Blackwater, Hampshire
Encyclopedia
Blackwater is a small town
in the north-eastern corner of the English
county of Hampshire
, lying in the Hart District
.
and Surrey
about 6.5 km (4 mi) north of Farnborough
, 3 km (1.9 mi) west of Camberley
and 25 km (15.5 mi) east of Basingstoke
on the A30 road
. Blackwater is situated 50 km (31.1 mi) southwest of London
. An old marker stone signpost near the Agincourt club on the A30, in western Camberley marks 30 miles, and the centre of Blackwater is less than one mile from that point.
This relative proximity to the capital (the nearest point in Hampshire, and closer than much of Berkshire) has made the town popular with commuters. Blackwater is part of the Blackwater Valley conurbation
which includes the towns of Farnborough, Aldershot
, Camberley, Sandhurst, Yateley
, Frimley
and Farnham
. The River Blackwater flows through the length of this urban area. The town lies at the point where the A30
trunk road from London
to Land's End
crosses the River Blackwater
. It is served by Blackwater railway station
which is on the main line almost precisely mid-way between Reading
and Guildford
.
Furthermore, televisions on the north side of the town (around the Frogmore
and Darby Green
districts) are set-up to receive the Meridian broadcasting signal (for central-southern England) whilst the south side of the town, plus the adjacent sub-village of Hawley
, receives an ITV London
signal (covering southeastern England and London, and thus do not receive local news).
supermarket. A new Lidl
supermarket was built opposite Aldi in 2003, cementing residents' fears that the town was only attracting 'cheap and cheerful' (or even 'downmarket') retail outlets. However, given the fact that major shopping complexes such as The Meadows (less than 1 km away in Sandhurst) and The Main Square (in Camberley) are in very close proximity to the town, this is perhaps not surprising.
Rush-hour traffic is also a considerable problem as the town is situated on a major traffic intersection. It is just 1.5 km north of the M3 motorway (at junction 4) with the A30, which is effectively the town's 'high street', resembling a car park for at least three hours of every day. However, much of Blackwater consists of several highly desirable housing areas covering many different styles, interspersed with larger swathes of less attractive 1960s housing. The house prices are typically high for an area within a Home Counties distance from London.
and Darby Green
, which are generally considered as districts of Blackwater (as they are within the same GU17 postcode). However, these technically fall within the auspices of the larger town of Yateley
, situated 3 km to the northwest (under Yateley Town Council), even though they merge with the Blackwater urban area rather than with Yateley. Frogmore has its own modern village hall, village green, church, pub and a small shopping parade. Darby Green has a shopping parade (including a Tesco Express), a pub and a small youth centre. There is also a modern medical surgery between the two sub-villages on Frogmore Road.
The sub-village of Hawley
, which has its own village hall, primary school, church, private leisure centre, cricket ground and equestrian centre, lies less than 1 km to the south on the road towards Farnborough
, and is regarded as one of the most affluent communities within the entire Blackwater Valley area.
, whose UK headquarters is located at the M3 motorway junction on the site of the former Guillemont Barracks., though this is in fact some distance from the town near the hamlet of Minley.
single Moving to Blackwater
refers to Blackwater. Reuben are from nearby Camberley.
A major portion of Wilkie Collins's 1859 novel The Woman in White
is set at the house of the character Sir Percivel Glyde, Blackwater Park, in Blackwater, Hampshire.
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
in the north-eastern corner of the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county of Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, lying in the Hart District
Hart (district)
Hart is a local government district in Hampshire, England, named after the River Hart. Its council is based in Fleet. It was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, as a merger of the urban district of Fleet, and the Hartley Wintney Rural District.Hart District is one of the...
.
Location
It is situated on the borders of both BerkshireBerkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
and Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
about 6.5 km (4 mi) north of Farnborough
Farnborough, Hampshire
-History:Name changes: Ferneberga ; Farnburghe, Farenberg ; Farnborowe, Fremborough, Fameborough .Tower Hill, Cove: There is substantial evidence...
, 3 km (1.9 mi) west of Camberley
Camberley
Camberley is a town in Surrey, England, situated 31 miles southwest of central London, in the corridor between the M3 and M4 motorways. The town lies close to the borders of both Hampshire and Berkshire; the boundaries intersect on the western edge of the town where all three counties...
and 25 km (15.5 mi) east of Basingstoke
Basingstoke
Basingstoke is a town in northeast Hampshire, in south central England. It lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon. It is southwest of London, northeast of Southampton, southwest of Reading and northeast of the county town, Winchester. In 2008 it had an estimated population of...
on the A30 road
A30 road
The 284 miles A30 road from London to Land's End, historically known as the Great South West Road used to provide the most direct route from London to the south west; more recently the M3 motorway and A303 road performs this function for much of the route and only parts of A30 now retain trunk...
. Blackwater is situated 50 km (31.1 mi) southwest of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. An old marker stone signpost near the Agincourt club on the A30, in western Camberley marks 30 miles, and the centre of Blackwater is less than one mile from that point.
This relative proximity to the capital (the nearest point in Hampshire, and closer than much of Berkshire) has made the town popular with commuters. Blackwater is part of the Blackwater Valley conurbation
Aldershot Urban Area
The Aldershot Urban Area is the name used by the ONS to refer to the loose conurbation on the border between Surrey, Berkshire and Hampshire in England. They give it a population of 243,344, making it the thirtieth-largest urban area in the UK...
which includes the towns of Farnborough, Aldershot
Aldershot
Aldershot is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located on heathland about southwest of London. The town is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council...
, Camberley, Sandhurst, Yateley
Yateley
Yateley is a suburban town and civil parish in the English county of Hampshire. It lies in the north-eastern corner of Hart District Council. It includes the settlements of Frogmore and Darby Green. It had a population of 21,011 according to the 2001 census...
, Frimley
Frimley
Frimley is a small English town situated 2 miles south of Camberley, in the extreme west of Surrey, adjacent to the border with Hampshire. It is about 31 miles west south-west of Central London. It is part of the Borough of Surrey Heath...
and Farnham
Farnham
Farnham is a town in Surrey, England, within the Borough of Waverley. The town is situated some 42 miles southwest of London in the extreme west of Surrey, adjacent to the border with Hampshire...
. The River Blackwater flows through the length of this urban area. The town lies at the point where the A30
A30 road
The 284 miles A30 road from London to Land's End, historically known as the Great South West Road used to provide the most direct route from London to the south west; more recently the M3 motorway and A303 road performs this function for much of the route and only parts of A30 now retain trunk...
trunk road from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to Land's End
Land's End
Land's End is a headland and small settlement in west Cornwall, England, within the United Kingdom. It is located on the Penwith peninsula approximately eight miles west-southwest of Penzance....
crosses the River Blackwater
River Blackwater (River Loddon)
The River Blackwater is a tributary of the River Loddon in England and, indirectly, of the River Thames. It rises at Rowhill on the outskirts of Aldershot between Aldershot in Hampshire and Farnham in Surrey and runs northwards to join the Loddon near the village of Swallowfield in Berkshire...
. It is served by Blackwater railway station
Blackwater railway station
Blackwater railway station is a railway station in Blackwater, a town on the borders of Hampshire, Surrey and Berkshire in England. The station is managed by First Great Western, who provide services on the North Downs Line from Reading to Guildford, Redhill and Gatwick Airport.Blackwater station...
which is on the main line almost precisely mid-way between Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
and Guildford
Guildford
Guildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...
.
Anomalies
Due to its postal location, it is commonly perceived that the town lies in Surrey, as a western suburb of neighbouring Camberley (and is Blackwater's 'post town'). It is in fact just within Hampshire, the boundary being marked by a road bridge crossing both the River Blackwater and a main rail line (near Blackwater rail station), and the Hampshire county sign. The town is somewhat unusual in that it is covered by two separate STD dialling codes, the 01252 (Farnborough area) and 01276 (Camberley area) prefixes.Furthermore, televisions on the north side of the town (around the Frogmore
Frogmore, Hampshire
Frogmore is a small sub-village in the northeast of the civil parish of Yateley in the English county of Hampshire.It adjoins Darby Green and lies between the towns of Yateley and Blackwater....
and Darby Green
Darby Green
Darby Green is part of the parish of Yateley, North East Hampshire, England. The electoral ward of Frogmore and Darby Green is separated from the rest of the parish by a small gap around Clarks Farm, until recently a composting farm in the mushroom producing industry...
districts) are set-up to receive the Meridian broadcasting signal (for central-southern England) whilst the south side of the town, plus the adjacent sub-village of Hawley
Hawley
-People:* Alan Ramsay Hawley, early American aviator* Cameron Hawley, American fiction writer* Caroline Hawley, BBC war correspondent* David Hawley , Stratfield, Connecticut, captain and privateer during the American Revolution...
, receives an ITV London
ITV London
ITV London is the on-air brand name used by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the two Channel 3 broadcast franchises, Carlton Television and London Weekend Television in the London ITV region.-History:...
signal (covering southeastern England and London, and thus do not receive local news).
Character
Blackwater has occasionally received a bad press for the appearance of its built environment, especially given that it is a 'gateway' town into Hampshire on a main national route (the A30) and is deemed not to give a good first impression of the county. The 'high street' area (the A30) is a dual-carriageway lined by an unkempt 1960s shopping parade and a large, unsightly brick building which is now an AldiALDI
ALDI Einkauf GmbH & Co. oHG, doing business as ', short for "Albrecht Discount", is a discount supermarket chain based in Germany...
supermarket. A new Lidl
Lidl
Lidl is a discount supermarket chain based in Germany that operates over 7,200 stores across Europe. The company's full name is Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG...
supermarket was built opposite Aldi in 2003, cementing residents' fears that the town was only attracting 'cheap and cheerful' (or even 'downmarket') retail outlets. However, given the fact that major shopping complexes such as The Meadows (less than 1 km away in Sandhurst) and The Main Square (in Camberley) are in very close proximity to the town, this is perhaps not surprising.
Rush-hour traffic is also a considerable problem as the town is situated on a major traffic intersection. It is just 1.5 km north of the M3 motorway (at junction 4) with the A30, which is effectively the town's 'high street', resembling a car park for at least three hours of every day. However, much of Blackwater consists of several highly desirable housing areas covering many different styles, interspersed with larger swathes of less attractive 1960s housing. The house prices are typically high for an area within a Home Counties distance from London.
Sub-villages
There are two sub-villages to the north, FrogmoreFrogmore, Hampshire
Frogmore is a small sub-village in the northeast of the civil parish of Yateley in the English county of Hampshire.It adjoins Darby Green and lies between the towns of Yateley and Blackwater....
and Darby Green
Darby Green
Darby Green is part of the parish of Yateley, North East Hampshire, England. The electoral ward of Frogmore and Darby Green is separated from the rest of the parish by a small gap around Clarks Farm, until recently a composting farm in the mushroom producing industry...
, which are generally considered as districts of Blackwater (as they are within the same GU17 postcode). However, these technically fall within the auspices of the larger town of Yateley
Yateley
Yateley is a suburban town and civil parish in the English county of Hampshire. It lies in the north-eastern corner of Hart District Council. It includes the settlements of Frogmore and Darby Green. It had a population of 21,011 according to the 2001 census...
, situated 3 km to the northwest (under Yateley Town Council), even though they merge with the Blackwater urban area rather than with Yateley. Frogmore has its own modern village hall, village green, church, pub and a small shopping parade. Darby Green has a shopping parade (including a Tesco Express), a pub and a small youth centre. There is also a modern medical surgery between the two sub-villages on Frogmore Road.
The sub-village of Hawley
Hawley, Hampshire
Hawley is a village in the civil parish of Blackwater and Hawley in the Hart district of northeastern Hampshire, England.The village is continguous with the small town of Blackwater. It is on the western edge of the Blackwater Valley conurbation, about north of central Farnborough, Hampshire,...
, which has its own village hall, primary school, church, private leisure centre, cricket ground and equestrian centre, lies less than 1 km to the south on the road towards Farnborough
Farnborough, Hampshire
-History:Name changes: Ferneberga ; Farnburghe, Farenberg ; Farnborowe, Fremborough, Fameborough .Tower Hill, Cove: There is substantial evidence...
, and is regarded as one of the most affluent communities within the entire Blackwater Valley area.
Economy
Employers in Blackwater include Sun MicrosystemsSun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
, whose UK headquarters is located at the M3 motorway junction on the site of the former Guillemont Barracks., though this is in fact some distance from the town near the hamlet of Minley.
Popular culture
The ReubenReuben (band)
Reuben were an English three-piece musical group from Camberley, Surrey. Their music was a fusion of alternative rock and heavy metal, as their songs cover a variety of styles, ranging from heavy and upbeat, such as their 2005 single "Blamethrower" to slower, more melodic songs such as their 2004...
single Moving to Blackwater
Moving to Blackwater
"Moving to Blackwater" is the sixth single by Surrey-based rock band Reuben, and the third single taken from their debut album, Racecar Is Racecar Backwards. It was released in August 2004, and was also the first single that Reuben had ever released in the wake of an album...
refers to Blackwater. Reuben are from nearby Camberley.
A major portion of Wilkie Collins's 1859 novel The Woman in White
The Woman in White (novel)
The Woman in White is an epistolary novel written by Wilkie Collins in 1859, serialized in 1859–1860, and first published in book form in 1860...
is set at the house of the character Sir Percivel Glyde, Blackwater Park, in Blackwater, Hampshire.