Rowlands Castle is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is 2.9 miles north of Havant, on the Hampshire/West Sussex border. The focal point of the village is the village green which is shaped somewhat like a lung. Surrounded by roads it is about long and about wide at its eastern end while tapering to almost a point at the western end near the railway arch. The village takes its name from a motte-and-bailey castle, the remains of which are situated to the south of Redhill Road and west of the railway line, east of the current centre of the village.
History
Evidence the Romans made pottery, brick and tiles in the Rowlands Castle vicinity has been uncovered and this would have been aided due to the availability of suitable clay. The castle was built at some time between 1066 and 1199 and is first documented under the name ROLOKECASTEL in 1381. It was in good repair in the twelfth century, when Henry II spent several days there in hunting and amusement, but was abandoned by the 15th century. The site was damaged by the railway and quarrying in the 19th century and now only the earthworks and a few small areas of wall remain.
Rowlands Castle lies on the northern edge of the Neogene deposits of the Hampshire Basin. The north of the village lies on the chalk of the southern South Downs. In the south is the Reading Formation which gave rise to the former local brick industry.
Economy
It is largely a quiet residential village, with four pubs and a few small shops, including a hardware store and a local convenience store.
Culture and community
A model railway depicting the village during the war has been created and is on display at nearby Stansted House.
The Church of England parish church of St John the Baptist is situated to the west of the centre of the village close to the B2149 road. It is an aisled church with transept and chapels with the east window being a stained-glass depiction of the Crucifixion by Francis Austin.
Church on the Green
The Church on the Green United Reformed Church is prominent at the west end of the green.
St. Hubert's chapel
St Hubert's chapel or church is in the far north of the civil parish, Idsworth. St. Huberts chapel was built in 1053 and was originally dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul. It is a Grade I listed building, listed on 16 March 1954. The chapel contains examples of medieval paintings from around 1300 which include paintings around the altar window of St Peter, St Paul, and two angels. On the north wall there is a painting of St. Hubert and St John the Baptist. The narthex contains an octagonal stone font and above it is a gallery which contains the church organ. Idsworth, based on its compact late Saxon church, was a chapelry long including Rowlands Castle and until a recent date unknown was dependent on the mother church of Chalton. Hence a dispute concerning the right to appoint the chaplain arose in 1275 between Henry de Bonynges, lord of the manor of Idsworth, who claimed it as an appurtenance, versus the prioress of Nuneaton, who made good her right as patron of Chalton church, and therefore of the appendant chapel. The rectors of Chalton were bound from very early times to find a chaplain at the chapel to say mass on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and on double feasts throughout the year, and to administer the sacraments and other rites for the inhabitants of the hamlets of Idsworth "and Dene". Sir William Haughe, rector of Chalton, discontinued this practice in 1394 and so proceedings were taken against him in the Court of Arches by Richard Romyn, lord of Idsworth manor, and the rest of the inhabitants of the two villages before Thomas Stowe and Adam Uske, who decided that the rector was liable by custom to find a chaplain to minister in Idsworth Chapel. This "sentence" was published by the bishop of Winchester on 1 May 1398, and confirmed by the prior and chapter of Winchester on 3 June.
Sport and Leisure
The village has an 18-hole golf course; the club being formed in 1902 with a 9-hole course. In 1994 Stage 5 of the Tour de France passed through Rowlands Castle, attracting large crowds to the carnival atmosphere.
Notable People
Former Van Morrison guitarist and Britain's Got Talent contestant Herbie Armstrong once ran The Fountain Inn in the centre of the village next to the Village Green. His weekly live music evenings attracted music lovers from across the region, and have been known to include some famous faces; Mick Hucknall on one occasion.
Former British No. 1 tennis player Chris Wilkinson remains active in the local, county and national levels.
