Photograph of the Church of St John the Baptist, New Alresford. Taken about 1870
New Alresford lies about seven miles north-east of Winchester. Godfrey de Lucy, Bishop of Winchester 1189-1205, developed it as an important market town and this is reflected in the size of its church. This photograph is of particular interest as it shows the Church of St John the Baptist before the major rebuilding by the architect Sir Arthur Blomfield which was completed in 1898. The mediaeval church had already undergone significant alterations since it was damaged by fire in 1689, although the lower stages of the tower date from the fourteenth century.
The crowded churchyard includes five gravestones of French prisoners-of-war dated 1810-12; during the Napoleonic wars some POWs lived 'on parole' in Hampshire towns.
The photograph was taken by Winchester photographer William Savage (1817-87) and is found in an album of his work.
