National Gazetteer (1868) - Millbrook

"MILLBROOK, a parish in the hundred of Mainsbridge, county Hants, 2 miles N.W. of Southampton, its post town. It is a station on the London and S.W. railway. It is situated on the Southampton Water, and contains the hamlets of Hill, Sidford, and Shirley. It had formerly a considerable trade in coal, timber, corn, and malt, which were conveyed by means of the Andover canal and river Test, which falls into the Southampton Water at Redbridge, but this trade has recently much declined. A portion of the inhabitants are employed in the shipbuilding yard and in the iron works at Shirley, where is also a manufactory for edge tools. The soil is generally light and shallow, resting upon a subsoil of gravel. At Mill Place, within the parish, are brass and iron foundries, and works for the manufacture of marine and locomotive engines.

The living is a rectory* in the diocese of Winchester, value £487, in the patronage of the bishop. The parish church, dedicated to St. Nicholas, has a tower containing one bell. There is also a district church at Freemantle, the living of which is a perpetual curacy Pollok, the author of the "Course of Time," was buried here in 1827. The parochial charities produce about £16 per annum. There is a National school for both sexes, also an infant school. A court is held annually by the lord of the manor at Redbridge. There are traces of a bridge of five arches which formerly spanned the river Test at Redbridge, to which hamlet it has given name; also ruins of a chapel at Shirley. "HILL, a hamlet in the parish of Millbrook, county Hants, 2 miles W. of Southampton. "REDBRIDGE, a hamlet, seaport, and watering-place in the parish of Millbrook, hundred of Redbornestoke, county Hants, 4 miles N.W. of Southampton, its post town, and 6 S. of Romsey. It is a station on the Dorchester and Southampton branch-line of railway. The village, which is populous, is situated at the old bridge over the river Test, and from this circumstance it is supposed to have derived its name. It has always been a place of considerable resort for coasting vessels, occupying an advantageous position at the head of Southampton Water, and near the termination of the Andover canal. The river Test is also crossed by a railway viaduct. The above-mentioned canal has been recently closed, and on its site is constructed the new branch-line of railway to Andover and Redbridge, thus communicating with the W. and N. of England. In the neighbourhood are an oil mill, a brewery, and two manure manufactories. A considerable business is done in the import of coal and timber, and in the export of grain. There is an endowed school of recent erection, the expense of which was defrayed by Miss Doyle. The adjacent country is rich, and many families resort here for sea-bathing. "SHIRLEY, an ecclesiastical district in the parish of Millbrook, hundred of Buddesgate, county Hants, 2 miles N.W. of Southampton. It is situated on the shore of the Southampton Water, and contains, besides the village of Shirley, the hamlets of Hill, Cocksford, and Aldermoor, and a tract called Shirley Common, which has been recently enclosed. The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of Winchester, value £350. The church, which is situated on Shirley Common, has a square tower, and was built and endowed in 1836 by the Rev. W. Orger, at an expense of £3,800. Over the altar is a painting of the crucifixion. The Wesleyans have a place of worship. There are National and Sunday schools. "SIDFORD, a hamlet in the parish of Millbrook, county Hants, 2 miles N.W. of Southampton."

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