Horndean

Horndean is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England, which marks the southern limit of the district of East Hampshire. The village has a population of c.14,000, about the same as the district's administrative centre of Petersfield, though spread over a greater area. It shares the semi-rural character of other settlements in the district.

The village was probably best-known as the home of Gales Brewery, which existed in the village from 1850. Privately owned until November 2005, when it was bought by Fuller, Smith and Turner, it was closed in April 2006. It was the largest local employer until the opening of the Safeway, now Morrisons, supermarket in 1994.

1 History
2 Community
3 Calls for skatepark to be built
4 Politics
5 Papers
6 External links
7 References

[edit] History

The name Horndean means "valley by a horn-shaped hill". Dean refers to the old English word "denu" meaning valley.

Horndean grew up in the early Middle Ages due to its convenient position as a staging post on the road from Portsmouth to London (now the A3). In the early 19th century it became home to the Hon. Sir Charles Napier Senior, father to the more famous Sir Charles Napier, whose house, Merchistoun Hall (named after his former home in Falkirk, Scotland), is now a Grade II listed building and serves as the village's major community centre.

The village experienced significant expansion in the 20th century, particularly with the building of the Hazleton estate on the former grounds of Merchistoun Hall in the early 1960s, and the building of the A3(M) motorway in the 1970s, which passes under a bridge adjacent to the village centre. The easy access to the motorway has encouraged an influx of light industry to the village, most of it concentrated in three major estates, the most recent of which is Hazelton Interchange, built in the early 1990s.

[edit] Community

Horndean's major community centres are Merchistoun Hall and Horndean Technology College. There is also a popular youth centre, RKdia. Other venues include Napier Hall, which was partially rebuilt in 2004, and the Jubilee Hall, opened in 2002 but as yet underused. The de facto parish church is All Saints in neighbouring Catherington.

The surrounding villages are Catherington, Cowplain, Blendworth, Rowlands Castle and Clanfield.

[edit] Calls for skatepark to be built

Calls for a skatepark to be built in Horndean have been heard for quite a while now. There have been many meetings, even some fundraising done in the past, with the promise that something will be done about the situation.