East Meon and Village Diary

About East Meon

East Meon has a long and interesting history. There are bronze age burial barrows within the parish boundaries, which date back to 2,000 BC, and there is an iron age fort on Old Winchester Hill constructed 500 years before the Romans invaded Britain. There is evidence of Roman occupation in and around the village including the site of a Roman vineyard on Park Hill overlooking the village.

In 1985, East Meon was designated the Domesday Village and a model of East Meon, as it was in the 11th century, is on display at the Musee de la Tapisserie in Bayeux, France.

The 11th Century church of All Saints is both a beautiful place to visit and an active hub for the Community.

A History of East Meon, by local resident Freddie Standfield, is available in the cottage if you’re interested in learning more about the history of the village.

Village Diary

The excellent East Meon website is kept up to date with upcoming events in the village but here is a taster of local events through the calendar.

January

A great time to shake off any winter blues with a week or long weekend away. The downs around East Meon and the nearby beaches are wonderful to walk along in the bracing weather, and make you appreciate the warmth and comforts of Old Bell Cottage when you return. Come back from a long walk and have a long soak in the roll-top bath, gather around the warmth of the Aga for a wholesome meal and take a glass of wine to the living room to sit in front of the roaring fire of the wood-burner with a good book, or to look through the maps to plan your next day’s adventures. This is therapy from the stresses of daily life.

February

February may be in the depths of winter, but this far south you can start to see the glimpses of spring on the way and the daffodils right by the war memorial near your front door are usually the first to appear. Wrap up warm for walks to catch sight of snowdrops down the country lanes.

Most of our local farmers ‘lamb’ late, choosing not to catch the Easter Market, but you may be lucky enough to see some newborn lambs this month.

March

There are four main farming families, which between them own most of the land surrounding East Meon. They are all farmers of both arable land and livestock and at this time of year lambing starts. Very shortly after the lambs have been born, they are in some of the fields very close to the village and some of the farmers leave the sheep out in the fields to lamb naturally so it is not that rare to take a walk at the right time of the year and watch from a distance as one of the new lambs comes into the world. It’s a great time of year to watch nature blossoming. Newborn calves run almost impossibly along Park Hill overlooking the village, while the spring flowers are out and nature’s harvest starts to appear.

April

Spring is well underway and all the tourist attractions on the coast are starting to get busier but the beaches are probably at their most pleasant, with warmer temperatures but none of the crowds.

This month includes the first of two days in the year when East Meon residents open their gardens to the public (well, the one’s with good gardens anyway). This is an opportunity to see some of the gardens in their Spring finery and maybe get some tips for back home.

May

May is a busy month for the East Meon Calendar. The East Meon May Fair takes place on the first Bank holiday Monday of the month (May Day) and is hugely popular. Several thousand people will descend on East Meon for the day to witness all a traditional English village fair has to offer.

June

Summer in the South Downs is wonderful. The beaches reach their peak and you can enjoy wonderful walking, picnicking and maybe some Polo at nearby Cowdray Park.

This month also includes the second of the village open garden days as the summer flowers are now reaching their peak, as well as the Church Fete

July

The cricket season is in full swing and East Meon Cricket Club has an active fixture list, a copy of which is in the cottage. It’s worth catching a game on a Sunday afternoon if you can find time between all the other activities on offer.

This month, watch out for fixtures such as the Court House XI visiting team and also the village’s own Charity Cricket Match, which includes a BBQ and bar.

August

You may find it amusing, strange or even a bit sad, but there are few things that say traditional British village life louder than a village flower show. This event has taken place in East Meon every year for over 100 years and it is worth a visit to see what all the fuss is about and marvel at the ‘longest bean’, most perfect onions or our personal favourite – ‘Most Amusingly-Shaped Vegetable’.

The cricket season continues. This month, watch out for fixtures such as the local derby against West Meon!

September

The harvest is busily being collected on the local farms and it is a wonderful time of the year to go walking and collect a ‘hedgerow harvest’ of your own, fantastically coloured conkers, a host of edible berries and sloes to make sloe gin.

The church celebrates with its harvest festival and lunch late in the month, while Butser Ancient Farm also holds its Harvest Festival. Hampshire artists also open their doors to visitors, with guides and information available from the local tourist office in Petersfield.

October

Forget ‘New England in the Fall.’ This is ‘Old England in the Autumn’! The colours of the turning leaves are stunning at this time of the year and rival the best views in the famous New England Fall.

Look out for a quiz night in support of the local school this month or a local Village Hall jumble sale. Check out Halloween events at nearby Queen Elizabeth Country Park.

November

Bonfire night sets the month off with a bang with various firework displays organised locally, including a large display in Petersfield.

Remembrance Sunday at All Saints’ Church is a touching service and is followed by the Act of Remembrance at the war memorial just outside Old Bell Cottage. With the laying of wreaths, this is an opportunity to give thanks to those who have given their lives in service to their country.

December

East Meon has a wonderful set of Christmas traditions and this reaches its height over the weekend before Christmas. The Christmas Carol concert, kindly hosted by the owners of the amazing medieval Court House opposite the Church, will be the most authentic and atmospheric carol concert you will ever go to. This takes place on the last Saturday before Christmas. Then, the next day, you can attend what will be a packed church for the fun and Christmas celebrations of the Christingle service for the children of the village (of all ages). Also this month, the school and church have their Christmas Fayre, while local charity Sexton holds an art exhibition at the Village Hall.