Fordingbridge

Fordingbridge is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 under the name Forde.[8] The manor was held by a certain Robert from "Robert the son of Gerald".[8] Prior to 1066 it had been held by Alwy from King Edward.[8] At the beginning of the 13th century Fordingbridge was held by Hugh de Linguire, who, dying around 1231, left a niece and heir Alice, wife of William de la Falaise.[7] From that date Fordingbridge followed the same descent as Rowner.[7]

The manor was held by Elias de la Falaise at his death in 1254, and his brother William died in possession of the manor in the same year.[9] Before 1277 the property had escheated to the Crown by the felony of William de la Falaise, grandson of William, and was granted in that year to Sir William le Brune, chamberlain to the king.[9] The manor then stayed solidly in the Brune family until the death of Charles Brune in 1769, when the family became extinct in the male line.[9] By his will his estates eventually devolved onto his grand-nephew the Rev. Charles Prideaux-Brune of Prideaux Place, Padstow, Cornwall, and the manor then remained in the possession of the Prideaux-Brune family.[9]

The lord of the manor had a market before 1273: it was held weekly first on Saturday and then on Friday until the middle of the 19th century, when it was discontinued.[7] A fair was held on 9 September.[7] From the 13th to the 15th century Fordingbridge was governed by a bailiff, and then in later centuries by a constable chosen yearly at the court leet of the manor of Lower Burgate.[7] The constable was the chief officer until 1878, when government by Local District Council was established.[7] A fire in the town in the 18th century destroyed many of the houses, which were never rebuilt.[7] The Town Hall, built in 1879, is almost in the centre of the town.[7]

Cloth was made here in the 16th century, and in the 19th century there were factories for the manufacture of sailcloth and canvas and the spinning of flax.[7] By 1900 the chief industries of the town were the manufacture of sailcloth and canvas and the making of bricks and tiles, and there were various flourmills, an iron foundry, and the Neave's food works.[7]

Fordingbridge railway station was closed in 1964. It was originally just outside the town, on the road leading to Sandleheath village, and connected the town with Salisbury to the north and Poole to the south.

The first bridge at Fordingbridge was built before 1252, when the bailiff and men of the town received a grant of pontage for one year towards its repairs.[7] Several similar grants followed, the last being dated in 1452.[7] The bridge is 40 metres long and consists of seven stone arches, and it is the one of the two bridges with seven arches in the UK.[10] The bridge brought much traffic through the town.[7] At the east end of the bridge was a Saint John the Baptist Hospital (hospitalry) for poor travellers.[11] It was founded 1272, and dissolved 1546;[11] some foundation walls remain, but no other remains.[11]

A custom which survived until 1840 obliged the lord of Fordingbridge during one summer month known as "fence month" to keep the bridge guarded and arrest anyone found taking venison from the New Forest.[7] Significant alterations were made in 1841 when both sides were widened, adding 45 cm to the width of the bridge.[10] The original arches are still visible, being smaller in span than the 19th-century additions.[10] A reinforced concrete footpath on one side was added in 1901 to widen the bridge.[10]

In February 2019, the bridge which is located on Bridge Street was closed for maintenance for a period of four weeks starting on the 11th February 2019. The work included blockwork replacement and carriageway resurfacing.[12]

The church of Saint Mary was originally a 12th-century building.[7] About 1220–40 the church was greatly enlarged and practically rebuilt.[7] A tower was built in the 15th century.[7] In the 19th century the south vestry was rebuilt and enlarged, and a second vestry added.[7] There was also a great deal of renovation.[7]

The church has a memorial to James Alexander Seton, last British person killed in a duel in England.[13]

Brookheath (50.951430°N 1.810175°W / 50.951430; -1.810175) is a small hamlet near Fordingbridge. It lies outside the New Forest National Park.[14]

Tinkers Cross (50.940420°N 1.797037°W / 50.940420; -1.797037) is a hamlet in the New Forest National Park of Hampshire, England. Fordingbridge is approximately 1.1 miles (1.8 km) south-east from the hamlet.

East Mills (50.927979°N 1.773777°W / 50.927979; -1.773777) is a hamlet in Fordingbridge on the River Avon, approximately 1.2 miles (2.4 km) away from the town centre.

• Major General Andrew Hay – British Army officer, born in 1762 and moved to Fordingbridge in 1802 until his death at the Battle of Bayonne in 1814
• William Ernest Brymer - (1840-1909) - politician and a Member of Parliament was born in Fordingbridge.
• Charles Chubb – (1779–1845), an English lock and safe manufacturer
• James Alexander Seton (1816–1845), the last British person killed in a duel in Britain; he is buried at St Mary's Church
• John Charles Durant – (15 July 1846 – 14 December 1929) was an English printer and a Liberal politician
• Augustus John – Welsh portrait artist, born 1878, who lived in Fordingbridge from 1927 until his death in 1961[15]
• Frank Jefferis – (1884–1938), former Southampton, Everton and England footballer
• Neil McCarthy – actor, born 1933
• Anne-Marie Mallik – born 1952, former child actress, portrayed Alice in Alice in Wonderland (1966 TV play)
• Paul Kidby – artist, born 1964, best known for his art based on Terry Pratchett's Discworld, lives and works in Fordingbridge
• Daniel O'Mahony – writer, born 1973
• David Oakes – actor, born 1983

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fordingbridge.

• Fordingbridge Town Council
• Fordingbridge Society
• Fordingbridge Museum
• 1831 census
• Rockbourne Roman Villa
• National Statistics – Fordingbridge (Ward)