reopening of the railway. It stayed open until 1931 when the railway announced it would no longer carry passengers. The railway transported only goods until its final closure in 1936. Alton was on the South West Main Line from London Waterloo to Winchester and Basingstoke was on the West of England Main Line from London Waterloo to Salisbury. In the 1960s, the connection between Alton and Winchester was broken because of railway closures and the construction of the M3 motorway east of Winchester. , the line continues west of Alton to Alresford as the "Watercress Line" or Mid Hants Railway, running historic steam engines. The level crossing between Bentworth and Lasham appeared in the 1929 film The Wrecker and the line was also used in the 1937 film Oh, Mr Porter!. The small station waiting room was demolished in 2003. Notable people The poet and satirist George Wither (1588–1667) was born in Bentworth. He was baptised in St Mary's Church and later, supporting Oliver Cromwell's cause during the English Civil War, sold land in the parish to raise a troop of horses for the Roundhead (anti-Royalist) cause. The Wither family lived in Bentworth until the 17th century. In his 1613 satirical poem Abuses Stript and Whipt, Wither mentions his early life in Bentworth and alludes to the "beechy shadows" of the village. George Cecil Ives (1867–1950), an author, criminologist and homosexual law reform campaigner, spent time at the family home at Bentworth Hall. Further reading Smith, Georgia Bentworth: The making of a Hampshire Village. Bentworth Parochial Church Council. 1988. . Uncredited St Mary's Church, Bentworth Available from the church References Notes Citations Bibliography External links Bentworth Parish Council Bentworth Conservation Area (East Hampshire District Council leaflet) Bentworth CP (Parish) (Office for National Statistics) Hampshire Treasures Volume 6 (East Hampshire) Pages 35, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42 British History Online – Bentworth Civil parishes in Hampshire Villages in Hampshire