Ropley


Ropley is a village and large civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It has an acreage of, situated east from New Alresford, and is served by a station on the Mid Hants Railway heritage line at Ropley Dean, just over from the village shops. It is southwest of Alton, just off the A31 road. It lies within the diocese of Winchester.
The St Swithun's Way, part of the Pilgrims' Way from Winchester to Canterbury, passes through the village.
It is distinguished by its general absence of pavements in favour of boundary walls, hedges and mature trees. Ropley holds an annual Boxing Day walk, and a pram race on the spring bank holiday in May.

History

In the Domesday Book Ropley was part of the "Hundred of Bishops Sutton". Ropley is noted as having provided the honey for William the Conqueror's mead.
By the 13th century the land was owned by the Gervase family who gave some land to William of Wykeham in the 14th century, who was a Bishop of Winchester and the founder of Winchester College; he later gave land in Ropley to the College. In the 15th century some of the land in Ropley was acquired by Magdalen College, Oxford

The post office was opened in 1851 when the population was 818. In 1870, the population was 796

Parish church

St Peter's parish church lies in the village. Its World War I memorial lists 40 people who died, whilst the World War II tablet lists a further 10 people. The Grade-II listed church was severely damaged by a major electrical fire on 19 June 2014 which gutted the building and destroyed the roof. However plans have been put forward to repair the building. There is also an urban legend that the priest burned down the clock tower by failing to put out a cigarette.
The vicar of Ropley from 1796 to 1811 was the Reverend William Howley. Howley is perhaps Ropley's most famous resident, and went on to serve as a Canon of Christ Church, Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford University, Bishop of London, and Archbishop of Canterbury, in which capacity he crowned two British monarchs.

Historic buildings

There are numerous old buildings in the village:
NameGradeCentury of oldest part
St Peter's Church of England ChurchGrade II11th or 12th
The ForgeGrade II15th with
Later extended flemish bond red brick walls
The Old Manor HouseGrade II16th
Town Street FarmhouseGrade II16th
Dover CottageGrade II16th
FordesGrade II17th
Cromwell CottageGrade II17th
Laurel And Pondside CottagesGrade II17th
Ropelia CottageGrade II17th
Gardeners CottageGrade II17th
FieldviewGrade II17th
FairwaysGrade II17th
Sparrow ThatchGrade II17th
The Old Farm HouseGrade II17th
The Old ParsonageGrade II17th
Ropley HouseGrade II*18th features ionic columns
flemish bond red brick walls
and architectural ornamentation
The Post HouseGrade II18th
Bounty HouseGrade II18th
North Street FarmhouseGrade II18th
Exeter HouseGrade II18th
Archbishop's CottageGrade II18th
Hall PlaceGrade II18th
Ropley GroveGrade II18th flemish bond red brick walls
CarpentersGrade II18th
Little BartonGrade II18th
Stables 10 Metres East of Hall PlaceGrade II18th
Yew Tree CottageGrade II18th
Ropley LodgeGrade II18th
Ropley ManorGrade IIearly 19th
Stable Block 20 metres South-East
of The Post House		Grade IIearly 19th

Education

The village contains one primary school, Ropley CofE Primary School, founded in 1826 by the Reverend Samuel Maddock, who first built it on a previous site in Petersfield Road. William Faichen was the co-founder of the school, and became the first Headmaster.
There was already another school in the area, located in present day Four Marks. Maddock thought that it was too much of a struggle for young children to walk a long distance every day, so he built his school in the centre of the village. The older school was demolished in the mid 1800s.
In 1869, the school burned down in a fire. It was rebuilt on the present day site at Church Street and reopened the same year. Since then, the school has operated continuously.
The school values its historic links with the community. Parts of the original Victorian traditional flint and brick buildings remain, and now form the hall and the school kitchen. The main teaching area consists of six modern classrooms with shared corridor working spaces. The most recent classroom was built in 2001 and is especially equipped for early years children. The primary school is one of the feeder schools for Perins School, and both maintain high standards.

Governance

Ropley is part of the Alton Rural county ward, and returns one county councillor to Hampshire County Council.
Ropley is part of the Ropley and Tisted district ward, and returns one district councillor to East Hampshire District Council.

Station

opened in 1865, and has operated continuously since that date, other than for four years from 1973 to 1977. Originally opened by the London and South Western Railway, services ended in 1973, but were restored by a preservation society four years later, as part of the Mid Hants Railway, running heritage services between Alton and New Alresford. There is a 100-year established garden topiary by the station house side. The locomotive shed and engineering works are located adjacent to the station, and tours may be booked. Trains operate from May to September each year, with additional Christmas and New Year special services.