Calshot is a coastal village in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, England, at the west corner of Southampton Water where it joins the

Solent The Solent ( ) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and mainland Great Britain; the major historic ports of Southampton and Portsmouth lie inland of its shores. It is about long and varies in width between , although the Hurst Spit whi ...

.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 known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

ordered the construction of Calshot Castle, at the end of Calshot Spit, to defend the port of

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

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 The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...

established Calshot Naval Air Station (later known as RNAS Calshot and RAF Calshot) at the end of Calshot Spit. It was also at one point home to Lawrence of Arabia. Calshot Lifeboat Station was established in 1970 by the

RNLI The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest of the lifeboat services operating around the coasts of the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. Founded in 1824 ...

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 volcano, volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is one of three constituent parts of the British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascensi ...

islands was evacuated to Calshot. Many evacuees thrived, with the children attending local schools and adults employed in a variety of local businesses and on ships. However, problems occurred: one of the islanders' elders, a disabled gentleman called Ian Bootla, was mugged, the islanders lacked immunity from flu epidemics, and they 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 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

flying boats remains as an activity centre for watersports (including kite-surfing),

climbing Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or other parts of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains (e.g. the eight thousanders) to small boulders. Climbing is done for locom ...

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralym ...

and

track cycling Track cycling is a Cycle sport, 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 i ...

. 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 easement ...

, a dry ski slope, and facilities for climbing and bouldering. The climbing grades 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, c ...

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 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

. 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 drop in the temperature of a natural body of water caused by h ...

on the intertidal zone on the west shore of Southampton Water, 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 Beaches of Hampshire Populated coastal places in Hampshire Villages in Hampshire History of Tristan da Cunha

History

Relationship with Tristan da Cunha

Today

See also

References

External links