Which Clanfield pub was built in one day? The Rising Sun story
A pub put up in a single day in 1969, a village name that means cleared field, a brass strip on a pub floor and a Saturn-spotting observatory: Clanfield's best-kept secrets.
The Rising Sun in Clanfield, built in 1969, is said to have been put up in a single day and is still standing. We found the claim in our own research from Wikipedia, but no further detail, so treat it as the village story.
There is a pub in Clanfield that was built in one day. It is the Rising Sun, it dates from 1969, and it is still standing. Which, as our narrator said, is more than can be said for his shelf.
The pub built in a single day
Our reel, which drew on Wikipedia's Clanfield page, says the Rising Sun was built in 1969 in a single day and is still standing today. We should be honest that we have not found a detailed account, such as who built it or how, so it remains the village story rather than a documented feat. If you know more, we would like to hear it.
What does Clanfield mean?
Wikipedia says Clanfield means "cleared field". As our reel put it, they cleared a field and named it cleared field, with no messing about. Sources do disagree, though: the parish council says "clean fields". Both are plain, sensible names for farmland, so we would not bet on either.
A pint in two villages
At the Bat and Ball, which is in Hambledon, a brass strip runs across the floor. It marks the old boundary between Clanfield and Hambledon, so you can have a pint in two villages at once.
700 years of bells
St James's Church goes back to 1305 and still has two medieval bells.
Saturn from Clanfield
Clanfield has its own observatory, run by the Hampshire Astronomical Group, which holds public open days. You can look at Saturn from Clanfield.
Buried in wool
A few more things you probably did not know. The parish registers begin in 1547, and the Victoria County History records burials in woollen cloth from 1675 to 1735. That was not a fashion choice. The Burying in Woollen Acts of 1666, 1678 and 1680 required burial in pure English woollen shrouds, with an affidavit and a £5 penalty if you did not comply. We say "recorded" because the history records the burials, and the law behind it comes from Wikipedia.
A hut from Aldershot
The original Memorial Hall was a Nissen hut brought from Aldershot Camp in 1919, honouring the village's First World War dead. The present brick hall opened in 1982. In its garden, a war memorial built by staff and students of Horndean Technology College was unveiled in June 2014. Both details come from the hall's own booking page.
From 129 people to about 6,000
In 1929 only 129 people lived in Clanfield, according to the parish council and Wikipedia. During the Second World War, people moved here to escape the bombing of Portsmouth, and the population reached about 500 by the late 1940s. One local-history source says some people built shacks where they could shelter at night. The parish council says roughly 6,000 people live in the village now, and the 2021 census recorded 6,015 including Chalton.
The football club that shares a ground
Clanfield FC, nicknamed the Clan, have shared Havant and Waterlooville's Westleigh Park since 2020-21. The arrangement has been reported as running to 2027/28, but check before you rely on it.
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