Eastleigh
Eastleigh is a former railway town in Hampshire, England, and the main town in the Eastleigh borough. The town lies between Southampton and Winchester, and is part of the South Hampshire conurbation. Eastleigh borough stretches from Netley on the banks of Southampton Water, the historic river villages of Hamble-le-Rice, Bursledon and Botley, the developing areas of Hedge End, West End, Fair Oak & Bishopstoke and the green residential belt of Chandler's Ford and Boyatt Wood. Eastleigh is home to many businesses, including a large manufacturing plant owned by Prysmian Cables & Systems (formerly the cables division of Pirelli).
History
A village called East Leah has been nearby for centuries, but the railway station was originally named Bishopstoke Junction, only becoming Eastleigh in 1923, after the town that sprang up around it, with the building of the railway works. The main Railway Works was closed during 2006 but has since reopened, albeit on a smaller scale.
Eastleigh has seen a rapid and controlled expansion in residential, industrial and commercial development over recent years. The borough of Eastleigh was ranked the "9th best place to live in the UK 2006" by a Channel 4 programme.[1]
Perhaps Eastleigh's most well known 'resident' is the Spitfire aeroplane which was built in Southampton and first flown from Eastleigh Aerodrome (now Southampton International Airport). A replica has recently been placed on the traffic island at the entrance to the airport.
The most famous people linked to Eastleigh are probably Christabel Leighton-Porter, the model for the World War II cartoon character Jane[2], and Benny Hill who both lived in the town. In Benny's honour a new road was recently named Benny Hill Close, though many of the people who had bought the new homes were not happy with the decision.[3]
Sir Arthur Young, the eminent police chief, was born at 55 Chamberlayne Road in 1907. Sporting notables include Tommy Green who won an Olympic Gold Medal at the 1932 Los Angeles Games in the 50K walk, and Vince Hawkins who was briefly British Middleweight Boxing Champion in the late 1940s.
Eastleigh Museum, which is to be found in the High Street holds information about the town and the surrounding villages, including Bishopstoke which had been the largest residential area.
Education
Eastleigh has two further education colleges, Barton Peveril College (the alma mater of Colin Firth) and Eastleigh College. It also holds many other schools including Toynbee Sports College, Crestwood School, Quilley School of Engineering, Cherbourg Primary School, Norwood Primary School and Fryern Junior School.
Sport
Eastleigh Ladies Hockey Club is based in South Hampshire. It fields 2 teams in the Hampshire Women's League (playing Saturdays), as well as playing floodlit and indoor league games (playing on weekdays).
Eastleigh F.C. are the town's sole senior team after the demise of Eastleigh Athletic F.C..
Eastleigh is also home to Eastleigh Rugby club and Trojans Rugby club.
Politics
In 2005 Chris Huhne was elected as the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament (MP) for the Eastleigh constituency after the previous MP (David Chidgey, also Liberal Democrat) retired. Eastleigh has a tradition of close contests, and Huhne narrowly beat the Conservative candidate Conor Burns with the second lowest swing against the Liberal Democrats of any seat with a retiring MP (2.6%). David Chidgey had succeeded the Conservative MP Stephen Milligan after his high profile death.
Shopping
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The Swan Shopping Centre opened in 1989, and was built in the heart of the town's Victorian 'grid iron' road layout and blocked off Market Street and High Street - although through access was possible for pedestrians while the centre was open. The Swan Centre included a French-style cafe and a new library (replacing the recently demolished Town Hall library) in the High Street atrium.
The Centre originally contained a large shop unit which was reserved for a major fashion retailer (rumoured to be Dunnes), however this never came to fruition and in the late 1990s, significant modifications were made to the 'Octogan' (the Market Street atrium), including removal of the glass lift, replacement stairs and closure/in-filling of the mall that led to the southern part of Market Street (the shop units in this part were never let). These modifications were partly paid for by Littlewoods, who moved into the new enlarged shop unit. Following the demise of Littlewoods' retail business, the unit is now occupied by T.K. Maxx. Anchor stores at the Swan Centre include Tesco Metro, W H Smith, New Look, Next, McDonald's, Argos and Boots.
The Swan Centre has been largely successful commercially, with most of the ground floor units being occupied, however the retail units on the first floor have never been let. The High Street atrium used to have a creche but now only has the library and centre management offices. In 2008, a project to extend the Swan Centre was started. The extension, at the eastern side of the centre saw a new structure constructed above the Tesco car park. This extension completed in March/April 2009 with the opening of a Vue cinema, AMF bowling alley and several restaurants.[4]
Notable people
Notable former residents of Eastleigh include:
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See also
References
- ^ "BEST AND WORST PLACES TO LIVE 2006: Eastleigh". Channel 4. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
- ^ Racy Cartoons of the WW II Years: "Jane"
- ^ "Benny Hill's no joke". Thisishampshire. Newsquest Media Group. 6 October 2003. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
- ^ "Swan Centre Development". Eastleigh Borough Council. Retrieved 2009-02-25.
