Hambledon

William Lashly was born in the ancient village of Hambledon on Christmas Day, 1867.

Settlements have existed in this part of Hampshire since the Bronze Age and the village Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, where William sang in the choir and rang the church bells, has sections which are 11th century Saxon. William’s grandfather, Joseph, was a farm worker from the parish of Catherington and married into the Scammels family of Hambledon on October 15th 1831.

In the 18th century Hambledon had been thriving, exploiting its fame and success as the town at the heart of English cricket. There were said to be a dozen public houses in the village and surrounding area and as many as 20,000 people would gather at the cricket matches at Broad-Halfpenny Down. By the time the Lashlys were living there this had all changed. The growth of Portsmouth attracted people away and the village went into decline.

Hambledon’s cricketing success also went into decline in the nineteenth century but the village still maintained some traditions. According to one local historian it was “liberally endowed with breweries and public houses until the turn of the century” – though the diary of local girl Mary Ventham, a contemporary of William’s, reveals that the Band of Hope, proclaiming its message of total abstinence, was also very active in the village. Interestingly, William appears to have been teetotal all his life.

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