Purbrook is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

and local government sub-division located in

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. Purbrook is on the outskirts of

Waterlooville Waterlooville is a town in the Borough of Havant in Hampshire, England, approximately north northeast of Portsmouth. It is the largest town in the borough. The town had a population of 64,350 in the 2011 Census. It is surrounded by Purbrook, ...

just north of the

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

city Boundary. Purbrook village is part of Purbrook

Ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

which also includes

Widley Widley is an area of the Greater Portsmouth conurbation in Hampshire, near Waterlooville and Purbrook. It is on the dip slope of the South Downs just north of the ridge called Portsdown Hill. Widley is served by the A3(T), trunk road which ru ...

and Crookhorn and has a

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 9,281(2001), taking up 7.7% of Havant borough's

History

and

Cowplain Cowplain is a village north of Waterlooville, Hampshire, England. With a population of 9,353 at the 2011 census, it makes up above 7% of Havant borough's population. It grew along the old London to Portsmouth road (the A3) on which the villa ...

did not exist before the year 1815. Before then the area was part of the Forest of Bere, which stretched from the border of

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

. Now the Forest of Bere is a mixture of woodland, open space, heathland, and farmland that includes a small part of the

South Downs National Park The South Downs National Park is England's newest national parks of England and Wales, national park, designated on 31 March 2010. The park, covering an area of in southern England, stretches for from Winchester in the west to Eastbourne in t ...

. On the southern fringe of the forest was the little village of Purbrook. Its name is a corruption of Pucanbroc, which means the brook of the water-sprite. Early in the 19th century a

windmill A windmill is a machine operated by the force of wind acting on vanes or sails to mill grain (gristmills), pump water, generate electricity, or drive other machinery. Windmills were used throughout the high medieval and early modern period ...

was built in Purbrook. Purbrook Church (St Johns) was built in 1858. In 1869 Purbrook Industrial School opened in Stakes Road. Purbrook Park House was built in 1770. It was rebuilt in 1837. In the 1920s the house became a

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

and later a

comprehensive school A comprehensive school is a secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 or 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is restricted on the basis ...

. It is now known as Purbrook Park School. The school is a

Language College Language Colleges were introduced in 1995 as part of the specialist schools programme (SSP) in the United Kingdom. The system enabled secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, modern foreign languages. Schools that successf ...

Community

There are several schools in Purbrook: *Purbrook Park School *Purbrook Junior School *Purbrook Infant School *Morelands Primary School There is also a

recreation ground A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. N ...

known as Purbrook Heath. There is a children's

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which players try to roll their ball (called a bowl) closest to a smaller ball (known as a "jack" or sometimes a "kitty"). The bowls are shaped (biased), so that they follow a curve ...

area, tennis courts, several

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

pitches, a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

cage and a

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

court all located in 'The Heath'. There is also The Rowans Hospice located opposite the tennis courts. There is a long road that runs right through it, which is called Purbrook Heath Road. It runs straight through and then bisects off to Southwick and

Portsdown Hill Portsdown Hill is a long chalk ridge in Hampshire, England. The highest point of the hill lies within Fort Southwick at 131m above sea level. The ridge offers good views to the south over Portsmouth, the Solent, Hayling Island and Gosport, wi ...

. Fort Purbrook is another attraction just located off Portsdown Hill. It is home to an activity centre, and is occasionally open for

craft A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale pr ...

fairs. Some of the activities are

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a Bow and arrow, bow to shooting, shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting ...

, indoor

rock climbing Rock climbing is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending climbing routes, routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in a mostly indoor environment. Routes are documented in c ...

and rifle shooting. There is also 1 newsagent, a Onestop, 1

fish and chip Fish and chips is a hot dish consisting of battered and fried fish, served with chips. Often considered the national dish of the United Kingdom, fish and chips originated in England in the 19th century. Today, the dish is a common takeaway ...

shop and 1 pub, The Woodman.

Papers

The only local

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

Purbrook has is '' The News''.

Notable people from Purbrook

Mary Eleanor Bowes Mary Eleanor Bowes, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne (24 February 1749 – 28 April 1800) was a notable member of the British aristocracy during the Georgian period in the 18th century. Referred to by some as "The Unhappy Countess", she w ...

April Cantelo April Rosemary Cantelo (2 April 1928 – 16 July 2024) was an English soprano. She created roles in operas by major composers, including the title role of ''Semele'' by John Eccles, Helena in Britten's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', and in sever ...

- soprano, opera and oratorio singer * Roy Heather - Actor

Only Fools and Horses ''Only Fools and Horses'' (titled onscreen as ''Only Fools and Horses....'') is a British television sitcom that was created and written by John Sullivan (writer), John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Ki ...

Charmian May Charmian Rosemary May (16 June 1937 – 24 October 2002) was an English character actress best known for her television and film roles. She appeared in the sitcoms '' The Good Life'', '' The Upper Hand'' and ''Keeping Up Appearances'', and ...

- actress, The Good Life, Bridget Jones’s Diary *

Mason Mount Mason Tony Mount (born 10 January 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Manchester United. Mount began his senior club career with Chelsea, and joined Vitesse and Derby County on consecutive loans bet ...

- Professional Football Player

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Hampshire