This was a vital feature of medieval society, and produce such as butter, eggs, fruit and livestock were brought in for sale from the outlying farms and villages.

Witcherche's prosperity was again on the rise due to its widespread sheep farming, the wool being a valuable commodity at the time.

[citation needed] Also during the 16th century, under the reign of Elizabeth the town had become large and prosperous enough to send its first two members to Parliament in 1586.

The quality of the paper was considered so high that within twelve years, Portal was supplying the Bank of England, a tradition that still continues.

Portal eventually naturalised to English nationality, and established a second mill at Laverstoke; in more recent times the business moved to neighbouring Overton, where it is still based today.

They were charged with riot, unlawful assembly and rout, and the Salvationists applied for the case to be heard in the High Court of Justice.

The church and all its property were given by Henry de Blois in 1132 to St Cross Hospital in Winchester and the gift was confirmed by Richard I in 1189.

Little is known about the earlier Saxon structure because its Norman lords built a more imposing successor which is the basis of the present parish church of All Hallows.

Bus services include Stagecoach routes 76 (Andover-Whitchurch-Overton-Basingstoke) and 86 (Winchester-South wonston-Sutton Scotney and Whitchurch town centre).

The station is service by South Western Railway going to London Waterloo (eastbound) and Exeter St Davids (westbound).

Whitchurch Church of England Primary School serves the younger students in the town and its surrounding areas.

As well as the thriving amateur theatre group called WADS, which was established in 1958,[15] there is also an annual beer festival held at the Longmeadow Sports and Social Club, this is run by the North Hampshire branch of the Campaign for Real Ale.

[16] Being positioned on the Southern edge of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty as well as at the junction of several river valleys, Whitchurch has many opportunities for cycling, both strenuous and sedate, on-road and off.

There is a BMX cycle track and a 'Sk8' board area in Daniel Park, which together with its adjoining open space next to the primary school, has been put forward as a Queen Elizabeth II field in the hope of protecting it forever.

[18] The Whitchurch Town Council maintains a couple of children's playgrounds: one in Kingsley Park, and the other at the bottom of Alliston Way between the schools.

The River Test throughout the town, including its various branches and banks, is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Whitchurch is the Gateway to the North Wessex Downs National Landscape; a rich mosaic of rolling chalk hills, woodland and pasture.

[19][20] The win meant that the residents served from the exchange (01256-89 prefix) would be one of the first ten rural areas in Britain to be upgraded to fibre-optic technology.

The hope was that this would bring faster Internet speeds sooner to residences, businesses, schools and doctors both in the town itself and to its surrounding villages and the rural communities in-between.