A BRIEF HISTORY OF HAVANT
By Tim Lambert
SAXON HAVANT
Havant was once Hama's funta. Funta meant spring. A man named Hama once owned this one. 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.
HAVANT IN THE MIDDLE AGES
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). 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.
HAVANT 1500-1801
Warblington Castle was built around 1525. In 1643 during the civil war parliamentary soldiers destroyed most of it.
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.
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 IN THE 19th CENTURY
Havant grew steadily during the 19th century but in 1901 it still had a population of less than 4,000. 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 ended in the 1930s. In the 19th century another industry 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.
HAVANT IN 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 was changed in 1944 when Portsmouth City Council bought the Leigh Park Estate. They planned to build a new overspill community there. Work began in 1947 and in 1949 the first residents moved in. However the new estate lacked amenities. The first shops, in Stone Square, did not open till 1952. The first shops in Park Parade opened in the autumn of 1955. More opened in 1956. Greywell Precinct opened in 1966. By 1956 Middle Park Way had been built.
In the 1960s Leigh Park was extended further when an estate was built at West Leigh. Warren Park was built in 1968-1972. By then Leigh Park had a population of 40,000. A new Community Centre opened in Leigh Park in 1963. It replaced one held in ex-naval buildings in Riders Lane
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.
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.
Warblington Secondary School opened in 1954. The Bishop of Portsmouth J H King laid the foundation of St Thomas Mores RC Primary School in Bedhampton on 25 January 1956. The school officially opened on Monday 6 May 1957. Oak Park Secondary School opened in 1957. Broomfield Secondary School opened in 1958. After 2 years of sharing buildings with Broomfield School, in Leigh Park, Havant Grammar School moved to its present buildings in 1960. In 1974 it became Havant College. South Downs College also opened in 1974.
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. Havant Arts Centre opened in 1978. Havant Museum opened in 1979.
A hypermarket opened in Havant in 1980. In 1982 a leisure centre opened in Havant. Part of West Street was pedestrianised in 1983. A private hospital was built in 1984. The first shops moved into the Meridian Centre in 1991.
In 1974 Havant changed from being an Urban District Council to a Borough and gained a mayor. A Civic Centre opened in 1977.
HAVANT IN THE 21st CENTURY
At the beginning of the 21st century Havant is a bustling and prosperous town and it is still developing. Oak Park Children's Hospital opened in 2006. Also in 2006 a new bus station was opened in Havant.
Today the population of Havant is 119,000.