West End, Hampshire

Early history A series of round barrows, dating from the Bronze Age (2000-600 BC), have been discovered in the Moorgreen area of the parish. There were five of these to the north of the former Moorgreen Hospital site. A hilltop fort from the Iron Age was built on the ridge above the village around 600-100BC. A shutter telegraph station operated from the site during the Napoleonic Wars, forming part of the line connecting London to Plymouth. The village was originally a hamlet which grew up around a track between Romsey and Portsmouth. The hamlet was mostly within the tithing of Shamblehurst, with a small section at the northern end in the tithing of Allington, both within the parish of South Stoneham. The ecclesiastical parish of West End was established in 1840, two years after the construction of the original St James' Church. In 1954, Harefield was transferred out of the civil parish and into Southampton. The Roman Catholic church of St Brigid was opened in the village in 1961. The fire station was closed in 1996 and the building was transferred to the parish council to run as a community venue. West End Local History Society, established at the same time, set up its museum in the building. 21st century Hampshire County Cricket Club's home ground, the Utilita Bowl cricket ground, was built in 2000 along with an accompanying hotel and conference facilities and a 18-hole golf course. It has hosted several international cricket games and a number of well known musical acts such as Oasis, The Who, Neil Diamond, R.E.M. and Billy Joel. ==Government==

Matters such as social events, footpaths and sports facilities are governed by the (civil) parish council. Much greater expenditure is managed by the local Borough and Hampshire County Councils. The civil parish council has 14 seats across three wards: West End North, West End South and Kanes Hill. ==Culture and community==

Until 2020, the annual West End Carnival took place each June, although it did not run in 2009 or 2010 due to a lack of volunteers. It has not taken place since as the carnival committee was disbanded, however the local council has considered a revival in 2026. The parish has an active local history society which runs a museum in the old fire station in the village centre. ==Education==

There is one primary school in the village of West End, St. James School. Its predecessor is on the High Street built in 1901 which for a time during the late 20th century became St James's Pre-School. ==Notable people==

Forester and environmental activist Richard St. Barbe Baker was born in West End. Titanic connection Arthur Rostron Arthur Henry Rostron is buried in West End's Old Burial Ground. As captain of the he was famous for rescuing 706 of her passengers and crew when sank on 15 April 1912 and was awarded many honours, including being created a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE), as well as being awarded a Congressional Gold Medal. In the latter part of his life, he decided to spend his retirement in West End, where he stayed until he died in 1940. James Jukes Henry James Jukes was born and brought up in West End. He lived in Camlens House, Moorgreen Road, West End. James' parents, Joseph and Elizabeth Jukes, ran a garden holding and James was soon to be married. James was on board the Titanic as a part of the engineering department, or as it was better known, the 'black crew', but, aged 35 years, went down with the ship. In his honour a housing development on Moorgreen Road was named 'Jukes Walk' in 2002. There are plaques in the West End Museum for both Rostron and Jukes. ==See also==