Chandler's Ford


Chandler's Ford or on the Winchester-Southampton road. The "Chandler's" prefix was added in the late 16th century, and is derived from the surname, Chaundler, of a family in the area from the 14th Century.
The head offices of Draper Tools, B&Q, Utilita Energy, Selwood and Ahmad Tea are located in Chandler's Ford. Draper Tools has recently announced that they plan to move to Test Valley where they are currently building a new complex.

History

Hiltonbury Farm appeared on a map of 1588 and may originally have been owned by the Hursley Park Estate in nearby Hursley. It was later sold to Cranbury Park Estate and stopped being a working farm in the late 1970s, when the surrounding area was developed. Other communities revolved around other farms in the area but Chandler's Ford was very sparsely populated until the 19th century.
In 1889, an iron church and some schools were constructed. The civil parish of Chandlersford was created in 1897, from portions of North Stoneham, North Baddesley, and Ampfield, although the railway station remained in the North Baddesley parish.
Chandler's Ford used to be a town with mainly housing estates, however there are now various developments of shops and schools that have been built in the area. In the 1920s, building took place in the King's Court, Merdon and Hiltingbury areas. Later, development in the Hursley Road area happened, followed by housing across the Hiltingbury, Scantabout, Peverells Road, Spring Hill and Oakmount areas. More recently, developments in North Millers Dale, South Millers Dale and the 'new town' of Valley Park to the West of Chandler's Ford have completed the mix of housing. Chandler's Ford is considered to be the development to the West of the M3 motorway and now forms the majority of the Eastleigh urban area.
Due to the development of the town, there is little identifiable 'town centre'. The main commercial centre is in Fryern, the area of the Halfway Inn, but other smaller shopping areas include the Central Precinct and the area around St Boniface Church. An Anglican church was added in Hiltingbury in the 1960s, with the Roman Catholic Church of St. Edward the Confessor and Methodist churches existing on the main Winchester-Southampton route.
Although a mainly residential area, Chandler's Ford has a significant industrial estate located mainly off School Lane and in between the B3043 – Bournemouth Road. The companies on the industrial estate now cover a wide variety of industries from light engineering and manufacturing, distribution, retail and outsourcing. A number of employers on the estate are of particular local interest. Peter Green Furnishers were once regarded as the biggest furniture and carpeting store in the whole of Hampshire. Selwoods is also another company of interest having been in the area since 1946 and with its head office on the corner of School Lane.
In 2018, an Aldi supermarket opened in replacement of the old Homebase DIY store in the retail park on Chestnut Avenue - introducing new jobs and competition with ASDA.
Chandler's Ford is represented by Compton and Chandler's Ford Cricket Club which formed in 1995 when Chandler's Ford Cricket Club merged with Compton and Shawford CC.
Chandler's Ford railway station was re-opened in May 2003, having been closed since 1969. It now has an hourly service run by South Western Railway, from Romsey to Salisbury via Chandler's Ford, Eastleigh and Southampton stopping at all stations in between.
An allegedly 'haunted' phone box once stood opposite the Hendy Ford car showroom. This was featured in the DVD "Haunted Hampshire", with noted historian Richard Felix. The phone box has since been removed following a number of reported cases of the phone constantly ringing and those responding to the calls finding themselves hearing silence on the other end.

Governance

Three members of parliament serve Chandler's Ford. The majority of Chandler's Ford was moved into Winchester constituency for the 2010 General Election, when Steve Brine of the Conservative Party was elected. Valley Park forms part of the Romsey and Southampton North constituency, won in 2010 by the Conservative Caroline Nokes. Part of the Eastleigh South ward lies west of the M3, and so is normally considered part of Chandler's Ford; it is in the Eastleigh constituency, represented by Conservative Mims Davies.
The Chandler's Ford seat on the Hampshire County Council is held by Judith Grajewski, representing the Conservative Party. Parts of Chandler's Ford are also located in the Eastleigh South division, held by Wayne Irish of the Liberal Democrats and the Baddesley division, represented by Alan Dowden of the Liberal Democrats.
On Eastleigh Borough Council, Alan Broadhurst, Tim Groves and David Pragnell represent Chandler's Ford, and Paul Bicknell, Darshan Mann and Alex Bourne represent Eastleigh South; all six are Liberal Democrats. Hiltingbury is represented by James Duguid, and Judith Grajewski and Margaret Atkinson. Valley Park lies in the Test Valley Borough and is represented by Liberal Democrats Andrew Beesley, Alan Dowden and Christopher Thom.
Chandler's Ford also has its own Parish Council, covering all of the area lying within Eastleigh Borough.

Demography

As of April 2011, the Chandler's Ford and Hiltingbury council wards had a population of 21,436, across 8,896 households. The ethnicity of the population was mainly white, with 310 mixed race people, 937 Asian or Asian British people, 100 Black or Black British people and 224 in other ethnic groups. In 2001, 13,531 of the population were Christians, 5,528 professed no religion, and 1,477 did not state their religious beliefs. There were 59 Buddhists, 205 Hindus, 29 Jews, 263 Muslims, 289 Sikhs and 55 people of other religions living in the ward.

Healthcare

Wessex Hospital provides private and NHS services.

Transport

Rail

Chandler's Ford is served by Chandler's Ford railway station. The station was reopened for passenger traffic on 18 May 2003. There are links between Romsey and Salisbury via Southampton.

Bus

's route 1 connects Chandlers Ford with Southampton and Winchester.
Xelabus X6/X7 runs between Hiltonbury and Eastleigh and X5 connects Southampton Parkway and Chandlers Ford stations.

Road

The M3 runs past the eastern border of Chandler's Ford with access from junction 12 from the north and junction 13 from the south.

Crime

Chandler's Ford made national headlines in September 2007 when an armed bank robbery was foiled: On 13 September 2007, the Metropolitan Police's Flying Squad, in conjunction with the Hampshire Constabulary, foiled the robbery outside the HSBC bank in the central precinct on Winchester Road in Chandler's Ford. The police had been tipped off and hid behind the nearby toilet cubicles, before shooting dead two of the robbers. A third fled the scene by car and was later arrested.
There was a theft from the same bank on 24 January 2011, when a cash box was stolen from a security guard.

Education

There are various schools and day nurseries in Chandler's Ford. The secondary schools in Chandler's Ford include Thornden School and Toynbee School. Chandler's Ford is served by colleges nearby, including Barton Peveril College.

Day nurseries