Locks Heath

Locks Heath is a large residential area which extends from Warsash to Titchfield. Over recent years this area has seen substantial new building taking place and there are now many modern housing estates, some of which are set behind the former straight roads of older houses and bungalows. There are some attractive local parks and shops, including the Locks Heath Centre which provides library and community facilities.

History of the Area

In years gone by the most important local activity in this area was the growing of strawberries. The industry was developed largely as a result of the Enclosure Acts in the 19th Century under which the former common land was split into many plots. The new plot owners needed a crop that would give them a fast income from a small outlay and the strawberry was ideal. The industry developed quickly and from Swanwick station, opened in 1888, train loads of strawberries were soon being sent to all parts of the country.

 

Schoolchildren helped with the picking and whole families of gypsies flooded in to supplement the local labour to harvest the crop. After the First World War the industry began to decline as growers turned to other crops and many of the strawberry fields were lost to building.

 

 

The industry, though now in a much diminished form, still survives, but one reminder of its great days is a local pub, the 'Sir Joseph Paxton'. This is named not just after the designer of the Crystal Palace, but after one of the finest local varieties of strawberry.

To find out more about the history of Locksheath, visit the Locksheath history website at www.locksheath.com/html/local_history.html (this is an external hyperlink).

Holly Hill Woodland Park

Holly Hill Woodland Park has some lovely woodland walks alongside ornamental lakes.