Locks Heath

Locks Heath is a western residential suburb of Fareham, in the south of Hampshire, England. It lies to the east of Sarisbury and Warsash, to the west of Titchfield, and to the south of Park Gate and Swanwick.

Origin of Name

The heathland surrounding Locks Farm.

History

In the past, the most important local activity in this area was the growing of strawberries. The industry developed as a result of the 1866 Enclosure Acts which allowed the common land to be split into a large number of small plots. The new plot owners needed a crop that would give them a quick income from a small outlay. The combination of suitable soils and a mild climate, free from spring frosts, proved ideal for the production of early cropping strawberries. Their early ripening made them desirable in markets across the country. Swanwick railway station opened in 1888, to facilitate the transportation of large quantities of strawberries to customers all over the country.

Strawberries were transported to the waiting trains via horse and cart, a lasting reminder of this is a rail on the outside edge of what is now the pavement leading down the hill to the station. This was used to line up the wheels of the horse drawn carts, to ensure easy unloading of the carts. The station was also originally much bigger with what remains of a second branch line still visible under the tarmac of what is now the station car park. A short way from the station a warehouse can be seen which used to be the 'Swanwick and District Basket Factory' which supplied the baskets to pack the strawberries into for transportation. The outline of the old signage is still visible on the outside of the building.

The strawberry industry hit its peak in the 1920s and then began to slip into decline. This was caused by a variety of factors, including the demand for development land, competition from abroad and the increasingly strict requirements of retailers for standardised products.

Although strawberries are still grown in the area, much of the land once used is now covered with houses. Because of the nature of the plots of land, which were once the strawberry farms, many of the houses are built in relatively small estates. The mixture of old and new gives Locks Heath a unique character, and there are numerous references to strawberries in the area, one such example is 'The Talisman' Pub, 'Talisman' being a variety of strawberry.

Area

The Locks Heath area has the same mixture of old and new with the local businesses and shops. Some have been in Locks Heath for a very long time, and some are relatively new. The Lockswood shopping centre was built in the 1980s to provide additional facilities and a focal point for the area. Before that time, nobody was quite sure where the centre of Locks Heath was.

Further Information and History

Some information and history is contained on the Fareham Borough Council Web site, which has a section on the Locks Heath area at: [http://www.fareham.gov.uk/discover_local_area/whats_here/locksheath.aspx] . This local authority site also links to [http://www.locksheath.com/] , where additional information on history can be found, together with other useful information about the area. The local history extract on Wikipedia was quoted from the Locks Heath Web site and is used with permission.

Local schools

There are many junior schools including St.Johns School and Locks Heath Junior School where most of the Locks Heath infants pupils go to after they leave primary school, Hook-with-Warsash Junior School, Park Gate Primary School and Sarisbury Junior School. The only state secondary school is Brookfield Community School and Language College where an average 90% of pupils transfer to.

External links

Other general information Web sites which cover the Locks Heath area include [http://www.16laurel.com/locksheath.htm] (an amateur weather station based in Locks Heath).