View source for Weyhill

{{Short description|Village and parish in Hampshire, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox UK place
|country = England
|type = [[Village]]
|coordinates = {{coord|51.217|-1.546|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|official_name= Weyhill
|static_image_name = Weyhill Church - geograph.org.uk - 158807.jpg
|static_image_caption = Weyhill Church
| population = 794
| population_ref = <ref>[http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11127501&c=SP11+0PP&d=16&e=62&g=6431925&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&o=1&m=0&r=0&s=1483399204189&enc=1 2011 Census - Key Statistics]</ref>
|civil_parish= [[Penton Grafton]]
|shire_district= [[Test Valley]]
|shire_county=[[Hampshire]]
|region= South East England
|constituency_westminster= [[North West Hampshire]]
|post_town= [[Andover, Hampshire|Andover]]
|postcode_district = SP11
|postcode_area= SP
|dial_code= 01264
|os_grid_reference= SU3146
}}
'''Weyhill''' is a village, 2.5 miles (3.8&nbsp;km) west of [[Andover, Hampshire]]. It sits within the [[civil parish]] of [[Penton Grafton]], which includes the village of the same name. The village is famous for having a [[fair|medieval fair]] and then later a livestock fair, with up to 100,000 sheep a day being auctioned.<ref name="Hampshire History">{{cite web|url=http://www.hampshire-history.com/weyhill-fair/|title=Weyhill Fair|access-date=2 January 2017|publisher=Hampshire History}}</ref><ref name="somborne">{{cite web|url= http://www.thesombornes.org.uk/village_org_page.php?page_id=274|title=History of the Weyhill Fair|access-date=2 January 2017|publisher=The Somborne & District Society}}</ref><ref name="Penton">{{cite web|url= http://pentongraftonparishcouncil.org.uk/fairground-history.html |title=Fairground|access-date=2 January 2017|publisher=Penton Grafton Parish Council}}</ref> The fair owed its existence to Weyhill being positioned on 8 [[ancient trackways]], including the [[Harrow Way]].
==History==
The Church of St Michael and all the Angels dates back in part to the Norman period, with a 16th-century nave. It is on the site of an earlier Saxon church, itself possibly a successor to a pagan temple in Roman times, being close to the Roman road. It is a [[Grade II*]] listed building<ref>{{NHLE|desc=Church of St Michael and all the Angels|num= 1229819 |access-date=1 September 2019}}</ref>
The fair has been held on the site since the 11th century, with the first written records from 1225.<ref name="Hampshire History"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/5784|title=Penton Gradton, Hampshire|access-date=2 January 2017|publisher=A Vision of Britain Through Time}}</ref>
By the mid-19th century the fair had stopped attracting large crowds, as communications and business changed, reducing the variety of items for sale. The last fair happened in 1957.<ref name="somborne"/><ref name="Penton"/> The parish council bought the fairground after it fell into disrepair and converted it into small independent craft studios and shops in 2005.<ref name="Penton"/>
==Communications==
[[Weyhill railway station]] was opened on 1 May 1882, by [[Midland and South Western Junction Railway#Swindon, Marlborough and Andover Railway|The Swindon, Marlborough and Andover Railway]], and closed on 11 September 1961.<ref>[http://wikimapia.org/4174628/Weyhill_Railway_Station_closed_Hants Aerial photo of station site]</ref> The village is just north of the [[A303 road|A303]] dual carriageway. The [[A342 road|A342]] Andover to Devizes road runs through the town.
==Attractions==
Nearby attractions are [[Thruxton Circuit|Thruxton]] aerodrome and motor racing circuit to the west and the [[Hawk Conservancy Trust]] just south of the A303.
==Popular culture==
The historic Weyhill fairground was the site used by [[Thomas Hardy]] in his book [[The Mayor of Casterbridge]] where Michael Henchard sells his wife.  Hardy called it Weydon Priors.<ref name=" Hampshire History"/>
==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:The Weyhill Fair Public House - geograph.org.uk - 148582.jpg|The Weyhill Fair pub
File: Weyhill_-_Michaelmas_Fair_-_geograph.org.uk_-_993845.jpg| The Weyhill fairground
File:St Michael & All Angels, Weyhill- churchyard (G) (geograph 3146640).jpg| St Michael & All Angels Church
File:Weyhill_-_War_Memorial_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1199639.jpg|War Memorial gate, entrance to Church
</gallery>
==External links==
*[http://www.testvalley.gov.uk/assets/files/11284/Penton-Grafton.pdf Penton Grafton parish profile] from [[Test Valley|Test Valley Council]]
*[http://pentongraftonparishcouncil.org.uk/index.html Penton Grafton Parish Council]
*[http://pentongraftonparishcouncil.org.uk/history.html History of Weyhill]
*[http://fairgroundcraft.co.uk/ Fairground Craft - Official Website]
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Test Valley}}
{{Hampshire}}
{{authority control}}
[[Category:Villages in Hampshire]]
[[Category:Test Valley]]
[[Category:Andover, Hampshire]]