East Meon was chosen in 1986 as Hampshire’s Domesday Village because it retains the character of the medieval headquarters of the Bishop of Winchester’s largest estate in the county. Its History Group is a relatively new one and has been active in gathering memorabilia tucked away in the homes of villagers who were invited in 2013 to an Open Day to bring their documents and photographs; these were then scanned and listed. It now has over 1,000 images and as many text files which, thanks to the HAT grant, will be indexed and loaded to an online platform where historians can access them.
The Group has also been researching the history of farming in the parish: agriculture was the only industry until the last century. its members have mapped the landscape of this beautiful valley and written reports on aspects of its development which have been distilled into a single volume. Thanks again to the grant an illustrated volume will be produced to bring the history of the community to a general readership.
