Hook, Fareham
| Hook | |
|---|---|
 Hook
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| Hook shown within Hampshire | |
| OS grid reference | SU50950530 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | SOUTHAMPTON |
| Postcode district | SO31 |
| Dialling code | 01489 |
| Police | Hampshire |
| Fire | Hampshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | |
Hook is a village in the Borough of Fareham, in south Hampshire, England. It was part of the civil parish of Hook, sometimes known as Hook-with-Warsash, until 1932, when the parish was abolished and became part of Fareham Urban District.
There appears to have been activity on the site at Hook since early prehistory, with a number of palaeolithic handaxes and other implements found in gravel terrace excavations in and around hook during the 18th and 19th Century Later prehistoric artifacts have also been found in the area, including Bronze Age beakers. and bucket urns, and a late Bronze Age enclosure on hook lane.
The name ‘Hook’ refers to the hook shaped spit of land at the mouth of the River Hamble. In medieval times this protected the entrance to a tidal inlet known as the fleet, hence the local name ‘Fleet End’. The medieval hamlet and port of Hook occupied the southern shore of the inlet, situated some distance west of the present settlement. Even at its height the settlement was probably little more than a scatter of cottages and a chapel but its significance as a port is indicated by records of the conflict with France in 1345. It was recorded that 21 ships and 208 men left England from Hook to fight in the battle of Crécy. By the sixteenth century the Fleet was beginning to silt up and this combined with a gradual increase in the size of ships slowly led to its decline as a port.
It is mentioned in the Domesday Book by the name ‘Houche’ and reference to the ownership of the Manor of Hook can be traced back to the early fourteenth century. The manor was once the property of Richard, Duke of York, and there is evidence that Henry VIII once granted ownership of it to Anne of Cleves.
A map commissioned in 1595 by Queen Elizabeth 1st and drawn by Christopher Saxton, refers to the area around Hook as ‘Hoke’.
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Wikipedia