I had originally intended to write a separate paper on each parish in Hampshire where Ramptons were to be found, but some of the parishes I examined had so few Ramptons, none seemingly indigenous, that I decided to group various contiguous parishes together in one document, in the hope that some sort of pattern would emerge or some link would be found. This document therefore contains information from the parishes of Silchester, Pamber, Ramsdell, Sherborne St John, and Wootton Saint Lawrence. Each has a few Ramptons, but none has the depth of, say, Monk Sherborne, where a single family has been identified from the very beginning of the registers, and can therefore be called, to some extent, indigenous to the parish.

All events listed below have been checked, as far as possible, against primary sources. Occasionally, secondary sources, such as Phillimore's Index of Marriages in Hampshire or the International Genealogical Index (IGI), have been used where it has not been possible to view original material, and this is always mentioned in the text with a caveat. All places are given in full and, unless otherwise stated, are in Hampshire.

Silchester stands at the junction between Berkshire and Hampshire. The Impstone, at the corner of the Common marks the place where the two counties meet, and also where the four parishes of Silchester, Mortimer West, Aldermaston, and Pamber meet.

Pamber parish lies to the south west of Silchester, contiguous with Monk Sherborne. Further information will be found at the Hampshire County Council website

Wootton Saint Lawrence is a long narrow parish, engulfing a number of small villages in the heart of rural Hampshire. These include Upper Wootton and, at least until 1868, Ramsdell.
Though Sherborne St John lies only three miles to the north-west of Basingstoke, it still has the true feel of a village. The name Sherborne probably means 'clear stream' and certainly there is a stream running through it, and no fewer than three duckponds.

Ramsdell and Charter Alley lie on the road between Pamber End and Ewhurst, just north west of Monk Sherborne.

Map of 1610		Present Day Silchester		Parish Relationship Map

Silchester is a small town now, tucked away in the northernmost reaches of Hampshire, touching the Berkshire border, yet once it was a thriving Roman settlement named Calleva. It stood at the crossroads formed by the road that ran from Pontes (Staines) to Sarum (Salisbury), and the round leading from Pangbourne to Venta Belgarum (Winchester). Commius, the King of the Atrebates who had once settled the area and called their town Calleva Atrebatum, had helped Julius Caesar invade southern Britain, and in return, one of the sons of Commius, Eppillus, ruled Calleva. The town was at the height of its prosperity around 250 AD, a peaceful country market-town. There the Romans built a forum, a basilica, several temples ministering to the needs of the pagan peoples, as well as a Christian church, public baths with elaborate heating systems, an amphitheatre, and a large inn catering to the passing travellers.

In the fourth century, the town began to decline; one of its gates was blocked up and its basilica was rebuilt in a poorer style. When the Romans left around 410AD, Calleva fell gradually into deserted oblivion, abandoned by the Britons who returned to their old pre-Roman ways. They lost the art of orderly government, quarrels broke out amongst various factions, old Celtic customs crept back into usage. In more modern times, the parish church at Silchester is called St Mary, and its registers begin in 1653.

The name Pamber probably derives from the word Pannacium which meant a fee for grazing land. The modern parish was in early times entirely forest and was hunted by King John on many occasions. By the reign of Henry III (1216-72) much of the forest was being converted to arable land and the proceeds from cutting the timber were used for building the Great Hall at Winchester. You can find more information from the Hampshire County Council website given above. The church at Pamber is the Priory of St Mary and St John the Baptist, and registers exist from 1659.

Wootton St Lawrence seems to have had no history that I can discover, although the parish registers started in 1560! Few books on local matters mention the village except in passing. The church, unsurprisingly, is St Lawrence.

There has been a settlement in Sherborne St John for a very long time as Roman remains have been found in many places. At one time there were seven alehouses but now there is only one, the Swan, which is over 500 years old and is still thatched. Just round the corner from the Swan stands the Haye, which has one of Lutyens' earliest extensions. It was once a Quaker meeting house and some of the Quaker graves have been found not only in the garden and under the kitchen floor but in the grounds of the school next door. At Numbers 6 and 8 West End is a rare example of a Wealden house, of the kind which is usually found in Kent and Sussex. It is thought to be unique in Hampshire and dates back to 1450. Next door to this is Cleeves, which used to be the village brewhouse but which is now a pleasant home. On the opposite side of the road are Gable Cottages. These are built of solid chalk with walls up to 18 inches thick and their roof is made of swept tiling. The beautiful village church of St Andrew dates back in part to 1150. After the siege of Basing House, Cromwell is supposed to have given two of Basing's bells to Sherborne St John. Whether this is true or not is unknown, but it is a fact that Sherborne has two pre-Reformation bells and Basing has none. There is also a chained Foxe's Book of Martyrs which is rare in a village church. The churchyard is worth a visit too. There is a stone to the memory of Henry Raymond Biggs, who was a pioneer of jet aviation. At the turn of the century the village employment was in agriculture or brickmaking, but the brick kiln was closed in the 1950s and anyone who wants to work on the land nowadays has to leave the village. The parish registers of Sherborne are also interesting because the first 18 pages are devoted to a list of the incumbents of the parish, the history and genealogy of the Sandys family of The Vyne, and details of the doings of the parish. This last includes a list of parishioners who emigrated to Upper Canada in 1835 with details of their voyage. The registers record events from 1652.

Ramsdell was not an independent parish before 1868, when it was formed from portions of the parishes of Monk Sherborne, Tadley and Wootton St Lawrence, but it had been a settlement for many centuries. Skyer's Farm had belonged to the Scures Family in the reign of Henry I (12th Century), and evidence of a Roman Villa has been found nearby at Bolchester. Bricks and tiles were manufactured there from 1839 until the clay was exhausted in 1979. The church is called Christ Church.

All events listed below have been checked, as far as possible, against primary sources. Occasionally, secondary sources, such as Phillimore's Index of Marriages in Hampshire or the International Genealogical Index (IGI), have been used where it has not been possible to view original material, and this is always mentioned in the text with a caveat. Unless otherwise stated, all places are in Hampshire.

There are few Ramptons in these 5 villages, and none which is indigenous to the parish. All Ramptons found can be traced back to either Monk Sherborne or Tadley or Whitchurch, adding weight to the argument that the centre of the Rampton family in this part of Hampshire was indeed Monk Sherborne. It will be interesting to see, as the research progresses, if this view can be overturned.

If you would like a copy of my research paper, please .