In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Alverstoke like this:
ALVERSTOKE, a village, a parish, a liberty, a subdistrict, and a district in Hants. The village stands adjacent to Stoke-bay r. station, opposite Spithead, 1¾ mile SSW of Gosport; and has a post office under Gosport. It is a pleasant place, with charming environs.—The parish includes also the town of Gosport, the villages of Forton, Hardway, and Elson, the watering-place of Anglesey, the villas of Alverbank, the Forton military prison, the royal marine barracks, the Haslar barracks, the royal naval hospital, Blockhouse fort, and Fort Monckton. ...
Acres, 5,222. Real property, £48,097,- of which £18,368 are in Gosport. Pop. in 1841, 13,510; in 1861, 22,653. Houses, 3,436. The manor was given by the noble Saxon lady Alwara to the church of Winchester; and it still belongs to the Bishop of Winchester as superior. Many excellent mansions, villas, and other residences, with gardens and terraces, adorn the surface and the shores; and a rich extensive prospect is enjoyed of the Solent and the Isle of Wight. Stoke-bay is now a noted roadstead, where all the steam war ships, when newly fitted with their engines, test their speed at the measured mile. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Winchester; and includes the curacy of Anglesey. Value, £1,087.* Patron, the Bishop of Winchester. The vicarages of Trinity Gosport, St. Matthew-Gosport, St. John-Forton, and St. Thomas-Elson are separate benefices. The parochial church is Saxon, built in 1130, repeatedly restored, and now chiefly modern. Christ church, in the decorated English style, was opened in June, 1865. Charities, £17. Dr. Wilberforce, the present bishop of Oxford, was once rector here; and Dr. Trench, the present Arch bishop of Dublin, was his curate.
The liberty, the subdistrict, and the district of Alverstoke, are co-extensive with the parish. The administration for the poor is still under the act of 43 Eliz. Poor rates in 1867, £8,276. Marriages in 1866, 235; births, 757, f Which 23 were illegitimate; deaths, 474, -of which 134 were at ages under 5 years, and 6 were at ages above 85 years. Marriages in the ten years 1851-60, 2,099; births, 6,287; deaths, 5,110. The places of worship in 1851 were 7 of the Church of England, with 6,102 sittings; 3 of Independents, with 1,650 s.; 2 of Baptists, with 320 s.; 2 of Wesleyan Methodists, with 754 s.; 1 of the Wesleyan Methodist Association, with 210 s.; 1 of Latter Day Saints, with 85 s.; 1 of Roman Catholics, with 200 s.; and 1 undefined, with 60 s. The schools in 1851 were 9 public day-schools, with 1,076 scholars; 35 private day-schools, with 794 s.; and 13 Sunday schools, with 1,406 s.
Alverstoke through time
Alverstoke is now part of Gosport district. Click here for graphs and data of how Gosport has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Alverstoke itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Alverstoke, in Gosport and Hampshire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/5847
Date accessed: 18th April 2024
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