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Petersfield is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is north of Portsmouth. The town has its own railway station on the Portsmouth Direct line, the mainline rail link connecting Portsmouth and London. Situated below the northern slopes of the South Downs, Petersfield lies wholly within the South Downs National Park.
The town is on the crossroads of well-used north–south (formerly the A3 road which now bypasses the town) and east–west routes (today the A272 road) and it grew as a coach stop on the Portsmouth to London route. Petersfield is twinned with Barentin in France, and Warendorf in Germany.
The town was founded during the 12th century by William FitzRobert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester, later chartered by his widow, Hawise de Beaumont, and confirmed by charter in 1198 from "John, Count of Mortain" (later to be King John). In 1415 King Henry V granted the burgesses of Petersfield freedom from toll, stallage, picage, pannage, murage, and pontage throughout the realm of England. All charters are preserved in the archive files at Petersfield Town Council.
The town grew in prosperity due to its position on frequently travelled routes, local sheep farming, and cottage industries including leather and cloth. There were weekly markets in the town square for sheep, horse and cattle trading, and two annual fairs, in June (on the feast of St Peter and St Paul) and November (on the feast of St Andrew). An autumn fair which began in the early 19th century was held in October on The Heath, called "The Taro Fair".
The town's market square has an 18th-century equestrian statue of King William III by John Cheere. The king is mounted and the statue is on an engraved plinth. It is one of only five statues of William in the United Kingdom outside Northern Ireland (the others being in Glasgow, Brixham, Hull and Bristol) and, as such, attracts bands of marching Orange Order in mid-July to commemorate William's victory at the Battle of the Boyne.
The town is surrounded on all sides by farmed countryside, with the South Downs south of the town, the Hampshire Downs to the west, and forested hills (Durford Wood) to the north east.
The town is a centre for exploring the South Downs National Park.
Close to the town and situated on the South Downs is Queen Elizabeth Country Park, which incorporates Butser Hill (270 metres), and has a variety of scenery including chalk hills, beech woodland and pine forest. The Hangers Way footpath starts from the country park, goes to Buriton, through Petersfield and in to Alton.
On the south east side of the town is Petersfield Heath, of including woodland, grassland, a pond, and a picnic and recreation area. Petersfield Heath is a Site of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI). It also contains 21 Bronze Age Tumulus which have resulted in the site being given Scheduled Ancient Monument status.
Heathland is very rare throughout Europe and Petersfield Heath is a typical heathland mosaic of micro habitats. Across the site are sandy heath and acid heath areas, grassland and scrub which gives the area diverse zones for insects, reptiles, birds and small mammals.
Petersfield Heath is at one end of "The Serpent Trail", a walk through heath and downland of Hampshire and West Sussex to Haslemere.
Petersfield Cemetery, situated in Ramshill, was opened in 1857.
Free festivals are held throughout the year. The Petersfield Spring Festival over the May Bank Holiday weekend, the Petersfield Summer Festival over the August Bank Holiday weekend and the Petersfield Christmas Festival Market on the first Sunday in December. These are organised by a Community Interest Company called "Petersfield Community Events, based in the town.
The town also plays host to an annual "Scooter Sunday" festival, a mod-themed event which sees several hundred scooter riders gather in the square and live music. The event is organised by The Five Fifteen, a local menswear retailer.
Petersfield has a small volunteer-run community garden, 'The Good Life (Petersfield) Community Garden', situated on the edge of the town next to Sheet railway crossing; the garden is open to members (membership is free).
Petersfield Youth Theatre was formed in 1990 and performs annually at the Festival Hall, as well as delivering projects throughout the year. The artistic director is Nik Ashton, the associate director of Matilda the Musical.
Winton Players was formed in 1947 and is one of the longest running Amateur Dramatics Societies in Petersfield. They are perhaps best known for their yearly pantomime which takes places at the Festival Hall.
The Petersfield Shakespeare Festival takes place every July in the grounds of Bedales School in Steep. Its productions are professionally staged and are augmented with performers from the local community. The artistic director is theatre director Jake Smith.
Petersfield was once home to the world's first Teddy Bear Museum, which opened in 1984. It closed at the end of 2006, and is now a private house.
The Salvation Army has been in Petersfield since 1886 and has been situated in Swan Street since 1924. The hall is open most days with various community activities, serving the community in the traditional ways of the Salvation Army.
The Evangelical fellowship meets at the Herne Farm Leisure Centre on the eponymous estate, the Religious Society of Friends in the Voluntary Centre, High Street.
Life Church Petersfield, formerly Petersfield Christian Fellowship, has an office in Chapel Street and meets in the Methodist Church Hall located in Station Road.
Petersfield has cycling groups including a local Cycling UK group and The Petersfield Mountain Bikers.
At a county level, Petersfield is part of Hampshire County Council.
At a district level, Petersfield is part of East Hampshire District Council (EHDC). Before the creation of the EHDC in 1983, the town had been represented through the Petersfield constituency.
At a town level, Petersfield is represented through the Petersfield Town Council.
The Town Mayor of Petersfield currently exists as a ceremonial role and the mayoral term length is currently one year.
Petersfield stood at a major crossroads until the A3 London to Portsmouth road was bypassed to the west of the town. The A272 bypasses the town via the A3 and a link road to Sheet on its route between Winchester, Hampshire's county town, and Heathfield, East Sussex.
Petersfield lacks a state-sector sixth-form. Pupils normally continue their education at Havant and South Downs College, Bohunt School or Alton College.
The former Moreton House School in the town centre was bought by Churcher's College in 1993 to become Churcher's College Junior School, but it soon outgrew these premises and subsequently relocated to Liphook. The old Moreton House school site was converted to housing.
Local radio stations are BBC Radio Solent and Heart South; Delta FM was the local radio station for the area until 2010 when it merged with Kestrel FM from Basingstoke. It became The Breeze in December 2012. That station was closed in September 2020 and replaced by a national service, Greatest Hits Radio. A local volunteer group tested the potential for a non-profit community radio service in January 2019 and began making local speech podcasts that year. In August 2020 it started a 24-hour local radio service for Petersfield called Petersfield's Shine Radio. The service broadcasts online. ITV News Chief Correspondent Richard Gaisford is among the project's supporters.
Petersfield has three weekly newspapers, The Petersfield Messenger, Petersfield Post and Petersfield Herald. There is a monthly community magazine, Life in Petersfield.
Rubber products were manufactured in the town from 1919 to the 1980s, making parts for footwear, and in the 1930s sets of interlocking bricks as construction toys, marketed as Minibrix, pre-dating the plastic versions created by Lego.
Jamie Campbell Bower, Arthur Brough, Tamsin Egerton, Alex Lawther and Miranda Hart were all born or live in Petersfield, as are the BBC Radio 4's soap opera The Archers actors Charles Collingwood (Brian Aldridge) and Edward Kelsey (Joe Grundy). Sir Alec Guinness and his wife are buried at St Peter's Church in Petersfield and lived in Kettlebrook Cottage in Steep a village next to Petersfield.
In the music world, conductor Kathleen Merritt (who lived at Bridge House in the centre of town), opera director Ella Marchment, tenor Wilfred Brown, Sir William Henry Harris and composer Michael Hurd have connections to the town. Mark Owen of Take That lives in Petersfield.
Children's author Michelle Magorian lives in Petersfield. Author Ursula Moray Williams (1911–2006) was born there and John Wyndham (1903–1969), who wrote Day of the Triffids, lived in the town. H. G. Wells also had links to the town, and The Old Drum public house bears a blue plaque commemorating his regular dining and writing at the site.
Vice Admiral Sir Stuart Bonham Carter (1972) and Sir Percy Wyn-Harris, mountaineer and Governor of The Gambia (1979) died in Petersfield. Victoria Cross holder Commander Loftus William Jones, killed at the Battle of Jutland, was born in Petersfield. From the citation:
Arthur Chandler, Bishop of Bloemfontein, retired to Petersfield where he died in 1939."A history of Christianity in Petersfield: the stories of the local churches": Petersfield, Petersfield Area Historical Society, 2001 Monograph No 4 ISSN 0262-5970 Christopher Lowson, Bishop of Lincoln, was vicar of Petersfield from 1991 to 1999.
In the sporting world, John Small, shopkeeper, cobbler, and Hambledon cricketer is buried in the churchyard of St Peter's. Footballer Calum Chambers was born in Petersfield in 1995. John Westwood, a notable football fan, lives in the town and is a partner in Petersfield Bookshop, which has two Royal Warrants and celebrated its centenary in 2018. Erika Roe, known for streaking at Twickenham in 1982, was working at the bookshop at the time.
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