The History of Binsted Village
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	for information on the Semaphore Chain

Binsted is mentioned in the Doomsday Book, 1086 AD, as being in the Saxon Hundred of Netham and part of the Manor of Alton Westbrook. At that time the village was referred to as "Benested" which means "holding of land". Over the years, however, there has been a number of variations on the spelling of the name. For example Bensted, Benested and Boonsted were all apparently in use in the 11th century. By the 14th century this was altered to Bensted and later, in the 17th century, to Bennsted.

Prior to the Norman Conquest in 1066 AD Binsted was known as "Binsted Popham" and was held by Boda for the King. There was, in addition to the Manor of Binsted Popham, a Manor of "Binsted" proper occupied by the Bensted family. Therefore, the origins of the name and its variations start to be understood.

Originally the village was little more than a clearing on top of a ridge and the name probably has its origin in the Saxon word "bin" meaning "heap". This is not the 20th century meaning but "heap" or "mound" marking a battle. The existing parish church was built about 1140 AD and at that time probably served only a few residents of a small number of local farms.

During the reign of William I (1066 - 1087) the forest around Binsted was the home of wild bull, cow, boar and deer together with hunting for wolves and wild cats.

While there was undoubtedly some earlier occupation in the Binsted area prior to the 11th century, evidence to support its presence is scarce indeed even though there is little doubt that there was some Saxon occupation prior to this date. There is no real evidence of any serious Roman occupation within the immediate area of the village and the small number of Roman artefacts found are so random that they are most likely the result of losses by travellers or passers by. There is, however, some evidence of a much earlier settlement and some remains of a Roman Villa.

The forest of Alice Holt lies to the east of Binsted and was an important supplier of timber in the 12th and 18th centuries being stocked with fine Oak and Beach trees. In the early 1600s Alice Holt forest was claimed to have 13,000 trees "fit for ship building". It was during the 19th century that the forest was stocked with deer - a herd of some 200 deer still roam in the forest today.

The oldest surviving cottage in Binsted is Cobbdens, pictured above, parts of which are reputed to date from the 12th century. Later, and certainly during the the late 1800s Cobbets was a "Poor House". Cobbets is now an attractive private residence.

If the history of Binsted appears somewhat discontinuous and lacking in excitement it does contain one item of great interest. During the early 1800s the nature of its geography marked River Hill, Binsted, as a chosen site for "Semaphore House". For more information on Semaphore House Click here.

In 1875 the Binsted school was built on land belonging to the Wickham Estate from stones brought from "River Hill Pit" (River Hill was the site chosen for Semaphore House). The school is still serving the local community 122 years later and remains a centre of activity for the community. The Wickham Institute was presented to the village by Mrs Wickham in 1900 and is a very important part of the village being one of the oldest surviving village halls in the South East.

The well known author H V Morton, a travel writer, author of numerous newspaper articles and about 30 books, lived in Binsted during the 1930s and 1940s. His most famous books were the "In Search of ....... " series. He was a member of the local Home Guard during the 1939 to 1945 period - in fact he was its commander when it was formed in 1940 due to his being the only able bodied person in Binsted to have held a commission in the first world war.

A who was probably this countries most famous, soldier settled in the Binsted and Bentley area after the Second World war. In 1947 a ruined watermill on the River Wey in Hampshire, Isington Mill, was bought by Bernard Law 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein who lived there until his death on 24 March 1976. Following a state funeral, to which he was entitled as a Knight of the Garter, Viscount Montgomery was buried in a simple grave in the Churchyard at Binsted Parish Church. Stories about the "man" are legend in the area but perhaps the one which catalyses most with his character concerns the garden at Isington Mill. When "Monty" bought the Mill it was standing in a meadow overgrown with all sorts of weeds and thistles. Advice from friends was to have the garden plowed over and re-seeded - but Monty would have none of this. Instead, he took the attitude that the turf on the meadow was probably 1,000 years old and so decided it should be restored. Following restoration it is said that not one single weed was tolerated in the whole lawn, almost 1,000 square yards. Further, it is said that both worms and moles were absolutely forbidden.

Visitors to the WEB-site can form their own opinion on the subject of whether Montgomery was a resident of Binsted or of Bentley but should take note of the following facts. Isington is a very small hamlet located approximately midway between Binsted and Bentley and while both villages would no doubt lay claim Montgomery being "their resident" it should be remembered that he was a regular worshipper at the Church of the Holy Cross in Binsted and also that at his own request he was laid to rest in the churchyard at Binsted Parish Church.

Understanding the history of Binsted is not an easy subject and the help provided by Mrs Pat Seale was invaluable in completing this section of the WEB-site. Mrs Seale is involved primarily in researching the "modern" history of Binsted in great deatail and has undertaken a great amount of work checking through parish registers, other registers and records.

This is a very brief resume of the history of Binsted. Visitors are encouraged to "dig deeper" to uncover more detail and help piece together the history of this very original Hampshire village.

For a view of life in Binsted during this century visitors are recommended to search for a copy of "My Binsted" by N George Clements. Although this work is now out of print it paints a fascinating picture of life in the village seen through the eyes of a long time resident who died just recently in his 90s and had spent all his life in the village. He also recalls earlier events and stories as told to him by other residents. The book contains a number of early photographs of the village including reproductions from a set of famous lantern slides taken by the Reverend A E Wright, Curate of Binsted, in the late 1880s.