Pictures of Wherwell

About Wherwell

This enchanting little village boasts a host of thickly thatched, black and white, half timbered cottages,and has a bit of a bloody history. It is said that this part of the Test Valley is built on the site of a Benedictine Abbey, founded by the widow of the Saxon King, Edgar in the year A.D. 986. Elfrida, spent the rest of her life here doing penance for her part in the murders of her first husband and that of her son, King Edward.

The abbey was ruled over by the Abbess Euphmia. The Abbess was all powerful and presided not only on the spiritual needs of the order but upon practical matters relating to the great Abbey itself. It is said that it was she who is responsible , pretty cottages and graceful oldfor the little stream that runs under the 19th-century priory that stands on the site of the Abbey. Euphemia is supposed to have caused the diversion of the stream to use for sanitary purposes. Whatever, the association, these days, this essentially English village is sleepily content. It is a village of open spaces and tree lined grass verges, pretty cottages and graceful houses. It is a place that is a pleasure to wander through, for round every corner, is a fresh delight.