| Liphook | |
|---|---|
| Village | |
 Liphook village centre with shops | |
  Liphook Location withinHampshire | |
| Population | 8,491 (2011 Census)[1] |
| OS grid reference | SU8331 |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LIPHOOK |
| Postcode district | GU30 |
| Dialling code | 01428 |
| Police | Hampshire and Isle of Wight |
| Fire | Hampshire and Isle of Wight |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| UK Parliament | |
| 51°04′34″N0°48′11″W / 51.076°N 0.803°W /51.076; -0.803 | |
Liphook is a village in theEast Hampshire district ofHampshire, England. It is 4.1 miles (6.6 km) west ofHaslemere, bypassed by theA3 road, and lies on the Hampshire/West Sussex/Surrey borders. It is in thecivil parish of Bramshott and Liphook, which includesBramshott,Griggs Green,Conford,Passfield,Hammer Bottom (also called Hammer Vale),Ludshott Common and Waggoners Wells, and has an area of 6,540 acres (2,650 ha) and a population of 8,491 in 2011.[2]
Liphook has arailway station, on thePortsmouth Direct line.
The village grew as a coaching stop betweenLondon andPortsmouth during the 17th and 18th centuries. It served as a base during theFirst World War and theSecond World War forCanadian troops stationed in Southern England.
The first record of Liphook is in the Bramshott Manor Court Rolls to one 'Robert of Lupe' in 1281. Then follows Matilda of 'Lhupe' in 1337, William at 'Lupe' in 1365, John at 'Lepe' in 1386, and John Maunser at 'Leope' in 1423. On his death in 1428, John Maunser's tenancy at 'Lepe' between modern London Road and Headley Road is the first identifiable landmark in Liphook. Sir Edmund Pakynham inherited a tenement and land in 'Lepoke' in 1527, and John Hooke bought the manor of 'Chiltle' in 'Lippuck' in 1591.John Speed's map of 1610 shows it as Lippocke.[citation needed]
Some people escaped from the manors of Bramshott, Chiltlee and Ludshott to Liphook, an area above the marshes around theRiver Wey, to evade taxes of their local Lords.[3]
Liphook grew further as a coach stop on theLondon -Portsmouth route. InTudor times mail was sent from London to Portsmouth viaSouthampton and the route through Liphook was only used in emergencies, such as theArmada of 1588. The map of 1675 byJohn Ogilby shows this road bypassing Bramshott and going through Lippock, however the quality of this road was very poor.
Originally travellers' needs were catered for by stalls, eventually replaced by the half-timbered houses that exist around The Square. Growth accelerated with wagons being replaced by coaches, and coaching in Liphook was firmly established by 1660. The roads were often unmaintained and unsigned -Samuel Pepys records three journeys by this road in May 1661, April 1662 and August 1668, on the last occasion staying in Lippock:
So to coach again, and got to Lippock, late over Hindhead, having an old man, a guide, in the coach with us; but got thither with great fear of being out of our way, it being ten at night. Here good, honest people; and after supper, to bed.[4]
A coach service fromLondon to Portsmouth started in 1688, which coincided with growth ofThe Royal Anchor coaching inn, and other 17th century buildings in The Square.The Royal Anchor has a fireback dated 1588 which supports the supposition that there was an earlier building on the site.
In the 17th century theRoyal Navy considered the road fromPetersfield to Portsmouth impassable for heavy goods in winter. Improvements were made in the 18th century to roads and coaches along with the coming of theturnpike. Turnpiking between Petersfield and Portsmouth began in 1710 and between Kingston and Petersfield via Liphook in 1749. The Old Toll House by Radford Bridge in Liphook dates from the 18th century.Highwaymen were a problem in the 18th century as notices in the Royal Anchor show. By 1784 London-Portsmouth coaches carried mail through Liphook. Turnpiking reduced the journey from London-Portsmouth from two days in the 1660s to 10 hours in 1819.Cary's New Itinerary of 1819 records seven coaches on weekdays left London for Portsmouth via Liphook and three during the night.
Local tradition has it thatNelson spent his last night in England in Liphook before sailing for theBattle of Trafalgar. George III and Queen Charlotte on their stay gave permission forThe Blue Anchor to be renamedThe Royal Anchor.[5]
InSamuel Lewis's 1831Topographical Dictionary of England, he referred to Liphook as a hamlet in the parish of Bramshott.[6]
TheLondon and South Western Railway came to Liphook in 1859. ThePortsmouth Direct line was built after the 1840s 'Railway Mania'. Originally the LSWR route from London to Portsmouth was via a branch from Southampton to Gosport, where passengers then went on the chain ferry across Portsmouth harbour. This lasted until theLondon, Brighton and South Coast Railway extended their London-Brighton line toPortchester. Initially the LSWR constructed a branch fromWoking toGuildford in 1845 thenGodalming in 1849, but were reluctant to extend it toHavant. Thomas Brassey, a railway contractor, was granted Act of Parliament to construct a single track in 1853 (doubling was completed on 1 March 1878[7]). The first train arrived in Liphook on 24 January 1859, but a dispute between the LSWR and the LBSCR meant full service was not initiated until 7 May.[8]
Railways caused the long-distance coaching trade to reduce in the village. The railway station became the hub of short-distance horse-drawn transport, with the blacksmiths shop in The Square flourishing until at least 1918.[9]
The railway was originally planned to bypass Liphook, but the Liphook Deviation amendment of the Act of Parliament altered it to its present course. In doing so it bisected the estate of Chiltlee Manor, a split that exists to this day. The northern part remained as fields and the village cricket pitch, until its requisition to become theBritish Army's Ordnance Supply Unit in 1939. After decommissioning it was sold toSainsbury's to form the site of their shop, the Millennium Centre and several other housing developments. The southern part was sold toMary Anne Robb in 1869, who built the house of Chiltlee Place and the surroundingarboretum in 1880. In the 1960s the site was sold to the Berg firm of builders for construction of their housing estate.
Liphook's population grew modestly, from 1,367 in 1861 to 1,614 in 1891. The railway did not cause a more substantial increase, since many could not afford to pay the fare for more than an occasional excursion. TheKelly's Directory of 1895 shows far more shopkeepers in Liphook than Bramshott: Liphook had become the predominant centre of the Parish of Bramshott. A few wealthy people however saw the potential of commuter travel, notably Mary Ann Robb and London solicitor William Thomas Longbourn, who bought Foley Manor in 1859. He later sold it to William Barrington Tristram, a former member of the Bombay Council who built the house's Victorian extension.
From 1916 to 1928 author and poetFlora Thompson[10] lived in Liphook where her husband was postmaster. Her first work,Bog-Myrtle and Peat, was published in 1921 when she lived in Liphook. The roads 'Lark Rise' and 'Candleford Gate' are named after two of the works.
During bothWorld War I andII Liphook was the base forCanadian troops, particularlyBramshott Camp. Recent roads in Liphook have been given Canadian place names to commemorate the armed forces of that country which trained in this area during the World Wars. The cemetery of St Mary's church in Bramshott has a section of Canadian graves, including those of both war dead and victims of theinfluenza outbreak of 1918.[11]
Liphook was one of three sites (withLongmoor andBordon) occupied by theRoyal Engineers' Engineer Stores Depot which, in 1948, employed 700 men. It was established in 1943, originally called Chiltlee Manor Engineer Stores Depot and in 1945 was designated 2 Engineer Stores Depot under the War Office.[12] In 1948 the local MP (for Petersfield),General Sir George Jeffreys, asked the Secretary of State for War,Emanuel Shinwell, whether the men at Liphook were fully occupied as the men themselves stated that they were not. Mr Shinwell promised an investigation.[13] The depot continued its military function until it was closed in 1968.[14]
During the hot summer of 1983, Liphook made the news as the hottest spot (33.7C) in theUnited Kingdom on three days in July.[15][16]
Liphook is in theparliamentaryconstituency ofFarnham and Bordon, and included in the civil parish ofBramshott and Liphook together with several other settlements nearby.[2]
Liphook was located on both the main road (A3) and rail (Portsmouth Direct line) links between London and Portsmouth, but is now bypassed by the A3. It is served byLiphook railway station.
Liphook is the location of thepublic schoolChurcher's College Junior school, (the Senior school being located in nearbyPetersfield) and Highfield Brookham preparatory school. The site previously housed Littlefield school, which was bought by Churcher's and converted. Liphook is also the home ofBohunt School, a top fifty secondary state school.
Liphook and Ripsley Cricket Club play on a ground to the southwest of the village just over the border in West Sussex. The club reached theNational Village Cup final in 2018, but were beaten atLord's by Folkton and Flixton by 72 runs.[17][18]
There are two golf courses near the village:Old Thorns, designed byPeter Alliss, is to the west of the village and Liphook Golf Club is to the south, straddling the Portsmouth Road that was formerly the A3.[citation needed]
Liphook Millennium Centre contains a cinema and facilities for community events and occasions.[19] Amateur drama has been a feature of village life since before World War 2. Liphook Amateur Dramatic Society (LADS) existed at least between the 1930s (revived 1955) and 1969.[20] Two companies currently (2014) exist - Liphook Amateur Productions (LAMPS) and The MAD (Methodist Amateur Dramatic) Company.[21]
Local attractions include theHollycombe Steam Collection. On the last day ofBritish Summer Time (usually the last Saturday in October) the village holds the Liphook Carnival with a procession of floats through the village followed by a bonfire and fireworks. It has taken place since 1903. "Liphook in Bloom" is an annual floral competition.[2][22] Champneys Forest Mere health spa is south of the village.
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