| Borough of Havant | |
|---|---|
|
 Shown within Hampshire |
| Geography | |
| Status: | Borough |
| Region: | South East England |
| Admin. County: | Hampshire |
| Area: - Total |
Ranked 294th 55.33 km² |
| Admin. HQ: | Havant |
| Grid Ref.: | SU717062 |
| ONS code: | 24UH |
| Demographics | |
| Population: - Total (2022) - Density |
Ranked / km² |
| Ethnicity: | 98.5% White |
| Politics | |
| Havant Borough Council http://www.havant.gov.uk/ | |
| Leadership: | Leader & Cabinet |
| Executive: | |
| MPs: | Michael Mates, David Willetts |
Havant is a town and district in Hampshire on the South coast of England, between Portsmouth and Chichester. It has good railway connections to London, Portsmouth and Brighton, being served by Havant railway station. The A27 road runs past its Southern side, beyond which lies Langstone, and then Hayling Island. To the north lies Leigh Park, a large council estate suburb which lies within Havant's boundaries, and beyond that Staunton Country Park. To the east is Emsworth, another small town, whilst to the west lies Bedhampton and Portsdown Hill. The A3(M) motorway passes to the west. The old centre of the town dates from Roman times, but the town has grown a lot since World War II, currently forming a conurbation with Langstone, Bedhampton, Leigh Park, Denvilles and Warblington.
Geography
The old centre of the town is similar to Chichester, in that it has a cross-shaped layout, with the four streets being named North Street, East Street, South Street and West Street.
There are several natural springs in the area, including one a short distance South-west of the church on West Street at the end of Homewell. This used to be the home of the premier parchment making facility in Southern England which later became a glove making factory and leather processing plant.
History
Much of Havant was destroyed by fire in 1760, leaving only the church and the adjacent late 16th or early 17th century cottages. The cottages are now known collectively as "The Old House at Home", and are now used as a pub. It is claimed that the two main beams in the lounge bar were recovered from the Spanish Armada, and that the "Bear Post" within once had the last dancing bear in England tethered to it. The oldest undisturbed part of St Faiths church date from the early 13th century; some of the foundations however are believed to date from Roman times.
Education
Havant also has one of the more favoured colleges within the Portsmouth district, Havant College, located just to the north of the town centre. This success is partly due to the transport connections Havant has, including bus, train and roads, allowing students to commute from nearby towns. The college performs consistently well at AS/A-level[1], which encourages this, especially since several nearby areas either lack a state sector sixth form (e.g. Petersfield, or the local college significantly underperforms by comparison (e.g. Fareham[2]).
Geography
. The main shopping centre is called Meridian Shopping (formerly known as The Meridian Centre), as well as a pedestrianised street in West Street. The old town hall now houses Havant Arts Centre. Havant is home to the local community radio station, Angel Radio which specialises in music and memories of the pre-60s era.
Sport
The town's senior non-league football side are Havant & Waterlooville F.C., Havant RFC are a successful rugby side and Havant HC are three times winners of the National Hockey League. The latter contributed several players to the British Olympic gold medal winning side of 1988. Havant Hockey Club also contributed two players to the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. The astroturf was provided by the National Lottery Fund.
Bedhampton
Bedhampton is a former village, and now suburb, located in the borough of Havant. [1] in the south of England. It is located at the northern end of Langstone Harbour and at the foot of the eastern end of Portsdown Hill.
Early mentions of Bedhampton stretch back to the ninth century, and the village was mentioned in the Domesday Book.[2]
Modern Bedhampton has a railway station[3], with regular services to Portsmouth, Brighton, and London, and less frequent services to Southampton, Bristol, and South Wales. The A27 and the A3(M) pass through the south-west part of Bedhampton.
Anne Brewis has commented on the different kinds of trees and flowers in the area[4].
References
- ^ http://www.havant.gov.uk/havant-2178
- ^ A History of the Parish of Bedhampton: Burrows,D (1998)
- ^ Ordnance Survey SU705 065
- ^ The Flora of Hampshire Anne Brewis et al 1996. Harley Books. ISBN 0-946589-34-8.
External links