Test Valley Map with Stockbridge, Longstock, Leckford

TOP BORDER: A peat spade. For centuries peat was dug in the valley; a Danish ship: This is a reminder of the days when the Test was navigable and Danish invaders are thought to have dug a wide channel in the water meadows at Longstock for their flat bottomed boats; an eel trap, fishing flies, trout and net. The Stockbridge Silver Mace is part of the regalia of ancient Court Leets and Baron, a survival of a system from the Middle Ages to settle local disputes, and maintain common pastures and ditches.

MIDDLE SECTION:At the top of the main panel on the left is the parish church of St Nicholas, Leckford and its lychgate. Below the church are the Peat Spade public house and the parish church of St Mary, Longstock, with its lychgate. In front of the church is an example of the thatched fishing huts, which are an attractive feature of this stretch of the river. On the opposite bank is an angler who seems to have made a catch. To the right is the chancel of the old chapel of St Peter, dating from the 12th century. Below is the parish church of St Peter, built in the 1860s. To the left of Old St Peter's Church is the distinctive Town Hall. Note the two red telephone kiosks near the Town Hall. Lord Grosvenor's name is perpetuated by the Grosvenor Hotel. The old market hall is incorporated into the hotel. The room above the porch is the private sanctum of the prestigious and select Houghton Fishing Club. Race horses can just be seen on the skyline above the Town Hall as a reminder of a racecourse near Danebury.