Netley, officially referred to as Netley Abbey, is a village on the south coast of
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...
, England. It is situated to the south-east of the city of
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
, and flanked on one side by the ruins of
Netley Abbey
(Happy Place), Lieu-Saint-Edward, Letley
, order= Cistercians
, established= 1239
, disestablished= 1536/7
, mother= Beaulieu Abbey
, diocese= Diocese of Winchester
, founder= Peter des Roches and Henry III
, dedication= Virgin Mary a ...
and on the other by the
Royal Victoria Country Park.
Historical development
As late as 1800, Netley consisted of little other than the ruins of the Abbey, and two villas known as
Netley Castle and Netley Lodge.
[Deirdre Le Fanu (ed.), ''Jane Austen's Letters'' (Oxford University Press, 1995), p. 613.] Development of the village expanded after the founding of the old Royal Victoria Military Hospital (or
Netley Hospital
The Royal Victoria Hospital or Netley Hospital was a large military hospital in Netley, near Southampton, Hampshire, England. Construction started in 1856 at the suggestion of Queen Victoria but its design caused some controversy, chiefly from F ...
) in 1856,
in connection with the
Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...
. The hospital was used extensively from 1863 through
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
until its closure in 1979 when it was converted into a country park.
Earlier, the abbey ruins made Netley a popular excursion from Southampton - both
and her sister
Jane
Jane may refer to:
* Jane (given name), a feminine given name
* Jane (surname), related to the given name
Film and television
* Jane (1915 film), ''Jane'' (1915 film), a silent comedy film directed by Frank Lloyd
* Jane (2016 film), ''Jane'' (20 ...
planning excursions there, for example, when staying in the town in 1808.
[Le Fanu (1995), ''Jane Austen's Letters'', pp. 131 and 151.]
Present-day
The oldest part of Netley retains the feel of a somewhat old-fashioned and quaint village, with some traditional small shops, and rows of colourful terraced cottages. It is located along the eastern shore of Southampton Water; the shingle beach looks across to
Hythe
Hythe, from Anglo-Saxon ''hȳð'', may refer to a landing-place, port or haven, either as an element in a toponym, such as Rotherhithe in London, or to:
Places Australia
* Hythe, Tasmania
Canada
*Hythe, Alberta, a village in Canada
England
* ...
and
Fawley, although the vista is somewhat dominated by
Fawley Oil Refinery.
Away from the shore, larger estates of houses have developed over the years which have greatly increased Netley's population and blurred the boundary between Netley Abbey and Butlocks Heath. There were two schools linked to each other, called Netley Abbey Infant School and Netley Abbey & Butlocks Heath County Junior School; there was extensive building on the site of the junior school in the late 1980s, and the site now provides a primary school for the village. There are a handful of churches, including the parish church of St
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor ; la, Eduardus Confessor , ; ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was one of the last Anglo-Saxon English kings. Usually considered the last king of the House of Wessex, he ruled from 1042 to 1066.
Edward was the son of Æt ...
.
Netley Railway Station has hourly services to Southampton Central and Portsmouth Harbour via the train company
South Western Railway, providing links for commuters both in and out of the village.
See also
*
List of places of worship in the Borough of Eastleigh
*
Northam
*
River Itchen
References
External links
Past Lives and Times of Netley Abbey Village and the Royal Victoria Military HospitalInformation about Netley Military Cemetery and its ResidentsInformation and history about Netley Royal Victoria Military Hospital
*
{{authority control
Villages in Hampshire
Borough of Eastleigh