| Chalton |
| CHALTON, is a parish in the hundred of Finch
Dean, 3 miles N.E. of Horndean,, and 8 miles North of the Havant Railway
station.The village gave its name to the manor of Ceptune (Chalton)
around a thousand years ago. . Back a century Woodcroft, Old Idsworth
Rowlands Castle and a few more places were included in the parish, but
today it has become part of the parish of Clanfield and there are only a
few people living here now. There was a Saxon settlement on Church Down but all the people that lived there moved out to other villages and settlements in the area. The manor was once held by Earl Godwin and after the Normans came it was held by the Earl of Shrewsbury and Arundel who built fortifications against Henry I, it was also owned by Oliver Cromwell in 1660 and it was in 1780 that the Clarke Jervoise family held it. Thatched half timbered inn dating back to 1503, The Red Lion is reputed to be Hampshire's oldest inn and is located at the heart of the South Downs and is 1 mile from the South Downs Way long distance path. Amazing collection of three penny bits over the old inglenook fireplace And the Priory which was once the Rectory along with a windmill (built in 1460 and rebuilt in 1980on Windmill Down are about all that can be found that is interesting in the area, apart from the church that is. The Red Lion takes its name from the coat of arms of John of Gaunt who was once Lord of the Manor here and it is said that the pub used to be used as a hostel for celebrated guests to the Church or Manor and it was later turned into an inn.
The Benefit club shown above used to hold a fair on the second Tuesday in July and 'Club Day' as it became to be know was one of the most important dates in the villages history. The club used to meet in the Red Lion but the festivities started with a service in the church and then spilled outside to the many sideshows and rides with even dancing on the lawn of the Rectory. The next day the workers said they would not return to work and stayed all day in the Red Lion drinking, the famer offered to pay for all the beer in the place on the understanding the landlord would pour it down the drain to get the men out and back to work. But this backfired as the landlord was on the side of the men!! The Chalton Benefit Club held its fair on the second Tuesday in July and this was the great day of the year, or "Club Day" as it was called locally. The Red Lion was the home of the club but the fair began with a service at the church and then after many enjoyable hours of roundabouts and sideshows the day closed with dancing on the Rectory lawn. One popular story is that after one of the fairs,the workers refused to go to work the next day, and sat in the pub supping ale, whereupon the farmer offered to pay for all the beer in the house if the landlord would pour it down the drain. He thought this would do the trick, but did not realise that the landlord was on the side of the workers and refused to agree! A whipping post and stocks used to stand on the small green in front of the pub and nearby was the local pound for keeping horses, but these have all disappeared with the passing changes of time but the Court Leet reads: "20th day of April 1696. It is presented the
inhabitants of the tything of Chalton do make thoro
common Pound by the twenty-fifth of June next coming, the
Lord allowing timber upon default twent shillings for
offending." As stated above the Priory used to be the Rectory and the name was changed by Major A.F. Clark-Jervoise, JP. Stone steps can still be seen today near the top of the garden and these used to lead to a doorway into the church tower, but is now bricked up. A larger building is said to have stood here and was known as the Parsonage. The church is dedicated to St Michael and was a mother church that had in its care a few small chapels at Ideworth, Clandfield, Blendworth and Wellsworth. The village school is now a private residence but it operated from 1850 to 1920 and people used to pay a few pennies to attend. On a corner opposite the Red Lion was the Dame School. During medieval times it is said a family called L'Estrange lived at Manor Farm which is near the church and Old Farm which is also nearby was built by Thomas Fleet who farmed there in 1710. About 22 houses were in Chalton in the early part of the 1700s and a Nicholas Heberden had one of the properties and he is linked to Heberdens Farm and the Tullets who still live in the area.
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