Chandler's Ford (originally The Ford and historically Chandlersford) is a largely residential area and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the Borough of Eastleigh in Hampshire, England. It had a population of 21,436 according to the 2011 Census. Chandler's Ford lies on the old

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

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, ...

road and the 'Ford' is thought to refer either to the ford of Monks Brook on the Hursley Road (shown on the Hursley map of 1588 as "Charnells foord") or on the Winchester-Southampton road. The "Chandler's" prefix was possibly added in the late 16th century, although there are numerous theories for the origin of the word. The head offices of Draper Tools, B&Q,

Utilita Energy Utilita Energy is an electricity and gas supplier operating in the United Kingdom. Utilita began trading in 2003, specialising in pay-as-you-go metering. Utilita had over 800,000 customers, representing a 2.6% share in the domestic market. ...

, Selwood and Ahmad Tea are located in Chandler's Ford.

History

Hiltonbury Farm (now a

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

) appeared on a map of 1588 and may originally have been owned by the Hursley Park Estate in nearby

Hursley Hursley is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Hampshire, England with a population of around 900 in 2011. It is located roughly midway between Romsey and Winchester on the A3090. Besides the village the parish includes th ...

. It was later sold to

Cranbury Park Cranbury Park is a stately home and country estate situated in the parish of Hursley, Winchester, England. It was formerly the home to Sir Isaac Newton and later to the Chamberlayne family, whose descendants continue to own and occupy the hous ...

Estate and stopped being a working farm in the late 1970s, when the surrounding area was developed. Other communities revolved around other farms in the area but Chandler's Ford was very sparsely populated until the 19th century. In the mid 19th century, Bell's brickfields was one of the biggest in England, producing 35 million bricks for the construction of the

Royal Courts of Justice The Royal Courts of Justice, commonly called the Law Courts, is a court building in Westminster which houses the High Court and Court of Appeal of England and Wales. The High Court also sits on circuit and in other major cities. Designed by Ge ...

in The Strand. In 1889, an iron church and some schools were constructed. The

of ''Chandlersford'' was created in 1897, from portions of North Stoneham, North Baddesley, and Ampfield, although the railway station remained in the North Baddesley parish. In 1929 Herbert Collins, a well known Southampton based architect designed the Congregational Church in King's Road. This is now the United Reformed Church. The original building has been extended but the original style of the building remains. Chandler's Ford used to be a town with mainly housing estates, however there are now various developments of shops and schools that have been built in the area. In the 1920s, building took place in the King's Court, Merdon and

Hiltingbury Hiltingbury is an area within the Borough of Eastleigh in Hampshire, England. There is one electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods ...

areas. Later, development in the Hursley Road area happened, followed by housing across the Hiltingbury, Scantabout, Peverells Road, Spring Hill and Oakmount areas. More recently, developments in North Millers Dale, South Millers Dale and the 'new town' of Valley Park to the West of Chandler's Ford have completed the mix of housing. Chandler's Ford is considered to be the development to the West of the M3 motorway and now forms the majority of the Eastleigh urban area. Due to the development of the town, there is little identifiable 'town centre'. The main commercial centre is in Fryern Arcade (built 1967), the area of the Halfway Inn (near the old tollhouse for Winchester-Southampton), but other smaller shopping areas include the Central Precinct and the area around St Boniface Church (built 1904). An Anglican church was added in Hiltingbury in the 1960s, with the Roman Catholic Church of St. Edward the Confessor and

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

churches existing on the main Winchester-Southampton route. Although a mainly residential area, Chandler's Ford has a significant industrial estate located mainly off School Lane and in between the B3043 – Bournemouth Road. The companies on the industrial estate now cover a wide variety of industries from light engineering and manufacturing, distribution, retail and outsourcing. A number of employers on the estate are of particular local interest. Peter Green Furnishers were once regarded as the biggest furniture and carpeting store in the whole of Hampshire. Selwoods is also another company of interest having been in the area since 1946 and with its head office on the corner of School Lane. A library was constructed over two years starting in 1981. In 2018, an

Aldi Aldi (German pronunciation: ), stylised as ALDI, is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 12,000 stores in 18 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and ...

supermarket opened in replacement of the old Homebase DIY store in the retail park on Chestnut Avenue - introducing new jobs and competition with

Asda Asda Stores Limited (), trading as Asda and often styled as ASDA, is a British supermarket and petrol station chain. Its headquarters is in Leeds, England. The company was incorporated as Associated Dairies and Farm Stores in 1949. It expanded ...

(located opposite on the main roundabout). Chandler's Ford is represented by Compton and Chandler's Ford Cricket Club which formed in 1995 when Chandler's Ford Cricket Club (CC) merged with Compton and Shawford CC. Chandler's Ford railway station was re-opened in May 2003, having been closed since 1969. It now has an hourly service run by

South Western Railway South Western Railway Limited, trading as South Western Railway (SWR), is the British state-owned train operating company that took over the services of the South Western Railway (2017–2025), operator of the same name from FirstGroup and MTR ...

, from

Romsey Romsey ( ) is a town in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England. The town is situated northwest of Southampton, southwest of Winchester and southeast of Salisbury. It sits on the outskirts of the New Forest, just over northeast of ...

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

via Chandler's Ford, Eastleigh and

stopping at all stations in between.

Governance

The name Chandler's Ford is used for the civil parish, some (but not all) individual electoral wards, and sometimes a wider geographic area; the boundaries are not entirely consistent. Chandler's Ford Parish Council, responsible for the most local matters, has 18 members elected from 5 wards (Chandler's Ford East & West, Hiltingbury East & West, Velmore). Two wards on

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the United Kingdom 2011 census, 2011 census. The town ...

Borough Council, Chandler's Ford and Hiltingbury, cover most of the parish and lie fully within it. However Velmore is included in the Eastleigh South ward. Each ward elects 3

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

s. On

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, ...

County Council, the Chandler's Ford division includes most of the parish. But a significant portion, made up of the Chandlers Ford West and Velmore parish wards, is located in the Eastleigh South division. Each division elects one councillor. The whole of Chandler's Ford parish is part of the Eastleigh parliamentary constituency. Since the 1990s, Chandler's Ford elections have principally been contests between the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

and Liberal Democrats. As at November 2024 all elected representatives from Chandler's Ford are Liberal Democrats. The Parish and Borough councils are both controlled by the Liberal Democrats. The County council is controlled by the Conservatives, although both representatives from Chandler's Ford are Liberal Democrats. The Eastleigh parliamentary constituency is represented by the Liberal Democrat

Liz Jarvis Elizabeth Jarvis known as Liz Jarvis, is a British Liberal Democrat politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Eastleigh since 2024, gaining the seat from the Conservatives. Early life Jarvis's mother Eileen was of Irish descent. A ...

. Most of Valley Park, which is sometimes included in a wider area portrayal of Chandler's Ford, lies outside the parish, and forms part of

Test Valley Test Valley is a local government district with borough status in Hampshire, England, named after the valley of the River Test. The council is based in the borough's largest town of Andover. The borough also contains the town of Romsey and nume ...

Borough, although is mainly within the Eastleigh parliamentary constituency.

Demography

As of April 2011, the Chandler's Ford and Hiltingbury council wards (which form a continuous built-up area, and make up the main part of what is referred to as "Chandler's Ford") had a population of 21,436, across 8,896 households. The ethnicity of the population was mainly white, with 310 mixed race people, 937 Asian or Asian British people, 100 Black or Black British people and 224 in other ethnic groups. In 2001, 13,531 of the population were

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

s, 5,528 professed no religion, and 1,477 did not state their religious beliefs. There were 59

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

s, 205

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

s, 29

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

s, 263

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

s, 289

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

s and 55 people of other religions living in the ward.

Healthcare

Nuffield Health Wessex Hospital provides private and NHS services.

Transport

Rail

Chandler's Ford is served by Chandler's Ford railway station. The station was reopened for passenger traffic on 18 May 2003. There are links between

and

via

Bus

Bluestar's route 1 connects Chandler's Ford with Southampton and Winchester. Xelabus X6/X7 runs between Hiltingbury and Eastleigh and X5 connects Southampton Parkway and Chandlers Ford stations.

Road

The M3 runs past the eastern border of Chandler's Ford with access from junction 12 from the north and junction 13 from the south.

Crime

Chandler's Ford made national headlines in September 2007 when an armed bank robbery was foiled: On 13 September 2007, the Metropolitan Police's

Flying Squad The Flying Squad is a branch of the Serious and Organised Crime Command within London's Metropolitan Police Service. It is also known as the Robbery Squad, Specialist Crime Directorate 7, SC&O7 and SO7. It is nicknamed The Sweeney, an abbrevia ...

, in conjunction with the Hampshire Constabulary, foiled the robbery outside the

HSBC HSBC Holdings plc ( zh, t_hk=滙豐; initialism from its founding member The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) is a British universal bank and financial services group headquartered in London, England, with historical and business li ...

bank in the central precinct on Winchester Road in Chandler's Ford.BB
Two men killed during 'bank raid'
BBC News. Retrieved 18 November 2007. The police had been tipped off and hid behind the nearby toilet cubicles, before shooting dead two of the robbers. A third fled the scene by car and was later arrested. There was a theft from the same bank on 24 January 2011, when a cash box was stolen from a security guard.

Education

There are various schools and day nurseries in Chandler's Ford. The secondary schools in Chandler's Ford include Thornden School and Toynbee School. Chandler's Ford is served by colleges nearby, including Barton Peveril College and Eastleigh College.

Day nurseries

* Kingsmead Day Nursery (120 Kingsway, SO53 5DW) * Sherborne House School (39 Lakewood Road, SO53 1EU) * Bright Horizons Day Nursery and Preschool (Hocombe Road, SO53 5QS)

Infant and primary schools

* Chandler's Ford Infant School (Kings Road, SO53 2EY) * Fryern Infant School (Oakmount Road, SO53 2LN) * Hiltingbury Infant School (Hiltingbury Road, SO53 5NP) * Knightwood Primary School (Bell Flower Way, SO53 4HW) * Scantabout Primary School (Ionic Close, SO53 2NR) * Sherborne House School (39 Lakewood Road, SO53 1EU) * St Francis Church of England Primary School (Pilgrims Close, Valley Park, SO53 4ST) * St. Swithun Wells R.C. Primary School (Hillcrest Avenue, SO53 2JP)

Junior schools

* Fryern Junior School (Oakmount Road, SO53 2LN) * Hiltingbury Junior School (Hiltingbury Road, SO53 5NP) * Merdon Junior School (Merdon Avenue, SO53 1EJ)

Secondary schools

* Lakeside School (special school) (Winchester Road, SO53 2DW) * Thornden Secondary School (Winchester Road, SO53 2DW) * Toynbee Secondary School (Bodycoats Road, SO53 2PL)

Independent schools

* Sherborne House School (39 Lakewood Road, SO53 1EU)

Community

* Valley Park Community Association * Chandler's Ford Community Association Community Centre, Hursley Rd, Chandler's Ford. * Hiltingbury Recreation Ground, Hiltingbury Road, Chandler's Ford. * Romsey, Chandler's Ford & District Round Table

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Hampshire Borough of Eastleigh Civil parishes in Hampshire