Hartley Mauditt

Hartley Mauditt is 2.6 mi southeast of the town of Alton, and 1.2 miles south of the village of East Worldham. It is on the west side of the parish of Worldham, in the East Hampshire district of the county of Hampshire. The nearest railway station is Alton.

It is now classified as an abandoned village and former civil parish, and appears to have been less inhabited since the 18th century, except for a few cottages and some larger houses. In 1931 the whole parish (larger than the village) had a population of 102.

St Leonard's church is a remaining building from the pre-18th century village. It is on the West side of a lake, as seen in the picture.

Geography
Hartley Mauditt is mainly agricultural of some 1400 acre with several farms.

The medieval village was larger than present housing which now consists of the parish church of St Leonard and a few houses to the north of the church. These include a 17th-century thatched cottage, a rectory, and a house which was the village school on the parish boundary adjoining West Worldham.

History
Hartley Mauditt was first documented in the Domesday Book as "Herlege" (meaning hartland or woodland); "Hartley" signifies a pasture for deer. The manor had been granted to William de Maldoit (by corruption rendered Mauditt) by William the Conqueror. Later, it was in the possession of John of Gaunt, the Duchy of Lancaster, the Crown, and then in 1603 to Nicholas Steward (1547-1633). In 1790, the 4th Baronet of Hartley Mauditt, Sir Simeon Henry Stuart, sold the manor to Henry Bilson-Legge. Bilson-Lagge's son son pulled down the manor house in 1798, presumably because it was in a poor state and would have been expensive to re-furbish. After the demolition of the manor house, the village declined. Today, the church is one of the few remaining buildings.

On 1 April 1932 the parish was incorporated into the larger parish of Worldham.