I lived most of my life in Hampshire, in this magical county, and my fondest memories of my youth is driving through these magical lands with my parents and brothers. I also did my biology fieldwork near here with my lovely teacher, Mrs Jenny Woods when I was an A level student. And so, my heart is wedded to Hampshire.
But the curious thing is I never took the time to stop and walk up to this magical church, St Hubert’s in Idsworth, though I have been past in in the car countless times.
And in the spirit of hunting for Strandbeesten and other magic, which is on our summer curriculum of love, magic and beauty, we decided to make the short pilgrimage up to this church, which was built around AD1030. That’s over a thousand years ago!
Built by Earl Godwine, the father of King Harold, the original north wall of this tiny church still stands today.
This area had been settled since Roman times at least. Idsworth may have been a Roman farmstead, coins and pottery have been found in the vicinity. What’s amazing is since Saxon times, people have been trekking up here to worship. You can read the history here:
What a fascinating read! It’s like the whole history of England is encapsulated in this little church.
“Fancy we never came here till today!” I said to my partner in wonder and he laughed.
“When the time is right, Jac, no hurry, hey. It’s been here for almost a thousand years.”
There’s not much of a community here in Idsworth today, unlike the Saxon and Norman times, but the door of the church is left open, and you can help yourself to these lovely framed paintings (by donation) painted by Jeff Evans.
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