Southwick is a village and former

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 ...

, now in the parish of Southwick and Widley, in the

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 ...

district, 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. north of the

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

boundary measured from

Portsea Island Portsea Island is a flat and low-lying natural island in area, just off the southern coast of Hampshire in England. The island contains the majority of the city of Portsmouth. Portsea Island has the third-largest population of all the i ...

. Homes and farms in the village are influenced by the style of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

apart from Church Lodge.

History

Southwick was initially the site of

Southwick Priory Southwick Priory or Our Lady at Southwick () was a priory of Augustinian canons founded in Portchester Castle on Portsmouth Harbour and later transferred north to Southwick, Hampshire, England. It ceased at the Dissolution of the Monasteries ...

, in the 12th century. On the Dissolution of the Monasteries during the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

the estate, including the village, was granted to John White.

Southwick House Southwick House is a Grade II listed 19th-century manor house of the Southwick Estate in Hampshire, England, about north of Portsmouth. It is home to the Defence School of Policing and Guarding and related military police capabilities. Histor ...

, a new manor house was completed in 1813. This house was gutted by fire in 1838, and was renovated and rebuilt by 1841. The house and part of the estate was requisitioned during

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 ...

and used as the

SHAEF Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF; ) was the headquarters of the Commander of Allies of World War II, Allied forces in northwest Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. US General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the ...

headquarters for

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The ope ...

, the cross-channel invasion of Normandy. The nearby Golden Lion public house, according to those there during this period, was frequently used by numerous senior American and British generals. Since then, the house has been used by various branches of the armed forces, including as HMS Dryad and, from 2005, by the

Defence School of Policing and Guarding The Defence School of Policing, Security and Guarding is the training centre for the Service Police of the British Armed Forces including the Ministry of Defence. It consolidates training for the Royal Navy Police, Royal Military Police and Ro ...

. Southwick is rare in that the village is still entirely owned by the Southwick Estate (except for Church Lodge). The most obvious sign of this is that all the houses, except manor houses, have dark red-painted front doors – a condition laid down in the tenancy agreements. The only exceptions are the White House, the residence of the vicar and Church Lodge. Church Lodge is the only privately owned house in the old village. The church itself is a Grade I listed early medieval building, known as St James, but officially "St James without (i.e. outside) the priory gate". In October 2011 the

FirstGroup FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.Havant Havant ( ) is a town in the south-east corner of Hampshire, England. Nearby places include Portsmouth to the south-west, Southampton to the west, Waterlooville to north, Chichester to the east and Hayling Island to the south. The wider borough ...

Gallery

Image:Southwick P1010137.JPG Image:Southwick P1010207.JPG Image:Southwick P1010213.JPG

References

External links

{{authority control Southwick Former civil parishes in Hampshire City of Winchester