Bishops Waltham Hampshire Family History Guide
Bishops Waltham is an Ancient Parish and a market town in the county of Hampshire.
Other places in the parish include: West Hoe, Dean, Dundridge, and Ashton.
Alternative names: Bishop’s Waltham
Parish church:
Parish registers begin:
- Parish registers: 1612
- Bishop’s Transcripts: 1780
Nonconformists include: Independent/Congregational
Table of Contents
Adjacent Parishes
Parish History
The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870
BISHOPS-WALTHAM, a small town, a parish, a subdistrict, and a hundred, in Droxford district, Hants The town stands at the source of the river Hamble, and at the terminus of a branch of the Gosport Junction railway, 3½ miles NNE of Botley, and 9½ SE of Winchester.
It figured at Domesday as a considerable village; was mentioned by Leland as a “praty tounlet,” and is now a neatly-built market town.
It has a post office under Southampton, a banking office, two chief inns, a church, a chapel, a free school, and the ruins of an episcopal palace; and is a polling-place.
The church is ancient and large; built of brick,-stone, and flint; the chancel possibly erected by William of Wykeham, the rest chiefly in perpendicular English, of the 17th century.
The palace was originally built by Bishop Henry de Blois, brother of King Stephen; underwent much alteration by subsequent bishops, particularly by William of Wykeham, who died in it; was a parallelogram of two courts, with square towers at the angles; and suffered demolition in the civil war. Henry II. held a great council in it in 1182; Richard Cœur de Lion was grandly entertained in it after his coronation at Winchester; and Bishop Poynet made it over to the Marquis of Winchester in the time of Edward VI.
The chief parts of it now standing are a ruined tower of early date, and the front of the great hall, 65 feet long, possibly the work. of Wykeham. A large pond lies in front of it, receiving brooks from the neighbourhood, and discharging the Hamble river. A park of 1,000 acres lay around it, devoted to the chase; but is now under cultivation. Waltham-Chase lay to the SE, well stocked with deer till the beginning of the 17th century; infested then by a notorious gang of deer-stealers known as the Waltham Blacks; and now a rough common of about 2,000 acres.
The manor belonged to the Bishops of Winchester from the earliest times; and, though alienated by Bishop Poynet along with the palace, came back to them at the Restoration.
A terracotta pottery was established in 1861. Fairs are held on the second Friday of May, on 30 July, and on the Friday before 18 Oct.
The Royal Albert infirmary stands on a neighbouring hill; was founded in 1864; and has, over the entrance, a fine terracotta statue of the late Prince Consort.
The parish includes the tythings of Ashton, Curdridge, and West Hoe, and the hamlets of Dean and Dundridge. Acres, 7,388. Real property, £11,099. Pop., 2,267. Houses, 473.
The living is a rectory in the diocese of Winchester. Value, £915. Patron, the Bishop of Winchester. The p. curacy of Curdridge is a separate charge. A free school has £41, and other charities £95.
The subdistrict contains the parishes of Bishops-Waltham, Durley, and Upham. Acres, 12,714. Pop., 3,267. Houses, 689.
The hundred consists of lower half, containing the parishes of Bishops-Waltham and Durley, and upper half, conterminate with the parish of Droxford. Acres, 16,848. Pop., 4,872. Houses, 977.
Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].
Parish Records
FamilySearch
Bankrupts
Below is a list of people that were declared bankrupt between 1820 and 1843 extracted from The Bankrupt Directory; George Elwick; London; Simpkin, Marshall and Co.; 1843.
Hind Geo Bishop’s Waltham Southampton draper and grocer Jan 1 1839
Hinxman Rich Kitknocks Bishop’s Waltham dealer & chapman July 5 1833
Roach Richard Smith Bishop’s Waltham tanner Nov 15 1823
Weston William Bishop’s Waltham Southampton auctioneer March 29 1836
Administration
- County: Hampshire
- Civil Registration District: Droxford
- Probate Court: Pre-1845 – Court of the Peculiar of Bishops Waltham with Hamble and Bursledon, Post-1844 – Courts of the Bishop (Episcopal Consistory) and Archdeaconry of Winchester
- Diocese: Winchester
- Rural Deanery: Droxford
- Poor Law Union: Droxford
- Hundred: Bishop’s Waltham
- Province: Canterbury