Places to Visit

Hambledon House Gardens

Telephone 023 9263 2380.  Email dhartdyke@tiscali.co.uk

Hambledon house lies in the centre of the village.  It has a notable garden of some two acres which is a plantsman's paradise.  Large borders are full of a wide variety of interesting and unusual perennials and shrubs, with imaginative plant combinations.  A new area of planting is being developed following the necessary removal of a very old copper beech, and for the regular visitor there is always a new project under way.  Hidden and secluded areas reveal views of village rooftops.

The Garden is sometimes open through the National Garden Scheme - please contact as above.

The garden is open from May to October for private individuals and groups, by appointment.

Church

At the top of the High Street is the Church of St Peter and St Paul. It is outwardly 13th century with a 15th century porch and late 18th century tower but with an almost entire 11th century Saxon church within. It is the oldest standing building in the village. The yew tree in the churchyard is about 950 years old. Further information on the Church is contained in John Goldsmith's book Hambledon. A leaflet on the Church is available.

To celebrate the beginning of the third millennium of the Christian faith, a small chapel has been created within the church. An altar has been fashioned together with a sculptured crucifix. A commemorative slab has been put in the floor with an inscription which reads "To mark the year of Our Lord Jesus Christ MM and the third millennium of the Christian faith"

Notable Houses and Streets

The High Street leading from The People's Market up to the Church is a veritable treasure of history. Although now almost entirely residential, it has in recent times contained a grocer's shop, tea room, two butchers' shops and, in earlier times, a saddler, a public house and a private school. Many of the houses are timber framed dating from 1600 or earlier. Some have been given more modern fronts in later years as is common in many houses in the village.

West Street, contains houses from every period from about 1200 to the present day. Manor Farm, on the south side just past the Post Office and Bank is a rare example of a manor house of about 1200 in stone and flint. The north wing in timber framing was added in the 16th century and has been altered many times.

Almost opposite the farm buildings is The New Inn which ceased trading in May 2000. Further down on the same side is Minna Bluff, a brick-built detached house, notable for its association rather than architecture. It was built in 1932 by William Lashly who had accompanied Captain Scott on his two expeditions to Antarctica. It was named after a promontory not far from Scott Base to the west of which lie the Lashly Mountains. He was born and brought up in Hambledon before entering the Royal Navy in 1889 as a stoker. William Lashly is commemorated in the village at Lashly Meadow, a recent housing association development, a few hundred yards up Green Lane, the B2150 road to Droxford. From Minna Bluff it is a short step to The Vine Inn beside the Village Hall built in 1982.

Further down West Street (the B2150 from the junction with Green Lane), just beyond Lotts General Store and Tea Room, at the bottom of Cams Hill, the imposing Bury Lodge can be seen to the east above the main road. Built in the early 19th century, it has some fine knapped flintwork. Behind it lies the site of a Roman building.

Running north east from the centre of the village, East Street, starts at George House, an 18th century coaching house with a stable yard virtually untouched and a very good wrought-iron bracket for its sign. Here the old Cricket Club held its annual dinners in the 18th century. The Hambledon Hunt Balls were held here in the 19th century. Over the centuries the coach left daily to catch the Portsmouth to London stage-coach near Petersfield. The old George Hotel has been refurbished as residential units. Opposite, the row of houses as far as the old Bakery were all re-built on the site of earlier houses destroyed in a fire in 1726. Many frontages have been added to earlier houses along East Street. Just as one leaves the village, the Vineyard can be seen on the slopes of Mill Down.

Alongside George House, Speltham Hill lane leads to Speltham Down, with access to the National Trust land on the right. Several interesting houses starting with the large ones at the bottom front onto the lane which leads up to a modern house at the top on the site of an old windmill.

Further descriptions of houses in the village are in the booklet "Hambledon Guide & Walks" available from Clark's - The Peoples Market price 75p.

Hambledon Vineyard

THE BEGINNING
Hambledon Vineyard was first planted by Sir Guy and Lady Salisbury-Jones in 1951 with the assistance of Pol Roger (a relationship developed by the General and his family during and following WW2 and currently being rekindled by the present owner). Sir Guy acquired his love of French wine in the ‘Great War’ when the French soldiers shared their wines with the General (then a young subaltern). Following retirement from his post as Military Attaché at the British Embassy in Paris during 1946 - 1949, Major General Sir Guy Salisbury Jones returned to Hambledon and established the first commercial vineyard in England in 1952.
Through the 1950’s and 1960’s the French Champagne house of Pol Roger took an interest in Hambledon Vineyard. Odette Pol Roger shortly became a good friend of the family and some of the vintages include the name of Pol Roger on their back label. Combined sales and marketing events were undertaken. Like most other English Vineyards at that time, Hambledon produced still white wines largely from hybrid grapes varieties such as Seyval Blanc and the business produced up to 30,000 bottles of wine per annum.

THE VINEYARD
In 1999, Ian Kellett (now the Managing Director of Hambledon Vineyard plc) acquired the vineyard and in 2005 replanted the 10 acre site with three noble varieties used in Champagne – Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. This mix was selected to provide the highest quality fruit and also to create the opportunity for Herve Jestin, Hambledon Vineyard’s Head Winemaker, to carefully blend the resulting different base wines, at assemblage, to create a leading cuvee of subtle complexity, in a light crisp sparkling wine with  good mousse (hence the predominance of Chardonnay).
Hambledon Vineyard has an ideal South facing chalky slope from 60-100m altitude above sea level, which along with the hill formations surrounding the vineyard and the shelter from trees and other factors, provides an ideal micro-climate for the production of high quality grapes for sparkling wine production. (During summer the temperature within the vineyard can be 2-3 o C higher than the surrounding area).
 
THE WINERY
In 2009 plans were developed for the construction of a new state of the art winery, including the best Champagne presses and wine tanks. The construction of the new winery started in August 2011 and was completed in the early summer of 2013. Wine was made in Hambledon on site for the first time in 15 years in 2011.

THE WINE
The winery currently sell Mill Down Brut 2010 on site, a careful and balanced blend of the three Champagne varieties. Our non-vintage wine, Hambledon, is currently ageing in bottles in our cellar and is a special, delicately balanced blend of some of our best cuveés and will be released when it approaches its potential in 2014 or 2015.

VISIT THE VINEYARD
The vineyard and winery are open for tours and tastings by appointment for a minimum of 10 people. For more information please email info@hambledonvineyard.co.uk, telephone 023 9263 2358 or see the website www.hambledonvineyard.co.uk where you can find out about joining The Hambledon Club.

Local Walks and Scenic Views

There are many attractive walks in and around Hambledon affording pleasing views of the village from the surrounding downlands including Speltham Down. There are several suggested walks varying from 1 to 10 miles in the booklet 'Hambledon Guide & Walks' available from The Peoples Market price 75p. For details of the short walks around the village visit the Local Walks page.

The Wayfarers Walk from Emsworth to Inkpen Beacon (about 70 miles) passes through the village. A leaflet, published by Hampshire County Council in 1996, is available. Tel: 01962 870500.

Speltham Down

Opposite the High Street, Speltham Hill leaves the main road to the south-east and winds up past Speltham Down. From the upper reaches excellent views of the whole village can be seen. In 1984 these rolling fields were due to be sold. An appeal was launched and by public subscription the down was bought by the village and the National Trust who now own and manage it. It is one of the few chalk downs owned by the Trust. The wild flowers are a delight. Cowslips are followed by carpets of buttercups with clover and ox-eye daisies galore, then the orchids - Common Spotted, Bee, Pyramidal, Common Twayblade and Greater Butterfly - bud and bloom in their turn. The Wayfarers Walk crosses Speltham Down on its route through the centre of the village.