Hurstbourne Tarrant
Encyclopedia
Hurstbourne Tarrant is a village in Hampshire
, England
. It lies to the north of the county in the Test Valley
.
The Tarrant part of the name originates from 1226, when the village was given to the Cistercian Tarrant nunnery.
During the Second World War, Hurstbourne Tarrant was the decoy site
for RAF Andover
, the headquarters of RAF Maintenance Command
. This was one of four airfields in Hampshire
to be given a decoy site in 1940, to deceive enemy aircraft into attacking a spurious target. The decoy site at Hurstbourne Tarrant was a type 'K' decoy site with fake aircraft and buildings. From September 1940, fake machine gun posts were added to Hurstbourne Tarrant.
The famous Victorian, Edwardian artist, the American, Anna Lea Merritt, lived in the village for many years.
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...
, England
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...
. It lies to the north of the county in the Test Valley
Test Valley
Test Valley is a local government district and borough in Hampshire, England, named after the valley of the River Test. Its council is based in Andover....
.
The Tarrant part of the name originates from 1226, when the village was given to the Cistercian Tarrant nunnery.
During the Second World War, Hurstbourne Tarrant was the decoy site
Starfish site
Starfish sites, or bombing decoy sites, were deliberately created simulations of burning towns that were constructed in Britain during World War II. The name came from the code name for one of the sites, "Starfish", itself from the original code, SF, for Special Fire.Starfish sites were used to...
for RAF Andover
RAF Andover
Andover Airfield is a former Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force station. The ICAO code for the airfield is EGWA and the IATA code is ADV...
, the headquarters of RAF Maintenance Command
RAF Maintenance Command
RAF Maintenance Command was the Royal Air Force command which was responsible for controlling maintenance for all the United Kingdom-based units from formation on 1 April 1938 until being renamed RAF Support Command on 31 August 1973.- History :...
. This was one of four airfields in 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...
to be given a decoy site in 1940, to deceive enemy aircraft into attacking a spurious target. The decoy site at Hurstbourne Tarrant was a type 'K' decoy site with fake aircraft and buildings. From September 1940, fake machine gun posts were added to Hurstbourne Tarrant.
The famous Victorian, Edwardian artist, the American, Anna Lea Merritt, lived in the village for many years.