All Saints' Church, Little Somborne

2013-06-26

A church mentioned in the Domesday Book

Set in a downland valley, this delightful little church makes a charming picture with its wooden bell-cote, a large house beyond, and just a few cottages nearby.

Mentioned in Domesday Book, it is half Saxon and half Norman: the Saxon church had a nave and chancel but in 1170 the Normans removed the latter and extended the church eastwards, doubling its original length and adding a tiny new chancel. Evidence of both periods is clearly seen in the walls, windows and doorways of the building.

Sir Thomas Sopwith, the pioneer aviator, was buried here in 1989.