| Burghclere |
| A quiet little village much loved by Dean Field
who was Chaplain to Elizabeth I and rector here at the end of his life.
It is a parish and a village in the lower division of the hundred of
Evingar and partly in the hundred of Kingsclere. Sited in a fine
countryside near to the Hampshire Berkshire border at the foot of a
range of hills on which can be found several barrows. Several flint
implements have been found which are evidence of prehistoric occupation
here and the documented history of the village shows some very early
land grants to the church in Winchester at Clere, which mean Burghclere
combined with Highclere. The medieaval village of Old Burghclere, long ago deserted, can only be seen as humps and bumps in the ground though most of this has now been levelled out by the plough. The village did have is own church and manor house. It is said that the Mediaeval hospital of St Cross is thought to have stood on the main Winchester to Oxford road. and the 12th century church of All Saints at Old Burghclere was restored in the mid 19th century but has retained its links to the 12th. Burghclere Manor stayed in the hands of the See of Winchester up until 1551 when Edward IV received it, It was granted to William Fitzwilliam and remained in his family until Richard Kingsmill acquired it in 1577 and then it passed by descent to the Lucy family. It was conveyed to Sir Robert Sawyer in 1671 and has been handed down through his daughter to the Earl of Pembroke. The twenthieth century shrine rises like a tower between two houses of charity, The Oratory of All Souls or as more commonly known, The Sandham Memorial Chapel contains pictures of scenes painted on canvas by Sir Stanley Spencer and it shows a young officer who in 1919 died from illness contracted in Macedonia.
The church has three doorways, two of which are Norman and one more modern, on the smaller of the two Norman doors can be seen a Tympanum scaled like a monster from the sea while the third doorway is framed by pillars carved with foliage and topped by an arch. The nave is 800 years old and the alter has silver plate that was originally built to hold sweetmeats and was presented to the church by a lady of the congregation about 200 years ago. The pulpit is made from wrought steel and the chancel screen commemorates the safe return of a son who went to fight in the Great War.
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