Lasham

Lasham is a small village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is 3.4 miles (5.5 km) northwest of Alton, east of the A339 road between Basingstoke and Alton.

In the centre of the village is the church of St Mary (C of E) and a public house, the Royal Oak.

A short distance to the south is a large village pond surrounded by trees, reeds and thatched cottages. It is fed by rain water and local springs and is the home of wild waterfowl such as ducks (generally mallards), resident moorhens, and sometimes a visiting heron looking for fish.

The entrance to a large country house, Lasham House, is just to the south of the pond. The centre of the village retains much of its original character, with thatched cottages and other traditional village buildings.

Many houses in the village have been modernised and extended. Examples include the Old Post Office near the church, and Pear Tree Cottage, which used to be the home of the blacksmith. In the grounds of Pear Tree Cottage stands an 18th-century building that housed a forge and the blacksmith's shop.

Until recent times, the village's name was pronounced 'Lass-um' or 'Lass-am', but now it is generally pronounced 'Lash-am', with the middle "sh" sounded.

The nearest railway station is in Alton, 3.4 miles (5.5 km) southeast of the village. The nearest shop is Avenue Garden Centre on Avenue Road, which sells a wide range of goods and includes a restaurant.. This is accessed from the village though Highfield Road to the northeast. Other shops are in Alton to the south east.

Lasham Airfield was built in 1942 to the north of the village, and is now the site of the largest gliding centre in the UK and a company that services airliners.

The Royal Navy used the village name for a Ham class minesweeper, HMS Lasham, which was operational from 1954 to 1981.