Calshot is a coastal village in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, England at the west corner of

Southampton Water Southampton Water is a tidal estuary north of the Solent and the Isle of Wight in England. The city of Southampton lies at its most northerly point, where the estuaries of the River Test and River Itchen meet. Along its salt marsh-fringed we ...

where it joins the Solent.OS Explorer Map, New Forest, Scale: 1:25 000.Publisher: Ordnance Survey B4 edition (2013).

History

In 1539,

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagr ...

ordered the construction of

Calshot Castle Calshot Castle is an artillery fort constructed by Henry VIII on the Calshot Spit, Hampshire, England, between 1539 and 1540. It formed part of the King's Device programme to protect against invasion from France and the Holy Roman Empire and ...

, at the end of Calshot Spit, to defend the port of

Southampton Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, 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, S ...

from attack. Its strategic importance continues to the present day, and there is still a military presence in Calshot, though the castle is no longer a manned fort. Calshot is notable for its role in the development of aircraft and flying boats. In 1913 the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

established Calshot Naval Air Station (later known as RNAS Calshot and

RAF Calshot Royal Air Force Calshot or more simply RAF Calshot was initially a seaplane and flying boat station, and latterly a Royal Air Force marine craft maintenance and training unit. It was located at the end of Calshot Spit in Southampton Water, Ha ...

) at the end of Calshot Spit. It was also at one point home to Lawrence of Arabia. Calshot Lifeboat Station was established in 1970 by the RNLI.

Relationship with Tristan da Cunha

Following a volcanic eruption in 1961, the population of the

Tristan da Cunha Tristan da Cunha (), colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying approximately from Cape Town in South Africa, from Saint Helen ...

islands was evacuated to Calshot. Many evacuees thrived, with the children attending local schools and adults employed in a variety of local businesses and ships. But problems occurred: one of the islanders' elders, a disabled gentleman called Ian Bootla, was mugged and the islanders lacked immunity from flu epidemics and also had to endure the harsh winter of 1962–63. Most of the islanders returned home, but some of the families decided to stay and remain a close-knit community centred on a complex of 50 houses called Tristan Close. Those that returned to Tristan da Cunha renamed the harbour there, Calshot Harbour, after their temporary home.

Today

The original hangar from the World War II flying boats remains as an activity centre for watersports (including kite-surfing), climbing, snowboarding and

track cycling Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles. History Track cycling has been around since at least 1870. When track cycling was in its infancy, it ...

. There is a small indoor

velodrome A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate easement c ...

, a dry ski slope, and facilities for climbing and bouldering. The climbing grades vary from about 3 to the occasional 8a. The centre offers residential and visitor courses. Next to the hangar is a dinghy marina. The approach road passes on the landward side of the spit, and there are a large number of beach huts. Calshot Beach Huts

The spit comprises a flint pebble structure around one mile long. Between it and the main shore is a salt marshy area with a wealth of wildlife and birds. The nearby Fawley Power Station discharged cooling water into the shallow waters around Calshot beach, and this has led to some reports of warm water species being attracted into the Solent. The Habitats Directive Review of Consents for the Solent Maritime Special Area of Conservation (SAC) did indeed identify thermal pollution on the intertidal zone on the west shore of

, but this is likely to be from more than this one source. Excavation for the nearby power station discovered buried land surfaces from the Neolithic period.

References

External links

Article on the history of Calshot from ''Southern Life'' magazineCalshot Activity Centre Calshot Sub Aqua ClubEnvironment Agency Factsheet
{{authority control Villages in Hampshire Populated coastal places in Hampshire Beaches of Hampshire

History

Relationship with Tristan da Cunha

Today

See also

References

External links