Dummer is a beautiful rural village in Basingstoke, Lying just of Junction 7 of the M3; it is part of the Oakley and North Waltham ward of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.
The name of the village is derived from Dun (meaning hill) and Mer (lake or pond). The English surname 'Dummer' is thought to originate from here, as the Dummer Family were lords of the manor between the 12th and 16th centuries.
Three manors were the original basis of the present parish, East Dummer or Popham Dummer, West Dummer and Grange of Dummer. Dummer and Kempshott were joined in 1876 for civil purposes.
West Dummer was probably held by one of Hugh de Port's men at the time of the Domesday Survey. By the early thirteenth century the Dummer family were tenants. It remained in the Dummer family until 1593 when it came to the Millingate family. From the mid seventeenth century its history is identical with that of East Dummer.
Grange of Dummer was granted to Waverly Abbey by Stephen and remained in its possession until the Suppression in 1536. By the end of the sixteenth century it had been acquired by the Dummer family and from then on followed the descent of West Dummer.
East Dummer was held by Hunger as a sub-tenant of Odo at the time of the Domesday Survey. He may have been an ancestor of the Dummer family who certainly held the land by the twelfth century. In 1368--9 the manor was conveyed to Sir John Popham of the adjoining hamlet of Popham. In the following two centuries the manor changed hands several times and its history is uncertain. By 1577 John Millingate was in possession of the whole estate and it passed to the Terry family and remained in their possession until 1864.
The parish has notorious connections with royalty. About 1788 the Prince of Wales rented Kempshott House as a hunting lodge. He brought Mrs. Fitzherbert here and it was said to be furnished to her taste. A 'seraglio' is said to have existed and certainly the Prince's conduct scandalised the neighbourhood. In 1795 he married Caroline of Brunswick and spent his honeymoon at Kempshott