Facts about Hedge End
General Info
Hedge End is a town and civil parish in Hampshire, England. Situated to the east of the City of Southampton, it adjoins the districts of West End and Botley. Hedge End lies within the Borough of Eastleigh and is part of the Southampton Urban Area. The original hamlet developed on Botley Common after 1250 when it was granted to the men of Botley as common pasture. In 1267, royal charters allowed Botley to hold an annual fair and a weekly market on the common which eventually became a market town.
History
The Belgae tribe inhabited the Hedge End area prior to the Roman conquest.[2] A Roman road from Clausentum (a fortified harbour in what is now Bitterne, Southampton) passed through the area on route to Portus Adurni (Portchester Castle) and Noviomagus Reginorum (Chichester).[3][4] The crossing of the River Itchen at Mansbridge and the crossing of the River Hamble at Botley date to AD932.[3][5] The road that linked those two river crossings would have followed the approximate route of the modern Grange Road.[3] From Mansbridge, it is 4 miles (6.4 km) to the port of Southampton and 12 miles (19 km) to Winchester, which was for a period the capital of England. Kings of England owned hunting land at King’s Copse (originally known as King’s Forest).
