Havant Removals

Early Days

Havant was once named Hamanfunta, Hama most likely referring to an early chieftain, funta meaning spring, and it was this spring that made it the perfect location for an early settlement. Archaeological finds and the remains of Mesolithic dwellings found close to Lavant Stream, suggest the area has been populated for thousands of years.

Around 43AD the Romans arrived and built a road between Chichester and Wickham, then settled in the area. Roman coins have been found beneath the floor of St Faith’s Church.

In roughly 410AD the Saxons set up home near Warblington, (Wærblith) and apart from the occasional threat of Viking raiders coming in from the coast, things remained peaceful and by 1086 Havant was important enough to have been included in the Domesday Book.

13^th Century

Sometime close to 1200AD the Monks of St Swithun in Winchester who owned the manor, granted permission for Havant to hold a weekly market, bringing trade and further settlement. Between 1348-9 the town settled a setback when the Black Death is estimated to have killed half the town’s population.

16^th Century

In 1525 Warblington Castle was built and one of its earliest residents, Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury and a relative of Henry VIII, had the King as her guest in 1526. Good old Henry (although he had a love of women, things never seemed to end well for them!) later suspected her of helping her son, Cardinal Reginald Pole, in his support for the Pope who the King had a bit of a tiff with. Margaret was interrogated at the Tower of London put on trial for treason and executed.

17^th Century

By 1600 tanning and glove making had become a major source of employment at Havant but as usual things took a downturn when Parliamentary soldiers dropped by in 1643 and destroyed Warblington Castle. According to town records there was some good news in 1656 when new stocks and a whipping post were placed in the centre of the town. Yay!

18^th Century

A much more welcome arrival in 1710 was Havant’s first school above the Market House in South Street. 1761 the town was damaged in a fire but rebuilt by merchants who were doing well from passing trade as Havant had become a rest stop for coaches running between Chichester and Portsmouth.

20^th Century

Leaping forward a few years and despite the threat of Napoleon (which thankfully for the people of Havant never arrived, although they did get a new neighbour, Waterlooville) by 1901 the population reached 4,000, the town’s first cinema opened two years later and 1949 saw the population double to 8,000. Remarkable to think that less than 50 years later the population would reach 100,000!

The Second World War brought more changes as Leigh Park House was requisitioned by the Admiralty to become the Underwater Counter-Measures Weapons Establishment. Thousands of service personnel were billeted in and around Havant, a searchlight station was erected on Bosmere Field and a number of anti-aircraft batteries littered the town and countryside to defend against the Luftwaffe crossing the Channel. A Bofors gun also sat on a roundabout in the town centre.

Modern Day

Today the town is a hive of activity. Good shops, excellent transport links and access to some of the finest countryside on the South Coast, it’s easy to see why people are moving to Havant.

Havant Removals Company
Whether you are moving to or from Havant, or beyond, we pride ourselves on making the experience as hassle-free and streamlined as possible. With over 160 years of experience as a leading UK removal company, our personable, expert removals team will take the stress out of moving home or office.

The benefits of hiring a local removals firm in Havant.

• Employing a local removals company in Havant means we spend less travelling time to your residence.
• Unrivalled geographical knowledge of Havant & the surrounding areas.
• We know the traffic flow, best times of day to move and where to park.
• We offer overnight storage (or for as long as you require) at our nearby Hampshire-based storage facilities.
• Our size allows us to be more competitive than many other local removal companies across Hampshire, Surrey & Berkshire
• Free removal estimates and removals advice before, during and after your move!
• We employ local people doing local work

Secure Household Storage in Havant
Are you a homeowner requiring long or short term household storage for furniture and personal effects for which you no longer have room? Do you need secure flexible household storage at short notice, with the minimum of fuss?

With our multiple, large, secure purpose-built Hampshire storage facilities located in Aldershot, Farnborough and Petersfield, we can cater for all your storage needs. We can also arrange to collect and storage your belongings on your behalf. Please visit our Storage Service for further details.

Why use Over’s for your storage needs?

• Our household & commercial storage prices are cheaper than most other storage facilities in Hampshire and Surrey
• Flexible storage – we can even deliver, collect and store your belongings for you
• Friendly staff available on site: our experienced warehouse staff will be on hand to assist customers with packaging, loading and unloading.
• Our facilities incorporate the latest sophisticated fire and security systems

Of course, it’s not just the calibre of our personnel that matters. We are also proud of our modern fleet of specialised removal vehicles, lifting equipment, packaging and dedicated storage facilities to help us best cater to all your storage requirements.