Old Original Churchyard
The parish council contributes towards the maintenance of the old churchyard that lies to the south of the village of Ecchinswell, close to the site of the original village church. The parish church funds the remainder of the maintenance.
The old churchyard is surrounded by a brick wall with curved coping stones which is about 150 years old. Sadly, the affects of the weather took their toll and caused some of the lime mortar between the bricks to crumble and the wall was also being ‘invaded’ by ivy, representing a threat to its stability.
The Parish Council therefore decided to undertake some renovation works on the wall, mainly removing the crumbling mortar, re-pointing with lime mortar, and removing the ivy.
To assist with the cost of the works the Parish Council successfully applied for a Pride of Place Initiative (POPPI) Grant from Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council and was awarded £5,000 towards the cost of works.
Old United Reform Church
The old United Reformed churchyard is opposite the village pond in Ecchinswell. The church bulding itself is now a private residence but the churchyard is maintained byt its current owners, its Trustees.
St Lawrence's Church
The springs rising at the south of the village hold the key to the establishment of a settlement at Ecchinswell and they would have been worshipped in pre-Christian times. It was for this reason that the first chapel was built in the most unsuitable place, close to the water’s edge. The original building stood behind the old Vicarage, near the footbridge that crosses the village stream.
In 1446 the chapel was acquired by the benefice of St Cross in Winchester, probably because of some income attached to it. Its comparative affluence after that is clear from the fine chalice dating from 1570, which is sadly no longer in use.
Following this, the church lost its importance and it became an appendage of Kingsclere until 1852. Then the parish of ‘Itchingswell and Sidmonton’ was formed, with its own incumbent. This was probably due to the influence of the two main local families, the Kingsmills of Symdonton and the Digweeds of Ecchinswell House. At the same time, dissatisfaction with the church at Ecchinswell increased and plans were made for a new one, on a drier site, about half a mile to the north.
The old church eventually had to be demolished in 1854 but the site is marked by the gravestone of John Digweed of Ecchinswell
House, who was the churchwarden. He was interred in the old church in 1844, the only person to be buried within it.
Services were held in the old tanning barn, accessed off Mill Lane until the new church was consecrated on 15 October 1856. The new church is dedicated to St Lawrence, who was a 3rd century martyr in Rome, and was designed by Victorian architect G F Bodley in the then fashionable Gothic revival style. The absence of pulpit and pews shows the influence of the Oxford Movement. The organ was made by Henry Bevington. The Tudor font is the only item that was saved from the old church.
If you have an enquiry about any aspect of church life please contact the Rev’d Anthony Smith on 01635 278470.
St Lawrence’s Churchyard
St Lawrence’s Church as it is today…
… and as it was in the 1950s
War Memorial
The War Memorial is located on the east side of the road to Bishops Green. The piece of land on which it stands, some 19 square yards, was owned by George Edward Stanhope, Earl of Carnarvon, who was lord of the manor of Ecchinswell. It was part of the “waste land” of the estate, originally the site of the pinfold or village pound.
After the end of World War 1 money for building a war memorial to the fallen soldiers from the parish was raised by public subscription.
On 1st October 1921 the Earl of Carnarvon conveyed the piece of land to the Parish Council, to be used “for the erection thereon of a permanent memorial to the officers and men of the Parish of Ecchinswell and the Parish of Sydmonton who fell in the Great War”. The site of the memorial was to be held for the benefit of the inhabitants of the parishes of Ecchinswell and Sydmonton and to be held in perpetuity by the Parish Council.
The conveyance was signed and sealed by the Earl of Carnarvon and by Andrew Kingsmill (Chairman of the Parish Council) and by Albert Ernest Booth and William Trigg (members of the Parish Council).
The front face is inscribed with a memorial to the First World War of 1914 – 1918, honouring the 21 who lost their lives, as well as the 21 people who served and returned.
The 3 o’clock face is dedicated to the 5 who died, and the 5 who served and returned during the Second World War of 1939 – 1945
In 2008 the Parish Council made a successful application to the War Memorials Trust for a grant towards the cost of renovating the war memorial, and in December of that year the Trust awarded a grant of 50% of the cost of renovation works. The works, which entailed cleaning the memorial and replacing/repainting some 20 of the letters on it, are now completed. These photographs (right) show the improvement resulting from the renovation.
