Compton and Shawford
| Compton and Shawford | |
|---|---|
 Compton and Shawford
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| Compton and Shawford shown within Hampshire | |
| Population | 1,420 1,729 (2011 Census) |
| OS grid reference | SU470251 |
| Civil parish |
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| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Winchester |
| Postcode district | SO21 |
| Dialling code | 01962 |
| Police | Hampshire |
| Fire | Hampshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | Compton and Shawford Parish |
Compton and Shawford is a civil parish in the City of Winchester, Hampshire, England. The word compton means village in a combe and aptly describes the settlement as it primarily consists of a long street on the side of a chalk valley.
All Saints church in Compton is unusual in that it has two naves and two chancels, the original Norman constructions being supplemented by a new nave and chancel in 1905.
Shawford is notable for having the longest railway viaduct in Hampshire (now known as Hockley Railway Viaduct). This is over 2,000 feet (610 m) in length and 40 feet (12 m) high. The viaduct was initially threatened with demolition when the M3 motorway was proposed but after much protest it was incorporated into the scheme.
The two halves of the parish are linked by Shawford Down which runs alongside the River Itchen. However they are now symbolically separated by the motorway with Compton on its west side and Shawford on its east.
Shawford is served by a railway station on the South Western Main Line. The parish is crossed from east to west by the Monarch's Way long distance footpath, and from north to south by the Itchen Way.
Compton is represented in the Hampshire Cricket League as one half of Compton & Chandlers Ford CC following the merging of Compton & Shawford CC and Chandlers Ford CC in 1995. The club plays its home games at the Memorial playing fields, just off of Shepards Lane.
The parish lies on the Upper Cretaceous chalk at the northern edge of the Hampshire Basin, dipping south from the Winchester anticline, with successively younger beds being exposed from north to south. In the north the Seaford Chalk formation of Santonian age makes up Compton Down. South of this the Newhaven Chalk outcrops in the dry valley running down from Oliver's Battery to Shawford. In the south of the parish the Culver Chalk of Campanian age is largely overlain by a layer of 'clay-with-flints' weathered out of the chalk. In the east the chalk is cut through by the Itchen valley and overlain by calcareous tufa. A feature of the geology is the hill immediately southwest of the village of Shawford known as Shawford Down. This area is noted for its rich variety of habitats and the grazed pasture supports a wealth of flora and fauna, including notable insects and wildflowers.
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Wikipedia