As part of the National Heritage week 2024, on Saturday 14th September between 11 am & 3pm  Warsash Local History Society is holding a half day pop up event  at the Dovecote, reputed to be one of the oldest buildings in Warsash, on the corner of Thornton Avenue and Crofton Way. For a small entry fee there will be  a short…

Did you know that The BBC have,on three occasions,broadcast from The Victory Hall? The programme “Any Questions” was broadcast in July 1979. This was during a turbulent time in Northern Ireland history and on the panel was the controversial politician Enoch Powell who at that time was the Member of Parliament for Ulster. Given that context, alarm bells were rung…

Warsash House was first mentioned in 1743 as a farmhouse occupied by a Mr John Brown.  At this time, it was known as Passage House, possibly owing to its location between the high road to the Hamble Ferry and a private footpath along the meadow to the shore.  This area is now known as Crofton Way and Thornton Avenue.  It…

The First documented evidence of the Hamble to Warsash Ferry is 1535c although there was a causeway long before this date.In 1905 W Cooper & Co Ltd bought the freehold of The Bugle Pub in Hamble and the ferry. The ferry at this time was a large dinghy which was rowed across the river from Hamble to the wooden ferry…

The Society has an substantial resource available in the heart of Warsash. The Warsash Heritage Centre is located at 24 Shore Road and is a permanent home for our archive and a research centre for its users. Since formation the Society has built a comprehensive archive of photographs, maps, documents and artefacts. We hope that people will use this resource to…

The Solent and Southampton Water with its rivers and creeks were ideal for smuggling, with an easy run from France, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Wight, all centres for smuggling. This booklet looks at the history of smuggling in the area from the 17th Centuary, and the attempts of the authorities to counter it. The book also tells…