Chilbolton Observatory

Royal Air Force Chilbolton or RAF Chilbolton was a Royal Air Force station in Hampshire, England. The airfield was located in Chilbolton approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) south-southeast of Andover, about 62 miles (100 km) southwest of London Opened in 1940, it was used by the Royal Air Force and later by the United States Army Air Forces. During the war it was used primarily as a troop carrier airfield for parachutists. After the war it was used for military jet aircraft training before closing as an RAF station in 1946, although it was then used until the early 1960s by the Vickers-Supermarine and Folland aircraft companies for flight testing and development flying. Today the remains of the airfield are located on private property, being used as agricultural fields.

Chilbolton is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England, near to Stockbridge. It is situated 18 miles (29 km) north of Southampton and four miles (6.4 km) south of Andover. Its most notable feature is the Chilbolton Observatory situated on the disused RAF Chilbolton airfield. The parish church of St Mary the Less dates back to the 12th century, on the site of an earlier wooden church. The River Test runs through Chilbolton Common. Chilbolton is recorded in the Domesday Book under the name Cilbodentune.

Chilbolton Common is a 35.5-hectare (88-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Chilbolton in Hampshire.This site comprises a stretch of the River Test and its neighbouring flood plain. Habitats include marshy meadows, fen, willow carr and chalk downland. The flora is rich and diverse, with more than 265 species of flowering plant recorded, such as marsh arrowgrass, bog pimpernel, adders-tongue fern and early marsh-orchid.

The River Anton is a chalk stream in Hampshire in south east England. It rises in Andover and flows southwards for approximately 8 miles (13 km) to meet the River Test near Chilbolton. The principal tributary of the Anton, the Pillhill Brook, joins the river at Upper Clatford.

Fullerton Junction railway station served the village of Fullerton, Hampshire, England. It was on the Sprat and Winkle Line and the Fullerton to Hurstbourne Line.

Wherwell Abbey was an abbey of Benedictine nuns in Wherwell, Hampshire, England.

Wherwell is a village on the River Test in Hampshire, England. The name may derive from its bubbling springs resulting in the Middle Ages place name “Hwerwyl” noted in AD 955, possibly meaning “kettle springs” or “cauldron springs.” Pronunciation of the name has ranged from “Hurrell” to “Wer-rel” to present-day “Wher-well.”Before the Dissolution, the parish of Wherwell was in the hands of an important abbey of Benedictine nuns, whose abbess was Lady of the Manor of an area much larger than the existing parish. The town is associated with the Cockatrice. The story is that the cockatrice terrorised the village until it was imprisoned in the dungeons below Wherwell Priory. A prize of land was offered to anyone who could kill the creature. None were successful, until a man named Green lowered a mirror into the dungeon. The cockatrice battled against its own reflection until exhausted, at which point Green was able to kill it. Today there is an area of land near Wherwell called Green's Acres. For many years a weather vane in the shape of a cockatrice adorned the church of St. Peter and Holy Cross in Wherwell until it was removed to Andover Museum. Education The village is home to a primary school, Wherwell Primary School.

Wherwell railway station served the village of Wherwell, Hampshire, England, from 1885 to 1956 on the Fullerton to Hurstbourne Line.

Fullerton is a village and civil parish in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England. At the 2011 Census the Post Office say the population was included in the civil parish of Wherwell. The village lies west to the River Test, just off the A3057 road. Its nearest town is Andover, which lies approximately 4.1 miles (6.7 km) north from the village although it lies closer to Stockbridge.

Cottonworth is a small village in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England. The village lies on the A3057 road between Andover and Romsey. According to the PostOffice the 2011 Census population was included in the civil parish of Wherwell. Its nearest town is Andover, which lies approximately 4 miles (6.5 km) north from the village. Cottonworth is also the site of Cottonworth Vineyards, which produces award-winning English sparkling wine from the vineyards surrounding the village.

Leckford is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England. It lies on the eastern bank of the River Test just to the south of its confluence with the River Anton, to the east of Longstock and south of Chilbolton. The parish church, St Nicholas's, has a 13th-century core, rebuilt in the 16th century and much restored since. Leckford was on the Andover Canal, which later became the Andover and Redbridge Railway, but did not have a station. The route through Leckford today is used by the Test Way long-distance footpath. In the Second World War, Leckford shared a boundary with Chilbolton Aerodrome, which was used by the RAF and later by US Army Air Forces. The parish contains the Leckford Estate, owned by the John Lewis Partnership.

Chilbolten Down is a hamlet in the civil parish of Chilbolton in Hampshire, England. Its nearest town is Stockbridge, which lies approximately 3.4 miles (5.5 km) south-west from the hamlet.