In 1919 a consortium of London businessmen purchased Enham Place - a country house that until then dominated the tiny scattered hamlet of Enham - and started a rehabilitation centre for disabled men from the First World War. Enham Place was demolished in 1939, replaced by Enham Industries - where victims of the war helped to make Nissen huts and barrage balloons. The village grew as more houses were donated by people who value the work of the Enham Village Centre. The village became Enham-Alamein when Egyptian donors gave substantial funds for further building in gratitude to those who saved Egypt from occupation.
Smannell is thought to mean 'The place of the swineherds', a clearing in the forest where pigs were encouraged to grub out trees and undergrowth. The area has been settled since pre-historic times; two Roman roads met here - the Portway and the Harroway and today five roads meet at the British Oak inn. Christ Church is however Victorian, designed by William White in 1857. Little London is a mixture of thatched cottages and modern buildings.
The picture is from the Test Valley tapestry, showing activities around Smannell and Enham.
Visit my Home Page Or click on the drop down menus at the top of this page to find your way round my website
Enham Industries and Enham Village Centre
Strangely, Enham Industries and the Village cantre have a web url that appears to be "closed to visitors" - http://www.enham.co.uk. But you can see their details here.
Copyright Sir George Young Bt. 2015