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Fordingbridge is a town and broader civil parish with a population of 6,200 Office for National Statistics : Fordingbridge E04012145 Retrieved 18 December 2024 on the River Avon in the New Forest District of Hampshire, England. It is located near the Dorset and Wiltshire borders and on the edge of the New Forest.
It is southwest of London, and south of the city of Salisbury. Fordingbridge is a former market town famed for its seven-arch late medieval bridge, which crosses the River Avon at the centre of the town. The Avon Valley Path passes through the town.
Since 1982 Fordingbridge has been Town twinning with Vimoutiers in Normandy, France.
The Great Bridge, from which the town received its present name, has seven arches and can be seen from the town's large riverside park and recreation ground. The park contains a children's play area, secluded memorial gardens, and large sports playing field. A bronze statue of the painter and former resident Augustus John stands on the banks of the Avon near the Great Bridge.
St. Mary's Church, which has some typical Norman characteristics, is located in the south of the town. The church has a memorial to James Alexander Seton, last British person killed in a duel in England. The town also has a Catholic church in the form of Our Lady of Sorrows and St Philip Benizi. The Building dates from 1874 while the altar dating from 1897 was originally used at Netley Hospital. (2025). 9780300225037, Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300225037
Fordingbridge Hospital is a small community hospital built within the grounds of a Victorian workhouse. Most of the older buildings have been redeveloped into private housing, however, the hospital site still houses an inpatient ward, as well as limited outpatients services. Fordingbridge Doctors Surgery is on the same site in Bartons Road. Fordingbridge Hospital was used as a COVID-19 vaccination centre from 2020.
The local comprehensive school is The Burgate School and Sixth Form Centre, in Burgate, a small hamlet to the north of the town.
Fordingbridge is home to Fordingbridge Turks, one of the oldest football clubs in England, established circa 1868. The Turks name is believed to derive from wishing to emulate the determination shown by Ottoman forces at Siege of Plevna. Fordingbridge Turks FC play their matches at the recreation ground. 'The Rec' is also home to Fordingbridge Rugby Club, and Fordingbridge’s weekly Parkrun.
The villages of Sandleheath, Damerham, Rockbourne, Whitsbury, Breamore, Woodgreen, Godshill, Hyde and Frogham all sit within a 5 mile radius of Fordingbridge and are all within the county of Hampshire. Alderholt is 2 miles southwest of Fordingbridge and is part of Dorset.
Fordingbridge is north of Ringwood and Bournemouth, south of Downton and Salisbury which are all linked by the A338 road.
The manor was held by Elias de la Falaise at his death in 1254, and his brother William died in possession of the manor in the same year. Before 1277 the property had to the Crown Estate by the felony of William de la Falaise, grandson of William, and was granted in that year to Sir William le Brune, chamberlain to the king. The manor then stayed solidly in the Brune family until the death of Charles Brune in 1769, when the family became extinct in the male line. By his will his estates eventually devolved onto his grand-nephew the Rev. Charles Prideaux-Brune of Prideaux Place, Padstow, Cornwall, and the manor then remained in the possession of the Prideaux-Brune family.
The lord of the manor had a market before 1273: it was held weekly first on Saturday and then on Friday until the middle of the 19th century, when it was discontinued. A fair was held on 9 September. From the 13th to the 15th century Fordingbridge was governed by a bailiff, and then in later centuries by a constable chosen yearly at the court leet of the manor of Lower Burgate. The constable was the chief officer until 1878, when government by Local District Council was established.
A fire in the town on 23 May 1702 destroyed 43 dwelling houses,Fordingbridge on fire by N.R. Webb - Hampshire Family Historian pages 111 to 112, Volume 15, issue 2, 1988 which were never rebuilt. Fordingbridge Town Hall, built in 1877, is almost in the centre of the town.
Cloth was made here in the 16th century, and in the 19th century there were factories for the manufacture of sailcloth and canvas and the spinning of flax. By 1900 the chief industries of the town were the manufacture of sailcloth and canvas and the making of bricks and tiles, and there were various flour mills, an iron foundry, and the Neave's food works.
Fordingbridge railway station was opened in 1866 but closed in 1964. It was originally just outside the town, on the road leading to Sandleheath. Today, the road is still called Station Road; however, the spot where the station once stood is now occupied by a large mill and industrial park. The site is next to the recently reopened 'Railway Hotel'. The Station connected the town with Salisbury to the north and Poole to the south, as part of the Salisbury and Dorset Junction Railway.
A custom which survived until 1840 obliged the lord of Fordingbridge during one summer month known as "fence month" to keep the bridge guarded and arrest anyone found taking venison from the New Forest. Significant alterations were made in 1841 when both sides were widened, adding 45 cm to the width of the bridge. The original arches are still visible, being smaller in span than the 19th-century additions. A reinforced concrete footpath on one side was added in 1901 to widen the bridge.
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