Hannington, Hampshire

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Village Green, Hannington

All Saints' Church, Hannington

Transmission Mast, Cottington Hill

Hannington is a parish in Hampshire, England. It is situated between Basingstoke and Newbury, on the North Hampshire Downs in the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. In the 2001 census it had a population of 332 people.

1 History and Architecture
2 Hannington Silver Band
3 Hannington Wine Society
4 Country Fair and Barbecue
5 Transmitting station
6 External links

[edit] History and Architecture

At its centre is the village green, on the edge of which is All Saints' Church, some parts of which date from the 11th century. There are also many buildings listed as Grade II of significant local historical and architectural importance.

The village's only Public House, The Vine At Hannington, has views over the Hampshire Downs and is a popular stopping point for hikers following the Wayfarer's Walk. Originally called The Wellington Arms, the pub stands on land that once belonged to the estate of the Duke of Wellington.

[edit] Hannington Silver Band

The Hannington Silver Band celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2004 and regularly plays at churches, fetes and halls in the area.

[edit] Hannington Wine Society

The Hannington Wine Society meets the 2nd Thursday of the month in the Function Room of the Vine Public House at 8 pm. People come from Wine Merchants, Wine Companies, Wine Agencies, etc., to talk about and present their wines for tasting, in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.

[edit] Country Fair and Barbecue

The Hannington Country Fair and Barbecue is held every two years on the village green and surrounding land and attracts visitors from all over the county and beyond.

[edit] Transmitting station

Hannington is also the name given to the nearby television and radio transmitting station on Cottington Hill. The station provides broadcast services to Berkshire and north Hampshire, and includes a 131.4 metres (431 ft) guyed steel lattice mast. Surmounting the mast is a GRP aerial cylinder, which contains the UHF television transmitting antennas, which brings the overall height of the mast to 151.9 metres (498 ft).

Ofcom confirms that Hannington's digital broadcasts are severely attenuated to the East so as not to cause co-channel interference with Guildford transmitter, see picture.

On Saturday, the 26th of November, 1977 at around 5.10 pm, broadcasts from this transmitter were hi-jacked by unknown agents who blocked the UHF audio signal of transmissions from the then local ITV station Southern Television and broadcast their own audio message, purporting to be from Vrillon, an alien from an instititution calling itself the Ashtar Galactic Command. The message, transmitted over an ITN News bulletin, lasted six minutes.

Despite extensive investigations by Hampshire Police, the Independent Broadcasting Authority and Southern Television those responsible have never been identified, and the potential culprits have ranged from students to university professors to disgruntled television technicians.