Medstead

Medstead is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. Its nearest town is Alton, which lies 4.3 miles (6.9 km) northeast of the village. According to the 2011 census, the village had a population of 2,036 people. The parish covers an area of 1,536 acres (622 ha) and has an average elevation of approximately 600 feet (180 m) above sea level. One of the county's high points at 716 feet (218 m), King's Hill, runs through Medstead and Bentworth. The village church was first mentioned as a chapel in the Domesday Survey of 1086 and was soon replaced by a Norman church. The village has six Grade II listed buildings, including the 12th century St Andrew's Church and its war memorial, a farmhouse and a Victorian wheelhouse with a working donkey wheel. Medstead was one of the first villages in the United Kingdom to receive broadband. The parish contains three individual hamlets; South Town, Soldridge and Hattingley. Medstead also has its own restored railway station on the Watercress Line, services from which connect with the nearest national rail station 4.6 miles (7.4 km) at Alton railway station.