Natural

The Water Meadow

The land that we now call The Water Meadow is deemed very important to the village. A pattern of care has been followed since the early days of Wallington Village Community – though the field has no doubt been cherished by generations of Wallington people before us. The land enables major social events like the Summer Fete and, day-by-day, it serves as a recreation space and a visual amenity.

The Water Meadow has been a hay meadow for over a century and is managed by WVCA on behalf of the owners, a multi-national Insurance Company. Some 10 acres in area and bounded by the River Wallington to the south and mature plantations on the remaining sides, the meadow is an important wildlife habitat and is listed as a SINC (Site of interest for nature conservation). In recent years the meadow has been cut for hay in late June/early July by local farmers, the aim being to try and preserve one of the few remaining meadows that has never been subject to modern agro- chemicals or pesticides. (See Management Plan below)

Officially designated as part of the Wallington Flood Plain, parts of the meadow routinely flood during the winter months and in this way, the meadow acts as traditional water meadow in dissipating some of the river’s energy during heavy rainfall.

If the land was to suffer development (as part of it did back in the 1970’s) then an historical link would also be lost, because the story of the field dates back centuries. In the Domesday Book the entry for Fareham records that the town was held by the Bishops of Winchester. From before that great inventory until well into the Middle Ages their power and influence was enormous. Great amounts of land were held in Southern England and our field probably got the (now disused) name of Bishops Mead, which appears on some maps, as a result.

In England as a whole the wool and clothing trades grew steadily in importance from 1400 so that arable land gave way to sheep pasture. The sacrifice of arable land was only possible because following the Black Death in 1349 a reduced population required less of it. Around the year 1500 Water Meadows were a golden innovation and by 1630 they were fairly widespread in southern and western counties. By means of carefully constructed irrigation channels a meadow could be flooded in Winter and allowed to drain off the following March. Sheep would graze the young shoots until late April when they would be taken off to allow the grass to grow on to give one or more hay crops. The river brought nutrients more than water to the meadows and increased the yield of hay up to fourfold. In addition the winter temperature of the water was generally higher than that of the air and this in turn promoted growth.

Our water Meadows are now less than half the size that they used to be. They once to extended westwards at least as far as the Bridleway that (now) begins near Luckett’s Yard. For the first part a small stream ran alongside the path and past the front walls of the dwellings known as Clapgate Cottages. The cottages are now gone and the Fareham Industrial Park covers the fields that used to be, but the Clapgate stream still runs (just) – and that, too, was much bigger within living memory. It begins near Kneller Court at Funtley then passes Furze Hall Farm up on the Wickham Road. It is more than likely that the stream was used as a component of the Water Meadows system and it may also have been useful to the Tannery, which was sited near the junction of the two watercourses. The sunken lane near the Bridleway (now almost hidden) used to be called Watery Lane. The course the path may be close to the route of the old Roman road to Wickham.

Water Meadow Management Plan

In 1987 the owners (Standard Life) agreed to a WVC initiative for the management of this natural asset. This involved tree planting at the Motorway end, removal of scrub on banks to aid stability, thinning of some tree species to encourage growth of others and a meadow cutting regime designed to help both wild flowers and summer amenity value. The plan was drawn up by the WVC in partnership with Fareham Borough Council and Greenspace, Hampshire County Council. (View Management Plan)

The River

Emergency Flood Plan

Built

Conservation Area

Part of the Conservation Area defined in 1979 - North End Cottages in North Wallington.  Numbers 67,68 and 69 are Napoleonic and reputed to be old smugglers cottages, once having connecting doors.  Numbers 71, 72 and 73 were built in the middle of the 19th Century while number 70 was built on the farm-track, which separated both terraces.

The road northwards to Spurlings Farm was closed to traffic when the M27 Motorway was constructed.  It has been suggested that this was the old coaching road to Wickham and beyond; the presence of a former coaching inn near the Bridge (now a private house called Farriers Cottage) could support the belief.

Conservation Areas were first introduced by The Civic Amenities Act of 1967 for areas of special architectural or historical interest whose appearance it is desirable to preserve or enhance. There are no standard specifications – instead the local authorities consider all the factors that give an area its unique character.

In 1979, Fareham Today (the official journal of Fareham Borough Council) put great stress on the Council’s efforts at conservation within the Borough.  High Street, Lower Quay, Titchfield haven and the Western Wards shoreline all featured prominently in the conservation plans but there was no mention made of Wallington, one of the oldest areas in Fareham.  In the Autumn of that year the late John Perry (at the time both our Vice Chairman and that of Fareham Society) and Tony Munford (of Fareham Society and FBC) armed with maps delineated an area basically containing all of ‘Old Wallington’, including part of Wallington Shore Road, most of North Wallington, the Bridge and Wallington Brewery.  It was felt that the more compact the area was the better the advantage to be gained from the designation of Conservation Area.

The Town Planning Committee approved it in December, and the precise definitions included Wallington Bridge within the southern boundary and following the course of the river northwards past the Council Depot to number 73 North Wallington.  The eastern boundary is formed by the rear of numbers of 58 to 73 North Wallington and includes the former Wallington Brewery buildings.  South of Drift Road the boundary contained vacant land to the rear of Clifton’s Yard but excluding post war properties fronting Radclyffe Road.  The line continues southward along the footpath to include numbers 6 to 17 Wallington Shore Road, which forms the southern boundary.

Despite all the changes in Wallington in the 1960’s and early 1970’s, the area had retained much of its village atmosphere and it was hoped that the long overdue boost would be just the start of a brighter future for the village and one that would continue throughout the Eighties.  It was an optimistic note on which to enter a new decade!

The 1980’s did bring many changes to the fabric of the village, both built and natural.  They were signature years for the many ambitious plans that were to follow.  Some of these did not mature until much later – for example the permanent Village Hall in 1995 and the Village Green and the erection of ‘period’ streetlights in spring 1996.

The view here, from autumn 1999, is of the ‘Village Green’ area leading onto the old bridge.  The bridge is now in well-earned retirement from traffic.  Fears about its structural soundness in later years caused some amusement to older villagers who remembered tanks and other heavy military hardware crossing it in the months leading up to D-Day!

Conservation Area Character Assessment

In 2004/2005 Fareham Borough Council published a series of pen pictures of the Borough’s Conservation areas.  Wallington was number ten in the series and we were pleased to have the opportunity to comment on it during its final draft stages.

FBC Website Link is http://www.fareham.gov.uk/pdf/planning/conservation/cacawall.pdf (note: this is a very large file and may take a while to load)

We were happy to endorse it, with some additions and very pleased that WVCA had been the prime mover for the original designation back in 1979.

One comment we did make in particular was that we felt it a pity that there is (currently) no scope for including ‘outliers’ which, though not within the specific boundaries, are sufficiently close as to contribute to the overall character.  In this category would fall Pickle and Toby Cottages in Drift Road, Lowlands on the bend at Shore Road and the former gatekeeper’s lodge at the bottom of Delme Drive.

In a similar way we felt that the transition points to areas of attractive natural landscape underpinned the visual appeal of the village.  To the water meadow and the riverside route northwards should be added the southern approach to the village with the old manor wall to the right and the area of the Mill Pond to the left.  The current (2009) condition of the wall gives particular cause for concern because it is in bad state with some of the capping bricks missing and many sections where the lime mortar is seriously eroded or has been damaged by incorrect use of cement mortar nearby.  We signalled the intention, after discussions with the various owners of property backing on to it, to promote a maintenance scheme.  This would primarily be funded through our own Local Grants Initiative but we would also be seeking grant assistance from the Borough Council Conservation budget to supplement the funding and looking for a contribution from the householders.  Subsequently we did receive a pledge of funding through a Historic Buildings Grant and all affected householders have agreed to support the project financially.  Initial work assessment was carried out by a specialist conservation contractor and sourcing of materials and colour matching of the lime mortar completed. The work is now under way and should be completed within the next nine months.

SDA/LDF Position

Parking Update