Petersfield


Petersfield is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is north of Portsmouth. The town has its own railway station on the Portsmouth Direct line, the mainline rail link connecting Portsmouth and London. Situated below the northern slopes of the South Downs, Petersfield lies wholly within the South Downs National Park.
The town is on the crossroads of well-used north–south and east–west routes and it grew as a coach stop on the Portsmouth to London route. Petersfield is twinned with Barentin in France, and Warendorf in Germany.

History

Petersfield Heath's burial mounds may be up to 4,000 years old; their distribution is mainly to the east and south east of the Heath. These are considered to be one of the more important lowland barrow groups in this country. The barrows indicate that the area of the Heath was occupied by people who may have come to regard this area as sacred to their religion. As yet no trace has been confirmed for the dwellings of these people as the structures would have been wooden but Petersfield Museum hosts a community project to throw more light on this period of history.
The town was founded during the 12th century by William FitzRobert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester, later chartered by his widow, Hawise de Beaumont, and confirmed by charter in 1198 from "John, Count of Mortain". In 1415 King Henry V granted the burgesses of Petersfield freedom from toll, stallage, picage, pannage, murage, and pontage throughout the realm of England. All charters are preserved in the archive files at Petersfield Town Council.
The town grew in prosperity due to its position on frequently travelled routes, local sheep farming, and cottage industries including leather and cloth. There were weekly markets in the town square for sheep, horse and cattle trading, and two annual fairs, in June and November. An autumn fair which began in the early 19th century was held in October on The Heath, called "The Taro Fair".
The town's market square has an 18th-century equestrian statue of King William III by John Cheere. The king is mounted and the statue is on an engraved plinth. It is one of only five statues of William in the United Kingdom outside Northern Ireland and, as such, attracts bands of marching Orangemen in mid-July to commemorate William's victory at the Battle of the Boyne.

Geography

Petersfield is situated in the valley of the Western Rother, on the Lower Greensand at the northern edge of the South Downs. The town lies at the western end of the Greensand Ridge, a sandstone ridge running through Hampshire, Surrey and Kent.
The town is surrounded on all sides by farmed countryside, with the South Downs south of the town, the Hampshire Downs to the west, and forested hills to the north east.
The town is a centre for exploring the South Downs National Park.
Close to the town and situated on the South Downs is Queen Elizabeth Country Park, which incorporates Butser Hill, and has a variety of scenery including chalk hills, beech woodland and pine forest. The Hangers Way footpath starts from the country park, goes to Buriton, through Petersfield and in to Alton.
On the south east side of the town is Petersfield Heath, of heathland including woodland, grassland, a fishing and boating lake, and a picnic and recreation area. Petersfield Heath is a Site of Nature Conservation Interest. It also contains 21 Bronze Age barrows which have resulted in the site being given Scheduled Ancient Monument status.
Heathland is very rare throughout Europe and Petersfield Heath is a typical heathland mosaic of micro habitats. Across the site are sandy heath and acid heath areas, grassland and scrub which gives the area diverse zones for insects, reptiles, birds and small mammals.
Petersfield Heath is at one end of "The Serpent Trail", a walk through heath and downland of Hampshire and West Sussex to Haslemere.
Petersfield Cemetery, situated in Ramshill, was opened in 1857.

Attractions

Fairs and festivals

On the nearest week-end to 6 October every year the Taro Fair is held on Petersfield Heath, a reminder of cattle fairs that were held annually until the 1950s.
It is now a fun fair.
.
Free festivals are held throughout the year. The Petersfield Spring Festival over the May Bank Holiday weekend, the Petersfield Summer Festival over the August Bank Holiday weekend and the Petersfield Christmas Festival Market on the first Sunday in December. These are organised by a Community Interest Company called "Petersfield Community Events, based in the town.
The town also plays host to an annual "Scooter Sunday" festival, a mod-themed event which sees several hundred scooter riders gather in the square and live music. The event is organised by The Five Fifteen, a local menswear retailer.

Markets

Petersfield's market square holds markets every Wednesday and Saturday, there are also monthly Farmers' markets. Stallholders and farmers from Petersfield's French twin town Barentin visit Petersfield and hold a French market.

Gardens

In the High Street is the physic garden, which is a recreation of a 17th-century herb garden. It is open to the public nearly every day of the year. Next to the Red Lion public house is the small Charles Dickens garden.
Petersfield has a small volunteer-run community garden, 'The Good Life Community Garden', situated on the edge of the town next to Sheet railway crossing; the garden is open to members.

Arts and institutions

Petersfield has an Arts and Crafts Society which was formed in 1934. One of the founder members was the artist Flora Twort. PACS holds regular demonstrations and workshops and also holds a yearly exhibition in the Petersfield Festival Hall.

Theatre

shows plays and concerts during the year.
Petersfield Youth Theatre was formed in 1990 and performs annually at the Festival Hall, as well as delivering projects throughout the year. The artistic director is Nik Ashton, the associate director of Matilda the Musical.
Winton Players was formed in 1947 and is one of the longest running Amateur Dramatics Societies in Petersfield. They are perhaps best known for their yearly pantomime which takes places at the Festival Hall.
The Petersfield Shakespeare Festival takes place every July in the grounds of Bedales School in Steep. Its productions are professionally staged and are augmented with performers from the local community. The artistic director is theatre director Jake Smith.

Music

The Petersfield Musical Festival began in 1901, founded by two sisters, Edith and Rosalind Craig Sellar. It is still held annually in the town's Festival Hall. Musicians associated with it over the years have included Kathleen Merritt, Dr Hugh Allen, Maurice Blower, Adrian Boult, Wilfred Brown, George Dyson, Sydney Watson, Steuart Wilson and Mark Deller and Paul Spicer. Several pubs in the town host live music, open mic nights, and Battle of the Bands competitions. The Studio at The Petersfield School also hosts various live performances.

Museums

Petersfield has one museum, run by the Petersfield Museum Trust. It is situated in the town's old courthouse and police station. Within it are the Flora Twort Gallery, the Bedales Historic costume collection, which consists of over 1,000 pieces dating from 1720, and the Edward Thomas collection. The museum also exhibits social-history collections made up from maps, photographs, archives, oral history and artefacts related to the history of the town. Exhibitions are sometimes also held at the Festival Hall, St Peter's Church, and the Physic Garden.
Petersfield was once home to the world's first Teddy Bear Museum, which opened in 1984. It closed at the end of 2006, and is now a private house.

Youth club

The King's Arms is a youth club situated near the town centre, started by Petersfield Area Churches Together, a charitable Christian organisation. The Kings Arms now runs independently.

Cinema

Petersfield had a 700-seat cinema, the Savoy, that opened in the late 1930s. It was built on the site of the Petersfield Electric Theatre, which had been built in 1910. During the 1970s its use converted to a Bingo Hall before closure in January 1985. After six years of closure, the building saw use as a nightclub from 1993 for some years, first under the name "Oscars", then from 1999 as "Vertigo". It closed in May 2007 and was demolished in May 2008. The site is now occupied by residential flats and a retail store.

Religion

The parish church of St Peter, after which the town is named, is the Anglican church of Norman origins in the town centre, The Square. Other churches include Methodist, Catholic and United Reformed Church.
The Salvation Army has been in Petersfield since 1886 and has been situated in Swan Street since 1924. The hall is open most days with various community activities, serving the community in the traditional ways of the Salvation Army.
The Evangelical fellowship meets at the Herne Farm Leisure Centre on the eponymous estate, the Religious Society of Friends in the Voluntary Centre, High Street.
Life Church Petersfield, formerly Petersfield Christian Fellowship, has an office in Chapel Street and meets in the Methodist Church Hall located in Station Road.

Sport

Sports venues include the Taro Centre, a leisure centre containing 3 swimming pools, squash courts, gymnasium, a sauna, steam room and other facilities. The town has tennis courts, an open-air pool, a number of playing fields and a golf club.
Petersfield has clubs and teams for sports. Petersfield Town F.C. plays in the Wessex League Premier Division. Several players have gone on to professional sporting careers, such as footballer Maik Taylor, rugby player Tim Rodber and more recently Calum Chambers who plays for Aston Villa and has been called up for England as well. The town has a Triathlon Club.
Petersfield has cycling groups including a local CTC group and The Petersfield Mountain Bikers.