Why visit Odiham
Townapedia lists 7 museums and landmarks, 1 park or trail, 11 places to eat, 2 places to stay and 1 attraction in and around town.
Highlights include Odiham Castle.
Weather in Odiham
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About Odiham
Odiham is a large historic village and civil parish in the Hart district of Hampshire, England. It has been twinned with Sourdeval in the Manche Department of France since 1993. The 2011 population was 4,406. The parish in 1851 had an area of 7,354 acres with 50 acres covered by water.
From the Wikipedia article Odiham (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Travel tips from other travellers: Odiham on Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Photos of Odiham
Things to do1
Museums and landmarks7
Parks, trails and playgrounds1
Restaurants and cafes11
History
The first written record of Odiham's existence is in the Domesday Book (1086), where it appears with its current spelling, although the spellings Odiam and Wudiham have sometimes been used since.
King John decided in 1204 to build Odiham Castle and it was built during the years 1207 to 1214 at a cost of over £1000. He already had some ninety strongholds all over the country, and he may have chosen Odiham because it is halfway between Windsor and Winchester. In 1216 the French Dauphin Louis VIII besieged King John in the castle for two weeks.
King Henry III, son of King John, gave the castle to his sister Eleanor in 1236, so when she married Simon de Montfort in 1238 the castle became the de Montfort family home. However, Simon was killed in the Battle of Evesham in 1265 when he led the rebellious barons to fight against the king; Eleanor was sent into exile.
During the fourteenth century the castle played a role in several significant events, including a sitting of Parliament, and the imprisonment of King David II of Scotland in the castle for eleven years. during the reign of Edward III of England. However, by the fifteenth century its only use was as a hunting lodge. Odiham Park was a park which contained a hunting lodge owned by Henry VIII of England. On 4 August 1531, he stayed there with Anne Boleyn, who would later become his second wife.
Read more of the history
The castle was described in 1605 as a ruin, which it remains to this day.
The Pest house was built c. 1622 and subsequently housed local people and travellers suffering from the plague, smallpox and other infectious diseases. Many such "isolation hospitals" were built in that period but the Odiham Pest House is one of only five examples surviving. It was restored by the Odiham Society in 1981 to form a mini Heritage Centre.
This Place is famous for giving Birth to Mr. William Lily, who wrote the Grammar; which, with some Alterations, is commanded by Act of Parliament in King Henry VIII's Reign, to be taught in all Schools. He died master of St. Paul's School, London, Anno 1522.
On 16 May 1783, a group drawn from 'Gentlemen of Rank, fortune and Ingenuity' plus some 'intelligent farmers' met in The George Inn, Odiham to inaugurate the Odiham Agricultural Society as a 'society for the encouraging of Agricultural and Industry in their village and neighbourhood'. Influenced by key members like Thomas Burgess and Granville Penn, the Society also resolved to reform farriery and animal care by establishing a school to teach veterinary science in England. This was to result in a far-reaching outcome: the foundation of the Royal Veterinary Society and the birth of the veterinary profession in Britain.
From the History section of Odiham on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Notable people from Odiham
Louis FosterBritish racing driverPhoto: City of Detroit, Public domain
Thomas BurgessEnglish author, philosopher, Bishop of Saint David's and Bishop of SalisburyPhoto: William Owen, Public domain
Terry LakepoliticianPhoto: Province of British Columbia, CC BY 3.0- William Lily15th/16th-century English classical grammarian and scholar (1468–1522)
- Henry FrereEnglish cricketer (1830-1881)
- Manley Angell JamesEnglish military officer (1896–1975); recipient of the Victoria Cross
- Ridgway William NewlandCongregational minister and pioneer
Born in Odiham, according to Wikidata (CC0). Each name links to its Wikipedia article.
Where to stay2
Churches and places of worship7
Shopping1
Gas and EV charging2
Schools, colleges and libraries3
Healthcare2
Map of Odiham
37 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
Getting there and nearby towns
RAF Odiham (ODH) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 1 miles away.
- Crondall 4 mi southeast, about 6 min by car
- Fleet 5 mi northeast, about 8 min by car
- Basingstoke 6 mi west, about 10 min by car
- Farnham 7 mi southeast, about 11 min by car
- Alton 7 mi south, about 12 min by car
- Rowledge 7 mi southeast, about 11 min by car
- Aldershot 8 mi east, about 12 min by car
- Yateley 8 mi northeast, about 12 min by car
- Farnborough 8 mi east, about 14 min by car
- Sandhurst 9 mi northeast, about 15 min by car
Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.
Towns near Odiham
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Sources and licences
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, coordinates, regions and time zone
- Mapillary (see each image): photos
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): places, airports, map data
- Wikidata (CC0 1.0): elevation, founding date, time zone, website, landmarks and historic places
- Wikimedia Commons (see each image): photos
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
Photo credits
- Odiham Agricultural Society 20220413 114000, Dcs57, CC BY-SA 4.0
- St Swithun's Church, Nately Scures, The Dewdrops, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Church of All Saints, Odiham 1, Lewis Hulbert, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Odiham Castle, BabelStone, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Mayhill Junior School, Hut 8.5, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Webb House and the Bell Inn, Odiham, Simon Burchell, CC BY-SA 4.0
- The Anchor Inn, North Warnborough 02, Simon Burchell, CC BY-SA 4.0
- The George Hotel 20220413 114012, Dcs57, CC BY-SA 4.0
- The Pest House, Odiham 12, Simon Burchell, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Odiham village stocks 02, Simon Burchell, CC BY-SA 4.0
- The Mill House 20220413 141759, Dcs57, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, jpennycook, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, jpennycook, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, jpennycook, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, jpennycook, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, jpennycook, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, jpennycook, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, lvl5, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, jpennycook, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, jpennycook, CC BY-SA 4.0
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