Clanfield is a village and civil parish in the south-east of the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is situated north of Horndean, north of Portsmouth and south of Petersfield. It sits to the west of the main A3 road, just north of where the A3 ends. The surrounding villages are Horndean, Catherington, Hinton Daubney, Chalton, East Meon, and Hambledon It has a semi-rural character with 3 sides of the village being adjoined by fields including Queen Elizabeth Country Park. Clanfield is overlooked from the other side of the A3 road by Windmill Hill and Chalton Windmill which stands at 193 metres above sea level. Many references in Clanfield feature the windmill, such as Windmill Garage. The population of Clanfield is c. 4,854, however property development and new homes since the 2011 census means that this is expected to have increased and was estimated to be over 6000 in 2017 Clanfield consists of two parts, "Old" Clanfield and "New" Clanfield. Old Clanfield has been around for roughly 250 years and New Clanfield about 60 years. Clanfield is a popular area for walkers, with Queen Elizabeth Country Park being next to the village. The old village also has a restored pond, a thatched village well, the Clanfield memorial hall, and the church of St. James. There are two schools. Petersgate Infant in New Clanfield and Clanfield Junior School in old Clanfield. Clanfield is twinned with Val d'Oison, France
History
The name Clanfield is derived from the Old English and means "field clean of weeds". Clanfield was historically a small farming community centred about the church of St James, that dates from 1305 and was rebuilt in 1875 and contains two ancient mediaeval bells. The community in 1929 recorded the population as 129, by the late 1940s almost 500, and in 1998 over 4500, with almost 1700 households. The South Downs National Park borders Clanfield on three sides and includes a large part of the undeveloped part of the village to the north.
There are three parks in Clanfield. All have swings and other child play items and Peel Park has a skateboard park. There is a park near the Sports centre in the new housing estate. South Lane Meadow has a cricket ground, and Peel Park has football pitches. Peel park has a building with changing rooms in. Clanfield has a football club called Clanfield F.C. The club contains teams for children, which are split into year groups. Clanfield's major community centres are Clanfield Memorial Hall, in South Lane, Clanfield Sports and Community Centre, Endal way, the St James Church Hall and Leader Hall, both Little Hyden Lane. The sports centre opened in 2019. There are three public houses and one wine bar. The rebuilt Rising Sun in the old village, the Hampshire Hog on the outskirts of the parish near the A3 and the famous Bat and Ball Inn, in Hyden Farm Lane, opposite the "Cradle of Cricket", Broadhalfpenny Downcricket ground. The boundary between Clanfield and Hambledon used to run through the Bat & Ball and the brass strip marking the old boundary still runs across the floor. Both the original Hogs Lodge and the Bat And Ball were occupied by members of the Murrant family. Originally a nineteenth-century building, in 1969 the Rising Sun achieved fame as the pub that was built in one day. There is a not-for-profit website funded by local business intended to benefit the community. Also in Clanfield is the Clanfield Observatory run by the Hampshire Astronomical Group, who have open days. The observatory is next to one of Portsmouth Water's reservoirs.
