In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Aldershot like this:
ALDERSHOT, a town, a camp, and a parish in the district of Farnham and county of Hants. The town stands near the Basingstoke canal, and near the Ash, the Tongham, the Farnham, and the Farnborough r. stations, 3 miles NE by N of Farnham. It has a post office‡ under Farnborough station, a church, and three dissenting places of worship; and it publishes two weekly newspapers. ...
It suddenly rose from seclusion to importance by the formation of the neighbouring camp. The church at it contains several monuments of the Tichbourne family who formerly resided in the parish.-The camp is situated close to the town, on Aldershot Heath, which consists of the Bagshot sand, and stretches away to the downs of Surrey; and it also has a post office‡ under Farnborough station. It was formed in 1854, at a cost of upwards of £600,000. It is practically a wooden town; covers an area of 7 square miles; and is divided by the Basingstoke canal into two parts, containing accommodation for respectively 12,000 and 8,000 men. Two churches of wood, and another church of cast-iron, are in it, for the use of the troops. Quarters for the commanding officers are on a rising ground overlooking it from the SW; the Queen's Pavilion, built at a cost of £5,000, is beyond these quarters; and permanent barracks, erected in 1857 at great cost, with accommodation for about 7,000 men, and a large church, built in 1863, at a cost of £14,000, are near the Pavilion.—The parish comprises 4,144 acres. Real property, £12,073. Pop. in 1841, 685; in 1861, 16,720, of whom 11,720 were military in the camp. Houses, 763. The manor belonged anciently to Merton priory. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Winchester. Value, £164.* Patrons, F. Eggar,Andrews, R. Alden, and H. Tice, Esqs.
Aldershot through time
Aldershot is now part of Rushmoor district. Click here for graphs and data of how Rushmoor has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Aldershot itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Aldershot, in Rushmoor and Hampshire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/1103
Date accessed: 18th April 2024
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