Melody Art
Melody Art
Home page of Melody Art landscape seascape floral and abstract paintings in oil
Melody Hawtin B.A.Hons a personal statement of inspiration and ideas that inspire her paintings
architectural paintings in oil
floral paintings in oil on canvas
animal and wildlife paintings in oil
seascape paintings in oil on canvas
vehicles and vintage car paintings
figurative and portrait paintings
The Watercress Line 1870 - Alresford
English country garden - Alresford
Come to the light - Winchester Cathedral
The red door - Winchester Cathedral
The Salvation of Embassy Court - Brighton
20.3 x 31.2 w cm
14.5 h x 18.7 w in
36.8 h x 47.5 w cm
2.6 in 6.5 cm mount
Alresford is famous for both it’s watercress and the steam train that runs from Alresford to Alton. This painting is of Broad Street in Alresford and has been inspired by the controversy of the colour some of the buildings have been painted.
For more information on Alresford, please follow the link.
Painting Alresford blue
Original oil painting on paper
There is evidence of Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age occupation on numerous sites in the Alresford area, with a Roman or Romano-British site on nearby Fobdown and to the south-east of the town in Bramdean. There is evidence of a grant to the Church at Winchester sometime before the 9th century, which became known as the Liberty of Alresford. The settlement was listed in the Domesday Book.
New Alresford was founded in the 12th/13th century, the idea originally being that of Henri de Blois, the Bishop of Winchester and brother of King Stephen of England. The design of the T-shaped town (originally named Novum Forum) was followed by de Blois' successor Godfrey de Lucy. Alresford was one of the Bishop's six new towns and was his most profitable plantation- his palace was situated in nearby Bishop Sutton, perhaps less than a mile distant.The medieval stone bridge he built at this time is still in place. This expansion also involved the construction of the Great Weir between New Alresford and Old Alresford, creating Old Alresford Pond. This remarkable period in the town's history even included the construction of one of the oldest canal systems in England, based on the River Itchen.
New Alresford quickly became established as a prosperous market town, focussed on the wool, leather, and the other products from sheep and cattle- in the 14th Century Alresford was one of the top five Sheep market towns of England. Alresford sent two members to parliament until the population was reduced by the Black Death. The town quickly picked up the label as a dangerous place to live due to the uncommonly frequent fires which razed it to the ground- much of the medieval town was destroyed by a fire in 1689 that destroyed 117 houses in the town as well as the Church and Market House. Much of the town was rebuilt in the 18th century, with many of the Georgian buildings remaining today.
In the spring of 1644, the Battle of Cheriton took place on Cheriton Down, reaching the outskirts of Alresford. Defeated Royalists set fire to houses in the town as they withdrew.
A turnpike linking London to the Channel ports (now the A31) was built in 1753, passing through the town.
During the late 18th century, Alresford Cricket Club was one of the strongest sides in England.
Alresford was the birthplace of artist Graham Ovenden and novelist and dramatist Mary Russell Mitford (1787-1855) who lived at 37 Broad street until the age of ten. Furthermore, the noted actor-manager Francis Robert Benson (1866-1939) spent his childhood in nearby Langton House. The cricket commentator John Arlott resided in Alresford during the 1950s and 60s. Sky Sports' Jeff Stelling is also a resident, living on Rosebery Road.