Stockheath School (21) - 15 May 1985

This picture is part of a very niche album which I regard as an important part of the social history of Havant in Hampshire.

Stockheath School was a repurposed Naval Camp and comprised infants and junior schools to support developing residential areas which grew in the Havant area (specifically Bedhampton and Leigh Park) as housing stock was built to replace some of that in war damaged Portsmouth and in response to population growth. It was located between Burgate Close and Hooks Farm Way with the infants school closer to Burgate Close. It was demolished in 1986 and the site is now occupied by Tarrant Gardens which means that the erstwhile Burgate Close is now a through route.

The caretaker's gates stood between the school and 'the fields' as they were always known as far as I remember. In my childhood 'the fields' stretched a long way down to parts of Bedhampton and the one large open field, seen here, had two smaller fields beyond and side by side with a considerable amount of vegetation. Those were cleared to create the site for Bidbury School. In the present day (2020), the southern end of the main field is the home of Havant RFC.

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