| Locks Heath |
| A hundred and fifty years ago there was
no such place as Locks Heath, no manor house, abbey of other grand
building in fact not even a hamlet, the are was originally heathland
that was part of Titchfield Common and later became a part of the fast
growing Strawberry industry after enclosure in 1866. These were taken to
Portsmouth and Southampton and then when Swanick Railway Station was
opened in 1886 they were also taken up to London. Sadly the strawberry fields have all but gone but a few market gardeners till the land there in what is the Fareham Western Wards grown are and now with planned development other industries, housing and schools have appeared along with other associate community facilities. There was a Tudor farmhouse on Titchfield Common that was owned by a farmer called Lock and it is believed the name of the village came from him and the heath on which he lived. When the land was enclosed it was divided into plots and either given to the local people who were already landowners who had adjoining properties or sold to those who already had commoners rights to the common. Soon roads were being constructed and the rent and sale of plots of land alongside started happening. Red brick villas were built about this time and the people found that soft fruit would grow well in the soil especially strawberries. The Strawberry Specials trains that ran only in the fruiting season were a common sight. Soon there were entire families working the fields and the word got around that there were jobs and Gypsies who had come to attend the Horse Fair at Wickham soon got word and came to help. They would camp in the corner of the fields or they would build homes on land that had not been claimed. It got so crowded that it was decided that a school should be built and in 1886 the sum of £150 was raised by the St John's mission enough to build a schoolroom and a church. A time progressed at Jam factory was built near the school and this was owned by a Mr Lynn who also had several hundred acres of land. Sir Joseph Paxton was the head gardener at Chatsworth House and two cottage bore his name, he also designed the Crystal Palace in London and his name was linked to a strawberry that he perfected and grew well in the soft soil at Locks Heath. Soon the village began to grow bigger but the Western Wards Action Area Plan of 1975 drew it to a halt as it had plans to build thousands of homes in this area due to the expansion of Portsmouth and Southampton and today this is exactly what it is a sprawling mess of houses that seemed to never end.
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