In the early 1920s, Chandler’s Ford was a small village surrounded by beautiful woods and fields. The main road running through the centre, linking Southampton to Winchester, was quiet and traffic-free. Now the village has grown in all directions and is a very busy place.

There were many groups of thatched cottages, interspersed with large properties set in several acres of land, and a number of market gardens and dairy farms. The springs and little streams have mostly been piped, converging where the railway station used to be, under the name of Monks Brook. The whole area was densely wooded, chiefly oak, yew and sweet chestnut. In the autumn lorries used to come to gather the fallen chestnuts to take to town for sale.

Before the railway works came to Eastleigh providing employment, the main industry was brick making. Bricks were taken from here by rail to London to build the Law Courts in the Strand.

In the 17th century, cherry trees grew in abundance throughout the village and each year people came from surrounding places to buy cherries (or merries as they were called). Oliver Cromwell’s son Richard brought his wife from Hursley to enjoy the Merrifeasts.

During the Second World War, American troops were stationed in Chandler’s Ford before D-Day. The men ate and slept with their vehicles which were parked under the trees along the roads. Many friendships were formed with local people and the children were given food they had never seen before – such as white bread, tinned peaches and tinned ham.

The village information above is taken from The Hampshire Village Book, written by members of Hampshire Federation of Women’s Institutes and published by Countryside Books.