The Story of Ampfield Vicarage

In early Victorian times the ecclesiastical parish of Hursley covered an enormous, though not densely populated area, taking in not just the present boundaries, but also Ampfield, Otterboume, much of Chandlers Ford, and parts of what is now Braishfield.
The Revd. John Keble became vicar in 1836, and even with the help of his curates,found the distances too great. Otterboume already had a very old church in Kiln Lane,which Keble replaced in 1838 with a new building nearer the centre of the village, one
of his curates becoming the first incumbent.

Ampfield villagers, however, had only (according to Revd. H.M. Lake) "a schoolhouse in which to worship, and ... a walk of some six miles for those who desired such ministrations as could only be rendered in a consecrated church". The community was
increasing, and Keble decided that it was large enough to justify its own church. Thus in 1838 the foundation stone of St Mark’s was laid, on land provided by Sir William Heathcote of Hursley Park, who also gave one acre for a burial ground and defrayed all
the costs of the building. John Keble’s curate, Revd. Robert Wilson, came from Hursley as the first incumbent when the church was consecrated on April 21st 1841. Ampfield initially became a district church of Hursley, and its boundaries originally
included those parts of Chandlers Ford, Ampfield and Braishfield which had formerly been in Hursley parish.