Local History of Havant
From Roman springs to modern market town
Havant's history stretches back at least two thousand years, with the natural springs that give the town its name having attracted human activity since the Roman period. The springs at Homewell, in the town centre, and at Bedhampton, a mile to the west, provided a reliable supply of clean water that made the area attractive for settlement in a landscape where surface water was often scarce.
The Saxon settlement that gave Havant its name, derived from the Old English Hamanfunta, meaning the spring of Hama, established the nucleus of the town at the junction of what are now the four principal streets. The Domesday Book of 1086 records the settlement, confirming its existence at the time of the Norman Conquest.
The medieval period saw Havant develop as a market town, with a regular market held at the crossroads. The town served the agricultural hinterland of the coastal plain, and the market brought traders and revenue. St Faith's Church was the spiritual centre of the community, and the town grew around the crossroads with the characteristic pattern of a planned market settlement.
Parchment making was one of Havant's distinctive industries, exploiting the clean spring water for the soaking and processing of animal skins. The trade continued for several centuries and gave the town a particular economic identity. The springs also attracted other water-dependent industries over the years.
Warblington, to the south-east, has its own ancient history, with the Saxon church of St Thomas a Becket and the ruins of the sixteenth-century castle associated with Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury. Warblington's history predates Havant's market town phase and adds a layer of aristocratic and ecclesiastical history to the area.
The coaching era brought travellers through Havant on the London to Portsmouth road, and the Bear Hotel served as a coaching inn. The railway arrived in 1847, transforming the town's connections and beginning the process of suburbanisation that would accelerate in the twentieth century.
The single most transformative event in Havant's modern history was the construction of the Leigh Park housing estate from 1947, which more than doubled the area's population and changed its character permanently. The estate was built to rehouse Portsmouth families bombed out during the war, and it remains a defining feature of the borough.
The town's history is preserved in the Havant Museum, in the built fabric of the town centre and in the landscape of the harbour, the springs and the surrounding countryside.
The single most transformative event in Havant's modern history was the construction of the Leigh Park housing estate from 1947, which more than doubled the area's population and changed its character permanently. The estate was built to rehouse Portsmouth families bombed out during the war, and it remains a defining feature of the borough. The town's history is preserved in the Havant Museum, in the built fabric of the town centre, in the ancient churches and castle ruins at Warblington, and in the landscape of the harbour, the springs and the surrounding countryside. For a modest market town, Havant has a history that is surprisingly rich and varied.