Our trail begins at the Town Mills where farmers brought their wheat to be ground into flour. The Domesday Book listed six mills in Andover, all lying on the River Anton. The main trade of the Town Mills was the milling of wheat and fulling of woollen cloths produced by weavers in the town. After this process, the cloths were hung out to dry on the tenter frames or racks. Rack Close is the only surviving road name associated with this trade.

The present mill dates from 1764 and was still grinding flour until the 1960s. Today it is a popular pub and you can see a replica of the mill-wheel inside.

Look back past the Wesleyan Methodist Church (built in 1906) to the Viking artwork in the river. In the 10th century, the Vikings sailed their longboats up as far as Longstock on the River Test and then laid waste to the surrounding countryside. In AD 994 the Viking leader Olaf Tryggvason was confirmed as a Christian in St Mary’s Church by Bishop Alphege. King Ethelred “the Unready” acted as Olaf’s sponsor and on payment of 16,000 pounds in silver coins Olaf swore never to return to Britain. He returned to Norway where he became the king and converted citizens to Christianity and founded the city of Trondheim.

The Bridge bookshop/café, on the southern side of Bridge Street, was once The Katherine Wheel inn, a busy coaching inn whose landlord was also the town gaoler. From 1899 to the 1960s it housed the Town Library. Its clock originally kept time on the tollhouse at the start of the turnpike road to Salisbury.

You can also see the White Hart Hotel which has remained a hostelry since 1636 and was one of many coaching inns servicing the London turnpike.

The area immediately south of Bridge Street, now the site of Asda and Sainsbury’s, was once a thriving industrial area with the terminus of the Andover-Redbridge Canal and, following its closure, the Andover to Southampton railway line. The railway line closed in 1964 as part of the Beeching plan, but has now re-emerged as part of the beautiful 44 mile Test Way walk.

Before making your way up the lovely Georgian High Street, take a look at London Street.

Many towns have a London Street. Andover’s traces the main London to Exeter turnpike road. It became superseded by the Andover by-pass in 1968.

At the end on your left look up to see a sundial on a clock face on the old bank building. Made in 1846, it shows time in the form of a timetable used by the coaching fraternity and shows Andover time - six minutes behind London time. When the railways arrived in 1856 Andover time was standardised on London time. The Latin motto says “Look to the end”.

The building which houses the sundial was originally Heath’s Bank (1790). The Heath family also owned a brewery which stood opposite and occupied Savoy Chambers. Opposite stood Heath House, which was demolished to make way for the Savoy Cinema which, in turn, became a nightclub called Club at Life. In the 19th century there were at least 10 pubs in London and Bridge streets. 

In Georgian times Andover was one of the most important coaching towns in southern England. Coaches travelled all over the country for more than two centuries until railways changed our lives forever. The Regency façade of The Star and Garter conceals an older interior and a wilder history. Charles I rested here in 1644 after the Battle of Andover and George III often broke his journey down to his favourite resort at Weymouth by staying overnight. Other visitors included Lord Nelson and Lady Hamilton and the famous General Tom Thumb from Barnum and Bailey Circus.

Several of the many High Street coaching inns survive including The Globe which has retained its name from at least 1742.

Dominating the Georgian High Street is Andover Guildhall, a Grade II listed building, built in 1825 and the third of its kind to stand on the same site. Records exist in 1470 of a Guildhall on two levels. By 1584 there was a new ‘towne house’ or Guildhall but during the Civil War it was damaged by troops and by 1725 needed rebuilding.  A new Guildhall was built with the ground floor open for shops and market stalls and the Upper Guildhall for the town’s government. Today the upper floor retains its civic role and the ground floor is made available for commercial use. Read more about the Guildhalls story.

Andover lies on the Trafalgar Way, the 271 mile route used by express post-chaise to deliver the momentous news of Vice Admiral Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar to the Admiralty in 1805. A plaque commemorating the route can be found on Andover Guildhall.

The Andover Time Ring commemorates Andover’s varied history. This mosaic and granite circle contains 12 sections each depicting a particular period, from the Romans up to the Victorian times.

Reaching the Angel Inn at the top of the High Street you stand at the centre of medieval Andover. Here the route from the West Country going towards London met the route from the south going towards Newbury.

The Angel Inn was, for many years, the largest and most prominent inn. It was rebuilt after the great fire in 1435 and remains one of the most important timber frame buildings in Hampshire. It used to be called College Inn because it was owned by Winchester College and the carpenter who constructed its impressive frame also built Eton College. The Angel Inn has seen some illustrious visitors including King John, Edward I, Edward II, Henry VII, Catherine of Aragon and James II, fleeing from William of Orange.

The Norman Arch is the only surviving section of the Andover Church, built after a fire in 1141. The walkway through the arch and up the steps leads to the town’s Garden of Remembrance. Here there is a cenotaph memorial to the local men killed in the First World War. It is unusual because it bears the dates 1914-20, a reminder of the British troops’ actions in Russia. The wall behind the cenotaph remembers those who died in the Second World War.

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At the top of the High Street are Chantry Street and Marlborough Street. This is the oldest part of the town. At the junction stands the 16th century Chantry Cottage, brought from its original site in Chantry Street and re-erected in its entirety.

Take a look into Chantry Street at two of the oldest houses in Andover. Their “jettied” style was common after the re-build in the 15th century, before more sophisticated brickwork came into use.

Take a short walk into Marlborough Street, sometimes known as Church Hill, and admire the almshouses on the right which were founded in 1686. At the foot of the hill is an 18th century house which, until recently, was used by Anton Laundry. The yard behind was once a tannery for the town’s leather industry.

In 1840, Pigot’s Hampshire described Andover as “handsome, thriving, well-built, populous”, with the church “an ancient edifice”. It certainly had a Norman tower and nave but the church was considered too small for the congregation.

It was also pronounced unsafe and in need of demolition. The benefactor, Dr William Stanley Goddard, a former headmaster of Winchester College, was determined to pay for a replacement. However “unsafe” it was it nevertheless resisted all attempts at demolition and the engineers had to resort to dynamite to get rid of it!

The present St Mary’s Church, completed between 1844 and 1846, is an impressive building of knapped flint and Caen Stone from France which was delivered to Andover via the Redbridge Canal. Look inside if the church is open - the interior is sensational.

The Andover Museum buildings were once home to Andover Grammar School, a foundation set up in 1571. The building where you enter the museum was once the headmaster’s house and dates from 1741. Lord Denning, arguably the greatest judge of the 20th century, went to Andover Grammar School. Some of his rulings contributed to major changes in society.

Step into the Museum of the Iron Age which tells the story of Danebury Hillfort. Professor Barry Cunliffe excavated the hillfort between 1969 and 1988 and is one of the best-studied sites of the British Iron Age.