EASTLEIGH

'Eastleigh' is a former railway town in Hampshire, England, and the main town in the Eastleigh borough. The town lies between Southampton and Winchester, and is part of the South Hampshire conurbation. Eastleigh borough stretches from Netley on the banks of Southampton Water, the historic river villages of Hamble-le-Rice, Bursledon and Botley, the developing areas of Hedge End, West End, Fair Oak & Bishopstoke and the green residential belt of Chandler's Ford and Boyatt Wood.

Contents

History

Politics

Sport

Notable people

Business

Twinnings

See also

External links

History

A village called East Leah has been nearby for centuries, but the railway station was originally named Bishopstoke Junction, only becoming Eastleigh in 1923, after the town that sprung up around it, with the building of the railway works. The last works depot at Eastleigh was closed during 2006.
Eastleigh has seen a rapid and controlled expansion in residential, industrial and commercial development over recent years. The borough of Eastleigh is ranked the "9th best place to live in the UK 2006" by a recent Channel 4 programme. [1]
Perhaps Eastleigh's most well known 'resident' is the Spitfire aeroplane which was built in Southampton and first flown from Eastleigh Aerodrome (now Southampton International Airport). A replica has recently been placed on the traffic island at the entrance to the airport.
The most famous people linked to Eastleigh are probably 'Jane' the model for the cartoon character and Benny Hill who both lived in the town. In Benny's honour a new road was recently named ''Benny Hill Close'', though many of the people who had bought the new homes were not happy with the decision.. Sporting notables include Tommy Green who won an Olympic Gold Medal at the 1932 Los Angeles Games in the 50K walk, and Vince Hawkins who was briefly British Middleweight Boxing Champion in the late 1940's.
Eastleigh Museum, which is to be found in the High Street holds information about the town and the surrounding villages, including Bishopstoke which had been the largest residential area adjacent to Eastleigh up until the 1860's.

Politics

In 2005 Chris Huhne was elected as the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament (MP) for the Eastleigh constituency after the previous MP (David Chidgey, also Liberal Democrat) retired. Eastleigh has a tradition of close contests, and Huhne narrowly beat the Conservative candidate Conor Burns with the second lowest swing against the Liberal Democrats of any seat with a retiring MP (2.6%). David Chidgey had succeeded the Conservative MP Stephen Milligan after his high profile death.

Sport

Eastleigh Ladies Hockey Club is based in South Hampshire. It fields 2 teams in the Hampshire Women's League (playing Saturdays), as well as playing floodlit and indoor league games (playing on weekdays).
Eastleigh F.C. are the town's sole senior team after the demise of Eastleigh Athletic F.C..

Notable people

Notable former residents of Eastleigh include: Heinz Burt (pop-musician); Benny Hill (comedian/actor); and Sir Arthur Young, policeman, born there in 1907.

Business

Eastleigh is home to many businesses including the headquarters of B&Q.
Also a large manufacturing plant owned by Prysmian Cables & Systems

Twinnings

Eastleigh is twinned with

★ Villeneuve-Saint-Georges, France

★ Kornwestheim, Germany

See also

★ Eastleigh (borough)

★ Eastleigh constituency

External links

★ Eastleigh Borough Council

★ The Eastleigh Photograph Archive

★ Eastleigh Football Club unofficial site

★ Eastleigh College

★ Shopping in Eastleigh