Easton

"EASTON, a parish in the lower half of the hundred of Fawley, Winchester division of county Hants, 3 miles N.E. of Winchester, its post town and railway station, and 6 W. of Aylesford. It is situated on the river Itchin. There are some extensive downs, affording good pasture for sheep. It is described in Domesday Survey as part of the possessions of the see of Winchester, which still holds lands in the parish. Previous to the Reformation, the monks of Hyde Abbey had a cell here, subsequently converted into the parsonage house. The living is a rectory's in the diocese of Winchester, value £514, in the patronage of the bishop. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is an ancient structure, in the early English and Norman styles of architecture, particularly worthy of notice from the apse of its chancel, examples of the horseshoe arch, and an ornamental Norman doorway. It contains a mural monument, and a curiously carved font. There is a school with a small endowment. The Wesleyans have a chapel. John Shelley, Esq., is lord of the manor. The tithes have been commuted. "

[From The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) - transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]