Avington, a parish in Hants, on the river Itchen, 1/2 mile from Itchen-Abbas station on the L. & S.W.R., and 5 miles NE of Winchester. Post town, Alresford, which is the money order office; telegraph office, Itchen-Abbas station. Acreage, 2952; population of the civil parish, 269 ; of the ecclesiastical, 218. The manor belonged anciently to the Crown; was given, in 961, by King Edgar, to the monastery of St Swithin at Winchester; passed, at the dissolution, to the Clerks of Mitcheldever; and went, in the reign of Elizabeth, to the family of Bruges or Brydges, who afterwards became Dukes of Chandos and Buckingham. The infamous Countess of Shrewsbury, who married into this family, was often visited here by Charles II. The present house is a modern brick structure, on the site of the ancient mansion, and is the seat of the Shelley family. The park lies in a sequestered valley, nearly surrounded with high downs, is well wooded, and measures about 3 miles in circuit. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Winchester; gross value, £250. Patron, the Bishop of Winchester. The church stands in the park, and is modern.
