By Tim Lambert
Blendworth is a hamlet in Hampshire. It’s believed it was originally called Blaenda’s worth. A worth was an enclosure or farmstead. But the original settlement at Blendworth was slightly east of the present one. At the time of the Domesday Book in 1086 Blendworth was part of the manor of Chalton. (England was divided into areas called manors). It was a tiny village. It probably had a population of less than 100.
For centuries Blendworth was a hamlet in the Forest of Bere, which stretched across South East Hampshire as far as Winchester.
Until the 19th century, Blendworth was served by the Church of St Giles. The Church of the Holy Trinity was built in 1850-51 and it was consecrated in 1852. As a result, the settlement moved slightly westwards. The church was built in the Decorated Style. The old church of St Giles was demolished in 1961.
From the mid-19th century, there was also a school for infants and girls in Blendworth. (Boys went to school in Horndean). It later became an infant school only and it closed in 1998.
Blendworth had a population of 174 in 1801. It rose to 268 in 1901 but it has since dropped.
Today Blendworth is a tiny but charming village. It has a population of less than 100.
