As the country begins to emerge from lockdown, plans are afoot to mark 850 years of local businesses thriving in Andover.

Town councillors have raised the prospect of commemorating 850 years of Andover receiving a charter in 2025, a step that allowed merchants of the town to form a guild, as well as giving them “freedom from toll, passage and custom” on their wares.

Cllr Barbara Long proposed that a stone to commemorate the first charter should be erected in town, saying: “A blue plaque has been suggested to me but I think this is far more important than just having a plaque in the town and I personally would like to see something quite significant to mark Andover’s heritage.”

Andover was for many years since its original foundation in the direct ownership of the King, passing from the Saxons to the Normans at the time of the latter’s conquest. In 1141, the town was burned during a civil war between Empress Matilda and King Stephen in a period known as the anarchy.

Following this, the town was rebuilt, and the renewed mercantile power of Andover was recognised in 1175 when King Henry II, Matilda’s son, granted the town a charter. Charters allowed for freedoms such as setting taxes and more local government than would otherwise have been possible.

At the time, the town had to pay around £6.67 per year to the King for this privilege – the equivalent of around £14,000 today – and this was increased by later monarchs, who also granted additional rights such as the right to hold fairs and hold a court for offences committed in Andover.

Cllr Long was made aware of this history after being contacted by a resident, and said the town “ought to be proud of our heritage”.

She said: “I think ought to be celebrated. I think it will take a while for us to sort it out which is why I’m raising it now and so if it’s something Andover Town Council wants to bring forward we can have something ready for the 850th anniversary of Andover receiving a charter.”

She suggested the erection of a charter stone, of which a similar example exists in Romsey. This stone was erected on the 400th anniversary of Romsey’s charter, and was unveiled by Queen Elizabeth II in 2007.

Cllr Long suggested similar steps could be taken to those in Romsey, where developer contributions from housing were used to fund the stone. In total, the stone there cost over £22,000.

She said: “Romsey has a charter stone which was funded by Section 106 agreement money partly, but we may need a working group to look into how we could fund it, where to put it and how to celebrate it.

“A blue plaque has been suggested to me but I think this is far more important than just having a plaque in the town and I personally would like to see something quite significant to mark Andover’s heritage.”

She also suggested a heritage grant could be used to help cover the cost.

Cllr Luigi Gregori said that the town council’s planning committee should establish a working group to look into erecting a charter stone, or other monument.

He said: “I think at this stage we can establish a working group to explore the practicalities of it before taking it to full council. Once we’ve got a working proposal we can take it to full council.”

However, Cllr David Coole queried whether they would need authority to do this from the full town council to have officer time on the project.

Cllr Long said: “I think it’s a case of exploring for more information and coming back so I think if we come up with terms of reference we can probably do most of the exploration without officer time and we’d only need it for holding meetings.”

She will now create terms of reference for the working group to be brought back to the council at a later meeting.

If all goes to plan, work on the project will take place over the next few years before the anniversary in 2025.