Hampshire

Walk in Stanley Spencer's footsteps around Burghclere

This gentle circular walk takes in the places that painter Stanley Spencer lived, loved, and was inspired by during the years he lived in Burghclere, creating his epic First World War themed masterpiece – Sandham Memorial Chapel.

Near to

Sandham Memorial Chapel

Start point

Sandham Memorial Chapel, Harts Lane, Burghclere, RG20 9JT. Grid ref: SU463608.

Trail information

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Difficulty*

Accessibility**

Full trail

DistanceMiles: 2.5 (km: 4)

Duration1 hour 30 mins

Dog friendly***

*Mainly paved road, with some walking on grass. For further details, please see Terrain section.
**Full route unsuitable for pushchairs or wheelchairs due to kissing gate and sloped terrain – shortcut available. For further details, please see section marked Access.
***Keep dogs on leads. For further details, please see section marked Facilities.

Address
Sandham Memorial Chapel, Harts Lane, Burghclere, near Newbury, Hampshire RG20 9JT. Grid ref: SU463608.
Directions via Google Maps
By train
Newbury station is about 4 miles (6.4km) away.
Basingstoke station is about 17 miles (27km) away.
By bus
There is a limited 7A bus service to Burghclere from Newbury Bus Station.
Traveline
Cycling
Search for local cycle routes.
Sustrans
By road
Sandham Memorial Chapel is 4 miles (6.4km) south of Newbury, 0.5 miles (0.8km) east of A34.
From M4, follow A34, then brown signs.
From A339 (Basingstoke to Newbury) follow brown signs and white National Trust signs. Exit A34 at Tothill services.
Dogs
Dogs are welcome on the walk, and on a short lead throughout the gardens and orchard. Only assistance dogs can enter the chapel and exhibition.
Car park
A small car park is available for visitors to the Chapel during opening hours. Other parking is available in the village car park half a mile (0.8km) away or on the street by the village church.
Picnic area
You're welcome to picnic in the grounds.
Pub
The Carpenters Arms is on Harts Lane, almost opposite the chapel.
Total stages: 7
Total stages: 7
Start point
Sandham Memorial Chapel, Harts Lane, Burghclere, RG20 9JT. Grid ref: SU463608.
Stage 1
Start at Sandham Memorial Chapel.
Sandham Memorial Chapel
The chapel’s unassuming exterior conceals an interior adorned with Stanley Spencer's First World War murals, including the world-famous Resurrection of the Soldiers. The chapel is a memorial to Lieutenant Harry Sandham, who died of malaria after fighting in Salonika. As he had been demobbed, he had not been included on any official war memorial. Outraged, his sister and her husband, the Behrends of Burghclere, commissioned Spencer to create the chapel in his memory.
Stage 2
Leave the chapel grounds and turn left. Walk along the brick-bordered road that is in fact the bridge over the old Winchester to Newbury railway line. After the bridge take an immediate left down Pound Lane. Sandham House is the second house on the right along this road.
Sandham House
Sandham House, originally named Chapel View, was built for the Spencer family. Spencer's first wife Hilda designed it, and they lived here while he worked on the chapel. It was the setting for a few brief years of happy marriage, before Spencer's obsession with the artist Patricia Preece ended in his divorce. In later life Spencer yearned to recapture the happy times spent here, in his Domestic Scenes series of paintings.
Pencil drawing of Sandham House, formerly known as Chapel View, in Burghclere, near Sandham Memorial Chapel, Hampshire | © Bill Fuller
Stage 3
Continue to the end of Pound Lane and follow it round to the right. You are now on the Ox Drove.
Nightjars on the Ox Drove
Stanley noticed the nightjars in the trees while wandering along this stretch of road one evening. He was much taken with what he perceived as their strong sense of community, and included them in his painting The Builders, which also drew inspiration from watching workmen from local building firm William Head and Co constructing the chapel, and whose workshop was situated at Tot Hill.
Stage 4
Continue along this road onto the dirt track for about 91m (100 yards) until you reach a kissing gate on your right-hand side. Take this footpath across the field and along a tree-bordered path, until you emerge opposite the Church of the Ascension.
Stage 5
For a shorter walk (ideal for pushchairs or to avoid uneven terrain), leave the churchyard by the main gateway, onto Harts Lane, turn left, and follow the road back to the chapel. For the full route, leave the churchyard by the side gate, nearest the war memorial, and turn right. Follow the pavement for 25m (27 yards) to the farm gate and signed footpath entrance. This takes you to the field behind the church. Walk through the first field, go through the small gateway to the second field, and follow the footpath along the edge of the crops. Go through the next two gates, walk down Jacob's Ladder through the spinney of trees. To reach the main road, cross over the stream using the footbridge, then cross the final field to meet Spring Lane. Now either turn left for a closer look at Wellside, seen in Spencer's painting Cottages at Burghclere, or turn right and go straight to Old Station House.
Stage 6
Retracing your steps back up Spring Lane, continue uphill, where you will see Old Station House on your left.
Stage 7
At the end of the lane turn left, cross the old railway bridge and you'll see the chapel on your right.
End point
Sandham Memorial Chapel, Harts Lane, Burghclere, RG20 9JT. Grid ref: SU463608.
Trail map
Map view of Sandham Memorial Chapel, Hampshire | © National Trust
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Near to

Start point

Trail information

Difficulty*

Accessibility**

Full trail

Getting here

Facilities

Accessibility

Terrain and elevation

Trail route

Total stages: 7

Total stages: 7

Start point

Stage 1

Point of interest

Stage 2

Point of interest

Stage 3

Point of interest

Stage 4

Point of interest

Stage 5

Stage 6

Point of interest

Stage 7

End point

Trail map

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