The Parishes of Nether Wallop and Over Wallop are in the Diocese of
Winchester. Nether and Over are highly
attractive villages. The name derives from 'waella' (street) and 'hop'
(valley) or, put more poetically, the place of springing water. Middle
Wallop is, perhaps, best known for its World War II airfield, which is
now home to the School of Army Aviation (formerly the Army Air Corps
base). Nether Wallop follows the course of the stream for about a mile
and a half, the church and village being clustered in the main bend.
Over Wallop was described in the Domesday Book as the 'other Wallop',
smaller than Nether. At the time of the Conquest it was held by King
Harold, having been the home of his mother, Countess Gytha (or Gueda)
King Canute's Sister in Law. It is here, in Townsend Field, that the
Wallop Brook rises.
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