Botley, Hampshire

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Botley is a historic village in Hampshire, England that obtained a charter for a market from Henry III in 1267. The area has been settled since at least the 10th century.

Between 1806 and 1820 it was the home of the famous journalist and radical politician William Cobbett, who described the village as the most delightful in the world. There is a memorial stone to William Cobbett in the village square.

Flour mills have existed in Botley for over 1,000 years; the old Botley Mill is at the end of High Street.

The fine Market Hall, built in 1848, and old coaching inns can be found in the High Street together with many interesting houses.

The village itself grew around a ford (on which the mill was based) where an Inn was built for travellers to stay in overnight on occasions when the tide was in. Nowadays, the village can be easily accessed by train thanks to Botley railway station, and at high tide small boats can navigate down the River Hamble, which runs through the village. Within Botley's boundaries include Fairthorne Manor, a day camps centre run by the YMCA, which includes a golf course, the Fairthorne Manor Golf Course.