Bank, Hampshire

Bank is a hamlet in the English county of Hampshire. The settlement is within the civil parish of Lyndhurst in the New Forest, and is located approximately 8mi from both Ringwood and Southampton. It has one inn and approximately 30 distinct dwellings.OverviewBank is southwest of Lyndhurst and south of the main A35 road through the New Forest. It is bounded by woodland or wood pasture except on the east where there are arable lands, and former parkland of the Cuffnells Estate. The hamlet is an eclectic mix of former workers cottages together with higher status buildings constructed by 19th century cultured owners seeking country retreats. The hamlet has no community facilities, other than the Oak Inn.HistoryThe village of Bank seems to begin in the 16th century, as a settlement encroaching on the Forest. The original name was apparently "Annis' Bank". The oldest surviving building is Japonica Cottage, which dates from the 16th century. Old Cottage dates from the 17th century, although it is nowadays dominated by a 20th-century wing. To the east of Bank were the large 18th-century estates of Cuffnells and Wilverley, and the inhabitants of Bank may have been involved in servicing these two large estates and their associated farms. The Oak Inn is a two-storey late 18th century building of painted brick, which may have been a cider house in the 18th century.