Fair Oak is a large village to the east of the town of

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the United Kingdom 2011 census, 2011 census. The town ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, England. Together with the village of Horton Heath, which lies to the south, it is part of the civil parish of Fair Oak and Horton Heath.

History

Fair Oak takes its name from a tree in the Square which was felled and replaced in February 1843. A fair took place under the tree in June every year until 1918, and local historians believe this provided the tree, and subsequently the village around it, with its name. Documentary evidence exists of a settlement in the area called Cnolgette in 901 AD. The village has a history of sand quarrying, with some of the newer parts built over old restored quarries.British Geological Survey (1987), ''Southampton. England and Wales Sheet 315. Solid and Drift Geology'', 1:50,000 Series geological map, Keyworth, Nottingham: British Geological Survey, In November 1830, during the

Swing Riots The Swing Riots were a widespread uprising in 1830 by agricultural workers in southern and eastern England in protest of agricultural mechanisation and harsh working conditions. The riots began with the destruction of threshing machines in the ...

, a group of labourers destroyed

threshing machine A threshing machine or a thresher is a piece of agricultural machinery, farm equipment that separates grain seed from the plant stem, stalks and husks. It does so by beating the plant to make the seeds fall out. Before such machines were developed ...

s in and around the village. The central church of St Thomas was originally built in 1863 to serve as a

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently, generally due to trav ...

for Fair Oak cemetery. At this time the village was part of the parish of

Bishopstoke Bishopstoke is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Eastleigh, Eastleigh district of Hampshire, England. It is recorded as "Stoke" as early as 948AD when King Eadred granted land there to a thegn called Aelfric. Stoke later came into th ...

with its church of St Mary. Fair Oak was established as a civil parish in its own right in 1894, covering an area of which previously formed the eastern end of Bishopstoke parish. In 1908, Fair Oak was described thus:

The village of Fair Oak consists of widely scattered houses and farms reaching from Crowdhill on the north to Horton Heath on the south. From Crowdhill, part of which is in Fair Oak, a fine view can be gained of the surrounding country, the Itchen valley stretching away to the south-west towards the Solent, and the chalk downs which lie round Winchester sweeping away to the north.

At this point Crowdhill consisted of a Wesleyan chapel and approximately three houses, with Stocks Farm lying between Crowdhill and the centre of Fair Oak itself, where St Thomas' Church had a number of houses grouped around it. An

inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway. Before the advent of motorized transportation, they also provided accomm ...

, smithy, and church schools were nearby, and some cottages adjoined the road to

Knowle Hill Knowle Hill () is a hill in the Chew Valley, Somerset, England situated between the village of Chew Magna and Chew Valley Lake. The south side of the summit of Knowle Hill is home to the grass Wood Small-reed (''Calamagrostis epigejos''). The p ...

. Horton Heath was included in the civil parish and at that time, consisting of a post office, the Rising Sun Inn, Hammerley Farm and a Union Chapel, was considered "a detached portion of Fair Oak village". A number of country houses were sited around Fair Oak village. These included

Fair Oak Park Fair Oak Park was a English country house, country house located to the east of the original village of Fair Oak in Hampshire, England. It was home to two sheriffs of Hampshire: Sir Samuel Raymond Jarvis, who sold it to James Edward Bradshaw. Su ...

to the east, whose grounds covered about . To the northeast stood Stroudwood, while southwest of the village was Fair Oak Lodge, whose estate again covered about and contained a lake known as Quobleigh Pond, which itself covered an area of about and was noted for supporting a variety of water fowl species. Originally a convent dating from the 16th century, Fair Oak Lodge is in Allington Lane and was extended in the 19th century. The building now houses The King's School, which purchased the property in 1987. Wyvern Community School was opened in 1965 and was renamed Wyvern Technology College in 2000. Then in 2012 the name was changed again to Wyvern College as a result of the school's conversion to an academy. The uniform crest was also changed slightly to a golden dragon. The name of the parish was changed in 1983 from "Fair Oak" to "Fair Oak and Horton Heath" to reflect the expansion of the latter settlement over the previous two decades.

Amenities

The church, St.Thomas has been designated a beacon church for the Winchester diocese. The village has also been the location for Christian outreach programmes in recent years. It is home to two

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

groups, the 7th and 8th Eastleigh. Fair Oak has a village hall and four pubs: 'The Old George', 'The Cricketers', 'The New Clock Inn', and 'The Fox and Hounds'. There are three schools: infant, junior, and a secondary school, Wyvern College, which has a public gym. There is also an independent Christian school,

The King's School Senior Fair Oak Lodge, sometimes referred to as Lakesmere House, is a former country house in the village of Fair Oak, Hampshire. Much of the original estate has been built upon with modern housing, but the house itself survives and is owned by the Ham ...

. In 2017 Fair Oak Junior School represented the South of England in football. In 2020, Hampshire County Council announced plans to close Fair Oak library.

Stoke Park Wood

Stoke Park Wood to the north-west of the village (a remnant of the

Forest of Bere The Forest of Bere is a mixed-use partially forested area in Hampshire immediately north of Fareham, Portsmouth and Roman Road, Havant and including a small part of the South Downs National Park.Northern crested newt The northern crested newt, great crested newt or warty newt (''Triturus cristatus'') is a newt species native to Great Britain, northern and central continental Europe and parts of Western Siberia. It is a large newt, with females growing up to ...

(Triturus cristatus). There are ongoing efforts by local activists to classify the area as an SSSI ensuring its protection from the proposed development projects. In 2015 a group of local volunteers saved 250 trees from destruction by transplanting them from Stokewood Park to Knowle Lane.

Geology

Fair Oak lies on the

London Clay The London Clay Formation is a Sediment#Shores and shallow seas, marine formation (geology), geological formation of Ypresian (early Eocene Epoch, c. 54-50 million years ago) age which outcrop, crops out in the southeast of England. The London C ...

deposits of the

Hampshire Basin The Hampshire Basin is a geological basin of Palaeogene age in southern England, underlying parts of Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Dorset, and Sussex. Like the London Basin to the northeast, it is filled with sands and clays of Paleocene and ...

, to the northern edge of a small syncline separated from the main basin by the

Portsdown Portsdown is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on Portsdown Hill, on the northern outskirts of Portsmouth in Hampshire. This is a linear south-facing escarpment with a rich chalk grassland flora. The diverse insect fauna include ...

anticline In structural geology, an anticline is a type of Fold (geology), fold that is an arch-like shape and has its oldest Bed (geology), beds at its core, whereas a syncline is the inverse of an anticline. A typical anticline is convex curve, c ...

. The London Clay in this area, towards the top of the sequence, is fairly sandy and includes

lenticular Lenticular is an adjective often relating to Lens (optics), lenses. It may refer to: *A term used with two meanings in botany: see *Lenticular cloud, a lens-shaped cloud *Lenticular galaxy, a lens-shaped galaxy *Lenticular (geology), adjective de ...

sand deposits.Edwards, R.A. & Freshney, E.C. (1987), Geology of the country around Southampton. ''Mem. British Geological Survey, Sheet 315 (England & Wales)'', Keyworth, Nottingham: British Geological Survey, The sand pits on the east of the village are in the Whitecliff Sand. At Knowle Hill and south towards Horton Heath the London Clay is overlain by the clays and sands of Wittering Formation of the

Bracklesham Group The Bracklesham Group (formerly Bracklesham Beds), in geology, is a series of clays and marls, with sandy and lignitic beds, in the middle Eocene of the Hampshire Basin and London Basin of England. The type section of the Bracklesham Group is th ...

, with a small outlier capping Pylehill to the north.

Sports

Fair Oak is the location of one of Hampshire's biggest cricket clubs, the Fair Oak Cricket Club. The home ground is Lapstone Park, at the end of Pavilion Close in Fair Oak. The first team are the only team from Eastleigh Borough to play in the Southern Premier League. FOCC's third and fourth teams do not play in Fair Oak itself, but the club homes all four sides at Lapstone Park for training and events. The club was established in 1947. Fair Oak is the boyhood home of

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

500cc

motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...

world champion,

Graham Noyce Graham Noyce (born 18 February 1957) is an English former professional motocross racer. He competed in the Motocross World Championships from 1975 to 1984. Noyce was the 1979 500cc motocross world champion. __TOC__ Motocross career Growing u ...

References

External links

Fair Oak and Horton Heath Parish CouncilFair Oak & Horton Heath Local Community Magazine Stoke Park Woods Video
{{authority control Villages in Hampshire Borough of Eastleigh