Coordinates: 51°05′49″N 0°56′34″W / 51.09705°N 0.94267°W
| Selborne | |
 Gilbert White's House |
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  Selborne
Selborne shown within Hampshire |
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| Population | c.650 |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| Parish | Selborne |
| District | East Hampshire |
| Shire county | Hampshire |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Police | Hampshire |
| Fire | Hampshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | North East Hampshire |
| List of places: UK • England • Hampshire | |
Selborne is a village in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is 3.9 miles (6.3 km) south of Alton. It will be just within the extreme northern boundary of the proposed South Downs National Park, which is due to take effect in mid-2010.
The nearest railway station is Alton, 3.9 miles (6.3 km) north of the village. Liss is only fractionally further away to the east, with frequent trains on the Portsmouth-Waterloo line.
Selborne is famous for its association with the 18th-century naturalist, Gilbert White (1720–1793), who wrote The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne. First published in 1789, the book has not been out of print in over 200 years. White is recognised as being the first ecologist or environmentalist. Most of his observations on wildlife remain pertinent, although he did have some strange theories; most notorious is his belief that not all swallows, martins and swifts migrated, but that some might hibernate instead, although he mocked the peculiar Swedish notion that swallows spent the winter beneath the surface of the local ponds. White was writing before seasonal migration was fully understood.
White's home, The Wakes, has been converted into a museum, known as Gilbert White's House. This museum also contains the Oates Museum and family archive. This comprises an exhibition relating to the life of Captain Lawrence Oates, who died on Robert Falcon Scott's ill-fated expedition to Antarctica in the early twentieth century, and Frank Oates, his uncle. Frank Oates was an explorer and naturalist, who mounted expeditions in the late 19th century into Central America and Africa.
The Wakes was substantially refurbished and updated in 2003–04. The costs of £1.3m were covered by a mixture of personal, institutional and charity grants amounting to 50%, matched by a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. It is open throughout the year, attracting an annual average of 30,000 visitors. This turnover helps to support two pubs and a thriving village shop, which the resident population alone would make unviable. Many people combine their visit to The Wakes with one to the Jane Austen House in nearby Chawton.
The Selborne Pottery manufactures and sells a range of hand thrown and decorated stoneware pottery. Each piece of pottery is hand thrown and turned on a wheel. No industrial techniques or moulds are used in the making process. Quality is, however, variable, as evidenced by the many 'seconds' available. The pottery was established in 1985.
Amongst other attractions that Selborne has to offer are St Mary's Church (with a very active bell tower) dating back to the late 12th century, Church Meadow, the Zig-Zag path (which was cut in the 1760s by Gilbert White and his brother John, to provide easier access to the Hanger and Common), The Selborne Village Stores/Post Office and an internet pod. The village is fortunate, for a community of its small population, still to have the benefit of all "the 5 Ps" which are said to be desirable: an active parish church, a primary school, public transport (a bus service between Alton and Petersfield), a Post Office and a public house - indeed, two of them!
A complete history of Selborne, from its very geology through its formation as a settlement in the Dark Ages to the present day, and with a study of the architecture, was locally published in March 2009. "Knights, Priests & Peasants" was written by Dr. Edward Yates, a retired academic polymath and long-time resident of the village. Its 400 pages includes oral histories from the turn of the 19th/20th centuries, reviving a vanished world. It is written with academic rigour, but in a light and accessible literary style.
External links
- Gilbert White's House and the Oates Museum
- Selborne Parish Council
- Selborne Pottery
- Selborne Village Hall
- Selborne & Headley workhouse riots of 1830
- Works by Gilbert White at Project Gutenberg
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