Abbotts Ann - History

History

The village name Ann was derived from the Celtic river name ‘Anne’ meaning ‘Ash Tree Stream’ (now known as the Pillhill Brook). The first settlements in the area can be traced back to 50BC when the Atrebates cleared the forests and cultivated the land. During Roman rule the village prospered, and at the end of Dunkirt Lane a large Roman Villa was built. Mosaics taken from this villa are now in the British Museum.

First mentioned as Anna when reportedly granted to the New Minster of Winchester by King Edward the Elder, it was later recorded in the Domesday Book as an area containing 8 hides and 3 mills. The long, narrow and roughly rectangular boundary is characteristic of West Hampshire chalk land parishes. Defined in Saxon times, or possibly earlier, this shape ensured that Abbotts Ann had its share of river, down land and richer waterside meadows. Before the Norman invasion the land was granted to the Abbey of Hyde and became known as Ann Abbatis (the ‘Estate on the River Anne belonging to the Abbott’). Little Ann was granted to the Abbey of Wherwell. After the dissolution of the monasteries the estates passed back into secular hands.

In 1716, Thomas Pitt (the grandfather of William Pitt the Elder), the former Governor of Madras who had bought the Manors of Abbotts Ann and Little Ann, demolished the old church and replaced it with the one we see today. The Church has the largest collection of ‘Virgins’ Crowns’ in England.

In 1806, Robert Tasker settled in Abbotts Ann and later took over the Blacksmith’s business. Tasker and his brother developed the first iron plough, which become so popular that they set up the Waterloo Ironworks in Anna Valley to cope with the demand. In 1831, Robert Tasker built the school on its present site in the village, and leased it to the Revd. Samuel Best, the Rector of Abbotts Ann. Built 39 years before education became compulsory, the school was one of the first in England to take children of all denominations.

Between 1915 and 1924 the Red Rice Estate, which included Abbotts Ann and much of the surrounding countryside, was sold. In 1934 the Government bought Little Park for the new ‘Land Settlement Association’, creating the largest influx of population into the village since AD500. The settlers came mainly from northern England and Wales, and those who stayed on made a permanent contribution to the village. Of the 517 houses in the village, 107 have been built in the last 20 years.