Clanfield - A brief profile
Situated some 12 miles north of Portsmouth and six miles south of Petersfield, Clanfield nestles in a valley to the west of the A3.
The name Clanfield is derived from the Olde English and means "field clean of weeds". It is clear that Clanfield has historically been a small farming community centred about the church of St James, that dates from 1305. The farming community in 1929 recorded the population as 129, by the late 1940's almost 500, and in 1998 over 4500, with almost 1700 households.
Since the late 1940's, Clanfield has changed out of all recognition. The sleepy village of yesteryear is now a community on the urban fringe, with all the urban problems and in a sense a community with two identities - Olde and New Clanfield.
The old centre by the church and pub is no longer, in many people's eyes, the centre of the village. It is now situated around the Drift road shops and the new developments. There is little left now of the Olde Clanfield, a few thatched cottages, the Wellhead (a listed structure), the Mill house and the Church.
The old village has lost its Post Office, Doctors Surgery, and Chemist, which are now situated at Drift Road. The green field sites of old are now housing, centred on and around the Drift Road shopping centre. The remaining shops compete with the nearby supermarkets all situated along the route of the A3.
There is land within the Parish owned by the Parish Council - Peel Park, Sunderton Meadow and South Lane Meadow, land which, although not the village green concept also generate a sense of being.
The small community of 1305 only exists in the mind. The Clanfield of today is a nice place to live, but its future must be handled sympathetically.
Brian Hardy |
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