OS grid reference SU435312 Region South East Sovereign state United Kingdom Local time Wednesday 3:42 AM Dialling code 01962 University Sparsholt College | Civil parish Sparsholt Country England Shire county Hampshire District City of Winchester UK parliament constituency Winchester | |
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Population 967 (2001)
982 (2011 Census) Weather 11°C, Wind SW at 23 km/h, 89% Humidity | ||
Sparsholt (/ˈspɑːʃəʊlt/) is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England. The village lies to the west of Winchester, and has a population of 967.
Map of Sparsholt, Winchester, UK
Sparsholt College, a leading land-based college and home to the BBC Radio 4 Gardeners' Question Time 'potting shed', is located on the outskirts of the village. The parish church, St. Stephen's, contains sections ranging from 12th to 19th century in age. The parish also contains the small hamlet of Dean, Farley Mount Country Park and Crab Wood SSSI. The grounds of the 17th century Lainston House (now a hotel) contain the ruins of the 12th century St. Peter's church.
Archaeological discoveries include Bronze Age bowl and disc barrows. Just west of the village is Sparsholt Roman Villa. It was constructed in phases from the 2nd to the 4th century, and then abandoned. It was excavated in 1965-72. Nothing is visible at the site today, but finds from the excavations are on display in Winchester City Museum, and one wing of the villa has been reconstructed at Butser Ancient Farm.
Today Sparsholt is served by a regular bus service (services 7 and 7A), operated by Stagecoach from Winchester Bus Station. However, the village's narrow lanes make accessibility difficult for large vehicles.
Given the relatively small size of the village, it has a very good provision of services. Within the village centre, and located within 100m of each other, there is a primary school, Church (of St. Stephen), village hall, telephone box and the small village shop with post office. This tiny building was originally the Well House of the village, holding water drawn from a wind-powered well for use by the villagers. The shop still bears the same name and its internal post office is arguably one of the smallest in the United Kingdom. In 2009 the shop was purchased by the villagers, under an industrial provident scheme, in order to safeguard its future. There is also Sparsholt cricket club, which is a quarter of a mile north of the village centre.