Bishops Sutton

The parish of Bishop's Sutton, has irregular shape and is an area of with of that being water. The village, which is at the centre of the parish, lies on low-ground (250 ft above sea level) compared to the surrounding area; it is by the head-waters of the River Alre. A long strip of land runs north-east between the parishes of Bighton and Ropley, rising to a height of along the downs to the north. South of the river the boundary extends to the high ground above Cheriton Wood and Bramdean Common. Historically, Watercress cultivation formed a significant occupation in the area, due to its chalk geology and the calciferous River Alre allowing it to grow in the beds of Chalk streams. In 1865, the construction of the Mid Hants Railway, also known as the Watercress Line, meant fresh watercress could be delivered to London and further afield. Today, agriculture is still a major employer in the parish with southern areas being arable land for crops. The main road in the village is the B3047 named Bishop's Sutton Road this bears medium to low traffic into Alresford and has two side streets in the centre of the village, Church Lane and School Lane. The A31 bypasses the village to the south. The average commute to work for residents is . The villages is by or on (depending on which track was preferred) the Pilgrims' Way between Winchester and Canterbury, which can still be walked via the North Downs Way. ==History==

In the Domesday Book, the Bishop's Sutton was recorded as Sudtone (which included Ropley and Bramdean), and the hundred of Bishop's Sutton was known as the hundred of Esselei, and comprised those places as well as West Tisted. Eselei, which was a small hundred, remained the hundred until the eighteenth century when the law was amended to make it part of the hundred of Bishop's Sutton. A gazetteer of 1868 links Bishop's Sutton with a former residence of the Bishop of Winchester which was then used as a malthouse. However, in 1872 it is recorded that the Bishops once had a palace in the village with the only alleged remains being its kennel. The 1871 population was 537 in 114 houses. It consists of a simple two-bay structure of a nave and chancel although additions were made to it through the medieval period and into the Victorian era. The village also has the grade II* 17th/18th Century brick-built Sutton Manor House which is on the site of an earlier timber-framed construction. Its garden wall is also Grade II listed. There are also a number of grade II properties: Western Court Farmhouse, Old Ship Cottages, Newhouse Farmhouse, The Ship Inn public house, 1 and 2 Church Lane, Old Mill House, The Old Post Office, Tavy Cottage Yeoman's Cottage, Dairy Cottage, Grove Cottage and Bassett Farm Cottage and its granary. Several of these entries show elements of Tudor architecture. ==Amenities and community life==

Much of the population is retired, ==See also==