Odiham
| Odiham | |
|---|---|
 Odiham High Street |
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 Odiham
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| Odiham shown within Hampshire | |
| Population | 4,406 5,616 (civil parish 2011 including North Warnborough) |
| OS grid reference | SU7354250136 |
| • London | 41 miles |
| Civil parish |
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| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Hook |
| Postcode district | RG29 |
| Dialling code | 01256 |
| Police | Hampshire |
| Fire | Hampshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | |
Odiham (/ˈoʊdiəm/) is a large historic village and civil parish in the Hart district of Hampshire, England. It is twinned with Sourdeval in the Manche Department of France. The current population is 4,406. The parish has an area of 7,354 acres with 50 acres covered with water. The nearest railway station is at Hook, on the London and South Western Railway. The village had its own Hundred in the nineteenth century, named The Hundred of Odiham. The village is situated slightly south of the M3 motorway and approximately midway between the north Hampshire towns of Fleet and Basingstoke, some 41 miles (66 km) southwest of London.
RAF Odiham, home of the Royal Air Force's Chinook heavy lift helicopter fleet, lies to the south of the village.
The first written record of Odiham's existence is in the Domesday Book (1086), where it appears with its current spelling, although the spellings Odiam and Wudiham have sometimes been used since.
King John decided in 1204 to build Odiham Castle and it was built during the years 1207 to 1214 at a cost of over £1000. He already had some ninety strongholds all over the country, and he may have chosen Odiham because it is halfway between Windsor and Winchester. In 1216 the French Dauphin Louis VIII besieged King John in the castle for two weeks.
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Wikipedia