The Church of St Mary's Extra, Southampton
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In 1903 the ancient parish of St
Mary Extra and that of Sholing was formed into the civil parish of
Itchen. The parish is bounded on the west by the estuary of the
Itchen and the upper reaches of Southampton water.
The London and South Western Railway
passes through the parish and the road which led to Southampton by
way of the old Itchen Ferry (The Floating Bridge which was opened
in 1836 and which is now long gone, goes over the Itchen Bridge
which was built in 1977.
There are two commons here Weston
and Sholing Common and they were included in the Inclosure Act of
1814 for South Stoneham and St Mary Extra. Weston Common is
surrounded by a large housing estate and smaller groups of red
brick housing, one of which is Newtown and close to the railway,
Another group in a hollow is Botany Bay and behind this is
Sholing.
If you continue to the west you
along Southampton Road Itchen is to the north and Woolston
the south and this leads to the Itchen Bridge which connects this
side of the Itchen to Southampton.
During the 17th to 19th century
Itchen was a tiny fishing village and the local fishermen used to
celebrate the festival of St Peter by carrying an image of the
saint in processes ion through the village up until the 18th
century. |
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known to be notorious smugglers which have now change to being
famous as yachtsmen! The modern growth of Woolston is related tot
he opening of the Portsmouth Road in 1834 and also from the ship
building yard here in 1876.
Woolston House was the site of The Paddock which was the residence
of Lady Longmore and was originally a farmhouse which was enlarged
in the 18th cneutyr and pulled down at the beginning of the 19th. |
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The building of Jesus
Chapel on Ridgway Heath in the 17th century is the major
historical even here, this was a private venture and the results
of the efforts of Capt Richard Smith of Pear Tree who was the
governor of Calshot Castle and who deemed it urgent that a church
nearer than that of St Mary, Southampton be built, because
it was too far for the inhabitants of St Mary Extra to travel and
were separated by 'the great river Itchen, where passage is very
broad and often dangerous'.
Permission to build the chapel was granted on 23 February 1617,
and on 17 september 1620 the chapel was consecrated by Lancelot
Andrewes who was the Bishop of Winchester at the time.
Ridgway Heath at that time included
what is now the present Pear Tree Green, and the pear tree which
gave it its name was already planted though at what date is not
known, But 1850 it was still standing and Mrs Preston Hulton of
Barnfield caused a young pear to be planted by its side that the
name might carry on.
If you turn to the south and go
down a lane which runs at right angles to Portsmouth Road and pass
Mayfield which was the residence of Lord Radstock the little
village of Weston will be reached, this is a rather rural area,
before reaching the village however the road passed under two
arches both of which were constructed by Mr William Chamberlayne
in the last century of of them to commemorate the Battle of
Waterloo. |
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Peartree Church |
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Chamberlayne also erected an obelisk in
1810 in memory of Charles James Fox and on the death of Chamberlayne in
1829, that portion of Weston Grove estate on which the obelisk stood was
included in the land that passed to Mr Wright of Oak Bank Itchen who
built Mayfield there in 1856.
The son of Mr Wright was an officer in
the 4th Dragoon Guards and he buried two of his favourite horses near
the obelisk and their names were engraved upon it.
Lord Radstock who bought Mayfield in 1883
however had these names removed.
The present Weston Grove estate
extends from Mayfield to the coast and was the home of Mr T. W.
Chamberlayne and the house was built in 1801, The tiny tillage of Weston
consisted of a few thatched cottages and a coupe of more modern houses a
bit nearer to the water. 'The Cliff' overlooking Southampton Water was
built in 1882 by the Revd G. W. Minns as there was no living
attached to the benefice. William Cobbett said of the place
'To them that delight in water scenes this is the
prettiest place that ever I saw in my life.'
Adapted from:'Parishes: St Mary
Extra', A History of the County of Hampshire: Volume 3 (1908), pp.
297-99. URL:
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=41974. Date
accessed: 14 February 2007.
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