Rowland's Castle
| Rowland's Castle | |
| Hampshire | |
|---|---|
 Rowland's Castle Green | |
| Location | |
| Location: | 50°53’28"N, -0°57’36"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 2,770 (2001[1]) |
| Post town: | Rowland's Castle |
| Postcode: | PO9 |
| Dialling code: | 023 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | East Hampshire |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Meon Valley |
Rowlands Castle is a village in the south-east of Hampshire, in the Forest of Bere three miles north of Havant. The border of Sussex runs along the village's eastern edge. To the east in Stoughton, Sussex is Stansted Park.
The focal point of the village is the village green which is shaped somewhat like a lung. Surrounded by roads it is about 250 yards long and about 40 yards wide at its eastern end while tapering to almost a point at the western end near the railway arch.
The village takes its name from a motte-and-bailey castle, the remains of which are situated to the south of Redhill Road and west of the railway line, east of the current centre of the village.
The village
It is largely a quiet residential village, with four pubs and a few small shops, including a hardware store, which appeared in an episode of the 2010 series of The Apprentice, and local convenience store. The village takes its name from a Motte-and-bailey castle, the remains of which are situated to the south of Redhill Road and west of the railway line, east of the current centre of the village.
Lionel 'Buster' Crabb, a famous Royal Navy diver, post WWII, lived in Whichers Gate Road and was a local at the Staunton Arms Pub at the entrance of the village, where he was remembered by local villagers.
In 1994 Stage 5 of the Tour de France passed through Rowland's Castle, attracting large crowds during one of the busiest days in the village's history.
Transport links
Rowland's Castle is served by a railway station on the Portsmouth Direct Line between London Waterloo and Portsmouth. It is only manned early on weekday mornings.
The village is crossed by three long-distance footpaths, the Monarch's Way, Sussex Border Path and Staunton Way.
History
The Romans made pottery, brick and tiles at Rowland's Castle because suitable clay was available. The castle was built at some time between 1066 and 1199 and is first documented under the name ROLOKECASTEL in 1381.[2] It was in good repair in the twelfth century, when Henry II spent several days there in hunting and amusement,[3] but was abandoned by the 15th century. The site was damaged by the railway and quarrying in the 19th century and now only the earthworks and a few small areas of wall remain.
Churches
- Church of England:
- St John the Baptist
- United Reformed Church: The Church on the Green, prominently at the west end of the green.
The Church of St John the Baptist stands to the west of the centre of the village close to the B2149 road. It is an aisled church with transept and chapels with the east window being a stained-glass depiction of the Crucifixion by Francis Austin.[4]
St. Hubert's chapel
St Hubert's chapel or church is in the far north of the parish, in Idsworth.[5] It was built in 1053 and was originally dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul. It is a Grade I listed building, listed on 16 March 1954.[6]
The chapel contains examples of mediæval paintings from around 1300 which include paintings around the altar window of St Peter, St Paul, and two angels. On the north wall there is a painting of St. Hubert and St John the Baptist. The narthex contains an octagonal stone font and above it is a gallery which contains the church organ.
Idsworth, based on its compact late Saxon church, was a chapelry long including Rowlands Castle and until a recent date unknown was dependent on the mother church of Chalton. Hence a dispute concerning the right to appoint the chaplain arose in 1275 between Henry de Bonynges, lord of the manor of Idsworth, who claimed it as an appurtenance, versus the Prioress of Nuneaton, who made good her right as patron of Chalton church, and therefore of the appendant chapel. The rectors of Chalton were bound from very early times to find a chaplain at the chapel to say mass on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and on double feasts throughout the year, and to administer the sacraments and other rites (except the burial of the dead) for the inhabitants of the hamlets of Idsworth "and Dene" (Horndean, or perhaps Finchdean). Sir William Haughe, rector of Chalton, discontinued this practice in 1394 and so proceedings were taken against him in the Court of Arches by Richard Romyn, lord of Idsworth manor, and the rest of the inhabitants of the two villages before Thomas Stowe and Adam Uske, who decided that the rector was liable by custom to find a chaplain to minister in Idsworth Chapel. This "sentence" (ruling) was published by the bishop of Winchester on 1 May 1398, and confirmed by the prior and chapter of Winchester on 3 June.[7]
To mark the year 2000 a new fresco was added to the church’s nave.[8]
About the village
A model railway depicting the village during the war has been created and is on display at nearby Stansted House.[9]
Rowlands Castle railway station is on the Portsmouth Direct line between London Waterloo and Portsmouth.
The village is crossed by several long-distance footpaths: the Monarch's Way, Sussex Border Path, Staunton Way and Shipwrights Way. National Cycle Route 22 passes by the village green on its route from Havant to Petersfield.
Sport and leisure
The village has an 18-hole golf course; the club being formed in 1902 with a 9-hole course.
In 1994 Stage 5 of the Tour de France passed through Rowland's Castle, attracting large crowds with its carnival atmosphere.
Geology
Rowland's Castle lies on the northern edge of the Neogene deposits of the Hampshire Basin. The north of the village lies on the chalk of the southern South Downs. In the south is the Reading Formation which gave rise to the former local brick industry.[10]
Gallery
-
The Church on the Green -
Parish Hall -
The Fountain (live music venue) -
Bowes Hill Junction
References
- ↑ "Parish Headcounts, Area: Rowland's Castle CP". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. 2001. http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=3&b=795060&c=Rowlands+Castle&d=16&e=15&g=449864&i=1001x1003x1004&o=1&m=0&r=1&s=1207247843984&enc=1&dsFamilyId=779. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
- ↑ Hanks, P. Hodges F., Mills, A.D. & Room A. (2002), The Oxford Names Companion, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-860561-7
- ↑ "Rowlands Castle". Hampshire Council. http://www3.hants.gov.uk/localpages/south-east/havant/rowlands-castle.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-01.
- ↑ Eberhard, Robert (January 2019). "Stained Glass Windows at St. John – Rowlands Castle, Hampshire". http://www.stainedglassrecords.org/Ch.asp?ChId=12019.
- ↑ Nearby.Org Co-ordinate converter, coordinate location
- ↑ National Heritage List 1094540: Church of St Hubert (Grade I listing)
- ↑ 'Parishes: Chalton', in A History of the County of Hampshire: Volume 3, ed. William Page (London, 1908), pp. 102–110. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/hants/vol3/pp102-110 [accessed 27 January 2019].
- ↑ Wills, Dixe (2018). Tiny Churches. AA Publishing. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-7495-7991-3.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedBabs1 - ↑ British Geological Survey (1998), England and Wales Sheet 316 Fareham, 1:50,000 series geological map, Keyworth, Nottingham: British Geological Survey, ISBN 0-7518-3168-9
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Rowland's Castle) |