OS grid reference SZ234978 Post town NEW MILTON Dialling code 01425 | Sovereign state United Kingdom Postcode district BH25 5 | |
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Ossemsley is an extended hamlet in the New Forest National Park of Hampshire, England. It lies close to the village of Bashley. The nearest town is New Milton, which lies approximately 1.7 miles (2.4 km) to the south.
Contents
Map of Ossemsley, New Milton, UK
History
The name Ossemsley probably means "Osmund's wood/clearing". An estate called "Oselei" appears twice in the Domesday Book, but it is listed with places in the Boldre area, so it is thought unlikely to refer to Ossemsley. In 1670 Thomas Stevens is known to have been in possession of "Osmondsley".
Ossemsley has never developed into a village, and today it is a scatter of houses in a mix of farmland and woodland. The most notable building is Ossemsley Manor House, although the current building only dates from 1908. Ossemsley Manor was one the houses in which Siegfried Sassoon's wife, Hester Gatty, spent her childhood. Sassoon himself is known to have visited Ossemsley Manor in the 1930s. In the lead up to the D-Day invasion of 1944, the battalion of the 2nd Glosters were stationed (in tents) at Ossemsley manor. It is also reported that there was a prisoner-of-war camp at Ossemsley, but its precise location is not certain.
The manor house was later sold to Harold Walker, chairman of Bournemouth Football Club. The manor house earned some notoriety in the 1960s and 70s as a country club run by the professional golfer Ernest Milward. The house has since been sold and subdivided into flats.