Calshot Spit is a one-mile long

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class of s ...

and shingle bank, near the village of

Calshot Calshot is a coastal village in Hampshire, England at the west corner of Southampton Water where it joins the Solent.OS Explorer Map, New Forest, Scale: 1:25 000.Publisher: Ordnance Survey B4 edition (2013). History In 1539, Henry VIII ordere ...

, located on the southern bank of the open end 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 ...

, on the south coast of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

.OS Explorer Map, New Forest, Scale: 1:25 000.Publisher: Ordnance Survey B4 edition (2013). At the end of the spit are

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 ...

(built by King

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 ...

), an

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 ...

lifeboat Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen A ...

, an NCI station, several

slipway A slipway, also known as boat ramp or launch or boat deployer, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats, and for launching and retrieving small ...

s, a former

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

and

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

flying boat A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...

station and Calshot Activities Centre. The neck of the spit is owned by

New Forest District Council New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

while the end of the spit is owned by the

Crown Estate The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom belonging to the British monarch as a corporation sole, making it "the sovereign's public estate", which is neither government property nor part of the monarch's priva ...

which leases it to

Hampshire County Council Hampshire County Council (HCC) is an English council that governs eleven of the thirteen districts geographically located within the ceremonial county of Hampshire. As one of twenty-four county councils in England, it acts as the upper tier of ...

History

The castle is a low, circular, stone structure and was armed with large muzzle-loading

gun A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube (gun barrel) to launch projectiles. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns/cannons, spray guns for painting or pressure washing, pr ...

s. Its purpose, when it was built in 1539, was to protect access to the important harbour at

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 seaborne attack, by

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

from the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

via 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 ...

. For much of its history the spit was low lying and parts of it often underwater at high tide. This changed in 1703 when the great storm of that year washed enough shingle onto the spit to make it a more substantial structure. Calshot officer's mess-1

Calshot Naval Air Station was originally set up in 1913. Its choice as a location for operating

s is clear: the landing area is sheltered by land on the three sides of Southampton Water and by the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

, several miles away, on the fourth side. As part of the expansion of the site in 1916 the contractor. Henry Boot & Son (Westminster), built a narrow gauge railway in order to move materials. It was transferred to the air-force in 1919 and ran (with a number of branches) from Eaglehurst camp to north pier at the end of the spit. In 1929 and 1931, Calshot was the venue for the

Schneider Trophy The Coupe d'Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider, also known as the Schneider Trophy, Schneider Prize or (incorrectly) the Schneider Cup is a trophy that was awarded annually (and later, biennially) to the winner of a race for seaplanes and flying ...

, an international air race for seaplanes. Calshot Lifeboat-2

The railway closed at the end of World War Two When it was found that the wagons had decayed to the point where they were no longer safe to use. One locomotive survives from the railway as ''Douglas'' on the

Talyllyn Railway The Talyllyn Railway ( cy, Rheilffordd Talyllyn) is a narrow gauge preserved railway in Wales running for from Tywyn on the Mid-Wales coast to Nant Gwernol near the village of Abergynolwyn. The line was opened in 1865Drummond 2015, page 17 ...

. The Spit was transferred to civilian control at the start of the 1960s. A Coastguard tower was added to the end of the spit in 1973. The Coastguard stopped using the castle in 1990. The site is now the location of

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 ...

operated by the

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

s and the

National Coastwatch Institution The National Coastwatch Institution is a voluntary organisation and registered charity providing a visual watch along the UK's coasts, and is not to be confused with HM Coastguard. History The National Coastwatch Institution (NCI) was founde ...

. The hangars are home to

Calshot Activities Centre Calshot Activities Centre is located on Calshot Spit near Southampton. Indoor facilities include the oldest indoor velodrome in Britain, a dry ski slope and a climbing wall. Velodrome Calshot Velodrome is the oldest indoor cycling venue in the U ...

and house indoor

climbing wall A climbing wall is an artificially constructed wall with grips for hands and feet, usually used for indoor climbing, but sometimes located outdoors. Some are brick or wooden constructions, but on most modern walls, the material most often used i ...

artificial 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 skiing, ski, snowboarding, snowboard or Tubing (recreation)#Snow, snow tube in pla ...

s and a

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 ...

. In 2005 new public toilets were installed in the spit with a design partially inspired by the spit's beach huts.

Shipping

Calshot Lightship off Southampton Water (5093375314)

The spit is a potential navigation hazard for ships entering

, and vessels are guided by the Calshot Spit light float. This replaced a

Trinity House "Three In One" , formation = , founding_location = Deptford, London, England , status = Royal Charter corporation and registered charity , purpose = Maintenance of lighthouses, buoys and beacons , he ...

lightvessel A lightvessel, or lightship, is a ship that acts as a lighthouse. They are used in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction. Although some records exist of fire beacons being placed on ships in Roman times, t ...

(LV 78) that was anchored off the spit and which was, for a while, a static attraction at the Ocean Village

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...

. In November 2010 it was moved a short distance to the Trafalgar dock where, after renovation, it was to be displayed at the ''Aeronautica'' attraction, due to open in 2015. The plans for Aeronautica came to a halt in January 2012. In December 2019 the ship was relocated to the

Solent Sky Solent Sky is an aviation museum in Southampton, Hampshire, previously known as Southampton Hall of Aviation. It depicts the history of aviation in Southampton, the Solent area and Hampshire. There is special focus on the Supermarine aircraft c ...

museum in order to be converted into part of the museum’s cafe. It was built in 1914 by

J I Thornycroft John I. Thornycroft & Company Limited, usually known simply as Thornycroft was a British shipbuilding firm founded by John Isaac Thornycroft in Chiswick in 1866. It moved to Woolston, Southampton, in 1908, merging in 1966 with Vosper & Comp ...

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...

and decommissioned in 1978. LV 50, which was on the Calshot station between 1943 and 1951, was bought by the

Royal Northumberland Yacht Club {{Use dmy dates, date=September 2020 The Royal Northumberland Yacht Club is based in the Port of Blyth, Northumberland, England. History The club was formed at Alnmouth in 1890 when a group of owners sought permission from the Duke of Northumberla ...

, and remains their club ship to this day. Personnel from RAF Calshot traveling to and from the spit would sometimes be taken on and off passing

Red Funnel Red Funnel, the trading name of the Southampton Isle of Wight and South of England Royal Mail Steam Packet Company Limited,launches. Aerial View of Calshot Spit - geograph

Fauna and Flora

Historically the site's status as a military base provided a degree of protection for the local flora. The large scale construction of car parks, beach-huts and the importation of topsoil has reduced the range of plants present. ''

Crambe maritima ''Crambe maritima'', common name sea kale, seakale or crambe, is a species of halophytic (salt-tolerant) flowering plant in the genus ''Crambe'' of the family Brassicaceae. It grows wild along the coasts of mainland Europe and the British Isl ...

'' (sea kale) still grows on the spit and in the 19th century it was apparently harvested for sale in Southampton.

References

* {{cite web , url=http://www.feuerschiffseite.de/SCHIFFE/ENGLAND/LV78/lv78.htm , title=Trinity House LV No. 78 Harbour Lights , accessdate=2 July 2006

External links

National Coastwatch Institution (Calshot)
Landforms of Hampshire Spits of England

History

Shipping

Fauna and Flora

See also

References

External links