National Gazetteer (1868) - Heckfield

"HECKFIELD, a parish in the upper half of the hundred of Holdshott, county Hants, 8 miles from Reading, and 5 N.W. of Winchfield, its post town and railway station. It contains the tythings of Heckfield and Holdshott, and the chapelry of Mattingley. It is situated on the road from Reading to Odiham, and comprises a large tract of common. The soil is a gravelly sand, alternated with clay in the lower grounds. The Whitewater here forms a junction with the river Loddon, and the river Blackwater skirts the north-western boundary. Nearly one-half of Strathfieldsaye Park, the seat of the Duke of Wellington, is within the limits of this parish.

The living is a vicarage* annexed to the curacy of Mattingley, in the diocese of Winchester, value £331, in the patronage of New College, Oxford. The church, dedicated to St. Michael, is a very ancient structure with a massive square tower. It was thoroughly repaired in 1830. In the interior are several ancient brasses and a handsome font. There is also a chapel-of-ease at Mattingley. The parochial charities produce £13 per annum. The tithes were commuted in 1841. The Duke of Wellington and Viscount Eversley, late Speaker' of the House of Commons, are lords of the manor. "HAZLEY HEATH, a tything in the parish of Heckfield, upper half of the hundred of Holdshott, county Hants, 4 miles N. of Odiham, and 2 W. of Hartford-Bridge. "HOLDSHOT, a tything in the parish of Heckfield, hundred of Upper Holdshot, county Hants, 4 miles W. of Hartford-Bridge, and 5 N.W. of Odiham. "MATTINGLEY, a hamlet and chapelry in the parish of Heckfield, hundred of Holdshott, county Hants, 2½ miles W. of Winchfield, its nearest railway station-an post town, and 4 N. of Odiham. The living is a perpetual curacy annexed to the vicarage* of Heckfield, in the diocese of Winchester. The chapel-of-ease is a small ancient structure."

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) - Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]