Fair Oak

Fair Oak

Fair Oak War Memorial showing the present 'fair oak' behind .
Fair Oak
 Fair Oak shown within Hampshire
Population 9,900 (parish)[1]
OS grid referenceSU494188
Civil parishFair Oak & Horton Heath
DistrictEastleigh
Shire countyHampshire
RegionSouth East
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town Eastleigh
Postcode district SO50
Dialling code 023
Police Hampshire
Fire Hampshire
Ambulance South Central
EU Parliament South East England
UK ParliamentEastleigh
WebsiteFair Oak and Horton Heath Parish Council
List of places
UK
England
Hampshire

Coordinates: 50°58′04″N 1°19′40″W / 50.9679°N 1.3278°W / 50.9679; -1.3278

Fair Oak, Hampshire is a large village on the outskirts of Eastleigh, and near Southampton and Winchester. Its parish incorporates the neighbouring village of Horton Heath, which lies to the south.

History

Fair Oak takes its name from a tree in the Square which was felled and replaced on 30 February 1843.[2] The village has a history of sand quarrying, with some of the newer parts built over old restored quarries.[3] The central church of St Thomas was originally built in 1863 to serve as a chapel of ease for Fair Oak cemetery. At this time the village was part of the parish of Bishopstoke with its church of St Mary; the present parish was created in 1871.

The village

The church, St.Thomas has been designated a beacon church for the Winchester diocese. The village has also played host to a series of annual Christian outreach programmes in recent years. It is home to two scout groups, the 7th and 8th Eastleigh.

Fair Oak has a village hall and four pubs: 'The Old George', 'The Cricketers', 'The New Clock Inn', and 'The Fox and Hounds'.

Education

There are three schools - infant, junior, and a secondary school called Wyvern College, which is host to a large gym for public use. It is home to a rugby team in the Southampton tyro league. There is also an independent Christian school called the King's School.

Stoke Park Wood

Stoke Park Wood to the north-west of the village (a remnant of the Forest of Bere) lies partly in Fair Oak and partly in the neighbouring parish of Bishopstoke. With many bridlepaths running between the two villages via the woods, it is possible to walk from one village to another without setting foot on any other public highway. The woods cover some 207 hectares (510 acres) and are primarily of evergreen trees; the sandy soil and long grass is home to wildlife including dormice, grey squirrels, pine martens, deer and adders. This forest is the biggest in Eastleigh and several watercourses run through it.

Geology

Fair Oak lies on the London Clay deposits of the Hampshire Basin, to the northern edge of a small syncline separated from the main basin by the Portsdown anticline. The London Clay in this area, towards the top of the sequence, is fairly sandy and includes lenticular sand deposits.[4] The sand pits on the east of the village are in the Whitecliff Sand. At Knowle Hill and south towards Horton Heath the London Clay is overlain by the clays and sands of Wittering Formation of the Bracklesham Group, with a small outlier capping Pylehill to the north.[3]

Fair Oak Cricket Club

Fair Oak homes one of Hampshire's biggest cricket clubs, with the boasting four senior sides and a huge variety of younger age groups, the cricket club is seen as a key member of the village. The home ground is Lapstone Park, which is located at the end of Pavilion Close in Fair Oak. The first team are the only team from Eastleigh Borough to play in the Southern Premier League. FOCC's third and fourth teams do not actually play in Fair Oak itself, but the club homes all four sides at Lapstone Park for training and events within the community.

The club was established in 1947, and in the last decade has seen a meteoric rise into the higher standards of the cricket leagues.

References

  1. ↑ "Parish Headcounts, Area: Fair Oak & Horton Heath CP". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. 2001. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
  2. ↑ "Fair Oak". HampshireTreasures Volume 13 Eastleigh. Hampshire County Council. 2006-03-29. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
  3. 1 2 British Geological Survey (1987), Southampton. England and Wales Sheet 315. Solid and Drift Geology, 1:50,000 Series geological map, Keyworth, Nottingham: British Geological Survey, ISBN 0-7518-0754-0
  4. ↑ Edwards, R.A. & Freshney, E.C. (1987), Geology of the country around Southampton. Mem. British Geological Survey, Sheet 315 (England & Wales), Keyworth, Nottingham: British Geological Survey, ISBN 0-11-884396-6

External links

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