Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, inherited the manor of Somborne through marriage. The manor of Somborne was a Royal Estate until fairly recent times. Local tradition asserts that John of Gaunt had a palace was sited behind the church in the village which was later rebuilt as a manor house. By 1840 its remains were only 14 ft high when it was demolished. The deer park was eventually named after John of Gaunt. Descendants of the Duke of Lancaster also had "free chase" in Painholt in 1353. King James and Anne of Denmark stayed for two nights at King's Somborne as the guests of Sir Richard Gifford in August 1603. When King's Somborne was granted in 1628 to Edward Ditchfield, John Heighlord, Humphrey Clarke and Francis Mosse as trustees for the Corporation of London, Painholt Chase was specifically excepted. The estate was granted in 1638 by Charles I to Sir William Waller and his heirs. Multiple changes in ownership then followed. Notable buildings The village has about 100 listed buildings and structures including the Sir Edwin Lutyens designed Marsh Court, Compton Manor, thatched cottages, 18th century buildings such as the Old Vicarage and 19th century brick built cottages roofed in slate. King's Somborne War Memorial was designed by Lutyens and unveiled in 1921; the commission originated through Herbert Johnson, for whom Lutyens designed the nearby country house at Marshcourt earlier in the 20th century. During the war, Johnson and his wife ran the mansion as a military hospital. The Anglican church of St Peter and St Paul is a grade II* listed building. Education State Primary: King's Somborne Church of England Primary School References External links King’s Somborne Parish Council is the web site for the Parish Council. The Sombornes Online is the community web site for Kings Somborne and the surrounding villages. There are many groups and organisations within the village including: The Somborne Players Villages in Hampshire Test Valley