Clanfield, Hampshire
| Clanfield | |
 Church of St. James |
|
  Clanfield |
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| Population | c.4500 (2002) |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | SU697168 |
| Civil parish | Clanfield |
| 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 |
Coordinates: 50°56′49″N 1°00′29″W / 50.94700°N 1.00814°W
Clanfield is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is 2.4 miles (3.8 km) north of Horndean, just west of the A3 road.
The surrounding villages are Horndean, Catherington, Hinton Daubney, Chalton, East Meon, and Hambledon.
It is in the very south of the district of East Hampshire. It has a semi-rural character with 3 sides of the village being adjoined by fields including Queen Elizabeth Country Park.
It is situated about 12 miles north of Portsmouth and six miles south of Petersfield and sits to the west of the main A3 road, just north of where the A3(M) (Motorway) ends. It is in the far east of the county of Hampshire.
Clanfield is overlooked from the other side of the A3 road by Windmill Hill and Chalton Windmill which stands at 193 metres above sea level. Many references in Clanfield feature the windmill, such as Windmill Garage.
The population of Clanfield is c. 4500 (estimated 2002).
Clanfield consists of two parts, "Old" Clanfield and "New" Clanfield. Old Clanfield has been around for roughly 250 years and New Clanfield about 60 years. Starting with Old Clanfield, the smaller part, but has more takeaway restaurants than most similar sized communities. It is on (next to) a main road which means it is very easy to access and buses run through it frequently. It also has a skatepark and children's play area in Peel Park. New Clanfield is slightly larger than its elder sibling, yet still much smaller than the neighbouring village of Horndean. However, the New Clanfield shopping facilities contain a newsagent, greengrocer, Chinese takeaway, butcher, optician, hardware store, Costcutter, two hairdressers, and the Co-Op as well as an Indian Restaurant, and, in a recent redevelopment, a wine-bar & Pharmacy.
Clanfield is a popular area for walkers, with Queen Elizabeth Country Park being next to the village. The old village also has a recently restored pond, a thatched village well, and the church of St. James.
There are two schools. Petersgate Infant in Clanfield and Clanfield Junior School in old Clanfield.
Clanfield is twinned with Val d'Oison, France[1]
History
The name Clanfield is derived from the Old English and means "field clean of weeds".
Clanfield was historically a small farming community centred about the church of St James, that dates from 1305 and was rebuilt in 1875 and contains two ancient mediaeval bells.
The community in 1929 recorded the population as 129, by the late 1940s almost 500, and in 1998 over 4500, with almost 1700 households.
The South Downs National Park borders Clanfield on three sides (east, north and west) and includes a large part of the undeveloped part of the village to the north (the former Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty).
Politics
Clanfield has a parish council, two councillors for the Clanfield and Finchdean ward of East Hampshire District Council, and one councillor for the Petersfield Butser electoral division of Hampshire County Council.
Clanfield is in the newly (2007) created Meon Valley constituency for elections to the House of Commons and the South East England constituency for elections to the European Parliament.
Public transport
There are bus services to Southsea, Portsmouth and Petersfield.
There are railway stations at Petersfield and Rowlands Castle
Community and sport
There are two parks in Clanfield. Both have swings and other child play items and Peel Park has a skateboard park. South Lane Meadow has a cricket ground, and Peel Park has football pitches. There is a new changing room at Peel Park. Clanfield has a football called Clanfield F.C.
Clanfield's major community centres are Clanfield Memorial Hall, in South Lane, Clanfield, the St James Church Hall and Leader Hall, Little Hyden Lane (For the Scouts).
There are three public houses and one wine bar. The rebuilt Rising Sun in the old village, the Hampshire Hog (previously Hogs Lodge) on the outskirts of the parish near the A3 and the famous Bat and Ball Inn, in Hyden Farm Lane, opposite the "Cradle of Cricket", Broadhalfpenny Down cricket ground. The boundary between Clanfield and Hambledon used to run through the Bat & Ball and the brass strip marking the old boundary still runs across the floor. Both the original Hogs Lodge (which was originally further behind the present one) and the Bat And Ball were occupied by members of the Murrant family. Originally a nineteenth-century building, in 1969 the Rising Sun achieved fame as the pub that was built in one day.[2]
Also in Clanfield is the Clanfield Observatory run by the Hampshire Astronomical Group, who have open days. The observatory is next to one of Portsmouth Water's reservoirs.
References
- ↑ "British towns twinned with French towns". Archant Community Media Ltd. Retrieved 2013-07-11.
- ↑ Enterprise Inns PLC, Annual Report and Accounts 2004, page 77
External links
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