Weyhill

Weyhill

Weyhill Church
Weyhill
Weyhill shown within Hampshire
Population 794 [1]
OS grid reference SU3146
Civil parish
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Andover
Postcode district SP11
Dialling code 01264
Police Hampshire
Fire Hampshire
Ambulance South Central
EU Parliament South East England
UK Parliament

Weyhill is a village, 2.5 miles (3.8 km) west of Andover, Hampshire. It sits within the civil parish of Penton Grafton, which includes the village of the same name. The village is famous for having a medieval fair and then later a livestock fair, with up to 100,000 sheep a day being auctioned.[2][3][4] The fair owed its existence to Weyhill being positioned on 8 ancient trackways, including the Harrow Way.

The fair has been held on the site since the 11th century, with the first written records from 1225.[5][2] The historic Weyhill fairground was the site used by Thomas Hardy in his book The Mayor of Casterbridge where Michael Henchard sells his wife. Hardy called it Weydon Priors.[2] By the mid-19th century the fair had stopped attracting large crowds, as communications and business changed, reducing the variety of items for sale. The last fair happened in 1957.[3][4] The parish council bought the fairground after it fell into disrepair and converted it into small independent craft studios and shops in 2005.[4]

Weyhill railway station was opened on 1 May 1882, by The Swindon, Marlborough and Andover Railway, and closed on 11 September 1961.[6]

Nearby attractions are Thruxton aerodrome and motor racing circuit to the west and the Hawk Conservancy Trust just south of the A303.

References

  1. ↑ 2011 Census - Key Statistics
  2. 1 2 3 "Weyhill Fair". Hampshire History. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  3. 1 2 "History of the Weyhill Fair". The Somborne & District Society. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 "Fairground". Penton Grafton Parish Council. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  5. ↑ "Penton Gradton, Hampshire". A Vision of Britain Through Time. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  6. ↑ Aerial photo of station site


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