Upper Wield, Lower Wield and the Oxdrove Way

The church was built by William the Conqueror's grandson, Henry de Bois, who was Bishop of Winchester. Scratched into the stonework beside the main door is a mass dial, a primitive sundial used before clocks were invented. Inside are 13th-century wall paintings depicting scenes from Christ's life, and a gallery that housed the band before the days of the organ.

The fine tomb by the altar commemorates William and Marjory Waloppe, who, in 1591, entertained Elizabeth I at Wield House. The house survives, much changed, and still retains its Tudor porch.

Not far from the village across expansive fields runs the Ox Drove, now titled the Oxdrove Way long distance footpath. This ancient road, between Winchester and Odiham, was used for driving cattle and sheep to market. It may have been in use as early as the Roman occupation, and was part of King John's regular route between his castles at Winchester and Windsor. He built Odiham Castle at the exact halfway point of the 60-mile route, two days riding at that time. He is known to have passed along this way in 1215, the year he agreed to sign the Magna Carta.

As the drove approaches a disused chalk pit, there is a view to the left across the fields to the early 17th-century Preston House. It is one of three mansions built to house the major landowners of the neighbouring parish of Preston Candover, after the enclosures there.

Lower Wield is not a great deal lower than Upper Wield. The name they share is a variation of 'weald' meaning 'open or wooded country', and they are in fact part of the same parish. Upper Wield has the church, and Lower Wield the pubs. The former pub on Windmill Lane has become a private residence but the Yew Tree Inn, sited by an old chalk pit, remains in place.

The path back into Upper Wield passes the back of the old village school, built to accommodate 50 children. Their longest holiday always coincided with the harvest. The school is now closed, but the building remains an important part of community life as the village hall.