Sydmonton

Sydmonton
Sydmonton from Ladle Hill
Sydmonton  Sydmonton shown within Hampshire
Civil parish	Ecchinswell, Sydmonton and Bishops Green
District	Basingstoke and Deane
Shire county	Hampshire
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	NEWBURY
Postcode district	RG26
Dialling code	01256
Police	Hampshire
Fire	Hampshire
Ambulance	South Central
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	North West Hampshire
List of places UK England Hampshire

Coordinates: 51°19′01″N 1°17′48″W / 51.3169°N 1.2968°W

Sydmonton is a small village and estate in the Basingstoke and Deane district of Hampshire, England. Its nearest town is Newbury, which lies approximately 7 miles (11 km) north-west from the village.

Governance

The village is part of the civil parish of Ecchinswell, Sydmonton and Bishops Green^[1] and is part of the Burghclere, Highclere and St Mary Bourne ward of Basingstoke and Deane borough council.^[2] The borough council is a Non-metropolitan district of Hampshire County Council.

History

Portrait by William Segar of Sir Henry Kingsmill (1587-1625), (knighted, 1611), of Sydmonton, son of Sir William Kingsmill (d. 1600), by Anne, daughter of William Wilkes of Middleton Cheney. His wife was Bridget daughter and co-heir of John White of Southwick, Hampshire.

Gilbert Jackson's portrait of Sir William Kingsmill (1613-1661), of Sydmonton, 1642.

Romsey Abbey once owned 764 acres of the parish called Sidemanestone in Domesday Book.^[3] The church (St Mary the Virgin) was rebuilt in 1853 in Early English Period architectural style.^[4] The parish had a population of 160 in 1871.^[5]

Sydmonton Court

Sydmonton is the home of the 5000 acre Sydmonton Court estate, formerly the seat of the Kingsmill Family, including Admiral Sir Robert Kingsmill. The estate is currently owned by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd Webber and is home to the annual Sydmonton Festival.

The house is a grade II* listed Tudor manor house originally built to an E-shaped floor plan in the 16th century, but modified several times since then.^[6]

The estate came into the hands of the Kingsmill family after the Dissolution of the Monasteries when it was granted by Henry VIII to John Kingsmill. It passed down in the family to Elizabeth Corry, daughter of Frances Kingsmill and Hugh Corry, who married Robert Brice. Robert took the name of Kingsmill in 1766, became an admiral and was created Baronet Kingsmill in 1800. He left Sydmonton to the Rev. John Stephens, vicar of Chewton Mendip, Somerset, who also took the name of Kingsmill in 1806.

Anne Kingsmill (1661–1720), daughter of Sir William Kingsmill, married Heneage Finch and became Lady Winchilsea and a well-known poet.

The Sydmonton Festival is a summer arts festival presented in a deconsecrated 16th century chapel in the grounds of the estate.

References

1. "Hampshire County Council’s legal record of public rights of way in Hampshire" (PDF). 2008. Retrieved 11 November 2010.
2. "Basingstoke and Deane Wards info". 2010. Retrieved 11 November 2010.
3. William White (1878) History, Gazetteer and Directory of the County of Hampshire. p 508
4. William White (1878) op cit
5. William White (1878) op cit
6. "Sydmonton Court, Ecchinswell, Sydmonton and Bishops Green". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 5 June 2013.

External links

Media related to Sydmonton at Wikimedia Commons