The Bugle Inn in the 1920s and in 2012*
Water meadows on the River Itchen
Twyford Heritage map – click to enlarge
Map of Twyford in 1870
Public Rights of Way - click to enlarge.
What Defines our Village?
Twyford is defined by its landscape and heritage, by the built environment and by the people who live in the Parish. Most recently, its inclusion within the South Downs National Park establishes its role in policy terms.
Twyford has a strong sense of place, continuity and community. It is one of the most popular villages in Hampshire because of its range of amenities, its outstanding environment, proximity to the historic city of Winchester and good road and rail access to London and the South.
Landscape, Ecology and Heritage
Twyford’s downland landscape gives it a rich biological diversity. The River Itchen and much of its water meadows are of European and national importance. Twyford has good areas of downland which have survived without ploughing, especially Twyford Down, Hockley Golf Course and Watley Down.
There are ancient woodlands at Gabriel’s Copse, Cockscomb Hill Copse, Roundbushes Copse and Hazeley Copse. Around the village and within it are small fields, open spaces and large gardens – the historic setting of the ancient village.
Twyford has an outstanding heritage. The village shows evidence of continuous occupation, perhaps as far back as the Bronze Age (2000 BC). The church is thought to stand on a ritual site from the Iron Age (1200 BC). An early Saxon cemetery with 6th Century burial goods was discovered in the village in 2008; The written records date from about 900 AD and are continuous from 1108 AD.
There are seven Ancient Monuments within the parish, and around 70 Listed Buildings.
Further details on Twyford’s landscape, ecology and heritage are provided under the Environment tab.
Built Environment
Twyford in its early form, from around 1000 AD, was established in two parts, North and South Twyford, and was largely confined to these two areas until the mid 19th century. This has given the village its unusual shape with only limited development in the village centre. The slow development of the village over the last 1000 years has also given it an immensely varied character.
Further information on Twyford‘s development history and character is given in the TWYFORD CHARACTER ASSESSMENT which has been prepared to help inform design and other policy-making in the Neighbourhood Plan.
Transport Links
Twyford is also defined by its excellent transport connections; road links to Winchester and to an M3 junction, and direct rail links to London from nearby Shawford station. In addition, there is a network of well-used footpaths, bridle and cycle-ways radiating into the surrounding countryside. Resulting transport downsides include the volume and speed of village traffic, a shortage of village parking, limited road crossing facilities and a lack of continuous cycle routes into Winchester.
Further Information about Twyford
In 2013 a detailed profile of Twyford was prepared by Oxford Consultants for Social Inclusion (OCSI). This provides useful statistics from social and cultural matters to sport and services which can help inform the Neighbourhood Plan. Click HERE to view this data.
Mildmay House, near St. Mary's Church
Twyford churchyard is built on an early Saxon cemetery*
Wall Surrounding Twyford House on B3335*
Shawford railway station has frequent trains to London and Southampton.
Important Parish Features and Views
One of the main outcomes of village consultations, especially early on, was the high value placed on the landscape and environment of the parish. It was recognised that the countryside around the village, with the River Itchen and water meadows to the west and open downland to the east, provides a variable and picturesque setting for the village which deserves special care and protection. Also, within the village itself are many attractive and historic buildings, many listed, which create a visually appealing townscape deserving of special care.
Consideration of views of the above is one way the Neighbourhood Plan recognises those qualities and protects them. The most important of these, visible to the general public from roads or footpaths, are protected in the TNP through Policy LHE2 and linked Table 3. They are listed HERE
Photographs have been taken to provide background evidence of the value of these features and views and they can be viewed HERE. For ease of reference photographs are numbered to match the list above and are given more than one number where they show more than one of the above views or features.
The Twyford Conservation Area Statement produced by WCC in 1980 (but still relevant today), also highlights the special character and appearance of the village buildings and countryside and links to this, the database of listed buildings in Twyford and Terra Firma's Twyford Landscape Assessment are provided below:-
Twyford Conservation Plan by WCC (1980)
Database of listed buildings in Twyford
Terra Firma's Twyford Landscape Assessment (2016)