Area 1 - Sheet Village north of the old A3 then including Waterworks Road, School Lane, Mill Lane, Village Street, Inmans Lane, Town Lane and parts of London Road

 

 

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Area contact - Simon Lawrence, to email CLICK HERE

 

 

 

Character Analysis
1. Location in Town

 

2. Vistas/Views

 

Although, Sheet has a number of major roads around it such as A272 and A3, the views for most of this parish is of countryside, fields, meadows and woodland. From Mill Lane, there is also the River Rother. Even as you travel up the London Road, which is a busy road, the green nature of this corridor is evident, given the trees, hedges and wide grass verges bounding the road. Sheet has also a municipal park which contains the Scouts hut and a children's play area.

3. Landscaping

 

Sheet is set in a diverse and picturesque landscape, with mostly small lanes bordered by either housing or countryside. Mill Lane is an ancient lane meandering north from the intersection with Village Street, which passes past fields, streams, the Millennium field, allotments and picturesque houses. If we travel up Village Street from the south, there is a small incline to the centre of the village. At this point, there is a triangle shaped village green with the chestnut tree and village sign. On the right is the Village Hall built in the 1897 and on the left the Queens Head pub built in Queen Anne's reign. Inmans Lane, Town Lane and School Lane radiate out from the village green, all of which have their views of fields, trees

 

and countryside, e.g. as you travel west up School Lane there is a lovely view of countryside

 

4. Building Characteristics

 

As always in Sheet, there are many differing styles of building mixing 17th and 18th Centuries, Victorian and Modern. We start at the south end of Mill Lane, going past two delightful Victorian villas and then on our right three supposed Victorian cottages. Interestingly, the ground floor of these cottages were built at least one hundred years before they had their first floors built on them in the 1880s.

 

We continue north and on our left we find two cottages, Brooks Rising and Mallards Reach built in the 1700s, with another cottage

 

attached in the 1820s.

At the point we turn west, we find Bridge Mill. Although this house was built in 1860, the foundations pre-date the Norman era

 

 

As we progress west, we come to Sheet Mill House. It dates back to the 1550s, again with lots of Victorian alterations and

 

additions. Originally it was two large rooms open from floor to roof so the builders added a first floor by cutting through some

 

joists!

 

 

 

Finally the Old Cornmill Cottage which was originally built

 

 

in the 1700s and had subsequent additions in the

 

 

1900s & 1950s

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If we return to the southern most part of Village Street, we find a house built in 1680 called Stonewalls.

This was then extended in the early and late Victorian eras, making a humble cottage into a substantial home. This is also

the case of Sheet House, which in contrast retained a fair amount of land. Continuing up the street on the left, there are delightful

old labourers cottages, built in the 1840s and extended in the 1960s to accommodate a kitchen and an indoor loo!

 

 

 

 

We continue to travel up towards the green and our left, there are more 18th Century terraces which are also listed.

 

 

 

 

 

As we continue up on the left of Village Street, we come to the Queens Head pub built in the reign of Queen Anne. This building is

 

to the south of the village green, which is shaped like a triangle, with its point heading down Village Street. At the far west of the

 

green are Broadlands Cottages.

 

 

We believe these lovely dwellings were built in the 17th century and have a wonderful view over the centre of the village.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beside these cottages stands the old school, opposite the church. If we now cut across the road and follow the northern section of the green we come to the oldest pair of houses in Sheet, The Old Forge and The Old Post House. These two houses are grade2 listed, as they were originally built in the 1600s but as is often the way they were extended in the 18th and 20th centuries. The forge still exists behind the main house, along with the buildings which originally housed the wheelwright and the wainwright.

 

 

 

 

From the village green, Inmans Lane travels south-east in a straight line to the old A3 crossroads.

 

 

In this part of Sheet, the dwellings are more modern, mixing Victorian at first, then moving into the more modern era.

 

We start by the green, coming at first to a number of Victorian homes which have been converted into offices. There is

 

an interesting house, the Old Post Office which originally was a very small dwelling which has a large 20th century extension

 

on it. It has now been renamed Lockyer Court.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We continue along the lane and find on our right some lovely cottages of different eras. Firstly, there is Little Wall which has a

 

fabulous brick wall and external wooden door protecting a 1930s home. The wall does look considerably older than the house.

 

 

 

 

 

After Little Wall, there are a number of delightful cottages and houses, built in the Victorian times.

 

Numbers 3 & 5 Inman Lane

 

 

 

Right beside these two homes, there is another run of seven cottages, from numbers 7 to 19

 

 

 

 

And then finally, 16 Inmans Lane which was built in 1947. This is a great example of modern development fitting into its

 

surroundings

 

 

 

 

 

If we now return to the London Road at its most northerly point with Village Street, we find Old Sheet House, built in the 1600s,

 

which is reputed to be originally a pub, called the Ship Inn. Whatever its origins it is one of the prettiest houses in Sheet.

 

 

 

 

Right next door is an old 1600s dovecote, which now is used as a rehearsal space for a local dramatics company. It has a

 

wonderful wall which is the northerly boundary with the Half Moon Inn, whose existence as a coaching inn was detailed

 

in 1788.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We continue south past the old police house, built in the 1950s and follow the road up an incline, past a number of 1930s buildings

 

 

 

 

 

e.g. 12 London Road, which also was the HQ for the first British Steel Round The

World yacht challenge.

 

Lastly, just outside 6 London Road, there is a historic milestone, the original front plate for which is displayed at

 

 

Petersfield Museum.

 

 

From the village green, Town Lane travels south-west and ends in a cul-de-sac, although there is a footpath to the A272

 

roundabout. Town Lane is similar to Inmans Lane in that it starts with Victorian buildings and then becomes progressively modern

 

We start at the most northerly part of Town Lane by the green. As we climb the hill, we come to a pair of semi-detached

 

Victorian houses, pleasingly renovated and maintained

 

 

We continue up to 45 Town Lane on our left where there is one of the only examples of a butterfly roof.

 

This home was developed in the 1930s and is surrounded by an old wall, which is identical to

 

Old Wall' in Inmans Lane

 

 

 

 

We continue up the hill past more Victorian Cottages and then move forward to younger homes.

 

 

If we return to the green and travel north we come to School Lane.

 

School Lane is predominately Victorian, although it starts with 7,8 & 9 Broadland Cottages, three delightful cottages

 

built in approx 1700s. We cross the road and follow it up the hill, past a number of Victorian houses, until we

 

reach 13 School Lane which is an original timber framed, tile fronted home built in the 1700s. This building design

 

does seem to be unique in Sheet.

 

 

 

 

We continue past a series of Victorian semi-detached cottages, until we come to the school which is Victorian but also has been

 

graced by two modern extensions which provide light and space.

 

 

 

We cross the railway and travel into Waterworks Road, where the setting is rural with a number of farms, both new and old.

 

Finally, we come to the new A3 where we find a number of old farm outbuildings originally built in the 1700s but recently renovated

 

to a high standard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Building Materials

There is a great diversity of buildings throughout Sheet which is reflected in the differing types of materials used. The older houses tend towards a combination of bargate stone, flint and brick, whilst the Victorian homes use mostly brick (often painted) - a number of these type of houses have hang tiles

 

6. Roofs

 

The roofs are constructed either of slate or clay tiles. They are in the main, pitched A frame although there are a few examples of butterfly roofs.

 

7. Special Features & Landmarks

 

Mill Lane was mentioned in the Doomsday Book so we can assume that it pre-dates the Normans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

St Mary Well which can be seen from the Lane is an ancient pilgrimage site

 

 

 

 

 

 

On London Road the landmarks are Old Sheet House, the old dovecote and the milestone. The main feature of Village Street is the beautiful chestnut on the green which towers over this part of the village. Also on the green stands the village sign, which was relocated from near Shere Hill. It has recently been beautifully restored, paid for by contributions from the general public. Right beside the green is the recently installed millennium seat.

 

 

8. Sustainability
 
9. Short summary description of area

 

Sheet is a small village, just north of Petersfield. It is bounded by the A272, A3 and the main railway line yet it still has an essential rural quality since it is surrounded by abundant countryside, fields, meadows and fields.

 

10. Main issues and recommendations

 

Our main concerns revolve around pedestrian and traffic safety in the village. Narrow roads, lack of pavements and lighting, poor sighting on bends, on-street parking, the relentless increase in the speed, size and quantity of local and transit traffic, and the vulnerability of primary and nursery school children, all contribute to the safety problems in Sheet.

 

 

 

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