Privett is a small village and formercivil parish, now in the parish ofFroxfield and Privett,[1] in theEast Hampshire district ofHampshire, England. It is 5 miles (8.0 km) northwest ofPetersfield, just off theA272 road. Its principal feature isHoly Trinity Church, designed byArthur Blomfield and built at the expense of local landowner, businessman andM.P.William Nicholson. Nicholson was also responsible for building in the village a number of dwellings for workers on hisBasing Park estate.[2] In 1931 the parish had a population of 172.[3]
A place calledPryfetesflōd (Privett's River), located in theWeald, is mentioned in the 755 AD entry of theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle (the story ofCynewulf and Cyneheard), as the place whereSigeberht of Wessex, previously a ruler ofHampshire, was driven off to.
The village was known as Pryvet in the 14th century and Pryvate in the 16th century.[4] The parish of Holy Trinity is listed as being part of the parish and manor ofWest Meon in 1391, belonging toSt. Swithun's Monastery, later granted to theDean and Chapter of Winchester byHenry the Eighth.
Holy Trinity Church was completed in 1878 on the site of an earlier building.[5] Designated asGrade II* listed in 1978, the building is oversized for the rural community[2] and was declared redundant in 1975.[6] It is now in the care of theChurches Conservation Trust.[7]
TheMeon Valley Railway, a cross-country line fromAlton towards the south coast which was opened in 1903, passed through a 1,056-yard (966 m) tunnel just north-west of the village.Privett station was further north, where the line passed under the A32.[8] The station was closed in 1955 when passenger services on the line were withdrawn, and the line was dismantled soon after.[9]
The village was designated as aconservation area in 2000.[2]
The village of Privett is part of the Froxfield and Steep ward of theEast Hampshire District Council, which is anon-metropolitan district council ofHampshire County Council. On 1 April 1932 the parish was abolished and merged with Froxfield.[3]
The nearest railway station isPetersfield, 5 miles (8 km) south-east of the village.Hampshire Bus provide a daily service to and fromAlton College on school days.[10]
