For administration, it is in the Hampshire County Council area, headquartered in Winchester.

The village was part of a smuggling route during the 18th century, and a vault beneath the church was used for the storage of contraband.

[3] North of the church is a large Georgian manor house, Soberton Towers.

This was taken over by the Navy during the 1939-45 war and was used for accommodation for members of the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRENS) until 1971.

The children's writer Barbara Euphan Todd was brought up in the village.