Havant

Havant (ˈhævənt ) is a town in the south-east corner of Hampshire, England between Portsmouth and Chichester. Its borough (population: 125,000) comprises the town (45,826) and its suburbs including the resort of Hayling Island as well as Rowland's Castle, the larger town of Waterlooville and Langstone Harbour. Housing and population more than doubled in the 20 years following World War II, a period of major conversion of land from agriculture and woodland to housing across the region following the incendiary bombing of Portsmouth and the Blitz. The old centre of the town was a small Celtic settlement before Roman times and the town's commerce, retired and commuter population swelled after World War II so as to be usually considered economically part of the Portsmouth conurbation. Archeological digs in the 19th and 20th centuries uncovered evidence of Roman buildings – near St Faith's Church and in Langstone Avenue, along with neolithic and mesolithic remains. Havant was known around 935 CE as 'Hamafunta' (the spring of Hama), referring to the spring to the south-west of St Faith's Churchyard and a settlement was made at the crossing point of tracks from the Downs to the coast and another east–west along the coast. In 1086 (at the time of the Domesday Book), Havant was a village with a population of around 100. In 1200, the monks of Winchester Cathedral were granted the right to hold a market at Haveunte. Around 1450, an annual fair was held on the feast of Saint Faith. For much of its history water played a vital part in local commerce, with many water mills, and parchment manufacture and brewing. Much of Havant was destroyed by fire in 1760, leaving only the church and the adjacent late 16th or early 17th century cottages. The cottages are now known collectively as "The Old House at Home", and are used as a pub. It is claimed that the two main beams in the lounge bar were recovered from the Spanish Armada, and that the "Bear Post" within once had the last dancing bear in England tethered to it.