Ropley

Ropley is a village and large civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It has an acreage of 4684 acre, situated 4 mi east of New Alresford. It is served by a station on the Mid Hants Railway heritage line at Ropley Dean, just over 1 mi from the village shops. It is 6.7 mi southwest of Alton, just off the A31 road. It lies within the diocese of Winchester.

The St Swithun's Way, part of the Pilgrims' Way from Winchester to Canterbury, passes through the village.

It is distinguished by its general absence of pavements in favour of boundary walls, hedges and mature trees. Ropley holds an annual Boxing Day walk, and a pram race on the spring bank holiday in May.

Etymology
Ropley is first recorded in AD 1167 as Ropeleia. The name is derived from the Old English personal name Hroppa, cognate to modern day Robert, and the common suffix léah which means meadow, small woodland or woodland clearing. The latter meaning is most likely, hence Ropley is translatable as 'Robert's woodland clearing' which would have been known to Anglo-Saxon locals as Hroppanleah.

Ropley's etymology is also related to that of the hamlet of Lyeway about 2.25 km away. Lyeway is first recorded in 1327 in the personal name John atte Ligheweye. The name refers to a way or lane that led to the léah; in other words, Lyeway translates as the 'lane to Ropley'.

History
In the Domesday Book of 1086, Ropley was part of the "Hundred of Bishops Sutton" (or "Ashley"). Ropley is supposed to have provided the honey for William the Conqueror's mead, although there is no evidence for this, and is likely a myth of later creation.

The Gervais family
By the 13th century much of the manor of Ropley was owned by the Gervase family (also written as Gervais, Gervas, Gervase, Gerveis and Jervays). The name is of French/Norman origin and likely related to the other families who held lands throughout the country, such as that of Walter Gervais. In the 1370s the family began to gift lands in Ropley to the founding of Winchester College by William of Wykeham. William Gervas of Ropley, mentioned in Winchester College documents in 1256, is the first recorded member of the Gervais family in Ropley, although their presence in the village possibly went back earlier. The last known mention of the family in regard to the rentals of the land of Roger Gervays was in 1450. At this point the family had sold most of their lands to Winchester College.

Inclosures Act
The commons and common fields of Ropley, estimated at 500 acres, were enclosed in 1709 in what was the first private act of Parliament of its kind in England. The bill was led by the Bishop of Winchester, Jonathan Trelawny, in an effort to restore his family finances, and by the College of Winchester. The enclosure was strongly contested by petition by many of the commoners, who claimed that the bishop and his three appointed commissioners were stealing their commons rights. Parliament declined to intervene. Serious and bloody repercussions followed affecting neighbouring parishes and later enclosures across the country.

The post office was opened in 1851 when the population was 818. In 1870, the population was 796.

Historic buildings
There are numerous old buildings in the village:

St Peter's Parish Church


St Peter's Parish Church is one of the most ancient churches in the area, with the oldest parts dating to the 1000s. The church also bears some architectural similarities to St Peter's ad Vincula in nearby Colemore, now redundant, albeit larger. Throughout the medieval period the church saw several modifications, including extension and addition of a south chapel in the late 1200s.

The church here was considered a chapel until Ropley became a separate parish from Bishop's Sutton. Hence, in one of the first records mentioning from around 1270 ,the church in Ropley is known as the "Cappella de Roppele", meaning the chapel of Ropley in Latin.

In the Victoria County History entry for Ropley the bell inscriptions of Ropley's bells are preserved:

"There are five bells, the ring having been recast from four old bells into five by Samuel Knight in 1701. The tenor bears the inscription: John Gilberd did contrive to cast from four this peale of fife (five).

John Gilberd was evidently the foreman in charge of the work. The fourth bell was recast by Robert Catlin in 1749, and the third is now cracked. The bell frame was made new at the general recasting, and is inscribed IG TO 1701".

Interestingly, through works and excavations done within the church itself, "workmen found in the South Transept the remains of a furnace and pieces of old bell metal", suggesting the bells were recast directly in the church.

The vicar of Ropley from 1796 to 1811 was the Reverend William Howley (who succeeded his father, also William Howley, in the post). Howley is perhaps Ropley's most famous resident, and went on to serve as a canon of Christ Church, Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford University, Bishop of London (1813–1828), and Archbishop of Canterbury (1828–1848), in which capacity he crowned two British monarchs.

By the late 1800s the church "had fallen into such a state of dilapidation as to be actually insecure", leading to a restoration that was decided upon in 1891. However, planning did not begin until 1892, due to the appointment and settling-in of the new vicar, Rev. W. H. Leak. The new reverend was able to collect around £2,300 by 1896, about £244,000 in today's money, which was spent primarily on repairing the roof, re-paving the floor with pine blocks and concrete, and removing the old gallery.

Its World War I memorial lists 40 people who died, whilst the World War II tablet lists a further 10 people.

On the morning of 19 June 2014 the Grade-II listed church was severely damaged by a major electrical fire. This gutted the building and destroyed the roof. However, plans were put forward to repair the building, and after eight years, on 26 August 2022, the church was reopened to the public. The insides of the church are hardly recognisable and now resemble a large village hall.

Hamlets
Ropley contains many interesting and ancient hamlets that were part or currently are part of the historical area of Ropley Parish:

Education
The village contains one primary school, Ropley CofE Primary School, founded in 1826 by the Reverend Samuel Maddock, who first built it on a previous site in Petersfield Road. William Faichen was the co-founder of the school, and became the first headmaster.

In 1869, the school burned down in a fire. It was rebuilt on the present day site at Church Street and reopened the same year. Since then, the school has operated continuously.

By the early 1900s it became clear that the population growth in Four Marks, then a hamlet within Ropley Parish, made necessary the construction of a new school there. Financed by Marianne Hagen, daughter of the wealthy politician Jacob Hagen, the Ropley School was opened in 1902. "RS 1902" can still be seen on the front of the main school building (see Four Marks School).

The school values its historic links with the community. Parts of the original Victorian traditional flint and brick buildings remain, and now form the hall and the school kitchen. The main teaching area consists of six modern classrooms with shared corridor working spaces. The most recent classroom was built in 2001 and is especially equipped for early years children.

The primary school is one of the feeder schools for Perins School, and both maintain high standards.

Governance
Ropley is part of the Alton Rural county ward, and returns one county councillor to Hampshire County Council.

Ropley is part of the Ropley and Tisted district ward, and returns one district councillor to East Hampshire District Council.

Station
Ropley railway station opened in 1865, and has operated continuously since that date, other than for four years from 1973 to 1977. Originally opened by the London and South Western Railway, services ended in 1973, but were restored by a preservation society four years later, as part of the Mid Hants Railway, running heritage services between Alton and New Alresford. There is a 100-year established garden topiary by the station house side. The locomotive shed and engineering works are located adjacent to the station, and tours may be booked. Trains operate from May to September each year, with additional Christmas and New Year special services.

Notable people

 * Peter Eade (1919–1979), theatrical agent lived in Ropley Grove until his death.
 * William Howley (1766–1848), clergyman in the Church of England, Archbishop of Canterbury 1828–1848.
 * Jacob Hagen (1809–1870), English-born Australian businessman and politician; owned Ropley House and died in Ropley.
 * Samuel Rawson Gardiner (1829–1902), English historian, born in Ropley.
 * Marianne Hagen (1852–1932), author and local philanthropist who funded the construction of several local public buildings, lived and died in Ropley
 * Richard Holmes CBE, TD, JP, VR (1946–2011), British military historian.
 * Thomas Taylor (1753–1806), cricketer who played for the Hambledon Club, made 105 first-class appearances 1775–1798.
 * Brian Timms (born 1940), former English first-class cricketer who played 232 matches.