Beauworth
Kilmeston
fox hunting
Ridge, Mr
Long, Mr
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I came on to Beauworth to inquire after the family of a worthy
old farmer, whom I knew there some years ago, and of whose death
I had heard at Alresford. A bridle road over some fields and
through a coppice took me to Kilmston, formerly a large village,
but now mouldered into two farms, and a few miserable tumble-down
houses for the labourers. Here is a house, that was formerly the
residence of the landlord of the place, but is now occupied by
one of the farmers. This is a fine country for fox-hunting, and
Kilmston belonged to a Mr. Ridge who was a famous fox-hunter, and
who is accused of having spent his fortune in that way. ... The
place now belongs to a Mr. Long, whose origin I cannot find out.
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Kilmeston
Beacon Hill
hills
Exton
Exton Beacon
beacon
West Meon
Soberton
Corhampton
Warnford
Meonstoke
Droxford
Meon, River
Old Winchester Hill
hillfort
Baines, Rev
Cochrane, Lord
Poulter, Rev
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From Kilmston I went right over the Downs to the top of a hill
called Beacon Hill, which is one of the loftiest hills in the
country. Here you can see the Isle of Wight in detail, a fine
sweep of the sea; also away into Sussex, and over the New Forest
into Dorsetshire. Just below you, to the East, you look down
upon the village of Exton; and you can see up this valley (which
is called a Bourne too) as far as West-Meon, and down it as far
as Soberton. Corhampton, Warnford, Meon-Stoke and Droxford come
within these two points; so that here are six villages on this
bourne within the space of about five miles. On the other side
of the main valley down which the bourne runs, and opposite
Beacon Hill, is another such a hill, which they call Old
Winchester Hill. On the top of [t]his hill there was once a
camp, or, rather fortress; and the ramparts are now pretty nearly
as visible as ever. The same is to be seen on the Beacon Hill
at Highclere. These ramparts have nothing of the principles of
modern fortification in their formation. You see now signs of
salient angles. It was a ditch and a bank, and that appears to
have been all. I had, I think, a full mile to go down from the
top of Beacon Hill to Exton. This is the village where that
Parson Baines lives who, as described by me in 1817, bawled in
Lord Cochrane's ear at Winchester in the month of March of that
year. Parson Poulter lives at Meon-Stoke, which is not a mile
further down. So that this valley has something in it besides
picturesque views! I asked some countrymen how Poulter and
Baines did; but, their answer contained too much of irreverence
for me to give it here.
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