— a guided walk from
Selborne to Headley and back again
— distance approximately 7 miles out and 7 miles back
|
Anniversary Walk: Exactly 180 years after
the rioters did it — You may be interested in details of the flint arrowhead which Hugo picked up. |
Selborne to Headley — Notes — Headley to Selborne — Notes — Map — 3D Fly-by (select 3D button)
The walk starts from the Queens Hotel (the Compasses in 1830)
in Selborne going to the Holly Bush in Headley by way of Whitehill and
Standford, and returning by way of Kingsley and Oakhanger.
Refreshment is available at the start and end points, and also at the Cricketers
(Kingsley) and The Hanger (Oakhanger).
Note that suggested routes through Military and National
Trust land between Whitehill and Standford, while open to walkers at the time
of writing, are not marked as public rights of way on maps.
No difficult climbs, but the walk can be muddy and muddly in places.
Recommended map: Ordnance Survey Explorer OL33
From the Queens Hotel, take Huckers Lane which runs by the side of the
hotel garden and drops down to Dortons. This becomes a bridleway, muddy in places,
above the valley of the Oakhanger Stream through a beech hanger and then across
fields. At Priory Farm, turn right up a metalled road to the top of the hill
where it meets Honey Lane. From here there is a view over the Oakhanger valley,
today noted for its satellite tracking stations.
Take the footpath down through fields towards Oakhanger for about a mile. At
the five-way junction of footpaths (which is difficult to see, but you will
also meet on the way back), turn sharp right across the field, through a gate
crossing a farm road, over some duck-boarding and passing a reservoir before
eventually going through an old car park (of what used to be Springfields Nurseries)
to meet a road. Go round the gate, cross the road, and take the track almost
opposite. After crossing a stream take the track to the left of a house. This
eventually passes through Blackmoor Golf Course, joining another track known
as Eveley Lane before becoming a metalled road.
Follow this road (which soon has a pavement) straight to the roundabout complex
on the main road (A325) at Whitehill — cross here with care. It would have
been less busy in 1830!
Take the footpath next to the metalled road (Liphook Road) ahead. This path
winds through pleasant woodland and just after passing a gate to a building
on the left meets a main track. Join this, going over a hill before joining
the course of the old Military Railway.
On this route you pass close beside two distinct hills, or 'clumps' —probably
these would have been treeless and therefore more prominent landscape features
in 1830.
After passing some stone retaining walls, take a grass track on the left, alongside
the garden of Stone Cottage, which becomes a vehicle access road, crosses
the stream from Hollywater Pond, and re-joins Liphook Road opposite Passfield
Common (which is National Trust land).
The Common is fenced to allow for stock grazing, but there is a gate to enter
it. You will have to discover your own track across-be warned, it is extremely
boggy in places. We recommend you keep to the track close to the boundary with
the road, then follow some power cables towards the north corner of the common.
There is a gate which emerges on the B3004 Liphook to Bordon road, but it is
not well-used and may be difficult to find.
Cross the road and turn left along the verge path, passing both the old Methodist
Church and Gospel Hall on your left before going downhill to Standford Village
Green.
Leave the village green by the small road which leads to a ford across the River
Wey. There is a footbridge. Keep straight on at its junction with Tulls Lane,
following the metalled road uphill between hedges to a triangular junction at
the top. Turn left here, along (another) Liphook Road.
This is the road by which the rioters entered Headley in 1830. The old workhouse
(now Headley Grange) is about half a mile away on the right hand side—and
if you wish, you may walk past it into Headley as the rioters did. However,
if you have had enough of walking on roads, take the footpath to the left immediately
after the first sharp bend (by an electricity sub-station) and follow it to
emerge in the centre of Headley where the Holly Bush stands.
We don't know for certain which route the rioters took
in their march from Selborne to Headley, and it could be that several groups
went different ways. The most direct route from the centre of Selborne in those
days would probably have been some near variation of the one we have chosen.
However, we are told that Robert Holdaway went to collect signatures from farms
near Empshott and Greatham on the way, in which case his route would have been
considerably longer.
The communities of Bordon and Whitehill did not exist then, but I was interested
to know if the Farnham to Petersfield turnpike (now the A325) had been constructed
at that time. If so, it might have formed a convenient route for the marchers
to move from Greatham to Whitehill instead of cutting across the uncharted tracks
of Woolmer Forest on their way to Hollywater. But I discovered that although
the turnpike had received Royal Assent in 1826, it was apparently not completed
until 1832.
When William Cobbett rode through Woolmer Forest in his Rural Ride of 24th November
1822, he said of it, "The road was not … without its dangers, the forest
being full of quags and quick-sands." He also said of it, "This is
a tract of Crown-lands … on some parts of which our Land Steward, Mr Huskisson,
is making some plantations of trees, partly fir, and partly other trees. What
he can plant the fir for, God only knows …"
Close to Hollywater Clump is the spot where the old parishes of Selborne, Headley
and Bramshott met, at the chimney of a house which has since been demolished.
The hamlet of Hollywater is still located where three parishes meet—and
as such is claimed by no-one and forgotten by most. It has had a reputation
in the past of being a place where the people who joined the march described
as "forest dwellers and travellers" might well have lived.
Standford was one of the main local centres of industry in 1830, with two paper
mills and a corn mill operating on the River Wey. The Warren family, who ran
the paper mills there from the 1820s until the early 20th century, were staunch
Methodists, and the 'non-conformist' nature of the community is in evidence
even now with its Methodist Church and Gospel Hall.
Although paper mills in Buckinghamshire were being attacked by mobs in the very
week that 'our' riot occurred, those at Standford were not touched as far as
we can tell. Perhaps there was no machinery installed in them at that time,
or at least none that could be seen to be causing unemployment. For whatever
reason, the mob appears to have passed through Standford, crossed the ford and
headed up Tulls Lane towards the workhouse.
The Headley 'House of Industry' had been built in 1795 at an estimated cost
of some £1,500 for the parishes of Headley, Bramshott and Kingsley, to
shelter their infirm, aged paupers, and orphan or illegitimate children. After
the 1830 riot, the building was repaired, and in the 1841, 1851 and 1861 censuses
it is shown still being used as a workhouse. It was sold in 1870 to a builder
for £420, and he converted it into a private house, now known as Headley
Grange. In November 1872, he resold the building to Mr Theophilus Sigismund
Hahn for £490.
After two further changes in ownership, Headley Grange was used during
the 1970s as a recording studio, and there, early in 1971, "Out of the
clear blue pool of creativity arose the eight-minute extravaganza which would
become Led Zeppelin's ultimate trademark, a song of shimmering and flourishing
beauty, a supreme accomplishment which Robert Plant would later describe as
'our single most important achievement' … Stairway to Heaven." ['Led
Zeppelin, the definitive biography,' by Ritchie Yorke]
Today the house remains a private residence. On St
George's Day 1994, descendants of four of the rioters, along with representatives
from Selborne and Headley, assembled in the garden to plant a cutting from the
old Selborne Yew in memory of the transportations.
The present Holly Bush in Headley High Street is not a building which
would have been present in 1830. In fact we believe the old Holly Bush
to have been situated across the road in the house now called Wakefords. William
Cobbett mentions visiting here on his Rural
Ride of 24th November 1822.
Mr Lickfold's shop is still to be seen, though no longer a shop—it is the
building now called Crabtree House which faces north along the length
of the High Street, with a good view of what was going on there at the time.
From the Holly Bush, turn right along Headley High Street, past the
church and the old rectory, and just before Belmont take a path to the left.
This crosses a road and then passes along two sides of the Holme School grounds,
emerging in Church Lane at a right-angle bend.
Turn left along Church Lane (a cul-de-sac) and at its end pass through a footpath
gate and downhill across fields. You emerge by Huntingford Farm, at the junction
of Curtis Lane and Frensham Lane. The original route to Trottsford would have
gone right and then left here, past Linsted Farm and Headley Wood Farm, but
this is now closed as a right of way. Instead, turn left, following Frensham
Lane towards Lindford for a short distance, then take the footpath to the right,
which follows the road uphill for a while before bearing right and becoming
sandy.
After passing through some woodland, this diverted right of way crosses the
River Wey by way of an old aqueduct and then zigzags sharply uphill and across
a field to a junction of paths.
Here you rejoin what would have been the original route of the path. Turn left
along the track and follow it for just under a mile to Pickett's Hill road.
Turn left, and follow the road down to its junction with the main A325 at Sleaford.
Here there is a set of traffic lights. Take care — the crossing here
is not easy! Turn left along the verge, cross the main road at the lights,
and go briefly along the road to Alton (Forge Road), taking the nearby side
road left towards the rear of the New Inn complex (now redeveloped). Turn sharp
right on the old road which passes over the River Slea.
After crossing the river, take the public track leading off through Army land
across Kingsley Common. Note that the route is not as straightforward as the
OS map suggests—about 100 yards after crossing the open space by Coldharbour,
look for a less significant track branching to the right, just past a 'crossroads'
of vehicular tracks. Follow this until it passes the pond on the left. Here,
in Kingsley village, you will find the Cricketers available for refreshment.
To continue the walk, follow the track between the pub car park and the pond,
pass Ockham Hall, and shortly turn along the first track on your right past
some houses. Follow footpath signs left and right and go between fences across
a flat field.
Turn right at a T-junction of paths, passing the garden of Kingsley Mill on
your left. Cross a stone slab bridge over a culvert, and cross the drive of
the mill. Follow a footpath diagonally across the orchard, over the mill leat,
and round a bend to a stile.
Cross a field, go over a stile and up onto a disused railway embankment. From
here the original course of the path has been diverted due to quarry works.
Leave the embankment over another stile and follow the path round the edge of
the quarry, coming eventually to Shortheath Common. Once again, the route is
not as straightforward here as the OS map suggests. Keeping all houses to your
left, cross one vehicular track, then join another. Go along this track, ignoring
turns — it becomes less well-used by vehicles as it continues south-west
across the common and into the centre of Oakhanger village. Here, at the village
green, turn left along the metalled road through the village. The Hanger
(once the Red Lion) soon offers refreshment on your right.
At the bend in the road as you leave the village, take the footpath to the right,
along the garden wall of an old thatched cottage (Tunford Cottage). Cross
the field, then a plank bridge and stile over a culvert (note the satellite
tracking 'golf ball' to the right), and follow the footpath to the left, arriving
after several gates and bridges at the five-ways junction you met on your outward
journey.
You may, of course, return to Selborne by following the outward route in reverse
from here. Alternatively, turn right and follow the course of the stream more
closely towards Priory Farm. Be warned—this can be tough on the ankles
if muddy hoof-prints have hardened! Cross the stream by a footbridge, then cross
over a track by Priory Farm to continue on the footpath towards Selborne.
After walking through a portion of Coombe Wood and past some ponds, you arrive
at the end of the Long Lythe which is National Trust property. Follow the path
along both Long and Short Lythes to emerge in the meadow below Selborne Church.
Climb the hill and go through the churchyard to the Plestor. Turn left along
Selborne High Street to arrive back at the Queens Hotel.
Next to the church stands the old Rectory, which had
been under repair in 1830. It was described in 1783 as: 'A very good house,
consisting of two parlours and hall, a kitchen and pantry on the ground floor;
four bed-chambers, six garrets, four underground cellars, with a brew-house,
milk-house, and other convenient offices; also of two spacious barns, a stable,
cow-pens, granary, waggon-house, fuel-house, ash-house, etc. The gardens, yard
and rick-yard amount to about one and three-quarter acres'.
The Holme School takes its name from Dr George Holme, Rector of Headley 1718-65,
who had given the parish a school in 1755. The original building stands beside
the Village Green.
Church Lane takes its name from the fact that it forms part of the old track
from Headley church towards the outlying parts of the parish on the way to Farnham.
You will follow it, with some modern diversions, as far as Trottsford.
Huntingford Farm was built around 1774, according to a rent-roll of that date
which has an entry for John Huntingford of: "one close called Church-field
with a tenement thereon newly erected containing 4 acres lying at Lackmore-cross
on the south part of Curtis Lane"—we assume it is this building. It
was thatched until 1959, when the roof was lost in a fire.
The aqueduct over the River Wey is part of an extensive system of channels which
would have extended along the river in 1830, through this parish and beyond,
to regulate the watermeadows. Water was diverted from the river into a header
ditch by a weir—this ditch had a number of sluices along its length allowing
water to be spread evenly over the meadow in a controlled fashion before draining
back into the river. This system added nutrients to the land, allowing early
crops of fodder to be produced, and a second cut to be made later in the year.
As you arrive at Pickett's Hill road, note the footpath straight ahead which
marks the old route to Farnham prior to the building of the turnpike.
Near the point where you cross the A325 at Sleaford there once stood a tollhouse,
opposite the New Inn. It was eventually removed when the road was widened.
The New Inn itself consists of a 'new' section facing the turnpike, and
an older section behind facing the road which existed prior to the turnpike's
construction. [The site was redeveloped in 2002, retaining
the original buildings]
In crossing the River Slea you pass from Headley into Kingsley parish. There
is a stone set into the west side of the old bridge indicating this.
At Kingsley Pond, note the area on higher ground to your right behind the church
which was called 'Kingsley Green' on old maps. It was at Kingsley Green, we
are told, that Holdaway "called out ten persons as the representatives
of the ten parishes of which the labourers had formed your dangerous and illegal
assembly" and shared out the spoils of the day. The church would not have
been here at the time, having been built only in 1876.
In reality, the various men from 'ten parishes' must have made their separate
ways home from here in several different directions—but we follow a probable
route of those heading back to the centre of Selborne.
Kingsley Mill is of some antiquity, and legend says that it may even have been
the mill that Geoffrey Chaucer had in mind when writing his Miller's Tale! His
son Thomas was Lord Warden of Woolmer and Alice Holt Forests at the end of the
14th century, and is said to be buried nearby at East Worldham, where he lived.
The disused railway viaduct belongs to the spur from Bentley to Bordon, opened
in 1905 and closed in the 1960s.
Oakhanger is a hamlet in the parish of Selborne, and so to some of the 'Selborne'
rioters it would be home. In particular, the Heighes
brothers lived here. For others, there were still a few miles to travel cross
country.
Priory Farm is on the site of Selborne Priory, closed in 1484 due to
bad debts and the stones reused for various local and not-so-local building
projects.
The Long Lythe and Short Lythe (pronounced 'Lith') are footpaths well known
to Gilbert White.
Within the church of St Mary, Selborne, is displayed the collar of vicar Cobbold's
large mastiff, which he bought to protect himself after the riot.
The Great Yew of Selborne sadly blew down in 1990, and never recovered. According
to Mrs Cowburn, men climbed into its branches on the evening of Sunday 21st
November 1830 to overlook the vicarage and make sure Cobbold would not get away
in the night.
The Queen's Hotel was, in 1830, stated as being the only public house
in Selborne. At that time it was called the Compasses, or some say the
Goat and Compasses which may be a corruption of 'God encompasseth us'.
Robert Holdaway was the landlord here until about a year before the riot. It
was renamed the Queens Inn in 1839.
— This site maintained by John Owen Smith —
