A HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE 



WEST MEON 



Menes (xi cent.) ; Meones (xiii cent.). 



The parish of West Meon covers 3,772 acres of 

 hilly country, through the centre of which the River 

 Meon runs east to west, while the land rises north and 

 south from the valley, reaching a height of over 600 ft. 

 above the ordnance datum in the south and of 500 ft. 

 in the north near the Three Horseshoes Inn. The 

 main road from Petersfield to Alton runs through the 

 parish in a south-westerly direction, and crossing the 

 main road from Petersfield to Winchester in the north, 

 close by the George Inn, climbs a ridge and comes 

 down into the low-lying ground of the Meon valley 

 to become the main street of the village. Along 

 a branch road from East Meon which approaches the 

 village by the river bank from the south-east are 

 several outlying houses and cottages, including Hall 



WEST MEON : VIEW IN VILLAGE 



Farm, Hall Place, and Lynch House, which lie south 

 of the road and river, and Shaft's Farm which 

 lies to the north. Following the course of this 

 road as it cuts across the main road, where the 

 majority of the houses are grouped, and continues 

 in a north-westerly direction towards Hinton Amp- 

 ner, the village schools stand on the left close on 

 the road. Beyond the schools is the church of 

 St. John standing on high ground, from which the 

 land falls away to the Meon valley to rise again be- 

 yond the river and become a long sweep of downland 

 and woodland. Past the church the road goes up- 

 hill to Lippen Cottages, with their long trim gardens, 

 and from here passing through fine woodland it reaches 

 the high ground north of the parish, from which good 

 views of the village and of the surrounding country 

 can be obtained. 



In the centre of the village at the junction of the 

 two roads is a square piece of ground inclosed by a 

 railing, in the middle of which is a stone cross sur- 

 rounded by several seats, and shaded by some fine 

 trees. A stone slab in front of the cross states that 

 this ground was given to the West Meon Parish 

 Council for the use of the parishioners for ever by the 

 lord of the manor, Henry Johnson, 1898. On the 

 south face of the cross an inscription tells that another 

 cross (probably a market cross) originally stood on this 

 spot, and other inscriptions on the east and west faces 

 relate that the modern cross was put up in 1901 by 

 the last surviving of the sixteen children of George 

 Vining Rogers (1777 1846), for more than forty years 

 medical practitioner in West Meon, and Mary Anne 

 Rogers his wife (l 783-1873). As the main road goes 



downhill from here 

 past the village inn, 

 the Congregational 

 chapel, and the various 

 groups of houses, shops 

 and cottages compos- 

 ing the village, it 

 crosses the river close 

 by the mill, then turns 

 sharply west near by 

 the modern Queen 

 Victoria Institute, 

 erected in 1887, to 

 run parallel with the 

 river through peaceful 

 pastoral country to 

 W a r n f o r d parish. 

 Here also, close by 

 the smithy, a branch 

 road turns south-east, 

 past the rectory and 

 several outlying cot- 

 tages, to the railway 

 station on the Meon 

 valley line. There is 

 no inclosure award 

 for the parish. The 

 soil is various, the 

 subsoil chalk. The 

 chief crops on the 

 1, 1 92 \ acres of arable 

 land are wheat, barley, 



and oats. Of the whole parish 680 \ acres are 

 permanent grass and zg6f are woodland. 



During the Civil War West Meon was the scene of 

 several skirmishes previous to the battle of Cheriton 

 (29 March, 1644). Major-General Brown with the 

 London Brigade was directed by Waller to take up 

 quarters at West Meon, three miles from the main 

 body, on the night of 2 5 March. There they found, 

 according to an eye-witness who was with the brigade, 

 ' a partee of the enemies horse . . . which occasioned 

 some action, though not much considerable.' The 

 next day, Tuesday, 26 March, continues the narrator, 

 ' we lay still, onely our scouts brought in some 

 prisoners, 6 troops incountring with 1 6 of the enemies, 

 put them to flight and brought away 3 of them 

 prisoners.' The day following the enemy took some 

 few of their men who ' were straggling from their 





342 



