The obelisk on the cricket field

The village not only  has its feet firmly placed in the history of Cricket but it has also featured in other historic scenarios,  and one of these was that the Hambledon Boys led by Sir Richard Norton played a large part in the Battle of Cheriton in 1644. Another chapter is that when Prince Charles Stuart, who later became Charles II, was defeated a the Battle of Worcester he escaped and en route to the coast he was offered refuge in the home of Ursula Symons who was the sister of Colonel Gunter, though this was a dangerous idea as the village was all for the parliamentarians, today the house can still be seen on the outskirts of the village and is called 'Kings Rest'

Now we return to cricket which is really what Hambledon is about these days!  But the game itself was not invented here as people believe, it was Hambledon Cricket Club that standardised the rules of the modern day game. In the 18th century the game was played with a curved bat and two stumps on Broadhalfpenny Down and in 1774 the Hambledon team beat the All England team by and innings and 52 runs!

The village also has its macabre side as well as in 1376 that the first murder was recorded and the second was 400 years later.
 "At the side of the road named Cams Hill, leading west out of the village, stands a large stone, a mute memorial to a savage murder that occurred one late evening in August 1782. On their way home after drinking at the New Inn were Nicholas Stares of Soberton and young John Taylor, a blacksmith from Hoe Cross. At this very spot Taylor suddenly attacked Stares, beating him to death with a mop handle and robbing him of a purse of money. He was later executed, and this stone was erected perhaps as a warning to others, because there was once an inscription on it that began 'Let future generations know'. It has always been known locally as the Murder Stone."

In the church of St Peter the colours of the Hambledon Volunteers hang and at the beginning of the 19th century this band was raised to go and do battle with Napoleon and as they had no colours Millicent Palmer of Rookwood and her sister who were the daughters of the commanding office made the banner.

In the build up to D-day in June 1944 the roads and lanes around the village were chock full of military vehicles all waiting to go to the coast to be put on the landing craft ready to go over the Channel. While this was going on and as a security measure nobody was allowed out of the village unless they had been issued with a pass and it is recorded that the king reviewed the troops on May 22nd 1944 and the whole village turned out to welcome him even though the visit was cloaked in secrecy the word got out.

Hambledon today is a lovely place with a charm of its own, it is clean and tidy and there are various types of architecture that make up the village.

Visit the Hambledon village website for more information at:
http://hambledon.parish.hants.gov.uk/index.html

IMAGES OF HAMBLEDON

Lookibg down from the church to the Peoples Market		A Hambledon street
The Methodist Church		Looking up to the church
The Main road through Hambledon		Hambledon cottages
The rear of the church showing the external staircase		View from the church door
Manor Farm n Hambledon showing the 12th century hall on the right
The Terrace known colloquially as The Barracks which relates to the possible use of the buildings during the Napoleonic Wars.		The Broadhalfpenny Down Cricket Pavilion (Hambledon Cricket Club pavilion is at Ridge Meadow which is nearer the village
The Bat and Ball public house on Broadhalfpenny Down
Te Bat and Ball		The Old Post Office with the clock in the window and the two doors

Looking up to the Church of St Peter and St Paul Hambledon

The above is the text from the sign which is on the wall of the Bat and Ball public house at Broadhalfpenny Down, right opposite to the Hambledon Cricket Club pitch, and the obelisk. "The Bat & Ball, Hambledon is known as the cradle of cricket and was the first headquarters of English Cricket, although cricket had been played on the South Downs for two hundred years prior to that. The modern game was formulated on rules drawn up by the Hambledon Cricket Club on Broadhalfpenny Down. This formidable cricketing Club, led by Richard Nyren, the landlord of the Bat and Ball, played an All England Team on 51 occasions winning no less than 29 times! Artefacts relating to the origins of cricket can be found hanging on the walls around the pub."