Hedge End

History

The Belgae tribe inhabited the Hedge End area prior to the Roman conquest. A Roman road from Clausentum (a fortified harbour in what is now Bitterne, Southampton) passed through the area on route to Portus Adurni (Portchester Castle) and Noviomagus Reginorum (Chichester). The crossing of the River Itchen at Mansbridge and the crossing of the River Hamble at Botley date to AD932. The road that linked those two river crossings would have followed the approximate route of the modern Grange Road. on land that was formerly part of the Manor of Shamblehurst. In February 1876, St. John's, Hedge End was constituted as a separate parish for ecclesiastical purposes. A sub-post office was established on 2 August 1894. St. John's Rooms was built in 1907, which was the church hall until the Underhill Centre (named after the Reverend Mervyn Spenser Underhill, Vicar of St John's Church 1961–1994) was opened in 2002. St. John's Rooms now serves as a day nursery for small children. To avoid the air-raids, some of Southampton's citizens rented accommodation or otherwise sought shelter in Hedge End during World War II. In 1943 and 1944, during the build-up to D-Day and the invasion of Europe, Hedge End was on the outermost edge of a huge marshalling site set up in Hampshire by the military, known as Area C with the nearest camp, camp C3, located at Netley Common. Hedge End was actually part of sub-area Z within Area C. Development of another new road, the M27 motorway enabled Hedge End to expand further in the final two decades of the 20th century, although as a Southampton suburb, rapid development had commenced in the two decades before the arrival of the motorway. Hedge End is situated near Junctions 7 and 8 of the motorway. With access to the new infrastructure, there was rapid…