Sopley

Sopley probably gets its name from soc leag: land granted the right to hold a court of socmen. The sign above the inn says that Louisa Brinson is ‘licensed to sell beer, wines, spirits and tobacco’.
An extract from from"New Forest Photographic Memories".

Standing on a little hilltop, Sopley Church overlooks the course of the Avon. The building was established in 1270; just inside the doorway are stone carvings of the local squire and his wife, who endowed this lovely place of worship.
An extract from from"New Forest Photographic Memories".

This famous firm was developed from a combination of various Romsey breweries in the latter part of the 19th century, when rail transport made it possible to carry beer over considerable distances. Strong’s became one of the main employers in the town for about a hundred years, but the need for modernisation caused brewing to cease in 1981; the operation, by that time part of Whitbread Wessex, was finally closed in 1990. Part of the site has been cleared, but the main buildings, some converted to offices, remain — the heritage of late 19th-century and early 20th-century builders.
An extract from from"Romsey Town and City Memories".

With nine mill sites in the town, many enterprises used water to power the machinery necessary for their businesses — corn, paper, and cloth-fulling mills, saw mills, and tanneries. Most written material about Romsey’s mills seems to relate to problems in obtaining that most important item — water. Romsey’s mills depended on the river Test and its branches for their power. Competition was keen, and resulted in many legal disputes arising from millers upstream diverting the water from those downstream. There was a series of disputes in Tudor times at Sadler’s Mill: its owner suffered from the work of millers upstream, who ‘with divers and sondrie lewde and desperate persons ... erected a pilinge over athwart the mayne Channel of the Ryver and thereby stopped turned and diverted the said Mayne River of Terste out of his aunciente and common Course ...’ Troubles of this kind continued through the following centuries, providing the legal profession with a steady source of income. As late as the early 20th century, wooden stakes were still being placed incorrectly to control the water flow. At that time, photographic evidence was offered in court; an unfortunate river keeper was shown standing in the faulty area to demonstrate the depths.
An extract from from"Romsey Town and City Memories".

All these roads are similar. The rough roads have all been paved. Almost all the houses are detached, and often individually designed. The Local Area Committee of the Borough Council is doing its best to maintain the special ambiance of the district. However, it is a sad fact that developers are begin- ning to nibble at any open spaces for the building of flats. There is a Tree Preservation Order covering this area, which we may hope will prevent the destruction of most of the trees.
An extract from from"Around Eastleigh including Chandler's Ford, Bishopstoke and Botley Living Memories".