Winklebury is a large suburb located two miles north-west of central Basingstoke in the UK. Until the late 1960s Winklebury was a collection of small holdings but Basingstoke's growth as a London Overspill town saw the area developed for housing.
History
Historically the area has some of the oldest landmarks in Urban Basingstoke. It contains the remains of an Iron Age hill fort, A Roman road from Winchester to Silchester runs along the western boundary and is still in use.
To the North of Winklebury is the site of Park Prewett Hospital, now the separate civil parish of Rooksdown. The hospital was served by its own railway line until 1956 and the course of the old railway now forms the northern eastern boundary of Winklebury. The north western boundary is the footpath on the northern side of the A339.
Culture and community
Culture
There are also active Scouts and Guides groups in Winklebury. The guides groups meet at the Church of the Good Shepherd while the Scouts groups meet at Castle Hill School. The Scouts groups often feature in community events including the Basingstoke Gangshow, fun days and the Haarlem Jamborette every four years in the Netherlands.
Community facilities
Winklebury has three shopping areas: Winklebury Centre, Elmwood Parade and Watson Way. Winklebury Centre is the main precinct as it houses a handful of shops including John Burton's butchers, Mr G's Cafe, Pharmacy Link, Greenways newsagent and Winklebury cycles. The centre also houses doctor's surgeries. Elmwood Parade houses a tanning salon, a hairdresser, a charity shop, a convenience store and Simms and Chips computer shop. Watson way shops consist of a newsagency/post office, a Chinese take away and a public house. Winklebury had a Co-operative food supermarket previously operated by Somerfield; this was later taken over by The Food Retail Group and run as a Budgens supermarket, however this has since closed down. It was announced in January 2018 that the site will be redeveloped as Basingstoke’s first Aldi supermarket.
Transport
Winklebury has a frequent bus service, operated by Stagecoach, to Basingstoke town centre via Houndmills. Stagecoach also operates a less frequent bus service from Winklebury to South Ham, the North Hampshire Hospital, Popley and Chineham Centre.
Winklebury has a large playing field. The playing field has been redevelop into new football pitches and a new football stand. Part of this development houses the offices for the Headquarters of the Hampshire FA. Winklebury has its own youth football set up. The Winklebury Wizards play in the Peter Houseman Youth League in various age groups. From under 7s to under 10s, the teams play small sided football on reduced sized pitches. From under 11s to under 15s, the teams play 11-a-side matches on full sized pitches.
