Hamble-le-Rice
| Hamble-le-Rice | |
|---|---|
 The Square, Hamble | |
 The village crest | |
| OS grid reference | SU479066 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Southampton |
| Postcode district | SO31 |
| Dialling code | (023) 8045 xxxx |
| Police | Hampshire and Isle of Wight |
| Fire | Hampshire and Isle of Wight |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| UK Parliament | |
Hamble-le-Rice is a village in the Borough of Eastleigh in Hampshire, UK. It is best known for being an aircraft training centre during the Second World War and is a popular yachting location. The village and the River Hamble also featured in the 1980s BBC television series Howards' Way.
Location
Hamble-le-Rice is located on the south coast of England between Southampton and Fareham. The village is situated at the tip of the Hamble Peninsula, and is bounded by Netley, Butlocks Heath, Bursledon, Southampton Water and the River Hamble.
History
Although previously known as "Hamble", "Hamelea", "Hammel", and "Ham-en-le-Rice", the village's official name is now Hamble-le-Rice.[1] The name "Hamble" is still in common usage. To the south of the village, lies the site of an Iron Age promontory hillfort, Hamble Common Camp.
The area is home to the remains of a defensive structure dating to the reign of King Henry VIII.[2] Known as St Andrews castle investigations suggest that it consisted of a rectangular structure fronted by a gun-platform with a semi-circular layout.[2] The whole thing was protected by a moat with a further two gun-platforms mounted on the Counterscarp.[2] The structure was intact as late as the early 17th century.[3]
Aerospace
Hamble-le-Rice was the home of an aircraft training centre during World War II for planes including the Spitfire, the Lancaster and the Wellington. The south airfield has long since disappeared[4] and the north airfield has been partially developed as housing, the remainder overgrown and owned by house developers Persimmon.
Today, Hamble-le-Rice retains a large interest in the aviation industry with the Hamble Aerostructures factory, now a subsidiary of GE Aviation in Kings Avenue.[5]
Schools
There are two schools in Hamble-Le-Rice. The first is Hamble Primary School, and the second is a senior school named Hamble Community Sports College.
The River and Environment
Hamble-le-Rice is a yachting mecca: the nearby River Hamble is often packed with yachting traffic and during the summer the whole village is crowded with people out enjoying the water. The village and its river are one of the many locations that made up the fictional village of Tarrant in the BBC television series Howards Way, shown weekly on BBC1 in the late 1980s.
Hamble-le-Rice is home to a common, a variety of estuary wildlife, and other scenic walks.
Fuel terminal
Hamble fuel terminal was opened by Shell in 1924, whilst BP were still afloat using a converted passenger liner as a fuel tender. In 1930 the two companies formed a joint venture and BP moved to Hamble. This partnership was dissolved in 1976, with the Hamble terminal passing to BP.[6]
A pipeline runs under Southampton Water from the Fawley oil refinery which supplies the BP fuel terminal at Hamble. This fuel terminal was used to supply PLUTO, during the Invasion of Europe in World War II.[7] The PLUTO pipeline started at Sandown on the Isle of Wight and was supplied by ship from Hamble.[7] The jetty at this fuel terminal was extended in 1943/44 so that more ships could be loaded simultaneously.[7]
Fuel is regularly transported by road tankers from this depot, as well as by pipeline to major industry and airports. Markers showing the route of the pipeline can be seen at various points in neighbouring Botley.
A disused branch line runs from the terminal to the Portsmouth to Southampton railway. This has subsequently been converted into a scenic walk.
Transport links
The Hamble Peninsula has one main access road, the B3397 Hamble Lane which is approximately 3 miles long and goes straight through the village. The village is served by Hamble railway station, which provides services to both Southampton Central and Portsmouth Harbour. These services run once per hour in each direction. It is also linked by ferry to Warsash, and has some bus services to Southampton and Eastleigh.
People
- Sir Sam Fay, General manager of the Great Central Railway 1902-22, was born here in 1856.[8]
- Michael S. Robinson, naval art historian, was born here in 1910.
- Boatbuilder W.S. Luke and his sons Albert Luke and Walter Luke came here in the late 1880s to establish their boatyard.
- Nick Ward, Fastnet Race competitor and author of Left for Dead
Sport and leisure
Hamble-le-Rice has a Non-League football club GE Hamble F.C., which plays at Folland Park.
A speedway training track operated at Hamble in the early 1950s. There is now a sports college in Hamble to provide recreation and leisure.
External links
References
- ^ "A brief history of Hamble".
- ^ a b c Osborne, Mike (2011). Defending Hampshire The Military Landscape from Prehistory to the Present. The History Press. p. 57. ISBN 9780752459868.
- ^ Osborne, Mike (2011). Defending Hampshire The Military Landscape from Prehistory to the Present. The History Press. pp. 58–59. ISBN 9780752459868.
- ^ "Hamble Airfields".
- ^ "Composites are the future for GE Aviation, Hamble". Reinforced Concretes. 15 April 2009.
- ^ "BP in Hamble". Retrieved 14 August 2009.
- ^ a b c Hampshire and D-Day. Martin Doughty. 1994. ISBN 1-85741-047-5
- ^ van der Merwe, Pieter (15 January 2000), "Obituary – Michael Robinson 1910 – 1999", The Independent.
