Hayling Island - History

History

An iron-age shrine in the north of Hayling Island was later developed into a Roman temple in the first century BC and was first recorded in Richard Scott's Topographical and Historical Account of Hayling Island published in 1826. The site was excavated between 1897 and 1907 and again from 1976 to 1978. Remains are no longer visible and are buried beneath cultivated farmland.

Salt production was an industry on the island from the 11th century (the Domesday Book records a saltpan on the island for this purpose) until the late 19th century.

Construction of Northwode Chapel by the monks of Jumièges, Normandy, began in about 1140 and this became the present St Peter's Church and now the oldest surviving church on the Island. It has been claimed that St Peter's three bells, cast in about 1350, have one of the oldest peals in England. St Mary's Church is a standard design of the churches of its era, but upon close examination the walls have been constructed from a mortar of local shells and beach pebbles. The ancient Yew tree in the churchyard is believed to be the oldest yew in the country, with a girth of some nine metres. Although estimates as to its age vary, they range from over a thousand to nearly two thousand years old.

The grave of Princess Yourievsky (1878-1959) who was a member of the ill-fated Russian Royal family and who lived in North Hayling for many years, may be found in St. Peter's churchyard; and the grave of Scotsman George Glas Sandeman, nephew of the founder of Sandeman Port and second head of that company, is prominently featured in the north-east part of St. Mary's graveyard.

The island was the location of a mock invasion during the military exercise Fabius in May 1944, rehearsing the preparations for D-Day.

In 1982, British courts recognised prior art by Peter Chilvers, who as a young boy on Hayling Island assembled his first board combined with a sail, in 1958. It incorporated all the elements of the modern windsurfer. The courts found that later innovations were "merely an obvious extension" and upheld the defendant's claim based on film footage. This court case set a significant precedent for patent law in the United Kingdom, in terms of Inventive step and non-obviousness. The case, Chilvers, Hayling, and a replica of Chilvers' original board were featured on an episode of the BBC's The One Show in 2009.