Waterlooville history: things you probably didn't know about the town
Wait Lane End, a Spitfire engineer, a free festival called Torpedo Town and a fountain that lost to the vandals: the town's story in a dozen surprises.
Waterlooville was called Wait Lane End before it took its name from the Heroes of Waterloo pub. It was outside any parish until 1858, so residents paid no parish rates, and the population grew from about 1,250 in 1931 to nearly 35,000 at the 2021 census.
Waterlooville is a young town by English standards, and its story is odder than you might expect. Here is a tour of the best surprises, with the caveats where the sources are thin.
It used to be called Wait Lane End
Before the pub and before the name, this place was called Wait Lane End. The name Waterlooville comes from the Heroes of Waterloo inn, dating from 1815. Wikipedia and a local-history site both give that origin.
Nobody paid parish rates until 1858
Waterlooville grew up in the old Forest of Bere as an extra-parochial area, meaning it sat outside any parish. A local-history site says that is why its residents paid no parish rates. An 1857 Act turned such areas into civil parishes from 1858, and Waterloo civil parish was created that year. Wikipedia confirms the extra-parochial status and the 1858 date.
The engineer who fixed the Spitfire
Beatrice Shilling was born in Waterlooville in 1909. She is the engineer who fixed the Spitfire's engine cutting out in a dive.
Prog rock on London Road, sort of
Michael Giles, the original drummer of King Crimson, is listed on Wikipedia as born in Waterlooville. Other sources say Bournemouth, so we say "sort of".
The trams
Trams used to run from Portsmouth right through Waterlooville to Horndean on the Portsdown and Horndean Light Railway. They stopped in 1935.
From a village to a town
In 1931 about 1,250 people lived in Waterlooville. The 2021 census counted 34,775. In between, the pace was fast. In 1951 fewer than 3,000 lived here (one source says about 2,881 and another 2,221, but both are under 3,000), and by 1971 it was over 10,000.
The Iceberg Estate
From late 1956, work began on the Berg Estate off Hambledon Road and Milton Road, mostly bungalows, around 1,000 of them, built by Messrs E. and L. Berg of Esher. A local-history site says it is jokingly called the Iceberg Estate. The nickname rests on that one source, but the builder is confirmed in two.
Yachts, and Queen's Awards
Westerly Marine Construction was founded in March 1963 and began producing yachts in a Waterlooville factory unit that opened in May 1963. The company won Queen's Awards for Export in 1969, 1970 and 1977 and employed up to 700 people across two Waterlooville estates.
An Olympic bronze
Ralph Evans moved to Waterlooville aged seven. His father Gwynfor founded and ran Waterlooville Amateur Boxing Club. Ralph won bronze in the light flyweight division at the Munich Olympics in 1972, losing his semi-final to Gedo.
The precinct, and the fountain that lost
The precinct went pedestrian in 1982, fountain and all. Vandals got the fountain removed. As our narrator put it, the vandals won.
Twinned with Maurepas
The town has been twinned with Maurepas in France since 1995, which is why the bypass is called Maurepas Way.
Waterlooville 200
In 2015 the town held a festival for its 200th anniversary. On the 1911 census the parish was simply called Waterloo.
Torpedo Town
In spring 1982, protesters set up a peace camp at Brambles Farm against a planned GEC Marconi torpedo facility. It held up construction for months. A free festival called Torpedo Town followed, with the first in 1984 at Old Park Farm. Sources differ on whether the torpedoes involved were Stingray or Spearfish, so we just say "a torpedo factory".
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