Droxford ( Drokensford) is a village in Hampshire, England. Geography The village is clustered with slight ribbon development along its main, north–south, undulating road. It is entirely on the lower half of the western slopes of the Meon valley. Farms and residential outbuildings stretch to the west, north and south. It is centred around the Church of St Mary and All Saints, a mainly 13th- and 14th-century church with a 1599-built tower, together listed in the highest category for heritage. Next to the church is the old rectory dating from the 18th century. The village is east of the nearest town Bishop's Waltham. It is toward the centre-west of the South Downs National Park which was upgraded and expanded from a smaller AONB within which it sat in 2011. The non-dualled, non-trunk A32 passes through the village between Gosport and Alton which is largely bypassed by two motorways in the national network known as the A3 and M3. The former Meon Valley Railway has been converted into a lengthy footpath running from West Meon to Knowle Junction and the railway station converted to a house, a short walk across the water meadows from the village. Amenities The village has a convergence of national long-distance footpaths, a number of holiday lets and bed-and-breakfast establishments, a post office, two refuelling garages, two pubs and a village hall. Neighbouring isolated Shirrell Heath commands a view of the Hamble and Meon valleys, with the often "blue" hills of the Isle of Wight on the horizon. History During the late 5th and early 6th centuries, the Jutes inhabited the Meon Valley, and at Droxford there is the remains of a large Jutish cemetery that has produced various grave goods, providing evidence of their settlement. The Manor of Drocenesforda (Droxford) was granted to the Prior and monks of St. Swithun, Winchester, by King Egbert in 826. In 939 king Æthelstan granted 17 hides of land at Droxford to his half-sister Eadburh. By the time of the Domesday Survey Droxford which included much of Swanmore (the name of one of its tythings) and Shedfield had passed to the Bishop of Winchester, to support the monks. This arrangement continued until 1551 when it was surrendered to the crown. It was passed on to the Earl of Wiltshire. The Bishopric regained the manor in 1558, holding it until the Civil War. During the rule of Parliament the manor was