----Introduction------- Alresford is a pretty Georgian market town in Hampshire, England that lies about 7 miles East of the cathedral city of Winchester. The town centre is full of pretty colour washed Georgian houses. The population is around 5000 (2001 census)
Alresford (pronounced Allsford) apparently means 'the ford over the river where the alder trees grow'. There is an Old and New Alresford. (Although New Alresford came into existence around 1200 so is not that new!). For this review when I mention Alresford I will be referring to New Alresford.
Alresford came top of the SE regional list in Country Life Magazine's "Favourite Market Town" award and was a runner up to Hexham, the winners, in the final five!
---Brief History-------- Henri de Blois, brother of King Stephen and Bishop of Winchester, is credited with designing the town of Novum Forum, which became New Alresford. He died before the completion of the project and Godfrey de Lucy, his successor as Bishop of Winchester (1189 - 1204) finished Alresford's T-shaped town centre.
Alresford has suffered a number of fires over the centuries, some disastrous and others less so. The first serious fire was in 1440 but there were a number in the 17th century the most destructive being in 1689 which destroyed 117 houses in the town as well as the Church and Market House. When the town was rebuilt for the last time in the eighteenth century more substantial materials such as brick and clay / slate tiles for roofing were used and this saw an end to the serious fires and left Alresford much as it today - a Georgian town.
----Shops------- Alresford has a number of shops for both locals and visitors. In my opinion, it is really great that the town manages to retain shops such as greengrocers, butchers and fishmongers whilst also having a selection of higher-end boutique clothes shops and an antique shop.
As a quick run-down Alresford has: 2 greengrocers, A butcher A fishmonger 2 delicatessens (one of which is also a bakery) 2 electrical shops a hardware shop a Tesco Metro (which amazingly hasn't put any of the smaller shops out of business) a book shop an antiques shop a florist an underwear shop 5 clothes shops (one selling designer clothes, one selling mid-range, one for slightly older ladies, one selling factory seconds and one selling clothes from the Andes!) 2 gift shops a jewellers a childrenswear shop a couple of house-ware shops a newsagent a shoe shop (selling mainly expensive shoes) Numerous pharmacies / opticians/ hairdressers / beauty salons and also alternatives therapists including homeopaths
and probably some more I have forgotten - as you can see Alresford has most things you could ever need whilst still retaining its appeal as a very small town.
----Places to eat and drink------ Shapla Indian Cuisine (Delicious Indian restaurant, also does take-away)
The Bell Hotel (a small, family-run pub / hotel offering good quality food)
The Globe On The Lake (a Seventeenth century coaching inn, pub and restaurant, situated by the lake at Alresford with a lakeside garden. Very tasty locally sourced food - my favourite place to eat in Alresford)
The Swan Hotel (a larger hotel that does typical hotel fare, we don't ever really go here)
Hobby Horse Chinese Takeaway (quite tasty but not a good choice of food for veggies like me)
The Frying Fish (Very good fish and chips although rather on the expensive side - about £6 for a small fish and chips!)
Pizza Express (Doesn't need much explanation, tasty though!)
Indian & Bangladeshi Restaurant (Slightly eclipsed by Shapla unfortunately, have only eaten here once)
Caracoli (a high-end delicatessen and coffee house that serves food -although only a very limited menu, the food is delicious)
Tiffin Tea Rooms (a traditional tea room serving speciality teas and coffees. Homemade cakes, cream teas etc. nice place to take visiting relatives)
Broad Street Tea Rooms (a more family-friendly tearoom with good cakes)
---Attractions----- Alresford is the perfect place for a wander round the shops or down by the river Arle. There is also St. John's Parish Church (where I'm getting married later this year!), and Old Alresford Pond. There are numerous attractions near to Alresford including National Trust properties such as Hinton Ampner
The Watercress Line is a steam railway that runs the 10 miles from Alresford to Alton through the beautiful Hampshire countryside it's a fun day out and they often have special events like Thomas the Tank Engine days for children or "war on the line" events where people appear all over Alresford dressed in various historical military uniforms (which is always a bit confusing at first!).
---Accommodation-------- There is a mixture of hotels and B&Bs in Alresford although nothing at the really luxurious end. The two main hotels (The Bell and The Swan) charge around £80 per room per night B&B and the average price of a B&B is about £50. Winchester has a wider selection of hotels and B&Bs and campsites - caravans and motor homes can park at Alrebury Park in Alresford but there is no provision for tents.
---Events---- Alresford has some great annual events - probably the first of the year is the Watercress Festival, there are stalls selling all sorts of watercress products and famous chefs like Anthony Worrall Thompson do cookery demos. It's all good fun and Charlie Dimmock normally turns up at some stage!
There are various battle re-enactments that take place in Alresford and also out at Cheriton where they re-enact a civil war battle.
The Alresford show is a great agricultural show with a dog show and judging of livestock plus the WI tents with best flower arrangements and biggest marrow etc. It's always a great event and the sun always seems to shine.
The Alresford Firework show is always great and a lot of effort is put in by the Alresford Rotary Club. Everyone oohs and aaahs and it's got a great family atmosphere.
At Christmas we get Father Christmas coming to Alresford to distribute presents to all the children. He always comes on a different vehicle and from a different direction to keep the children guessing - last year it was a mocked-up Alresford Cheese lorry with costumed Wallace and Grommet driving! It's also an excuse for some carol signing around the huge Christmas tree.
----What it's really like to live there--------- What can I say? I moved here just over two years ago and absolutely love it. We live right in the centre of town so everything is on our doorstep and I wouldn't really need to venture out of Alresford much if I didn't have to go to work!
We are getting married and having our reception in Alresford this summer and are using as many local suppliers as we can as this is the sort of place where you're proud to live here and be part of such a friendly community.
The only downside is the price of houses here!! The whole of the South of England is pretty bad but the areas around Winchester seem to be especially high and Alresford is no exception.
I would recommend Alresford to everyone for a day trip and to live - it is great for children, grown-ups and even granny as it has a bit of everything. The local schools are good and we have our own small police station and fire station plus an incredibly efficient doctors surgery and a homeopathic NHS dentist who can take on new patients!! I'm struggling to find much wrong with Alresford to be honest.
I should be getting commission from the chamber of Commerce for this but in reality I just want everyone to come and see our lovely town and all it has to offer, it always brings a smile to my face when I'm wandering around, even when it's raining!
