Calshot is a coastal village in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, England at the west corner of

Southampton Water Southampton Water is a tidal estuary north of the Solent and the Isle of Wight in England. The city of Southampton lies at its most northerly point, where the estuaries of the River Test and River Itchen meet. Along its salt marsh-fringed wes ...

where it joins the

Solent The Solent ( ) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and Great Britain. It is about long and varies in width between , although the Hurst Spit which projects into the Solent narrows the sea crossing between Hurst Castle and Colwell Bay to ...

.OS Explorer Map, New Forest, Scale: 1:25 000.Publisher: Ordnance Survey B4 edition (2013).

History

In 1539,

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

ordered the construction of

Calshot Castle Calshot Castle is an artillery fort constructed by Henry VIII on the Calshot Spit, Hampshire, England, between 1539 and 1540. It formed part of the King's Device programme to protect against invasion from France and the Holy Roman Empire and ...

, at the end of

Calshot Spit Calshot Spit is a one-mile long sand and slate, shingle bank, near the village of Calshot, located on the southern bank of the open end of Southampton Water, on the south coast of England.OS Explorer Map, New Forest, Scale: 1:25 000.Publisher: Or ...

, to defend the port of

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

from attack. Its strategic importance continues to the present day, and there is still a military presence in Calshot, though the castle is no longer a manned fort. Calshot is notable for its role in the development of aircraft and flying boats. In 1913 the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

established Calshot Naval Air Station (later known as

RNAS Calshot RNAS Calshot was a First World War Royal Navy air station for seaplanes and flying boats, mainly operating as an experimental and training station, but also providing anti-submarine and convoy protection patrols. It was located at the end of ...

and

RAF Calshot Royal Air Force Calshot or more simply RAF Calshot was initially a seaplane and flying boat station, and latterly a Royal Air Force marine craft maintenance and training unit. It was located at the end of Calshot Spit in Southampton Water, Hamp ...

) at the end of Calshot Spit. It was also at one point home to

Lawrence of Arabia Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–1918 ...

Calshot Lifeboat Station Calshot Lifeboat Station is located on Calshot Spit near the village of Calshot, Hampshire,OS Explorer Map, New Forest, Author: Ordnance Survey. Publisher: Ordnance Survey B4 edition (2013). and is on the southern bank of the open end of South ...

was established in 1970 by the

RNLI The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...

Relationship with Tristan da Cunha

Following a volcanic eruption in 1961, the population of the

Tristan da Cunha Tristan da Cunha (), colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying approximately from Cape Town in South Africa, from Saint Helena ...

islands was evacuated to Calshot. Many evacuees thrived, with the children attending local schools and adults employed in a variety of local businesses and ships. But problems occurred: one of the islanders' elders, a disabled gentleman called Ian Bootla, was mugged and the islanders lacked immunity from flu epidemics and also had to endure the harsh winter of 1962–63. Most of the islanders returned home, but some of the families decided to stay and remain a close-knit community centred on a complex of 50 houses called Tristan Close. Those that returned to Tristan da Cunha renamed the harbour there, Calshot Harbour, after their temporary home.

Today

The original hangar from the World War II flying boats remains as an activity centre for watersports (including kite-surfing), climbing, snowboarding and

track cycling Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles. History Track cycling has been around since at least 1870. When track cycling was in its infancy, it wa ...

. There is a small indoor

velodrome A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate Track tran ...

, a

dry ski slope A dry ski slope or artificial ski slope is a ski slope that mimics the attributes of snow using materials that are stable at room temperature, to enable people to ski, snowboard or snow tube in places where natural, snow-covered slopes are inc ...

, and facilities for climbing and bouldering. The

climbing grades In rock climbing, mountaineering, and other climbing disciplines, climbers give a grade to a climbing route or boulder problem, intended to describe concisely the difficulty and danger of climbing it. Different types of climbing (such as sport ...

vary from about 3 to the occasional 8a. The centre offers residential and visitor courses. Next to the hangar is a dinghy marina. The approach road passes on the landward side of the spit, and there are a large number of

beach hut A beach hut (also known as a beach cabin, beach box or bathing box) is a small, usually wooden and often brightly coloured, box above the high tide mark on popular bathing beaches. They are generally used as a shelter from the sun or wind, chan ...

The spit comprises a flint pebble structure around one mile long. Between it and the main shore is a salt marshy area with a wealth of wildlife and birds. The nearby

Fawley Power Station Fawley Power Station was an oil-fired power station located on the western side of Southampton Water, between the villages of Fawley and Calshot in Hampshire, England. Its chimney was a prominent (and navigationally useful) landmark, but it wa ...

discharged cooling water into the shallow waters around Calshot beach, and this has led to some reports of warm water species being attracted into the Solent. The Habitats Directive Review of Consents for the Solent Maritime Special Area of Conservation (SAC) did indeed identify

thermal pollution Thermal pollution, sometimes called "thermal enrichment", is the degradation of water quality by any process that changes ambient water temperature. Thermal pollution is the rise or fall in the temperature of a natural body of water caused by hum ...

on the intertidal zone on the west shore of

, but this is likely to be from more than this one source. Excavation for the nearby power station discovered buried land surfaces from the Neolithic period.

References

External links

Article on the history of Calshot from ''Southern Life'' magazineCalshot Activity Centre Calshot Sub Aqua ClubEnvironment Agency Factsheet
{{authority control Villages in Hampshire Populated coastal places in Hampshire Beaches of Hampshire

History

Relationship with Tristan da Cunha

Today

See also

References

External links