Widley is an area of the

Greater Portsmouth South Hampshire is a term used mainly to refer to the conurbation formed by the city of Portsmouth, city of Southampton and the non-metropolitan boroughs of Gosport, Fareham, Havant and Eastleigh in southern Hampshire, South East England. The ...

conurbation in the South East of England near

Waterlooville Waterlooville is a market town in the Borough of Havant in Hampshire, England, approximately north northeast of Portsmouth. It is the largest town in the borough. The town has a population of about 64,350 and is surrounded by Purbrook, Blendw ...

and

Purbrook Purbrook is a village and local government sub-division located in Hampshire, England. Purbrook is on the outskirts of Waterlooville just north of the Portsmouth city Boundary. Purbrook village is part of Purbrook Ward which also includes Widley ...

. It is on the

dip slope A dip slope is a topographic (geomorphic) surface which slopes in the same direction, and often by the same amount, as the true dip or apparent dip of the underlying strata.Jackson, JA, J Mehl and K Neuendorf (2005) ''Glossary of Geology.'' Amer ...

of the

South Downs The South Downs are a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the ea ...

just north of the ridge called

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 ...

. Widley is served by the A3(T), trunk road which runs from Portsmouth to London. The main A3 to London (at this point the A3(M) motorway) is very close by, making it commutable by road. Widley is served by Cosham or Havant rail stations.

History

The Norman manor of Widley was held by the De Port and St John families of

Cosham Cosham ( or ) is a northern suburb of Portsmouth lying within the city boundary but off Portsea Island. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 along with Drayton and Wymering (mainland) and Bocheland ( Buckland), Frodington ( Fratton) and ...

, and later passed to the

Earls of Albemarle Earl of Albemarle is a title created several times from Norman times onwards. The word ''Albemarle'' is derived from the Latinised form of the French county of ''Aumale'' in Normandy (Latin: ''Alba Marla'' meaning "White Marl", marl being a ty ...

. In 1293, Isabel countess of Albemarle died without heirs and the manor passed back to the St John family. Later it was in the ownership of the Clynton and Uvedale families although the latter lost the manor temporarily in 1605, when accused of

recusancy Recusancy (from la, recusare, translation=to refuse) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation. The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign ...

. It stayed in their family until 1766, when it was sold, and then passed by sale rather than inheritance. The original village of Widley stood approx 1 mile to the west of the current centre, around the site of the present Widley Farm. The settlement moved to be sited on the then newly built

Horndean Horndean is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England, north of Portsmouth. The nearest railway station is southeast of the village at Rowlands Castle. The village had a population of 12,942 at the 2011 Census, and shares the semi ...

turnpike Turnpike often refers to: * A type of gate, another word for a turnstile * In the United States, a toll road Turnpike may also refer to: Roads United Kingdom * A turnpike road, a principal road maintained by a turnpike trust, a body with powers ...

road at the time of the building of the Portsdown forts and Christ Church, which was built as a place of worship for soldiers based in the forts. The new church of St Mary Magdalen was built in 1849. Remains of the village's former chapel can be found close to Widley Farm; members of Charles Dickens' family are buried in the graveyard.

Governance

Politically, the majority of Widley is part of

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 priso ...

Havant Borough Council Havant ( ) is a town in the south-east corner of Hampshire, England between Portsmouth and Chichester. Its borough (population: 125,000) comprises the town (45,826) and its suburbs including the resort of Hayling Island as well as Rowland's Cast ...

. However, a small strip to the south is part of the City of

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is admi ...

unitary authority and the most western parts (including Widley Farm) are in the

Southwick and Widley Southwick and Widley is a civil parish in the English county of Hampshire forming part of the area administered as the City of Winchester. It comprises the village of Southwick and parts of the Havant Havant ( ) is a town in the south-east cor ...

civil parish of

Winchester City Council The City of Winchester () is a local government district in Hampshire, England, with a city status. The district covers the ancient settlement of the city of Winchester itself, but also covers a large area of central Hampshire including Bis ...

. Fresh water supply in Widley is supplied by Portsmouth Water. Waste water is serviced by Southern Water. The nearest post office is within the Crookhorn Precinct

Co-op A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

shop at 8 Purbrook Way, Crookhorn Ln. Others include Purbrook, situated within the Co-op shop at 31 London Road, Purbrook or Cosham Post Office at 13 High Street, Cosham. The nearest fire stations are Cosham (full-time station) and Waterlooville (part-time station).

References

External links

Christ Church Portsdown

Portsdown Tunnels

Fort Southwick

Fort Widley
{{authority control Borough of Havant Villages in Hampshire