An Iron Age shrine in the north of Hayling Island, later developed into a Roman temple in the 1st century BC, was first recorded in Richard Scott's Topographical and Historical Account of Hayling Island (1826). The site was dug between 1897 and 1907 and again from 1976 to 1978. The remains are now buried under farmland.[1] The first coin credited to Commius that was found in an archaeological dig was found at the temple.[2] This Commius was probably the son of the Commius mentioned by Julius Caesar,[3] although it is possible the coin was issued by the same Commius.[4]
Salt production was an industry on the island from the 11th century, and the Domesday Book records a saltpan on the island. This industry continued until the late 19th century.
The monks of Jumièges Abbey, Normandy, began to build Northwode Chapel about 1140; this became the site of the present St Peter's Church, now the oldest surviving church on the island. St Peter's three bells, cast in about 1350, are one of the oldest peals in England. St Mary's Church is a standard design for the churches of its era, but the walls were built with a mortar of local shells and beach pebbles. The ancient yew tree in the churchyard is believed to be the oldest yew in the county, with a girth of some nine metres (30 feet). Estimates of its age range from over a thousand to nearly two thousand years old.[5]
The grave of Princess Catherine Yurievskaya (1878–1959), a daughter of Alexander II of Russia, who lived in North Hayling for many years, is in St Peter's churchyard;[6] and that of George Glas Sandeman, nephew of the founder of SandemanPort and second head of that company,[7][8] is prominent in the north-east part of St Mary's graveyard.[9]
In May 1944, the island was the location of a mock invasion during the military Exercise Fabius, rehearsing the preparations for D-Day.[10]
In 1982, the English Court of Appeal recognised prior art by Peter Chilvers, who in 1958 as a 12-year-old boy on Hayling Island assembled his first board combined with a sail. It had all the elements of the modern windsurfer. The court found that later innovations were "merely an obvious extension" and upheld the defendant's claim based on film footage.[11] This court case set a significant precedent for patent law in the United Kingdom, in terms of Inventive step and non-obviousness. The case, Chilvers, Hayling, and a replica of Chilvers's original board were featured on an episode of the BBC's The One Show in 2009.[12]
On 20 October 2013, at least one hundred properties on the island were damaged when it was hit by a tornado. No injuries were reported.[13][14]
Geography
Hayling Island is a true island, surrounded by water. Looking at its north to south orientation, it is shaped like an inverted T, about 6.5km (4 miles) long and 6.5km (4 miles) wide. A road bridge connects its northern end to the mainland of England at Langstone. The Hayling Ferry is a small pedestrian ferry connecting to the Eastney area of the city of Portsmouth on the neighbouring Portsea Island. To the west is Langstone Harbour and to the east is Chichester Harbour.
The natural beach at Hayling was predominantly sandy, but in recent years it has been mechanically topped with shingle dredged from the bed of the Solent in an effort to reduce beach erosion and reduce the potential to flood low-lying land. At low tide, the East Winner sandbank is visible, extending a mile out to sea. The coastline in this area has substantially changed since Roman times: it is believed much land has been lost from the coasts of Hayling and Selsey by erosion and subsequent flooding.
Climate
As with the rest of the British Isles and Southern England, Hayling Island experiences a maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters. Temperatures have never fallen into double figures below freezing, illustrating the relative warmth of the island – comparable to the far southwest of England and its neighbour, the Isle of Wight. Temperature extremes between 1960 and 2010 have ranged from −9.4°C (15.1°F) during January 1963,[15] up to 32.1°C (89.8°F) during June 1976.[16]
Climate data for Hayling Island 4m (13ft) asl, 1991-2020, extremes 1960–2010
Although largely residential, Hayling is also a holiday, windsurfing and sailing centre, the site where windsurfing was invented.
In summer 2010, the Hayling Island Sailing Club hosted the 2010 World Laser Standard Senior and Junior Championships (27 August – 5 September). The Senior championship was won by Australian Tom Slingsby, whilst Dane Thorbjoern Schierup won the Junior competition.[19] Today it is home to many different types of sailing, including a growing Fireball fleet.
As a consequence of the island's popularity for water activities, there are two lifeboat services: Hayling Island Lifeboat Station, run by the RNLI and Hayling Island Rescue Service, an independent service run by retired RNLI helmsman, Frank Dunster.
The island hosts one of the few active Real Tennis courts in the UK. Founded in 1911, Seacourt Tennis club is one of only a handful in the UK where it is possible to play every recognised racquet sport. The racquets court itself was opened by Sir Colin Cowdrey.
Seacourt Tennis Club[20] also hosts a weekly fencing club featuring all ages, levels and weapons.
Hayling Golf Club clubhouse
Hayling Golf Club has been voted in the top 100 golf courses in the UK. A traditional links course, although relatively short by modern standards, the strong prevailing south-westerly winds, fast greens, gorse bushes and traditional deep links bunkers make this a stern test for any golfer.
Hayling Seaside Railway
Funland, an amusement park situated at Beachlands, is open year-round, as is the Hayling Seaside Railway which runs from the funfair to Eastoke corner.
The 5-mile (8.0km) Hayling Billy Trail is a former light rail right-of-way which has been converted to one of many footpaths on the island.[21] The Ordnance Survey Explorer 120 map covers the area[22] and the local tourist information office supplies leaflets of local interest walks.[23]
The island has several churches of different denominations including three Anglican churches; St Peter's at Northney, St Mary's at Gable Head and the more recently built St Andrew's in South Hayling.
Transport
Station Theatre, West Town, Hayling IslandRemains of the old railway bridge linking Hayling Island to the mainland. The present road bridge can be seen to the right.
Hayling Ferry links Portsmouth and Hayling Island. The ferry is busy in summer in good weather, bringing tourists and cyclists to Hayling.[26] In winter, there was a significant reduction of use. The ferry service to and from Portsea Island was subsidised by the local authorities, leaving it under constant threat of closure due to limited resources. The ferry service ceased when the company running the ferry went into administration in March 2015. It was reopened in August 2016 by Baker Trayte Marine Ltd.[27][28]
During the ferry's closure, the only public connection between Hayling Island and the mainland was the single carriageway road linking Northney to Langstone Havant. In summer, in particular, this road can become very congested, rendering the journey between the bridge and South Hayling (the most populated area) anything from 30 minutes to an hour. A proposed Millennium project to create a new shared pedestrian and cycle bridge was unsuccessful.[29]
A railway to the island was active in the 19th and 20th centuries. It opened on 17 July 1867, coinciding with the local races.[30]Terrier steam locomotives pulled carriages along the 5-mile (8km)Hayling Billy Line from Havant Station on the mainland to a station which was located at the northern end of Staunton Avenue, passing through Langstone where there was a Halt.[31] The railway was popular with tourists throughout the summer, though it saw little service in winter, and at peak times ran up to 24 services per day. Despite its popularity, the line was marked for closure in the Beeching Report owing to the prohibitive cost of replacing Langstone Bridge, which connected the island to the mainland, estimated at up to £400,000 to repair. Services ended on 3 November 1963, and the bridge was demolished in 1966.[30] The remaining railway buildings are a goods shed, which has now been converted into a theatre run by HIADS,[32] and a station, opposite the Ship Inn over the bridge. A railway gatehouse, located opposite Mill Lane, was burned down on 15 November 2018; no other building is believed to survive.
A tourist attraction, the East Hayling Light Railway, is a 2ft (610mm) gauge railway which runs for just over 1 mile (1.6km) from Beachlands Station to Eastoke Corner with aspirations to extend the route to Ferry Point within the next few years.
The nearest railway station to Hayling Island is Havant, just on to the mainland off Hayling Island. Alternatively, Portsmouth & Southsea is another railway station, used for connections to Bristol Temple Meads and Cardiff.
Stephanie Lawrence, "a musical actress of rare glamour",[33] dancer and star of West End musicals such as Evita and Starlight Express, lived during her childhood on Hayling Island, where her parents ran Broadview House School[34] on Beach Road.
William Padwick 1791–1861, purchased the manor and large estates from the Duke of Norfolk inheriting title and rights of 'Lord of the Manor'. Considerable involvement in the developing transport links to the island.
Nevil Shute (Nevil Shute Norway), the Ealing-born aeronautical engineer and novelist, lived at Pond Head on Hayling Island during World War II. His novels include A Town Like Alice and On the Beach.
William Thomas Stead, notable political and social campaigner and journalist, had a home on Hayling Island – Hollybush House. He died with the sinking of the Titanic.
Martin White (1779–1846), hydrologist responsible for maritime mapping of areas including Jersey, English Channel, Bristol Channel and Irish Sea
Maurice Wilks, automotive and aeronautical engineer, was born at Eastoke, Hayling Island on 19 August 1904. He became chairman of the Rover Car Company, and was involved in the development of the Land Rover. He also led Rover's involvement in the development of the jet engine during World War II.
Hayling oysterbeds
Oyster beds in Hayling Island
Oysters have been fished on the Hayling oysterbeds, at the northwest corner of the island, from as long ago as Roman times, documented in town records since 1615.[35] The oysters were actively farmed between as early as 1819 until the 1970s.[36] Oysters became a delicacy that was exported throughout the country under the classification of "Emsworth Oysters". Large complexes consisting of several pens separated by a series of bund walls and sluice gates were built to contain the oysters at varying stages of growth. Although large sections of the walls have since collapsed into the harbour, much of shape and scale of the beds can still be seen today.
In 1996, the oyster beds on the north west coast of Hayling Island were restored by the Havant Borough Council,[36] creating a wildlife haven which has become an important seabird breeding site. The Design Council awarded this project 'Millennium Product' status for the renovation.
Twinning
Hayling Island started twinning with Gorron, France, in 1997, after many years of social exchanges between the two communities rather than the normal council-led route. Charters were signed and exchanged in 1998 and are now displayed in the library in Elm Grove. In recognition of the twinning Gorron appears on the welcome signs, there is also a 'twinning' tree outside the library and a Gorron roundabout at Beachlands. Gorron has similar recognitions including the 'Rue de Hayling Island' – previously Rue Victor Hugo.[37]
Paris to Hayling cycle ride
The island is the home of the Hayling Charity Cycle Ride which organises an annual charity cycle ride most often from Hayling Island to Paris and back.[38] This event, run entirely by local unpaid volunteers, was started in 1986 by local cyclist Peter McQuade[39][40] and has been run every year since. Up to 2023 over £1,800,000 had been collected for more than 500 good causes. Entrants have come from 15 different countries on five continents. Based on their research the organisers believe it may be the oldest long distance charity ride in the world.[38]
Population
In the mid- to late 20th century, Hayling Island's population was known to double during the summer months, due to a large influx of holiday makers and the associated tourism employees to accommodate. As domestic holidays have declined and Hayling's prominence as a traditional English seaside resort have followed in parallel, the population only swells by approximately 20%–25% (English Tourist Board estimate, 2001).
Emsworth is a town in the Borough of Havant in the county of Hampshire, on the south coast of England near the border with West Sussex. It lies at the north end of an arm of Chichester Harbour, a large and shallow inlet from the English Channel, and is equidistant between Portsmouth and Chichester.
Havant is a town in the south-east corner of Hampshire, England, between Portsmouth and Chichester. Its borough comprises the town (45,826), the resort of Hayling Island, the town of Waterlooville, and the town of Emsworth. Housing and population more than doubled in the 20 years following World War II, a period of major conversion of land from agriculture and woodland to housing across the region following the incendiary bombing of Portsmouth and the Blitz.
Portsea Island is a flat and low-lying natural island 24.5 square kilometres in area, just off the southern coast of Hampshire in England. Portsea Island contains the majority of the city of Portsmouth.
Sinah is the area at the southwestern end of Hayling Island. It incorporates the Ferrypoint, Sinah Beach, The Kench, Sinah Warren, and Sinah Common. It is bounded to the east by West Town. Langstone Harbour and its entrance form the north and west borders, and to the south is Hayling Bay.
Langstone is a village near Havant, Hampshire in the south east of England in Portsmouth. It has good railway connections to London, Southampton, Portsmouth and Brighton, from the nearby Havant railway station. There are many large gated detached houses on the main road, "Langstone Road" and on the roads surrounding this. It has a sailing club, several architecturally unusual buildings, and several historically significant buildings, including a converted (water) millhouse and a converted 18th century windmill, the latter of which is a local landmark.
Leigh Park is a large suburb of Havant, in Hampshire, England. It currently forms the bulk or whole of four electoral wards: Battins, Bondfields, Barncroft and Warren Park.
Chichester Harbour is a large natural harbour in West Sussex and Hampshire. It is situated to the south-west of the city of Chichester and to the north of the Solent. The harbour and surrounding land has been designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and a biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The area is also part of the Solent Maritime Special Area of Conservation, Chichester and Langstone Harbours Ramsar site, Special Protection Area and Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I. Part of it is a Geological Conservation Review site and two areas are Local Nature Reserves.
Langstone Harbour is a 2,085.4-hectare (5,153-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Hampshire. It is an inlet of the English Channel in Hampshire, sandwiched between Portsea Island to the south and west, Hayling Island to the south and east, and Langstone to the north. It is part of the Ramsar site of Langstone and Chichester Harbour Special Protection Area and Nature Conservation Review site. Parts are Special Areas of Conservation, or Local Nature Reserves, and some areas by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust.
Havant railway station is a railway station in Havant, Hampshire, near Portsmouth, located on the Portsmouth Direct Line which runs between London Waterloo and Portsmouth Harbour.
The Hayling Island branch was a short railway branch line in Hampshire, England, that connected a station on Hayling Island with the main line network at Havant. It was built by the Hayling Railway; at first the company planned to run it along a new embankment built along tidal mudflats, but this proved impractical. The line was opened along firm ground in 1867.
Langston was a small station on the Hayling Island branch. The station along with the rest of the line closed in 1963, and it served the Langstone area of Havant, a former village which had become contiguous with the larger town to its north. The railway companies always used the old spelling "Langston" for the station, in spite of this form not being used by the local community, and it can be seen in many photographs of the station sign.
North Hayling station was a halt on the single track Hayling Island branch, most often used to load oysters caught by local fishermen, but also ornithologists and ramblers. The station, along with the line was closed, in 1963. The station was located on the west coast of Hayling Island, very close to the coast. The station was very basic, with a timber concourse and wooden shelter. The station has been demolished and a section of the trackbed is now a footpath.
Peter Chilvers was an inventor, engineer and promoter of sailing and windsurfing. He is credited with an early version of a sail powered surfboard. He died from lung cancer on 26 February 2015.
Eastney is a district in the south-east corner of Portsmouth, England, on Portsea Island. Its electoral ward is called Eastney and Craneswater. At the 2011 Census the population of this ward was 13,591.
The Hayling Seaside Railway, formerly East Hayling Light Railway, is a 2 ft narrow gauge railway on Hayling Island, Hampshire, England. It is mainly a diesel operated railway, though from time to time the railway hires steam locomotives from other narrow gauge railways. It operates passenger trains between Beachlands and Eastoke Corner.
Langstone Bridge connects Hayling Island with the English mainland of Hampshire.
The Hayling Ferry is a foot passenger ferry across the mouth of Langstone Harbour linking the Ferry Point on the west tip of Hayling Island with Eastney, Portsmouth on Portsea Island. The current owner, Baker Trayte Marine Ltd, has operated the ferry since August 2016 following a period of cessation when the previous operation fell into administration in March 2015.
William Padwick, sometimes known as William Padwick the younger, was a significant figure in the development of Hayling Island in the mid-nineteenth century.
West Town is a village on Hayling Island in the borough of Havant in the county of Hampshire, England. It is on the south coast of the island, between Sinah to the west and Eastoke to the east. The wide area between the seafront road and the sea is known as Beachlands.
↑ Bean, Simon C. (1994). "Coinage of Commios"(PDF). The coinage of Atrebates and Regni (PhD). University of Nottingham. p.262. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
↑ De Jersey, Philip (1996). Celtic Coinage in Britain. Shire Publications. pp.27–32. ISBN0-7478-0325-0.
↑ Bean, Simon C (1994). "Coinage of Commios"(PDF). The coinage of Atrebates and Regni (PhD). University of Nottingham. pp.242–247. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
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