Bentworth is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. The nearest town is Alton, which lies about east of the village. The parish covers an area of and at its highest point is King's Hill, above sea level. According to the 2011 census, Bentworth had a population of 553. It lies on the edge of the East Hampshire Hangers. The village has a long history, as shown by the number and range of its heritage-listed buildings. Bronze Age and Roman remains have been found in the area and there is evidence of an Anglo-Saxon church in the village. The manor of Bentworth was not named in the Domesday Survey of 1086, but it was part of the Odiham Hundred. Land ownership of the village was passed by several English kings until the late Elizabethan era. During the Second World War, Bentworth Hall was requisitioned as an outstation for the Royal Navy and nearby Thedden Grange was used as a prisoner of war camp. The parish contains several manors including Bentworth Hall, Hall Place, Burkham House, Wivelrod Manor, Gaston Grange and Thedden Grange. The estate of Bentworth Hall was split up as a result of various sales from the 1950s. St Mary's Church, a Grade II* listed building which parts of which date back to the late 11th century, lies at the centre of the village. The village has two public houses, the Star Inn and the Sun Inn; a primary school; and its own cricket club. Bentworth formerly had a railway station, Bentworth and Lasham, on the Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway until the line's closure in 1936. The nearest railway station is now east of the village, at Alton. History Prehistory to Roman The village name has been spelt in different ways, including: Bentewurda or Bintewurda (12th century) and Bynteworth (c. 15th century). The original meaning of the name Bent-worth may have been a place of cultivated land, or a way through land such as woodland. The Swedish scholar Eilert Ekwall argues that a derivation from the Old English bent-grass is unlikely, and suggests a derivation from The tũn of Bynna's people. In October 1935 a Neolithic basalt axe-head was found near Weller's Place Farm, indicating occupation in prehistoric times. Pot sherds and faunal remains from the Iron Age and several coins have been discovered, including a Bronze coin of Valentinian I, discovered