FAWLEY HUNDRED 



TWYFORD 



TWYFORD 



Twyford, one of the most beautiful villages in 

 Hampshire, often called ' the queen of Hampshire 

 villages,' is situated on the River Itchen about three 

 miles south of Winchester, and about a mile distant 

 from Shawford Station, which is a junction for the 

 London and South Western and Great Western Rail- 

 ways, both of which run through parts of the parish. 



The parish of Twyford is five miles in length and 

 two miles in breadth, and contains 43 acres of water 

 and 4,229 acres of land, of which 2,074^ acres are 

 permanent grass, 1,883 acres arable land and 185^ 

 acres woodland. 1 Morestead and Owslebury lie on 

 the east. 



Brambridge and Golden Common are in Twyford 

 and Owslebury civil parishes. The whole of the 

 north of the parish consists of downlands which 

 stretch northwards to the foot of St. Catherine's Hill 

 and are bounded on the east and north-west by the 

 Roman road, which runs through Chilcomb Without. 

 Hockley Farm and Down Farm lie under the shelter 

 of these downs. The River Itchen flows through 

 the parish of Twyford, forming the western boundary, 

 and is famous for its trout fishing. 



The village of Twyford lies in the west of the 

 parish ; it is long aiid straggling but very picturesque, 

 and contains two or three fine houses. On entering 

 the village from the north, Twyford Lodge, the resi- 

 dence of Mr. Alexander P. Ralli, lies to the right in 

 the valley of the Itchen, surrounded by beautiful 

 grounds which slope down to the water's edge. 

 Further south is Twyford House, a fine mansion built 

 in the Elizabethan style, in which Dr. Franklin is said to 

 have written his well-known autobiography while on a 

 visit to Dr. Jonathan Shipley, then bishop of St. Asaph. 



Close to Twyford House stands St. Mary's church 

 and the vicarage ; in the churchyard is a fine yew-tree, 

 which according to local tradition is between four and 

 five hundred years old. A little farther down the 

 village street, surrounded by extensive play-grounds, 

 stands Twyford School, a large preparatory school for 

 boys under fifteen. In the centre of the village stands 

 the institute and reading room, an iron building erected 

 in 1 892. Near to the River Itchen a short distance 



below Twyford Bridge is a group of houses called 

 Seagar's Farm or Seagar's ' buildings,' in which during 

 1697 Pope received part of his education. 



At the southern end of the village lies the old 

 Manor House Farm, and to the east, surrounded by 

 wooded grounds, stands Littlebourne House, the resi- 

 dence of Mr. Athol Maudsley. On the edge of this 

 estate are the remains of a Roman villa. 



About three-quarters of a mile to the west stands 

 Shawford House, once the residence of the Mildmays, 

 and now the property of Lieut. -Colonel Sir Charles 

 Edward Frederick, surrounded by beautiful grounds 

 and a large wooded park which slopes down to the 

 River Itchen. The estate is almost encircled by 

 water, the Itchen running along the eastern side, and 

 a stream from the river to 

 Itchen Navigation or canal, 

 on which stands Shawford Mill, 

 inclosing the southern and 

 western sides. 



About a mile south of Twy- 

 ford is Twyford Moors, the 

 residence of Mrs. Conway 

 Shipley. Still further south is 

 Brambridge House and Park, 

 once the possession of the 

 Welles family, and during the 

 last century the residence of 

 the Fairbairns. (See Owsle- 

 bury.) The old house was burnt down in 1872. 

 The modern house is a long low white building 

 approached from the east by a double avenue of lime 

 trees, and situated in a park of about fourteen acres ; 

 the River Itchen flows along the north side of the 

 park, Brambridge Lock being at the junction of several 

 of its tributaries. One of the rooms in the old Bram- 

 bridge House was fitted up as a Roman Catholic 

 chapel in the latter part of the eighteenth century 

 by the Smythe family. Later, when the Relief Acts 

 made it possible, they built a small chapel in the 

 village, endowed about 1782 by Mrs. Fitzherbert. 1 " 



The soil is chalk in the north of the parish, and 

 loam and clay in the southern part ; the subsoil is 



FREDERICK, baronet. 

 Or a chief azure with 

 three doves argent therein. 



1 Statistics of Bd. of Agric. (1905). 



u The print's house in the village is 



SHAWFORD HOUSE, TWYFORD 



now held by a nurseryman. In one of 

 the rooms there are traces of the ancient 



339 



chapel. Wilkins, Mn. Fitehirttrt and 

 George IV, i, g & 9. 



