Old Down Wood
| Old Down Woods | |
|---|---|
| Woodland | |
| File:Old Down Wood 18.JPG looking east toward Old Down Wood in 2018 | |
Old Down Woods is located in Hampshire  Old Down Woods Location within Hampshire | |
| OS grid reference | SU6579333219 |
| Civil parish | |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Alresford |
| Postcode district | SO24 |
| Dialling code | 01962 |
| Police | Hampshire |
| Fire | Hampshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | |
Old Down Wood is an ancient woodland in the parish of Ropley in Hampshire, England. The largest woodland in the parish of Ropley at about 0.32km2.
Etymology
Old Down Wood first recorded in the Bishopric of Winchester Pipe rolls of 1208/9[1] as the personal name Waltero de Done; latinised from Walter who lived at 'Done' (Old Down). The name refers to its placement on a hill; down being synonymous with hill, see South Downs and North Downs. Interestingly, it is theorised [2] that 'down', which comes from Old English dūn may have been borrowed from the Proto-Celtic *dūnom (“hill; hillfort”), this detail is interesting as the woods have a particular presence of prehistoric, Iron age and Romano-British activity, suggesting the name might be a layover of a native Briton name.
Old Down Wood is first referred to as 'old' in the 1826 Greenwood Map of Hampshire [3], but records of a 'young down' wood are mentioned as far back as the 1500s. This distinction most likely refers to a wood plantation added to the east of the wood, which stood there until the 1960s[4] after which it was deforested.
History
Prehistory
Neolithic implements have been found in and around the woods (see right), suggesting a presence here in neolithic times, however no evidence for a settlement has been found as of yet.
A Bronze age Bowl barrow stands just west of the woods [5] overlooking the Arle valley west. This position, from a clear point of advantage, shows that this burial was likely for someone of significance. It has been claimed that the burial was that of a chieftain who fell in battle [6], but no evidence exists for such an event and is almost certainly folklore. Over the years the barrow has been practically ploughed flat and is barely noticeable when viewed from the footpath to the south.
Roman
There is some Roman activity in the area which mostly consists of individual finds like coins. Excavations undertaken nearby[7] claimed the presence of a Roman road in the vicinity. However, Roman settlement in Ropley is not concrete[8] and the status of some of these features being roads is questionable.
Medieval
Little archaeology from this period is present near or in the woodland, there are some woodland boundaries[9] from this period now visible as slight banks. The wood was given as part of a larger land gift from King Cenwalh of Wessex to the Bishopric of Winchester in the 7th century [10] and was a very valuable and vital asset to the Bishopric [11] which held it until the late 14th Century. Beginning in the 1380s for the creation of Winchester College the founder William of Wykeham gifts much of the bishopric's land to the college, including Old Down Wood as can be seen by a stone marker[12] which says "WIN COLL 1943". It stayed part of the college's land in the parish until the 1960s when it was sold off, however, the college still owns land in Ropley. The woodland was a vital resource for the residents of Ropley with records of permissions for wood to be taken from the woodland, for example, this record from 1426;
"Sep 28 William Honte of Sutton, […] shall have in wood called 'le Downe' at season for cutting branches and faggots for charcoal burning and talewood, and faggots made for their own use at discretion of College."[13]
References
- ↑ "The pipe roll of the bishopric of Winchester for the fourth year of the pontificate of Peter des Roches, 1208-1209". 1903.
- ↑ ^ Matasović, R. (2009). “dūno-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill ISBN 978-90-04-17336-1
- ↑ "Greenwood's Hampshire 1826". www.oldhampshiremapped.org.uk.
- ↑ "Georeferenced Maps - Map images - National Library of Scotland". Archived from the original on 2020-10-06. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
- ↑ https://maps.hants.gov.uk/historicenvironment/herResults.aspx?monuid=19040
- ↑ Hagen, M. S. (1929). Annals Of Old Ropley (Hampshire) p. 10
- ↑ NEHHAS Journal Vol 3 Collected Reports on the Roman Road Winchester - London Part 4 available at: http://www.nehhas.org.uk/pubs.htm
- ↑ "The Ancient History of Ropley (100,000 BCE-1709 CE)".
- ↑ national grid reference SU 65699 33289
- ↑ British Library, London, Codex Wintoniensis, Additional Manuscript 15350, folios 20v-21r, Numbers 56 and 57 (s. xii).
- ↑ Cassan, Stephen Hyde (January 11, 1827). "The lives of the bishops of Winchester : from Birinius, the first bishop of the West Saxons, to the present time". London : C. and J. Rivington – via Internet Archive.
- ↑ National Grid Reference number SU 65807 33243
- ↑ Record number 28545, 46 (Held in Winchester College Archives)
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