Titchfield

• The Village
• St Peter's Church
• Titchfield Abbey
• Titchfield Haven
• Titchfield Canal

The Village

Titchfield is a very interesting and attractive village alongside the River Meon, in the western part of Fareham. It was an important medieval market town and port, although it is now three miles inland from the sea. Its prosperity was based on its commercial activities and presence of the abbey nearby. Today the village is a conservation area; the streets have many historic buildings (some dating from the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries) consisting of shops, inns and houses grouped around a large square.

St Peter's Church

St Peter's Church has great historic interest as it contains substantial remains of the original church that was built in the 7th Century. Altered many times during the Middle Ages, the church now contains work of almost every period. It has an elaborate Norman doorway, a 14th Century chapel and a magnificent north aisle that is one of the finest examples of perpendicular architecture in Hampshire. In the south chapel stands the magnificent Wriothesley monument, erected in Elizabethan times under the will of the 2nd Earl of Southampton in memory of himself and his parents.

Titchfield Abbey

Titchfield Abbey stands to the north of Titchfield village and the A27. Founded in 1232 by the Premonstratensians (White Canons) little remains today of the original abbey buildings. After dissolution of the monasteries the 1st Earl of Southampton converted some buildings into a mansion called Palace House in 1542. The house was lived in until the 18th Century but was largely demolished in 1781. It is said that Henry VI married Margaret of Anjou in the abbey church. The 3rd Earl of Southampton was a friend of William Shakespeare and it is believed that during a visit to Palace House he wrote some sonnets and that at least one play was performed for the first time within the grounds.

The ruins today consist of the almost intact shell of the gatehouse and parts of the flanking walls created out of the Abbey nave. The ruins are normally open daily on payment of a small charge.

Titchfield Haven

Two miles south of the village, at the mouth of the River Meon and on the shores of the Solent, is Titchfield Haven, where there is a small harbour that dries out at low tide. Inland is a Nature Reserve which is an important breeding and visiting ground for many species of birds and wildfowl (and is open to visitors at certain periods). There is also a Visitors' Centre with a range of information displays, shop and refreshment facilities.

Titchfield Canal

It is believed that this is the second oldest canal in England, completed in 1611 (Exeter was the first). It lies close to Titchfield Haven, well-concealed by a bridge with the remains of a sea-lock at the south end. A footpath follows the canal to Titchfield village. It was used for trade purposes and also for flooding the water meadows on each side. The Earl of Southampton ordered the river to be sealed off from the sea by a wall which was an unpopular move with the villagers as it ultimately ended Titchfield's role as a port.