Whitchurch, Hampshire Whitchurch, Hampshire Whitchurch is a town in Hampshire, England. It is on the River Test, south of Newbury, Berkshire, north of Winchester, east of Andover and west of Basingstoke. Much of the town is a Conservation Area. Because of the amount of wildlife in and near the River Test, its course and banks are designated as Site of Special Scientific Interest. The West of England Main Line links the town's railway station to London, and two main roads bypass the town (the A34, a major north–south route, and the A303, a major east–west route). The name is Anglo Saxon in
Venta Belgarum east. Excavations of the cemetery were carried out by British archaeologist Julian Richards in 1998, and again in 2013, as part of the BBC television "Meet the Ancestors" series. From the mid-4th century, new development at Venta halted. Houses fell into disrepair and the drainage system collapsed. The population concentrated itself in the higher and drier areas of the town. The defences were however strengthened and the cemeteries remained in use, notably with burials of males wearing so-called military-style mercenary belts. Historian David Nash Ford identifies the community as the ("Fort Venta") listed by Nennius among the 28 cities of