Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for BITTERN

BITTERN, a village, a tything, and a chapelry in South Stoneham parish, Hants. The village stands on the left side of the Itchin river, near Bittern-Road r. station, and 2 miles NNE of Southampton; and has a post office under Southampton. The tract around it was long held by the Bishops of Winchester; and had a residence of theirs.-The tything is united to Pollack, under the name of Bittern and Pollack. Real property, £8,404. Pop., 1,733. Houses, 367. Bittern manor is the seat of Mrs. Stuart Hall. Remains of the Roman station Clausentum, including walls of flint and small stones with Roman grouting, are in the grounds. This station was connected by roads with Winchester, Porchester, and the ferry to the Isle of Wight, and probably was intended to defend the approach to them; and it became the headquarters of Tetricus, one of the British usurpers after Gallienus. Numerous coins and medals, chiefly of Clandius and Constantine, and numerous inscriptions, chiefly relating to Tetricus, have been found; and many of the inscriptions may be seen on the spot. The chapelry is less extensive than the tything, and was constituted in 1853. Pop., 1,603. Houses, 338. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Winchester. Value, £200.* Patron, the Bishop of Winchester. The church stands on an eminence, at the village; and is a handsome structure, in the decorated style, with a lofty spire. There is a Wesleyan chapel.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a village, a tything, and a chapelry"   (ADL Feature Type: "populated places")
Administrative units: South Stoneham AP/CP       Hampshire AncC
Place: Bitterne

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