The village of Sydling St Nicholas is a pretty, tranquil place, in the secluded valley of a lovely chalk stream, Sydling Water, surrounded by rolling hills and downland.  

There are barrows, bronze age and iron age settlements on the hills, and field patterns seen clearly in the evening light. From medieval times there are strip lynchets, and the site of a deserted medieval hamlet at Elston. 

There are many lovely old houses and cottages, a historic church, Court House, tithe barn and the remains of a village cross.  

Farming has always been the mainstay of the village, and its history is evident in the downland, water meadows and cress beds, as well as the farmhouses and cottages of the village and the hamlets of Up Sydling, Huish, Magiston and Langford along the valley, and Bushes Barn, the farmstead uninhabited since the early 20th century. 

Beer has been drunk at the sign of the Greyhound since at least 1604. There were chapels, shops and watermills here in the past, the buildings still exist mostly, but they are now homes. Men of Sydling lost their lives in both world wars, and a nearby army camp at Warden Hill and firing ranges near Up Sydling have left their mark on the village. 

The village’s rich history was recorded by Milton Abbey who owned Sydling for 600 years until the dissolution of the monasteries, and then by Winchester College, who were the lords of the manor for the next 450 years, selling their last property here in 2008.  

There is so much to discover about this special place, and we hope to preserve both recent memories and older stories along with the ancient and medieval history, and to create an online history of the village and the valley.