| Hamble-le-Rice | |
|---|---|
| Village | |
 The Square, Hamble | |
 The village crest | |
  Hamble-le-Rice Location withinHampshire | |
| Population | 4,695 (2011 Census) |
| OS grid reference | SU479066 |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Southampton |
| Postcode district | SO31 |
| Dialling code | 023 |
| Police | Hampshire and Isle of Wight |
| Fire | Hampshire and Isle of Wight |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| UK Parliament | |
| 50°51′25″N1°19′15″W / 50.85694°N 1.32084°W /50.85694; -1.32084 | |
Hamble-le-Rice, commonly known asHamble, is a village andcivil parish in the borough ofEastleigh in Hampshire, England. It is best known for being a flying training centre during theSecond World War and is a popular yachting location. The village and theRiver Hamble also featured in the 1980sBBC television seriesHowards' Way. The village centre, known as The Square, Hamble, has a more traditional English village aesthetic which differentiates it from the small industrial areas (mostly marinas) close to the village. In 2011 it had a population of 4695.
Hamble-le-Rice is on the south coast of England, south-east ofSouthampton at the tip of the Hamble peninsula, bounded byNetley,Butlocks Heath,Bursledon,Southampton Water and theRiver Hamble.
Although previously known as "Hamble", "Hamelea", "Hammel", and "Ham-en-le-Rice", the village's official name is now Hamble-le-Rice.[1] The name "Hamble" is still in common usage. On 27 April 1992, the civil parish was renamed from "Hamble" to "Hamble-le-Rice".[2] To the south of the village, lies the site of anIron Age promontoryhillfort,Hamble Common Camp.
The place-name 'Hamble-le-Rice' is first attested in a French document of 1147, where it appears asAmle. It appears asHamele in 1270, and ashamele in the Rys in 1404. The village takes its name from theRiver Hamble; theRice is theOld Englishhrīs meaning 'brushwood' or perhaps by extension 'scrubland', and of which the modern form is the wordrushes. Thus a modern form of the name might be 'Hamble-in-the-Rushes'.[3] An alternative explanation for the "-le-Rice" ending is that this derives from the Norman French "en le rys", meaning "on the hill".[4][5]
The area is home to the remains of a defensive structure dating to the reign of KingHenry VIII.[6] Known asSt Andrew's Castle, investigations suggest that it consisted of a rectangular structure fronted by a gun platform with a semi-circular layout.[6] The structure was protected by a moat, with a two gun platforms mounted on thecounterscarp.[6] The structure was intact as late as the early 17th century.[7]
Hamble-le-Rice was the home of a major flying school before and during the Second World War for aircraft including theSpitfire, theLancaster and theWellington. Over 500 aircraft were built there including the prototypeArmstrong WhitworthEnsign andAlbemarle, which were first flown in 1938 and 1940. In 1960 the Air Corporations Joint Training Scheme (later, British Airways) fixed wing and helicopter training school was established there, as theHamble College of Air Training. The south airfield has long since disappeared[8] and the north airfield has been partially developed as housing; the remainder is overgrown and owned by property developersPersimmon.
The aviation industry retains a large interest in Hamble-le-Rice, with the Hamble Aerostructures factory, now a subsidiary of the Spanish company Aernnova, in Kings Avenue.[9]
The following units were here at some point:[10]
Hamble-le-Rice is home to three main marinas offering marine services and goods to the boating industry. In addition, large factories and smaller industrial units off Ensign Way and Hamble Lane are used byCooperVision, Qioptiq Photonics Ltd., BP, Hoyer, GE and others. Some of these businesses are 24-hour operations with large numbers of staff who commute to work. The fuel terminal itself is not visible from the B3397: there was extensive development in the early 2000s when wartime hangars were demolished and high-density housing built next to the road, near the terminal. TheRoyal Yachting Association (RYA), a non-profit organisation, has its offices in Hamble.
There are two schools in Hamble-Le-Rice:
Hamble-le-Rice is a boating mecca: the nearbyRiver Hamble is often packed with marine traffic and, during the summer, the whole village is crowded with people out enjoying the water, local restaurants and many pubs. The village and its river is one of the many locations that made up the fictional village of Tarrant, in the BBC television seriesHowards' Way, shown weekly onBBC One in the late 1980s.
Hamble-le-Rice is home toHamble Common, a variety ofestuary wildlife, and other scenic walks.
Hamble fuel terminal was opened byShell in 1924, whilstBP was still afloat using a converted passenger liner as a fuel tender. In 1930 the two companies formed a joint venture and BP moved to Hamble. This partnership was dissolved in 1976, with the Hamble terminal passing to BP.[12] A 2016 attempt to sell off the terminal was unsuccessful; however Hoyer now handles BPs bulk fuel road transport operation.[13]
A pipeline runs underSouthampton Water from theFawleyoil refinery which supplies the BP fuel terminal at Hamble. This fuel terminal was used to supplyPLUTO, during theinvasion of Europe inWorld War II.[14] ThePLUTO pipeline started atShanklin on theIsle of Wight and was supplied by ship from Hamble.[14] The jetty at this fuel terminal was extended in 1943/44 so that more ships could be loaded simultaneously.[14]
Fuel is transported from this depot both day and night, in particular early mornings (between 3am and 6am), by 44 tonne road tankers along the B3397, as well as by pipeline to major industry and airports.[citation needed] Markers showing the route of the pipeline can be seen at various points in neighbouringBotley. A now disused branch line ran from the terminal to thePortsmouth toSouthampton railway. This is now the scenic Strawberry Trail.
The Hamble Peninsula has one main access road, the B3397, Hamble Lane, which is approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) long and goes straight through the village from the junction with theA27 Portsmouth road. Hamble Lane has had numerous incidences of traffic accidents.[15] and at its intersection with Portsmouth Road anAir Quality Management Area (AQMA) exists to monitornitrogen dioxide traffic pollutants.[16] The B3397 is a very high volume road; a traffic count in March 2003 showed around 16,300 vehicles in a 24-hour period.[15] Daily traffic congestion and slow moving queues are due to the large number of inbound and outbound commuters, on staggered work shifts. Many businesses supply local companies as BP Oil UK, CooperVision and GE Aviation and minor industry and services within the four marinas and industrial areas off Ensign Way. Road oil and petrol tankers form the bulk of the heavy goods vehicles along this road, numbering a few hundred vehicle movements per day.[citation needed] The village is served byHamble railway station, about two miles from the centre of the village, which provides hourly services to bothSouthampton Central andPortsmouth Harbour.[17] It is also linked by a pedestrianferry toWarsash, and has frequent bus services to Southampton - the '15' provided byBluestar,[18] via Netley and Woolston. There is also a service, the '49h', toHedge End, provided byStagecoach South.[19]
The main sporting activity in the village is sailing with it being the centre of UK offshore sailing and a hub for inshore yacht and keelboat racing. This is partly due to its mainland location and closeness to Cowes on the Isle of Wight. There are three sailing clubs within the village:
In addition Warsash Sailing Club based on the other side of the river also contributes significantly to sailing activities within the village hosting the annual spring series championship and other regattas. Together with offshore racing primarily organized by theRoyal Ocean Racing Club and theJunior Offshore Group.
TheRoyal Yachting Association, the sport's national governing body, has had its headquarters in the village since the early 2000s, when it moved from Eastleigh to a new purpose-built building.
The village has twonon-league football clubs;Folland Sports andHamble Club, both of which play in theWessex League.
A speedway training track used to operate at Hamble in the early 1950s. There is now a sports college in Hamble to provide recreation and leisure.
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