Heritage Bank

The parish of Buriton has some rich local heritage:

an agricultural and industrial heritage which includes years of sheep-grazing on the downs, thriving local hop gardens and local lime works; distinctive buildings using local malmstone materials; archaeological sites from roman, saxon and medieval times; and the special landscapes and natural history of the South Downs, with habitats for rare flora and fauna.

There are also local cultural connections: the Bonham Carter family and, before them, Edward Gibbon (the famous historian) have owned the local manor farm; and John Goodyer, one of Britain’s greatest botanists, also lived in the parish and is buried in the churchyard.

The Heritage Bank project collects together information about the history and heritage of the parish so as to share it more widely and record it for posterity.

The idea allows anyone to ‘pay in’ or ‘deposit’ information, experience and research and also to be able to ‘draw out’ information from the expanding pool of knowledge – to enhance their own appreciation of the local heritage and to develop their own studies.

We host an annual ‘Bygone Buriton’ Local History Exhibition (usually in September) which attracts scores of visitors from all over the country and elsewhere in the world as well as local families who are keen to expand their knowledge about the community’s rich local heritage. And we are also able to offer a signposting service if we are aware of others interested in similar areas of research.

Our early work produced a series of nine attractive, well-illustrated publications and there are also summaries of most of the findings in the ‘History’ part of this website. We now have over 3,250 photographs in our archives, many of which feature in our series of publications.

We have also made a number of oral history recordings in which residents have recalled their memories from yesteryear. These, along with any significant documents relating to the history of the community, have been deposited at the Hampshire Records Office in Winchester for safe-keeping and to enable widespread public access.

Our research into local topics is always ongoing and we are always looking for more old photographs of local people and places. If you have any information about the history or heritage of Buriton (including Weston, Nursted and Ditcham) please get in touch.