More information : (Centred at SU 739523) Park bounds shown. (1)
The earliest mention of Odiham Park is in 1216, and the latest
mention yet discovered is in 1669.
In 1630 it was described as being well-stocked with deer, and
the fishponds and river supplied large quantities of fish. A
large stud of horses was maintained in the park during the
14th c. (2)
The park was oval, 1 1/4 x 3/4 miles. Its bank is followed by a
continuous line of field boundaries. (3)
The perimeter of Odiham Park may be traced as a continuous line
of hedgerows and field boundaries with lengths of the original
pale surviving on the eastern side of the park. These field
boundaries are placed upon substantial banks almost certainly
formed from the original pale.
The surveyable lengths of pale extend from SU 74745219 to SU
74595172 and are cut away on one or both sides for the whole
distance by modern drainage ditches. Traces of the original
ditch are discernible along the E. side at the northern end of
this stretch. Surveyed at 1/2500
The interior of the park is new arable fields. The farmhouse at
Lodge Farm incorporates a Medieval Lodge (see SU 75 SW 10). No
evidence of the fishponds was seen. They probably existed along
the course of the River Whitewater, which flows through the
centre of the park. (4)
Odiham Park has probably existed since late Saxon times and certainly
since the early Norman period. (5)
In 1332 reference is made to a pleasure garden incorporated in the
park. (6)
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