Titchfield

infobox UK place
country = England
latitude= 50.83
longitude= -1.23
population=
official_name= Titchfield
shire_district = Fareham
shire_county = Hampshire
region= South East England
constituency_westminster= Fareham
post_town= FAREHAM
postcode_district = PO14
postcode_area= PO
dial_code= 01329
os_grid_reference=

Titchfield is a village in southern Hampshire, by the River Meon. Close by lie the ruins of Titchfield Abbey, a place with strong associations with Shakespeare, through his patron, the Earl of Southampton. To the east of Titchfield lies the town of Fareham, whilst to the south are Stubbington, Hill Head and the Solent. Westwards lie Locks Heath, Warsash, the River Hamble and Southampton beyond.

Titchfield forms part of the borough of Fareham, having been added to the Fareham urban district in 1932.

History

The first people mentioned as inhabiting the area were a Jutish tribe, the Meonwara. St Peter’s Church, Titchfield, was established in about 680, so it is one of the oldest churches in England. The Domesday Book in 1086 mentions "Ticefelle": with a mill, a market and farms. It was a successful community, though tiny by today’s standards.

Titchfield Abbey

Premonstratensian canons founded Titchfield Abbey in the 12th century, dominating the village and its surroundings for 300 years. Henry VIII dissolved the abbey in the 16th century, giving the property to a favoured politician, Thomas Wriothesley who turned it into "Place House" and took the title Earl of Southampton.

When Place House fell into disrepair, local people took materials for their houses. Evidence of this can still be seen in walls, foundations and inside buildings. The Bugle Hotel, for example, has a big fireplace with a stone beam of ecclesiastical design.

It (i.e.Place House )is now under the care of English Heritage.

Business

Titchfield has long been a centre for business; there was once a small port (its exact location is uncertain because the 3rd Earl of Southampton closed the mouth of the River Meon at Hill Head in 1610), There were also tanneries (buildings still exist), a market, a fair, brewers, craftsmen, traders and other business people.

A Market Hall was built in Titchfield Square by the 3rd Earl of Southampton in the early 17th century. This was moved behind the Queen’s Head Public House in 1810 and, in 1970, in a derelict state, was bought by the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum and moved to Singleton where it now stands proudly restored in the centre of a new (old) village.

Other

Just outside Titchfield is one of the offices of the Office for National Statistics. This office was set up in 1959 to conduct the 1961 Census.

Titchfield was one of the major ports on the south coast in early medieval times, being in a secure position on the River Meon. Now, however, the river serves little purpose other than as a place for a quiet country walk, with access to the Titchfield Haven National Nature Reserve.

The Titchfield Carnival took place in October every year from 1880 to 2006, organised by the Titchfield Bonfire Boys Society. By 2006 it was the largest village carnival in Hampshire. However, in 2007, due to the lack of funding and increasing costs, the carnival did not take place. [http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/search/display.var.1395498.0.the_carnival_is_over_now_at_titchfield.php]

Sometimes plays are performed in the Abbey: a local favourite is a Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare.

External links

* [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/m.low1/titchfieldabbey/titchabbey.htm] photographs Titchfield Abbey.