the mainline London service^[16].

Geography

Alton is located at 51°08′57″N, 00°58′32″W (51.1493, -0.9755)¹. Grid reference: Grid reference SU716394

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Wey River (2006). More about Alton, Hampshire. River Wey & Navigations.
2. ^ Coates, Richard: 1989: Place Names of Hampshire: Batsford:: ISBN 0 7134 5625 6
3. ^ ^a b c Roberts, John (2005), Alton 2020, Alton Steering Group, Alton.
4. ^ Ingram, Rev. James (trans.) (1823), The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, London.
5. ^ Hutton, Edward (1914), England of My Heart - Spring, J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd.
6. ^ Domesday Book, 1086
7. ^ Blome's Hampshire, 1673
8. ^ Kitchin, Thomas (1760). A NEW Improved MAP of HAMPSHIRE from the best SURVEYS & INTELLIGENCES Divided into its HUNDREDS Shewing the several ROADS and true Measured Distances between Town and Town ALSO the Rectories & Vicarages the Parks and Seats of the Nobility & Gentry with other useful Particulars Regulated by ASTRONL. OBSERVATIONS. By T. Kitchin Geographer.. Printed for R: Sayer in Fleet Street, Carrington Bowles in St. Pauls Church Yard, & R. Wilkinson No.58, Cornhill. (viewed on website: Jean and Martin Norgate (1996-2003). Kitchin's Hampshire 1751, whole map. Old Hampshire Mapped.
9. ^ County Secretary (1989). Former Alton Eggars Grammar School premises - transfer of charitable trusts. Hampshire County Council Schools Sub-Committee.
10. ^ ^a b Tim Lambert (2001-6). A History of Alton, England. Local and National Histories - Histories of British and Irish towns, Histories of Nations, Ancient Civilisations and Miscellaneous Articles.
11. ^ The Triple fff Brewery.
12. ^ ^a b Wyatt, Sue (ed.) (1997), The Hidden Places of Dorset, Hampshire & the Isle of Wight, M & M Publishing Ltd, Altrincham, Cheshire.
13. ^ Brookes, R: 1815 (16th edn): General Gazetteer, The: (London)
14. ^ Transcribed from The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England and Wales, 1894-5 (2005). Alton, Hampshire. UK Genealogy Archives.
15. ^ Alton. Hampshire County Council (2006).
16. ^ Parkins, Keith (2005). Alton. Heureka.