Chandler's Ford Today

Christine Clark

The Main Road Through Chandler’s Ford: Historical Snapshots (Part 2)

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Part Two: 1913

Chandler's Ford War Memorial. At that time it stood at the end of Hursley Road on railway company land, only moving to its present site (outside St Boniface Church )in 1973 being re-dedicated on 4th August 1974. Image via Eastleigh and District Local History Society.
Chandler’s Ford War Memorial. At that time it stood at the end of Hursley Road on railway company land, only moving to its present site (outside St Boniface Church ) in 1973 being re-dedicated on 4th August 1974. Image via Eastleigh and District Local History Society.

If we now time-travel twenty years or so to the eve of the First World War, let’s see what has changed on our route. Once again, we come up from Southampton to the Asda roundabout and up Bournemouth Road. Chandler’s Ford now has a police constable who lives at the police house at 5 York Villas, Bournemouth Road. We pass the home of one R. E. Burke, a lounge steward on HMS Titanic who sadly perished when the ship foundered last year. As we pass the Hut Hotel (see image below, forgiving the cars!), we may see Chandler’s Ford United FC training in a field behind, using the hotel as their changing room. The big brickfield on our left is still busy.

Hut Hotel, image by Christine Clark
Hut Hotel

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The Main Road Through Chandler’s Ford: Historical Snapshots (Part 1)

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Part One: 1895

You probably know that most of Chandler’s Ford has developed in the last hundred years or so and that prior to the twentieth century, there wasn’t a lot here, apart from a few cottages, the brickfields, farm land and woods. I’ve been looking at the history of one important feature of our town: the main road – Bournemouth Road and Winchester Road – stretching from Asda to the Nuffield Hospital. I wonder what you know of its history?

Stone train, Chandler's Ford, pre-Millers Dale, April 1976 (for rail enthusiasts, the loco is D1058 Western Nobleman). Image via Eastleigh and District Local History Society.
Stone train, Chandler’s Ford, pre-Millers Dale, April 1976 (for rail enthusiasts, the loco is D1058 Western Nobleman). Image via Eastleigh and District Local History Society.

Let me take you back to 1895. Let’s say you want to travel from Southampton to Winchester and for some reason you don’t take the train, preferring to ride your horse / travel in your carriage or cart by road. The road that goes through our town was the most direct route, a turnpike with an improved surface since the early nineteenth century, unlike other local roads.

Before the railway came in 1847, this road would have been heavily used by the stage coaches that plied between Southampton and London. The horses were changed every six miles and being this distance from both Southampton and Winchester, Chandler’s Ford was the obvious place for the changeover. The coaching stage in our town was where the Fryern Arcade is now, but by 1895 the stables had been redeveloped as a house. [Read more…] about The Main Road Through Chandler’s Ford: Historical Snapshots (Part 1)

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Chandler’s Ford Races

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Many people love a day at the races. But can you imagine the roar of the crowd, the thunder of hooves, the cries of the punters here in Chandler’s Ford? Yet indeed, Chandler’s Ford used to have a racecourse. Complete with grandstand and a course length of 2.25 miles, it was located on fields near the railway station (now Valley Park) and was described in the newspaper as ‘presenting a lovely appearance to those who come to drink a draught of nature.’

But why here at Chandler’s Ford?

Watercolour image by Layers via Pixabay
Watercolour image by Layers via Pixabay
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Our River, the Monks Brook

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We have two beautiful rivers in south Hampshire, the Test and the Itchen. Both chalk streams, in their upper reaches these are noted for their water quality. In fact, due to the chalk aquafer on the Itchen, which has excellent storage and filtration, we get our water supply from this river.

But here in Chandler’s Ford we know of another, less well-known river, the Monks Brook. ‘Fordians see it popping up here and there, through Hiltingbury Lakes, at the bottom of people’s gardens, under roads: sometimes pretty as in Flexford Reserve, sometimes business-like as it rushes down a manmade culvert under Hursley Road.

Monks Brook
Monks Brook

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St Valentine – Who, Why and How?

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We all know that 14 February is St Valentine’s Day – accompanied these days with its commercialised retail opportunity to buy cards and gifts for loved ones. But do you know how it all began?

It all started as a third-century Christian feast to commemorate some early martyrs, all called Valentine, which must have been a popular name in those days. There was Valentine of Rome, a priest martyred in 269 (he ministered to Christians persecuted under the Roman Empire) and Valentine of Terni, a bishop martyred in 273. There also seem to have been another saint called Valentine who was martyred in Africa with other companions, although not much more is known about him.

I love you lollipop - via kaboompics
I love you lollipop – via kaboompics
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Buttercross

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Thanks to Chippy Minton and Mrs Chippy enjoying their walk in Cranbury Park, readers may be interested to hear about another piece of history attached to the park …

I am sure we are all familiar with the Buttercross in Winchester’s High Street. This fifteenth-century market cross stands 43 feet high and is reckoned to be the finest in the country. True to its name, its original function was for market traders to display the butter they had for sale, as well as cheese, eggs and milk. With four statues in niches, only the one of St John the Evangelist is original, the other three having been replaced during restoration in 1865 by Sir George Gilbert Scott (architect of many notable buildings and monuments including the Albert Memorial in London).

Buttercross image via Tim Parker on Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
Buttercross image via Tim Parker on Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

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Another Pandemic, A Long Time Ago …

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Most of us have heard of the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918-20 – when ten times the number died of the virus than had been killed in the four years of the First World War. However, I confess I was a bit hazy on the details. So, with time on my hands during the lockdown, I thought I’d find out a bit more. I was quite surprised at some of the facts – but also at how many similarities there are between the earlier pandemic and the one we are currently living through.

questions image by geralt via Pixabay

First of all, some facts about that pandemic

How long did the Spanish flu pandemic last? Just over two years – February 1918 to April 1920. [Read more…] about Another Pandemic, A Long Time Ago …

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Memorials to our War Dead: the Cenotaph and the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior

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I wonder how many people know the history of these two significant and impressive memorials to those who fell in war.

The Cenotaph.

Cenotaph London, Armistice Day 2018. Image via UK Government's Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Cenotaph London, Armistice Day 2018. Image via UK Government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Designed by Edwin Lutyens, the Cenotaph (meaning ‘empty tomb’) was first erected in 1919 as a temporary wood and plaster structure for a victory parade at the end of the First World War. It was to be temporary as it was thought that this parade would be a one-off. But the Cenotaph quickly captured the public imagination. Repatriation of the dead had been forbidden since the early days of the war, so the Cenotaph came to represent the absent dead and served as a substitute for a grave. Beginning almost immediately after the parade and continuing for days afterwards, members of the public began laying flowers and wreaths around the Cenotaph’s base: people needed to mourn their sons, fathers and brothers. So clear was this need for a visible monument, that in 1920 it was replaced by a permanent Portland stone structure, to the same Lutyens design, and designated the United Kingdom’s official national war memorial. [Read more…] about Memorials to our War Dead: the Cenotaph and the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior

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A Romantic Romp through the NATO Phonetic Alphabet

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In this bit of nonsense, I have included each of the NATO Phonetic Alphabet codewords …

Last November, alpha male Mike and his Zulu boyfriend Charlie took a holiday at the famous golf hotel in Lima. Wanting a break from the game, they took a drive through the delta, up into the sierra, where they heard the famous echo. In the evening they were joined by their yankee soldier friend Victor (who was in uniform) and his Papa.

They all went to the theatre where they saw Romeo and Juliet (it was an Oscar-winning performance – ‘Bravo’, they cried) and then went dancing, first the foxtrot then the tango. [Read more…] about A Romantic Romp through the NATO Phonetic Alphabet

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Christmas: A Time for Family and Friends

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The birth of Jesus was the beginning of family life for Mary, Joseph and their new son. Mary’s pregnancy had not been normal by anyone’s standards, starting with the conception from the Holy Spirit, announced by the angel Gabriel. The gospels do not go into detail but we can guess how difficult it must have been for Mary to explain this to her parents as well as her intended, Joseph. There will have been gossip and funny looks in the market place, I am sure, as her pregnancy became more obvious. So, not easy for a young girl. Luckily, Joseph was guided by an angel not to divorce her but to support her. Then there was the journey to Bethlehem, for Joseph to register in the census, and the lack of accommodation there that meant that the new Messiah was born in a lowly stable.

Christmas nativity

This story is familiar to us all, as each Christmas we hear the Bible passages and sing the words in our carols. And, of course, it is illustrated on the Christmas cards we send and receive, the Advent calendars, and the decorations in our homes and our towns. So familiar are these images that it is too easy for us to become hardened to them and not to look at them afresh to read what they really tell us.

The new little family – the Holy Family – was unique. Mary, Jesus’ mother, was chosen by God to carry and give birth to his son. As any mother does, she nurtured him, watched as he grew up, guided him, then stepped back as he set out on his ministry. Later, she had to watch and live through his violent death. Mary is now venerated as the model of all mothers and holds a special place in many Christians’ hearts.

Christmas wreath

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Book Review: Margaret Doores’ Love’s Greatest Gift – Remembrance

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If you have ever walked past the war memorial outside St Boniface Church in Hursley Road, you may have wondered about those named on it. Perhaps you wanted to know a bit more about them and how they died in the Great War. Or maybe a bit more about the Chandler’s Ford they left in 1914. [Read more…] about Book Review: Margaret Doores’ Love’s Greatest Gift – Remembrance

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Random Acts of Kindness

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We hear a lot about random acts of kindness and how little things can make a big difference to people. With this in mind, whilst shopping in Winchester and Asda today (1 January), I  made a point of thanking the shop assistants who served me, for being at work today, a public holiday  – a day when I and many others are fortunate to be off work and furthermore expect to find the shops open. [Read more…] about Random Acts of Kindness

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Roads that Change Their Names in Chandler’s Ford

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If you live in Merdon Avenue, did you know that it used to be called The Crescent? And that Twyford Road, Eastleigh, was once Winchester Road, Eastleigh? And that Consort Road, Eastleigh used to be Park Road?

I expect you have detected a pattern here. When Eastleigh became a borough that included Chandler’s Ford, it was found that some road names were duplicated between the two towns and, presumably so as not to confuse the postman, some were renamed so that there was only one of each. [Read more…] about Roads that Change Their Names in Chandler’s Ford

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