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|official_name= Ropley|population= 1,526Census1,602 (2011 Census)HTTP://WWW.NEIGHBOURHOOD.STATISTICS.GOV.UK/DISSEMINATION/LEADKEYFIGURES.DO?A=7&B=11128021&C=ROPLEY&D=16&E=62&G=6429157&I=1001X1003X1032X1004&O=362&M=0&R=1&S=1483011835204&ENC=1ACCESS-DATE=29 DECEMBER 2016WORK=NEIGHBOURHOOD STATISTICS, |civil_parish= Ropley|shire_district= East Hampshire|shire_county= Hampshire|region= South East EnglandEast Hampshire (UK Parliament constituency)>East Hampshire|post_town= ALRESFORD|postcode_district= SO24|postcode_area= SO|dial_code= 01962|os_grid_reference= SU646319}}Ropley is a village and large civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It has an acreage of {{convert|4684|acre}}, situated {{convert|4|mi|km}} east from New Alresford, and is served by a station on the Mid Hants Railway heritage line at Ropley Dean, just over {{convert|1|mi}} from the village shops. It is {{convert|6.7|mi}} 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.WEB,www.easthants.gov.uk/ehdc/formsfordownload.nsf/0/623C0676D01E5A3C8025719C004FCCBA/$File/Ropley_Conservation_Area.pdf, Conservation Area Booklet, Hampshire County Council,www.easthants.gov.uk/ehdc/formsfordownload.nsf/0/623C0676D01E5A3C8025719C004FCCBA/" title="web.archive.org/web/20110928071445www.easthants.gov.uk/ehdc/formsfordownload.nsf/0/623C0676D01E5A3C8025719C004FCCBA/">web.archive.org/web/20110928071445www.easthants.gov.uk/ehdc/formsfordownload.nsf/0/623C0676D01E5A3C8025719C004FCCBA/$File/Ropley_Conservation_Area.pdf, 28 September 2011, dead, dmy-all, Ropley holds an annual Boxing Day walk, and a pram race on the spring bank holiday in May.

Etymology

Ropley is first recorded in AD 1167 as Ropeleia.WEB, Parishes: Ropley,www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/hants/vol3/pp55-58, british-history.ac.uk, The name is derived from the Old English personal name Hroppa,The Saxon Land Charters of Hampshire with Notes on Place and Field Names (4th Series) cognate to modern day Robert, and the common suffix léah which means meadow, small woodland or woodland clearing.WEB, Old English Dictionary,old-engli.sh/dictionary.php, old-engli.sh, The latter meaning is most likely, hence Ropley is translatable as ‘Robert’s woodland clearing’ which would have been known to anglo-saxon locals as Hroppanleah.Ropley’s etymology is also related to that of the Hamlet of Lyeway about 2.25 km away. Lyeway is first recorded in 1327 in the personal name John atte Ligheweye.WEB, HER Record,maps.hants.gov.uk/historicenvironment/herResults.aspx?monuid=41237, maps.hants.gov.uk, The name refers to a way or lane that led to the léah; in other words, Lyeway translates as the ‘lane to Ropley’.

History

In the Domesday Book of 1086, Ropley was part of the “Hundred of Bishops Sutton” (or “Ashley“).Ropley history {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007113754www.ropley2000.hampshire.org.uk/early_history.htm |date=7 October 2011 }} Ropley is supposed to have provided the honey for William the Conqueror’s mead, although there is no evidence for this, and likely a myth of later creation.WEB,www3.hants.gov.uk/localpages/central/alresford/ropley.htm, Hampshire County Council, 17 May 2009,www3.hants.gov.uk/localpages/central/alresford/ropley.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20090430023531www3.hants.gov.uk/localpages/central/alresford/ropley.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20090430023531www3.hants.gov.uk/localpages/central/alresford/ropley.htm, 30 April 2009, dead, dmy-all,

The Gervais family

By the 13th century much of the manor of Ropley was owned by the Gervase family (also written as Gervais, Gervas, Gervase, Gerveis and Jervays), the name is of French/Norman origin and likely related to the other families who held lands throughout the country such as Walter Gervais. In the 1370s the family began to gift lands in Ropley to the founding of Winchester College by William of Wykeham. William Gervas of Ropley mentioned in Winchester College documents in 1256 is the first recorded member of the Gervais family in Ropley although their presence in the village possibly went back earlier. The last known mention of the family in regard to the rentals of the Land of Roger Gervays was in 1450 Himsworth winchester college archives As at this point the family had sold most of their lands to Winchester College.

Inclosures Act

The commons and common fields of Ropley, estimated at 500 acres, were enclosed in 1709 in what was the first private act of Parliament of its kind in England. The bill was led by the Bishop of Winchester, Jonathan Trelawny, in an effort to restore his family finances, and by the College of Winchester. The enclosure was strongly contested by petition by many of the commoners who claimed that the bishop and his three appointed commissioners were stealing their commons rights. Parliament declined to intervene. Serious and bloody repercussions followed affecting neighbouring parishes and later enclosures across the country.Heal, C. Ropley’s Legacy (2021).The post office was opened in 1851 when the population was 818.Timeline of Hampshire {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210162832www.ropley2000.hampshire.org.uk/Timeline.htm |date=10 December 2008 }} In 1870, the population was 796WEB, History of Ropley in East Hampshire,www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/place_page.jsp?p_id=6173, visionofbritain.org.uk,

Historic buildings

There are numerous old buildings in the village:{| class=“wikitable“!Name!!Grade!!Century of oldest part|St Peter’s Church of England Churchnum=1339053|access-date=14 May 2012}}|11th or 12th|The Forgenum=1179655|access-date=14 May 2012}}|15th with later extended flemish bond red brick walls.|Smugglers|Grade unknown|15th with successive alterations and renovations through each century.|Soame’s Farm|Grade unknownWEBSITE=MAPS.HANTS.GOV.UK, |The Old Farmhouse|Grade unknown|16th|The Old Manor Housenum=1339020|access-date=14 May 2012}}|16th with later |Town Street Farmhousenum=1093933|access-date=14 May 2012}}|16th|Dover Cottagenum=1339055|access-date=14 May 2012}}|16th|Ropley Housenum=1157351|access-date=14 May 2012}}|16th additions in 18th |Charlwood House|Unlisted Held in Hampshire Record Office map of Rotherfield Archive Code 103M71/Z2|17th shown on a map of 1635|Fordesnum=1093929|access-date=14 May 2012}}|17th|Cromwell Cottagenum=1093930|access-date=14 May 2012}}|17th|Laurel And Pondside Cottagesnum=1093932|access-date=14 May 2012}}|17th|Ropelia Cottagenum=1093936|access-date=14 May 2012}}|17th|Gardeners Cottagenum=1339058|access-date=14 May 2012}}|17th|Fieldviewnum=1093939|access-date=14 May 2012}}|17th|Fairwaysnum=1157350|access-date=14 May 2012}}|17th|Sparrow Thatchnum=1179719|access-date=14 May 2012}}|17th|The Old Farm Housenum=1179855|access-date=14 May 2012}}|17th|The Old Parsonagenum=1339032|access-date=14 May 2012}}|17th|The Post Housenum=1093928|access-date=14 May 2012}}|18th|Bounty Housenum=1093934|access-date=14 May 2012}}|18th|North Street Farmhousenum=1093935|access-date=14 May 2012}}|18th (1730)|Exeter Housenum=1093931|access-date=14 May 2012}}|18thWilliam Howley>Archbishop’s Cottagenum=1179845|access-date=14 May 2012}}|18th|Hall Place num=1179958|access-date=14 May 2012}}|18th (1790)|Ropley Grovenum=1301730|access-date=14 May 2012}}|18th flemish bond red brick walls|Carpentersnum=1301760|access-date=14 May 2012}}|18th|Little Bartonnum=1093937|access-date=14 May 2012}}|18th|Stables 10 Metres East of Hall Placenum=1093938|access-date=14 May 2012}}|18th|Yew Tree Cottagenum=1093940|access-date=14 May 2012}}|18th|Ropley Lodgenum=1093941|access-date=14 May 2012}}|18th|Old Down Cottage|Grade unknown|18th|Ropley Manornum=1157300|access-date=14 May 2012}}|early 19th|Stable Block 20 metres South-Eastof The Post Housenum=1339056|access-date=14 May 2012}}|early 19th

St Peter’s Parish Church

(File:Ropley Church - January 2010 - panoramio.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|St Peter’s Church in the snow)St Peter’s parish church is one of the most ancient churches in the area, with the oldest parts dating to the 1000s.WEB, Church of St. Peter, Church Street,historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1339053, historicengland.org.uk, The church also bears some architectural similarities to St Peter’s ad Vincula in nearby Colemore, now redundant, albeit larger. Throughout the medieval period the church saw several modifications, including extension and addition of a south chapel in the late 1200s.The church here was considered a chapel until Ropley became a separate parish from Bishop’s Sutton. Hence in one of the first records mentioning from around 1270 the church in Ropley is known as the “Cappella de Roppele”WEB, 1924, [Publications], by Surrey Records Society,archive.org/details/publications6912surr/page/606/mode/2up?q=ropley, archive.org, meaning the chapel of Ropley in Latin . In the Victoria County History entry for Ropley the bell inscriptions of Ropley’s bells are preserved:“There are five bells, the ring having been recast from four old bells into five by Samuel Knight in 1701. The tenor bears the inscription:John Gilberd did contrive to cast from four this peale of fife (five).John Gilberd was evidently the foreman in charge of the work. The fourth bell was recast by Robert Catlin in 1749, and the third is now cracked. The bell frame was made new at the general recasting, and is inscribed IG TO 1701”.Interestingly through works and excavations done within the church itself “workmen found in the South Transept the remains of a furnace and pieces of old bell metal”, suggesting the bells were recast directly in the church. Hagen, M. Annals Of Old Ropley (1929) available at:www.ropleyvds.ropleysociety.org/annals/church-1.html#TheChurchThe vicar of Ropley from 1796 to 1811 was the Reverend William Howley (who succeeded his father, also William Howley, in the post). 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 (1813-1828), and Archbishop of Canterbury (1828-1848), in which capacity he crowned two British monarchs.By the late 1800s the church “had fallen into such a state of dilapidation as to be actually insecure”Hagen, M. Annals Of Old Ropley (1929) available at:www.ropleyvds.ropleysociety.org/annals/church-1.html#TheChurch leading to a restoration that was decided upon in 1891 but planning didn’t begin until 1892 due to the appointment and settling-in of the new vicar Rev. W. H. Leak. The new reverend was able to collect around £2,300 by 1896, about £244,000 in today’s money, which was spent primarily on repairing the roof, re-paving the floor with pine blocks and concrete along with removing the old gallery.Its World War I memorial lists 40 people who died, whilst the World War II tablet lists a further 10 people.WEB,www.roll-of-honour.com/Hampshire/Ropley.html, Roll of Honour - Hampshire - Ropley, www.roll-of-honour.com, On the morning of 19 June 2014 the Grade-II listed church was severely damaged by a major electrical fire. This gutted the building and destroyed the roof. However plans were put forward to repair the building NEWS, Ropley church gutted by blaze, BBC News, 19 June 2014,www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-27918810, 30 July 2014, and after 8 years, on 26 August 2022, the church was reopened to the public.WEB,www.hampshirelive.news/news/hampshire-news/ropley-church-reopen-eight-years-7503491, Hampshire church to reopen eight years on from devastating fire, 24 August 2022, The insides of the church are hardly recognisable and now resemble a large village hall.{{cn|date=March 2024}}

Hamlets

Ropley contains many interesting and ancient Hamlets that were part or currently are part of the historical area of Ropley Parish:{| class=“wikitable“|+ Ropley Hamlets! Hamlet Name !! First Mention !! Year MentionedCharlwood, Hampshire>Charlwood Cherlewde 1218Robertus f. Gilbertus >| 1203Henrico de Havercompe >| 1208Horethornes >| 1427Four Marks >Fowremarkes >| around 1550Kitwood >Kyteswode >| 1403Lyeway >Ligheweye >| 1327North Street, Hampshire>North Street North st. 1347Ropley Dean >l’Dene >| 1410Ropley Soke >| AD 701Stapol Wege >| AD 932Sweolynge >| 1403

Education

The village contains one primary school, Ropley CofE Primary School, founded in 1826 by the Reverend Samuel Maddock,WEB,www.millenniumschools.co.uk/pub/hants/ropley/aa.html?1141839355, Maddock of Ropley, 23 December 2010,www.millenniumschools.co.uk/pub/hants/ropley/aa.html?1141839355," title="web.archive.org/web/20110927224859www.millenniumschools.co.uk/pub/hants/ropley/aa.html?1141839355,">web.archive.org/web/20110927224859www.millenniumschools.co.uk/pub/hants/ropley/aa.html?1141839355, 27 September 2011, dead, dmy-all, 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.WEB,www.millenniumschools.co.uk/pub/hants/ropley/aa.html?1141839355, William Faichen the first headmaster, 23 December 2010,www.millenniumschools.co.uk/pub/hants/ropley/aa.html?1141839355," title="web.archive.org/web/20110927224859www.millenniumschools.co.uk/pub/hants/ropley/aa.html?1141839355,">web.archive.org/web/20110927224859www.millenniumschools.co.uk/pub/hants/ropley/aa.html?1141839355, 27 September 2011, dead, dmy-all, There was already another school in the area, located in present-day Four Marks which was financed by Marianne Hagen, daughter of the wealthy politician Jacob Hagen.WEB,www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/hants/vol3/pp55-58, Parishes: Ropley | British History Online, www.british-history.ac.uk, 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.WEB, Open document for details,www.ropleyprimary.co.uk/modules/prospectus/default.asp?pid=214, ropleyprimary.co.uk, {{Dead link|date=February 2024|fix-attempted=yes}}WEB, School Brochure,www.ropleyprimary.co.uk/_files/ECEFE599C339AEE858566AB83CEB0FA5.pdf, Ropley CofE Primary School, 7 December 2011, dead,www.ropleyprimary.co.uk/_files/ECEFE599C339AEE858566AB83CEB0FA5.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20120426031416www.ropleyprimary.co.uk/_files/ECEFE599C339AEE858566AB83CEB0FA5.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20120426031416www.ropleyprimary.co.uk/_files/ECEFE599C339AEE858566AB83CEB0FA5.pdf, 26 April 2012, dmy-all, 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.WEB, Perins School,www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/137128/perins-school, 21 February 2024, compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk,

Governance

Ropley is part of the Alton Rural county ward, and returns one county councillor to Hampshire County Council.{| class=“wikitable”!colspan=“2“|Election!!MemberWEB, My County Councillor: Hampshire County Council,www3.hants.gov.uk/yourcountycouncillors/findyourcouncillor.htm?distid=3,www3.hants.gov.uk/yourcountycouncillors/findyourcouncillor.htm?distid=3," title="web.archive.org/web/20170107173510www3.hants.gov.uk/yourcountycouncillors/findyourcouncillor.htm?distid=3,">web.archive.org/web/20170107173510www3.hants.gov.uk/yourcountycouncillors/findyourcouncillor.htm?distid=3, 7 January 2017, hants.gov.uk, !!WardConservative Party (UK)}}” ||2013|Alton RuralEast Hampshire District Council.{| class=“wikitable”!colspan=“2“|Election!!MemberWEB, Democracy at EHDC,www.easthants.gov.uk/ehdc/democracy.nsf/CouncillorsByWard?OpenView&Start=1&Count=100&Expand=30, dead,www.easthants.gov.uk/ehdc/democracy.nsf/CouncillorsByWard?OpenView&Start=1&Count=100&Expand=30#30.," title="web.archive.org/web/20110927195030www.easthants.gov.uk/ehdc/democracy.nsf/CouncillorsByWard?OpenView&Start=1&Count=100&Expand=30#30.,">web.archive.org/web/20110927195030www.easthants.gov.uk/ehdc/democracy.nsf/CouncillorsByWard?OpenView&Start=1&Count=100&Expand=30#30., 27 September 2011, 14 May 2012, easthants.gov.uk, dmy-all, !!WardRopley railway 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.WEB, Overview to stations,www.watercressline.co.uk/Your-Visit/Guide, Mid Hampshire Railway, 14 May 2012, dead,www.watercressline.co.uk/Your-Visit/Guide," title="web.archive.org/web/20120423095724www.watercressline.co.uk/Your-Visit/Guide,">web.archive.org/web/20120423095724www.watercressline.co.uk/Your-Visit/Guide, 23 April 2012, dmy-all, Trains operate from May to September each year, with additional Christmas and New Year special services.

Notable people

{{See also|Category:People from Ropley}}

• Thomas Taylor (1753–1806), cricketer who played for the Hambledon Club, made 105 first-class appearances from 1775 to 1798.
• William Howley (1766–1848), clergyman in the Church of England, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1828 to 1848.
• Jacob Hagen (1809-1870), an English Born Australian businessman and politician, who owned Ropley House and died in Ropley
• Samuel Rawson Gardiner (1829–1902), an English historian.EB1911, Gardiner, Samuel Rawson, 11, 460, Hunt, William, William Hunt (priest), 1,
• Marianne Hagen (1852-1932), Author and local Philanthropist who funded the construction of several local public buildings, lived and died in Ropley.WEB, Miss Marianna Hagen,www.ropleyhistory.org.uk/village-history/prominent-people-and-societies/miss-marianna-hagen, ropleyhistory.org.uk, en,
• Peter Eade (1919–1979), theatrical agent
• Richard Holmes CBE, TD, JP, VR (1946–2011), a British military historian.
• Brian Timms (born 1940), a former English first-class cricketer who played 232 matches

Further reading

• Hagen, Marianna S., Annals of Old Ropley (1929) WEB,www.ropleyvds.ropleysociety.org/annals/, Annals of Old Ropley, www.ropleyvds.ropleysociety.org,
• Hampshire County Council, Ropley at the Millennium, A Village Appraisal (2000)WEB,www.ropley2000.hampshire.org.uk/index.htm, Ropley at the Millennium, www.ropley2000.hampshire.org.uk, 15 January 2022,www.ropley2000.hampshire.org.uk/index.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20160214070501www.ropley2000.hampshire.org.uk/index.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20160214070501www.ropley2000.hampshire.org.uk/index.htm, 14 February 2016, dead,
• Heal, Chris, The Four Marks Murders, second edition, Chapters 2 & 4 (Chattaway and Spottiswood, Milverton, 2021) {{ISBN|978-1-9161944-2-7}}
• Heal, Chris, Ropley’s Legacy, The Ridge Enclosures, 1709 to 1850: Chawton, Farringdon, Medstead, Newton Valence and Ropley and the birth of Four Marks (Chattaway and Spottiswood, Four Marks 2021) {{ISBN|978-1-9161944-3-4}}
• Hogarth, Peter, ‘Ropley in the Age of Smuggling’, No. 84 (Alresford Historical & Literary Society 1993)WEB, Hogarth, Peter, 1993, Ropley in the Age of Smuggling,www.alresfordhistandlit.co.uk/084%20Ropley%20in%20the%20Age%20of%20Smuggling.pdf, alresfordhistandlit.co.uk,
• Kirby, T. F., The Charters of the Manor of Ropley, Hants (The Society of Antiquaries, London 1902)
• Mason, Frederick, Ropley Past and Present, A Brief Story of a Hampshire Village (Scriptmate Editions, London 1989) {{ISBN|0-951-4647-0-1}} (Hardback) 0-951-4647-1-X (paperback)
• Montgomery, Roy, The village of Ropley and the parish of St Peter (Hampshire Genealogical Society, Village Booklet No 20)
• Victoria County History, A History of the County of Hampshire: Volume 3, Ropley (British History Online 1908)

References

External links

{{Commons category|Ropley}}

• Annals of St Peter’s Church
• Stained Glass Windows at St. Peter, Ropley, Hampshire

{{Geographic location|title = Nearest Settlements|Centre = Ropley|North = Medstead|Northeast = Four MarksSoldridge|East = East TistedFroxfield, Hampshire>Froxfield|South = West Tisted |Southwest = BramdeanBishops SuttonNew Alresford>Alresford|Northwest = Bighton}}{{EastHampshire}}{{authority control}}