| Horndean | |
|
Horndean
Horndean shown within Hampshire |
|
| Population | 12,639 [1] |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | SU706131 |
| Parish | Horndean |
| District | East Hampshire |
| Shire county | Hampshire |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WATERLOOVILLE |
| Postcode district | PO8 |
| Dialling code | 023 |
| Police | Hampshire |
| Fire | Hampshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Meon Valley |
| List of places: UK • England • Hampshire | |
Horndean is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is 8 miles (13 km) north of Portsmouth.
The nearest railway station is 2.2 miles (3.5 km) southeast of the village at Rowlands Castle.
The village has a population of c.12,600.[1] 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.
Contents |
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. Horndean was bypassed by main line railways but was served by trams of the Portsdown and Horndean Light Railway until 1935 and thereafter by buses.
A three-storey workhouse was built during Victorian times to home the local poor. This stood on a site opposite the Good Intent public house (currently named The Colonial). This building had served a number of purposes including a local swimming pool. This was its primary function during the 1970s, provided by the use of a large polythene lined 'tank' on its ground floor. Using the pool was a fairly unpleasant experience by today's standards due to its small size, lack of poolside space and most of all - daylight. The first and second floors were used in latter years as a small lampshade factory. Defunct and dangerous, the entire building was demolished in spring 1982.
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. The centre of the village has a 1960s built small shopping precinct which is home to specialist businesses such as 'The Alice Blue Costume shop' and 'All for Dance dancewear', as well as a cafe, fast food and newsagent.
The name Horndean means "valley by a horn-shaped hill" (The horn-shaped hill is most likely Horndean Down). Alternatively "Harne" is the old English word for Dormouse making it "valley of the Dormouse". Dean refers to the old English word "denu" meaning valley.[2]
Although there are other believed meanings, for instance that the first part of the name "Horn" is associated when the Queen would travel down to Portsmouth, she would often stay in Horndean, and a "Horn" would be blown to signal her arrival. The second part, "Dean" is the meaning of forest, or large amount of trees which used to exist in Horndean before it expanded. Or a more simpler version is that is means simply "wooded valley".
Horndean's major community centres are Merchistoun Hall and Barton Hall, 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.
The village of Horndean has been 'twinned' with the town of Aubergenville in France since 1998. Various activities and exchange visits are organised by the Horndean Parish Twinning Association.
Horndean is in the Meon Valley constituency for elections to the House of Commons and the South East England constituency for elections to the European Parliament.
ITV1 Meridian and ITV1 London are the local ITV television franchises. Meridian is received from the Rowridge transmitter (though some parts towards Clanfield use the Horndean relay transmitter), whilst London can be received from the Crystal Palace transmitter.
The local newspapers and publications are
Notorious playboy and socialite Drew Carter resided in Horndean between 2002 and 2004. As a member of the infamous Portsmouth based clique, 'The Cats' he is known still to frequent the village often.
|
||||||||||||||||||||