Bedhampton is a former village, and now suburb, located in the borough of Havant, Hampshire, England.[2] It is located at the northern end of Langstone Harbour and at the foot of the eastern end of Portsdown Hill.
Early mentions of Bedhampton are recorded in the ninth century, and the village was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086.[3]
Modern Bedhampton has a railway station,[4] with regular services to Portsmouth, Brighton, and London, and less frequent services to Southampton, Bristol, and South Wales. The A27 and the A3(M) pass through the south-west part of Bedhampton. There is a community centre in Bedhampton village which has two coffee mornings per week to address potential community isolation.
Housing
Municipal Housing, some now privately owned
Bedhampton has a mixture of older houses, many (but not all) in what is known as Old Bedhampton;[5] post-war municipal housing at Stockheath;[6] built in the late 50s and 60s at the southern end of the Leigh Park estate, a significant proportion of which is now privately owned;[7] and a range of private housing, largely semi-detached.[8]
Schools
The Old School 1868–1985
The first school in Bedhampton was built on the corner of Bedhampton Road and King's Croft Lane. Miss Dust was the original mistress, serving at the school until 1876. The first page in her log book notes that she had to "reprove a boy for fighting".[9] Scrutiny of the logbook suggests that Miss Dust was frequently visited by the squire, Mr Stone, and the rector, Rev Daubiney.
The next occupant of the school house, Mrs Dugdale, was to forge an association with the school which would last 46 years (Smith 1968). Mrs Dugdale (until 1902) and her daughter, Miss Dugdale[10] (until 1922) were the first two in a long line of long serving head teachers, continued by Mrs Smith (1948 until 1975), Mrs Carrick (1975–94), Mrs Rowley (1994–2007) Mrs Jones (2007–2019) and now Miss Townshend.[11]
After World War Two, school places were at a premium and extra places were created by turning the former HMS Daedalus III Naval Camp into Stockheath Primary School.[12] Stockheath Naval Camp was two miles north where Great Copse Drive is now.
In 1974 Hampshire County Council decided to split the primary intake, and a new school for the older children was built on land immediately south of Hooks Lane Recreation Ground, and named Bidbury Middle School. A long campaign began to move the newly created Bedhampton First School to the new site too. This eventually happened in February 1985 when Bedhampton and Stockheath First schools amalgamated to become Bidbury First School, renamed Bidbury Infant School [1] in 1994.
Just across the recreation ground is a Roman Catholic Primary School, St Thomas More's.[13]
Parks
Hooks Lane
The Hermitage Stream Walk runs to the north of the parish, from New Road in the east to Purbrook Way in the west. Havant Borough Council have prioritised the environmental well-being of the habitat, and erected signs and information panels to highlight its importance. In the centre of Bedhampton is a large open space bounded by Hooks Lane, part of which is home to Havant RFC.
Bidbury Mead
To the south of Bedhampton Road is Bidbury Mead, a large tree-ringed recreation ground – home to Bedhampton Mariners Cricket Club and Bedhampton Bowling Club. The locality borders onto Old Bedhampton, the area around St Thomas the Apostle parish church. The fourth, and least known,[14] space in Bedhampton is Scratchface Recreation Ground, situated to the west of the village within the parish boundary.
There has been a church in Bedhampton since 1086.[16] The present parish church, St Thomas The Apostle,[17] situated in Old Bedhampton, dates from the 12th century.[18] In 1953 a church centre was built, and dedicated to St Nicholas. There are also a Methodist church, a modern building in Hulbert Road replacing an earlier primitive chapel by the station, and a Gospel Hall, built between 1901 and 1922 with funds provided by local benefactor Miss Meiklam.[19]
^The area from Kingscroft Lane to Mill Lane, around the parish church and up to Manor Farm
^The area from Hooks Lane Field northwards to The Hermitage Stream, bounded to the west by Tarrant gardens and to the east by New Road
^In the early 80s, the (Conservative) government of the day passed legislation enabling sitting tenants to buy their own home; after three years they were free to sell on the open market
^Such as the roads, built by Hilson Homes in 1961, clustered around the Bowood Sewer
^Burrows, D A History of The Church of St Thomas The Apostle with St Nicholas Church Centre (1998, Bedhampton, St Thomas Parish)
^Palmer, A Hidden Bedhampton (2000, Bedhampton, Bedhampton Society)"Archived copy"(PDF). Archived from the original on 24 October 2007. Retrieved 23 January 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^The Flora of Hampshire Anne Brewis et al. 1996. Harley Books. ISBN0-946589-34-8.
^"The Centenary of Bedhampton Scouting" Neal, O Bedhampton, 1st Bedhampton Scout Troop, 2008
