One of the counties best known towns is Petersfield, the parish of which was enlarged in 1894 when it included parts of Buriton and Sheet parishes. The town is not mentioned by name in the Domesday Book as it may have been included with Mapledurham.

In the reign of Henry II it recieved a charter, whereby William, Earl of Gloucester, granted the burgesses of Petersfield all the liberties and customs that the citizens of Wincheser were already enjoying, and this even included the right to have a merchant guild.

The town was a market town and prospered well and it first sent members to Parliament in 1306-7 and two were returned.

This representation did not last long but was restored about 200 years later, the Reform Act of 1832 reduced the number of members to one.

There was also a cattle market here which also induced other industries to come herem and these included cloth manufacturing and leather working in the times of the Tudors, In 1428 there was at least one corn mill converted to a fulling mill to prepare the cloth. The tanning industry also flourished but the main industry was the cloth. and when James 1 came to the throne there were more than 1,000 people employed in the cloth industry but Petersfield was just as important as a market town,

The town is situated on the junction of the London to Portsmouth, Winchester and Midhurst roads and in the days of coaching was a major stopping place and there are around nine inns listed in 1696, these were, The White Hart, The Anchor, The Lion, The Half Moon, The Crown, The Swan, The Dragon, The Ship and The George.

The coming of the railway in the 19th century put more importance on the town and today it is the principal shopping centre for the surrounding area.

A lot of the older buildings from the Georgian era still exist and can be found in Sheep Street and The Spain, (which is said to have been the centre for Spanish traders), with No 20 the High Street being 'Old White Hart built around 1590

The church of St Peter
(photo kindly donated by John Owen Smith, Headley Down)

In the churchyard of St Peters there is one lonely tombstone, in memory of John Small who was one of the Hambledon cricketers and who died in 1826, on the headstone is the following inscription

PRAISES ON TOMBS ARE TRIFLES VAINLY SPENT
A MAN'S GOOD NAME IS HIS OWN MONUMENT

It is thought that he may have been one of the founder members of the club and his last recorded match was playing for Hampshire against the MCC in 1798 at the ripe old age of 61 and for 75 years he sang in the choir at Petersfield!

The Methodist and St Laurence (Catholic) churches
(photos kindly donated by John Owen Smith, Headley Down)
 

The World first Teddy Bear Museum is at Petersfield and is now internationally known, it housing one of the largest and most interesting collections of Teddy Bears on public display in the country. The curator, Judy Sparrow, started the collection in 1981, and the number of bears grew so fast that a she opened a museum in 1984 in an eighteenth century house in Dragon Street which is part of a lovely conservation area. The visitor is warned to first contact the museum before travelling from a distance and no prams, pushchairs of wheelchairs are allowed, Admittance is free. Click on the link in BLUE above for further information

IMAGES OF PETERSFIELD

Another view of the Catholic Church
The Methodist Church		The Farmers Market
Heelstone Celtic Folk Band performing at the Farmers Marker in the Square
Views of the Square