History of Havant Town – England

The history of Havant is entwined with the history of Portsmouth which extends almost two thousand years. Havant used to be famous for it's Parchment and Glove making during the lst 500 years.

 

Havant was once Hama's funta. Funta meant spring. A man named Hama once owned this area of Hampshire. Denvilles derives its name from the Saxon word Denn which meant woodland pasture for pigs. (The 'villes' was added much later). The Saxon word 'tun' meant farm or estate. Brockhampton was brook home farm. Lang is the Saxon word for long so Langstone was probably once a village by a long stone.

 

At the time of Domesday Book (1086) Havant was a village with a population of about 100. It would seem tiny to us but towns and villages were very small in those days. Havant had 2 mills, which ground grain to flour to make bread for the villagers. One mill was Southwest of the town. The other was probably in Langstone.

St Faith's Church in Havant dates from the 12th century although it was largely rebuilt in the 19th century.

In the Middle Ages Havant grew from a large village into a small market town. In 1200 Havant was given a charter (a document granting the townspeople certain rights). Among was the right to have a weekly market. From 1451 Havant also had an annual fairs. (In the Middle Ages fairs were like markets but they were held only once a year and would attract buyers and sellers from a wide area). Later (the exact date is unknown Havant had a second annual fair). However to us Havant would seem tiny. It probably only had a population of several hundred.

In the late Middle Ages and 16th century there was a wool industry in Havant but it declined in the 17th century. However there was an important industry tanning leather in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. Havant had fellmongers (people who dealt in animal skins). Havant was also know for its glove making industry.

The little town of Havant was also known for parchment making. Parchment was made from the skins of sheep, goats or calves. It was used as a writing material instead of paper. Water was used to make parchment (the skins were soaked in it). The spring in Havant gave pure water, which made bright white parchment. So the parchment made in Havant was of a high quality.

For centuries Langstone was a small port. Even in the 19th century there was a coastal trade there. (In the past goods were often taken by ship along the coast from one part of the country to another instead of being transported overland). Langstone watermill was built in the 18th century to grind grain to flour.

Meanwhile Warblington Castle was built around 1525. However in 1643 during the civil war parliamentary soldiers destroyed most of it.

Then in 1761 Havant was severely damaged by a fire but it was soon rebuilt. In 1762 the road from Portsmouth to Chichester was turnpiked. (A turnpike road was privately owned and maintained and you had to pay to use it.) Stagecoaches travelling between the two towns stopped at Havant.

Nevertheless in 1801 Havant was a very small market town. It only had a population of 1,670. In 1801 Havant was smaller than Petersfield.

Havant grew steadily during the 19th century but in 1901 it still had a population of less than 4,000. Meanwhile in the 19th century the industry of parchment making continued to prosper in Havant. In 1919 the Treaty of Versailles was written on parchment made in Havant. However the parchment making industry in Havant ended in the 1930s. In the 19th century another industry in Havant was brewing.

As Havant grew in the 19th century its amenities improved. Hayling Bridge was first built in 1824. In 1847 Havant was connected to both Portsmouth and Chichester by railway. From 1867 a railway ran from Havant to Hayling Island. From 1859 Havant was connected to London by railway. Railway stations were built at Bedhampton (1906) and Warblington (1907), to serve those two rapidly growing areas.

From 1855 Havant had a supply of gas (for lighting). Havant gained its first police station in 1858. From 1870 Havant had a piped water supply. Also in 1870 Havant Town Hall was built.

In 1871 a fire brigade made up of volunteers was formed in Havant. However in 1871 the 2 annual fairs were abolished. Havant Park opened in 1889. In 1894 Havant became an urban district council.

Conditions in Havant continued to improve during the 20th century. A cinema opened in Havant in 1913. In 1970 the building became Havant library. (The library moved to the Meridian Centre in the 1990s).

By 1949 the population of Havant was about 8,000. In 1926 remains of a Roman villa were found south of Havant.

The War Memorial Hospital opened in 1929. Havant railway station was rebuilt in 1938. Park Road was also built in 1938.

Havant watermill, which stood for centuries just outside the town, closed in 1934. It was demolished in 1958.

Havant Churches

• From 1951 Roman Catholic mass was celebrated in a Nissen hut.

• A Catholic chapel was built in Dunsbury Way in 1955.

• A Methodist church was built in Botley Drive in 1956.

• The first Baptist Church in Leigh Park opened in 1957.

• St Francis Church was built in 1963.

• St Albans in Westleigh was built in 1966.

Building Projects

• Market Parade shopping centre was built in 1961-62.

• In 1963 the railway to Hayling Island closed.

• Havant Police Station was built in 1964.

• Havant By-pass was built in 1965.

• A swimming pool was built in Havant in 1974 and Havant Arts Centre opened in 1978.

• Meanwhile in 1974 Havant changed from being an Urban District Council to a Borough and gained a mayor. A Civic Centre opened in 1977.

• Havant Museum opened in 1979.

• Furthermore a hypermarket opened in Havant in 1980.

• Then in 1982 a leisure centre opened in Havant.

• Part of West Street was pedestrianised in 1983 and a private hospital was built in 1984.

• The first shops moved into the Meridian Centre in 1991.

Parchment making in Havant ended in 1936. Glove making ended in 1960. However after 1945 new industries such as light engineering and plastics came to Havant. In the 1950s land in Brockhampton was set aside for industry. In the late 1950s an industrial estate was built at Westleigh. Kingscroft Industrial Centre opened in 1984.

Please visit my Funny Animal Art Prints Collection @ http://www.fabprints.com

My other website is called Directory of British Icons: http://fabprints.webs.com

To visit the list and links to my other Blogg articles: http://bloggs.resourcez.com

 

The Chinese call England "The Island of Hero's" which I think sums up what we English are all about.

 

1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. Copyright © 2010 Paul Hussey. All Rights Reserved.

 

About the Author

Please visit my Funny Animal Art Prints Collection @ http://www.fabprints.com

My other website is called Directory of British Icons: http://fabprints.webs.com

To visit the list and links to my other Blogg articles: http://bloggs.resourcez.com

 

The Chinese call England "The Island of Hero's" which I think sums up what we English are all about.

 

Copyright © 2010 Paul Hussey. All Rights Reserved.

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