Locks Heath Timeline
Key events from 1232 to present
Discover the key moments that shaped Locks Heath. Explore the events that define our community.
1232
Titchfield Abbey founded, shaping the surrounding parish
The foundation of Titchfield Abbey in 1232, as a house of Premonstratensian canons, established the ecclesiastical and economic framework that would g...
1537
Dissolution of Titchfield Abbey and the creation of Place House
The Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII brought the closure of Titchfield Abbey in 1537 and the transfer of its lands to Thomas Wriothesle...
c. 1780
Enclosure and the reorganisation of farmland
The enclosure movements of the late eighteenth century reorganised the agricultural landscape around Locks Heath, consolidating the open fields and co...
c. 1850
Victorian farming and the beginning of fruit growing
The mid-nineteenth century brought changes to farming practice in the Locks Heath area, as improved drainage, better crop varieties and the proximity ...
1905
Coldeast Hospital opens on the former country estate
Hampshire County Council acquired Coldeast House in 1905 and converted it into a hospital, initially serving as an isolation hospital for infectious d...
c. 1910
Peak of the strawberry growing industry
The early twentieth century marked the peak of strawberry growing in the Locks Heath area. Dozens of smallholdings across the district were dedicated ...
1920-1939
Inter-war period brings the first stirrings of change
The inter-war years brought gradual changes to the Locks Heath area. The strawberry industry began to face new pressures as competition from larger fa...
1939-1945
Second World War military activity in the area
The Second World War brought military activity to the Locks Heath area, as it did to much of southern Hampshire. The proximity to Portsmouth and South...
c. 1958
Post-war suburban expansion begins in earnest
The late 1950s saw the first significant housing developments in the Locks Heath area, as the post-war housing shortage and the growth of Fareham crea...
1970-1985
The great housing boom transforms the landscape
The 1970s and early 1980s were the peak years of development in Locks Heath, when large housing estates were built across the former strawberry fields...
c. 1978
Locks Heath Shopping Village developed
The construction of Locks Heath Shopping Village during the late 1970s gave the growing community a commercial centre that reduced its dependence on F...
c. 1990
Segensworth commercial area develops along the A27
The development of the Segensworth commercial area during the late 1980s and 1990s added a significant employment and retail zone to the eastern edge ...
1996
Coldeast Hospital closes after ninety-one years
The closure of Coldeast Hospital in 1996, as part of the NHS reorganisation that consolidated services at larger, more modern facilities, ended ninety...
c. 2003
Coldeast redeveloped into luxury residential housing
The redevelopment of the Coldeast site in the early 2000s transformed the former hospital into a premium residential development. The original Coldeas...
c. 2008
Locks Heath community governance established
The establishment of formal community governance structures for the Locks Heath area gave residents a mechanism for engaging with local decision-makin...
2020s
Recent developments and the modern village
The 2020s have brought further change to Locks Heath, though at a more modest pace than the transformative decades of the 1970s and 1980s. Infill deve...