The London and Southampton railway served Four Marks with the opening of Medstead Station in 1868. The railway is today the popular recreational Watercress Line between Alton and Alresford.

There was a downturn in profitable farming in the 1870's and workers migrated to the towns. To stem the flow, propaganda promoted the idea of smallholdings and land was divided. The effect on Four Marks can be seen today with many of the original one and two-acre plots surviving, particularly in Blackberry Lane, which was the centre of development between 1897 and 1908. This trend continued with a further influx following World War l when the promotion of the ideology of the countryside became part of military propaganda too.

There was considerable co-operation between smallholders, e.g. in getting produce to market. This co-operation included social needs with the formation around 1910 of 'the Institute'. Meeting in borrowed premises, the Institute raised funds for a permanent building. Dating from 1913, the Institute has since been incorporated into today's first class Village Hall in Lymington Bottom. Another feature of the era is Four Marks School, which owes its existence to two benefactors. Marianna Sophia Hagen of Ropley was the driving force. She bought the plot of land in 1902 from Mr J. J. Tomlinson, a retired haberdasher, who in turn gave the purchase price towards the cost of construction. In line with the huge population increase the school has been greatly enlarged.

By 1885 the pub, also a farmhouse, was called 'the Windmill Inn'. Previously it was 'the Four Marks' for 10 years, prior to which it was the Old Windmill. Opposite, in 1903, the Post Office opened at Four Marks House.

The Church of the Good Shepherd (photograph kindly contributed by Betty Mills, Four Marks)

The Village Hall (photograph kindly contributed by Betty Mills, Four Marks)

The school

Church services had been held in the school but a proper place of worship was much needed. The redoubtable Miss Hagen provided it. She had previously sited the 'Iron Room' at North Street Ropley in 1891 and she had it removed to opposite Belford House in 1908 where it became the 'Church of the Good Shepherd'. Its replacement opposite the Village Hall was built in 1953 and since enlarged.

The interior of this modern church
The dedication stones
The stained glass window		The font
The countryside around Four Marks

When visiting the countryside became a popular pastime cycle repair shops sprung up. There were several of these in the village from 1911, which graduated into garages with the arrival of the motor car. Cafés also appeared to sustain riders and drivers. Naturally this development straddled the main road. Today there is a car showroom on the site of an original garage as well as a filling station near the shops.

Although the first branch bank appeared in 1923, after two moves it closed.

Four Marks gathered around it a fair share of folklore. This is dealt with, together with a great deal more, in 'Four Marks its Life and Origins' by Betty Mills. Now out of print, it is widely available on loan from the Hampshire Library Service.

(Text kindly contributed by Betty Mills, Four Marks)

CORRUGATED IRON BUNGALOWS
Few of the houses that still exist in Four Marks built at the start of the twentieth century were mostly made of knapped flint, but when the First World War came to an end servicemen bough smallholdings and built basic corrugated iron bungalows. These mainly consisted of four rooms with an outside toilet and no bathroom. Water from the roof was collected and stored in underground tanks and was pumped daily to a tank in the roof which fed the taps.   The OS Trig point (Photo courtesy of Colin Pink)   The village pond (Photo courtesy of Colin Pink)   The new part of the school (Photo courtesy of Colin Pink)   the village well (Photo courtesy of Colin Pink)   Entrance to Semaphore Farm (Photo courtesy of Colin Pink)   Semaphore Farm (Photo courtesy of Colin Pink) In bad weather conditions ice and frost used to form on the inside of the windows and the taps and pipes were frozen. In contrast, dry weather saw the water drawn from the underground tanks by a bucket on a rope and in hot weather all perishable food was kept in a perforated zinc cupboard that was kept on the north side of the building.