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Half a mile from the centre of the Village, St. Mary's Church is all that remains of the original settlement of Hartley Wintney. Maintenance responsibility for the churchyard at the 13^th C St. Mary's Church in Hartley Wintney passed to the Parish Council in 1976 and for twenty years it cut the grass on a regular basis but undertook no other works on the site.

St. Mary's Church and churchyard are very special to many people, particularly long time residents of the village, and in the mid nineties it became apparent that although the grass was being cut, other elements of the site were being neglected; path edges had become eroded, shrubs and small trees had become seriously overgrown, views to the South of the site had become lost to undergrowth and invasive trees; visitors, particularly the elderly, were intimidated by the high perimeter hedge and overlarge Irish Yew trees and the lychgate was in need of urgent restoration.

In 1994 the lychgate was professionally restored by Pool & Son (Hartley Wintney) Ltd. and later its adjoining stile by volunteer, Neil Hatt; the first stage of the path restoration project, from the lychgate to church tower, was completed by [then] maintenance contractor, LAB Services.

Two years later, a combination of volunteer and contract resources restored the path, re-built its fence and removed invasive growth to restore the views to the South of the site as well as removing a redundant spoil tip and converting its site to a grassed area. The same year, contractors reduced the height and depth of the perimeter fence to allow the site to be better viewed from the road two large, inappropriate Cypress trees were removed from the site, one by contractors, the other by volunteers and a large area of scrub, which included the highly invasive Japanese Knotweed, was removed, revealing over twenty long concealed graves.

In 1997, following discussions with and consent from Hart District Council, a programme to reduce the size of the Irish Yew trees throughout the site was initiated. Professional advice had indicated that drastic work to Yew trees may often result in re-growth problems and because the trees were generally planted in pairs, initially one was coppiced while its partner simply cut back to around 1500mm high. The results have been such that in the autumn of that year work commenced to coppice all the trees; protected from the local deer population, the coppiced trees have produced 1200mm of new growth in less than three years.

The work is ongoing and subject to the availability of funding and other resources but to date over £10,000.00 has been spent in carrying out these works; this has been augmented by the dedicated work of volunteers who have undertaken over 500 work days on the site.

Throughout horticultural and agricultural history there has been a place for the orchard. It is believed that in Asia, apple trees were taken from the wild and replanted nearer settlements for domestic use since 6000BC and for the Greeks, cultivation and enjoyment of orchards became an essential part of daily life.

Romans introduced apples and grafting techniques to England and in Medieval times, 'flowery meads' (small meadows) and orchards played their part at a time when people felt the need to be 'enclosed' within their own territory; they were also a vital part of self sufficient, monastic life.

Surviving throughout history orchards remained during the long Renaissance period and continued over the Landscape movement, both times of great change in horticulture. The beauty and practical use of the orchard has preserved its own existence: a food source or shady place for contemplation.

In the fifty years succeeding WWII, two thirds of traditional orchards disappeared and in 2000AD, the Millennium year, Hartley Wintney Parish Council established this Community Orchard to recapture some of the traditional orchard functions; a place for the public to wander and meet, remember loved ones and to sustain old and dying-out varieties, traditional recipes and customs.

Originally designed to portray a history of cultivated English tree grown fruit from the Roman invasion to the present day, it has been developed to include a number of nuts and berried fruit native to this country and contains a number of varieties once peculiar to Hampshire and the South of England.

The Orchard restores Hunts Common to its role as an integral part of village life. Until the turn of the century it was the focus of village life on November 5th when it was the venue for the annual bonfire, lit by tar barrels rolled from Phoenix Green.

A month later, on December 4th, the Common was the site of an annual Cattle Fair when stock from as far away as Devon and Wales was brought to the village for sale; the fun fair, which accompanied the Cattle Fair, continued to use the site until the mid sixties.

The Orchard provides an opportunity for the use of a village venue for the re-introduction of traditional celebrations, festivals and customs in addition to its role as a living history of fruit.

'There is no fruit in temperature climates so universally esteemed, and so extensively cultivated, nor is there any which is so closely identified with the social habits of the human species as the apple. Apart from the many domestic purposes to which it is applicable, the facility of its cultivation, and its adaptation to almost every latitude, have rendered it in all ages, an object of special attention and regard.'

Hartley Wintney is fortunate to enjoy a variety of landscapes, from its formally planted central Oak commons to the ruggedness of Hazeley Heath; from the delightful, small water meadow opposite Swan Court to the newly created Community Orchard and, of course, its areas of wooded common at Phoenix & West Greens.

West Green Common, a 12 ha. site about 2km from the centre of the village, is for the technically minded, an area identified using the Peterken Classification “a rare stand Type 9A6 Pendunculate Oak – Hornbeam woodland, Ash/Maple varient”, and was described in the original Hampshire Wildlife Trust Tree survey and management proposals as a “site of great local interest” which “should be recognised as one of the important wooded commons of Hampshire”.

The Parish Council began implementation of a ten year management plan to restore West Green Common during the 1992/3 woodland season using resources from the Berkshire Conservation Volunteers and some local volunteers. The management plan, produced by the Hampshire Wildlife Trust in 1991, required that the site was divided into 12 compartments and it was originally envisaged that work to one of these areas could be completed each year, but unpredictable weather, a disappointing response to attempts to establish a local conservation volunteer group and in 2001, Foot & Mouth restrictions resulted in a one year slippage.

Over the 11 years the project ran, the bulk of its work was undertaken by local volunteers(Derek Hughes, Pat Vaughan, Jim Reed and Doug & Shelagh Dickson) with assistance from the Berkshire, Hampshire and Basingstoke Conservation Volunteers and on one memorable weekend, the Cantiaci Iron Age Group from Kent, and of course forester Mark Hazell

Within three years the flora species count (originally 94 including 21 Ancient Woodland Vascular Plants) had increased by 25%; the majority of the invasive Sycamore and non indigenous Turkey Oak had been removed (over 250 tonnes in one season); neglected Hazel was been re-coppiced and – where it has been protected – has produced spectacular re-growth.

Clearance work around large, mature trees, particularly Oak and Hornbeam, has allowed the majesty of these to be better appreciated and in the 1995/6 season the fourth section of woodland ride, which had been ‘lost’ in undergrowth for many years, was re-discovered and cleared for use.

Funding for the project was initially provided only through the Parish Council Environmental Projects budget, the Forestry Authority through its Woodland Grant Scheme but in 1999 the Onyx Environmental Trust awarded a £20K grant payable over five years, to the Parish Council for the project. This invaluable contribution allowed areas of work such as ride, path and drainage improvements to be undertaken earlier than originally planned.

The implementation of the West Green Common management plan has attracted criticism – chiefly from those who do not appreciate the nature of woodland management but the results of the work are self evident. Visit West Green Common, enjoy the walks, appreciate the completed work and understand the necessity to complete the management plan.