Aldershot

For other uses, see Aldershot (disambiguation).

Aldershot
Statue of the Duke of Wellington
Aldershot  Aldershot shown within Hampshire
Population	36,321 (Rushmoor Borough Council data)
OS grid reference	SU865505
– London	42.4 miles (68.2 km)
District	Rushmoor
Shire county	Hampshire
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	ALDERSHOT
Postcode district	GU11 and GU12
Dialling code	01252
Police	Hampshire
Fire	Hampshire
Ambulance	South East Coast
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Aldershot
List of places UK England Hampshire

Aldershot (/ˈɔːldərʃɒt/) is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located on heathland about 37 mi (60 km) southwest of London. The town is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 36,321, while the Aldershot Urban Area, a loose conurbation (which also includes other towns such as Camberley, Farnborough, and Farnham) has a population of 243,344, making it the thirtieth-largest urban area in the UK.

Aldershot is known as the "Home of the British Army", a connection which led to its rapid growth from a small village to a Victorian town. Aldershot is twinned with Sulechów in Poland, Meudon in France and Oberursel in Germany.

History

Church of St Michael the Archangel in Aldershot

The name may have derived from alder trees found in the area (from the Old English 'alder-holt' meaning copse of alder trees). Aldershot was included as part of the Hundred of Crondall referred to in the Domesday Book of 1086. John Norden's map of Hampshire, published in the 1607 edition of William Camden's Britannia, indicates that Aldershot was a market town.

Prior to 1850, Aldershott was little known. The area was a vast stretch of common land, a lonely wasteland unsuitable for most forms of agriculture with scant population. As it existed at the time of the Domesday Survey in 1086, the extensive settlement of Crondall in the north-east corner of Hampshire was certainly Scandinavian, for among the customs of that great manor, which included Crondall, Yateley, Farnborough, and Aldershot, that of sole inheritance by the eldest daughter in default of sons prevailed, as over a large part of Cumberland, and this is a peculiarly Norse custom. In the 18th century, the stretch of the London to Winchester turnpike that passed through Aldershot between Bagshot and Farnham (now known as the Farnborough Road) was the scene of highway robberies. At one time it had "almost as bad a reputation as Hounslow Heath". Dick Turpin is said to have operated in the area having his headquarters nearby in Farnborough, and there were sightings of Springheeled Jack.

In 1854, at the time of the Crimean War, Aldershot Garrison was established as the first permanent training camp for the British Army. This led to a rapid expansion of Aldershot's population going from 875 in 1851, to in excess of 16,000 by 1861 (including about 9,000 from the military). The town continued to grow, reaching a peak in the 1950s.

A substantial rebuilding of the barracks was carried out between 1961 and 1969, by the architecture and engineering firm Building Design Partnership. The work was sped up under Government pressure, and various new building technologies were employed with mixed success.

In 1974 Aldershot and Farnborough Urban Districts were merged to form the Borough of Rushmoor under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972.

After a 2009 campaign, the British Government allowed veteran Gurkha soldiers who had served for more than four years, and their families, to settle in the UK. As many Gurkha soldiers had been based in and around Aldershot, the town fosters a growing Nepalese population. Between the 2001 Census and the 2011 Census, Rushmoor's Nepalese population increased to approximately 6,000 people, making up 6.5% of the overall population. The rise in the Nepalese population led Gerald Howarth, Conservative Member of Parliament for Aldershot, to request government assistance in expanding local public services to meet the needs of the growing population. Howarth was later criticised for suggesting that Nepalese migrants should be dispersed across the UK.

The Aldershot Military Tattoo

The Aldershot Military Tattoo was an annual event dating back to 1894. In the 1920s and '30s, the Aldershot Command Searchlight Tattoo held at the Rushmoor Arena presented displays from all branches of the services, including performances lit by flame torches. At one time the performances attracted crowds of up to 500,000 people. The Tattoo was organised to raise money for military charities. By the end of the 1930s the event was raising around £40,000 annually. The Tattoo's modern format, the Army Show, was cancelled in 2010 by the Ministry of Defence due to budget cuts. It was briefly revived the following year and attracted 20,000 visitors. In 2012, it was styled as the Aldershot Garrison Show, a smaller free event held on Armed Forces Day.

The Army Show was replaced in 2013 with a general Military Festival. Events were held across the town, including an art exhibition, live music, sports events and film screenings.

1972 Aldershot bombing

Main article: Aldershot bombing

On 22 February 1972, Aldershot experienced the first in a series of mainland IRA attacks. Seven people, all civilian support staff, including five catering staff, a gardener, and a Catholic British Army chaplain, were killed in a car bomb attack on the 16th Parachute Brigade headquarters mess. A further 19 people were injured. The bombing was claimed by the Official IRA as revenge for the Bloody Sunday massacre. An area to be developed into a memorial garden was used to mark the 40th anniversary of the bombing in 2012.

Aldershot Military Town

Main article: Aldershot Garrison

Sign for Aldershot Military Town

Aldershot Military Town is located between Aldershot and North Camp near Farnborough. It is a garrison town that serves as the location for the military presence in the area. It houses Aldershot Garrison's married quarters, barracks, Army playing fields and other sporting facilities. The military town includes some local landmarks, such as the Aldershot Observatory, Aldershot Military Cemetery, the Royal Garrison Church and other churches. Until 1993, the town served as headquarters for the Royal Corps of Transport and the Army Catering Corps, until they were merged into the Royal Logistic Corps and moved to Princess Royal Barracks, Deepcut.

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert showed a keen interest in the establishment and development of Aldershot as a garrison town in the 1850s, at the time of the Crimean War. They had a wooden Royal Pavilion built which they would often stay in when attending reviews of the army. In 1860 Albert established and endowed the Prince Consort's Library, which still exists today. To celebrate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897, 25,000 British and Colonial soldiers marched from Laffan's Plain near Farnborough, reviewed by Queen Victoria. Beside the British soldiers marched men from Canada, India, Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

Aldershot Military Town comes under its own military jurisdiction. It was home to the The Parachute Regiment from its formation in 1940 until it moved to Colchester Garrison in 2003. Many famous people have been associated with the Military Town, including Charlie Chaplin who made his first stage appearance in The Canteen theatre aged 5 in 1894, and Winston Churchill, who was based there in the late 19th century during his time in the Army.

The area also houses various military and regimental museums, including the Aldershot Military Museum, housed in a red-brick Victorian barracks. Until December 2007 the Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces Museum was in Aldershot. It has since moved to the Imperial War Museum Duxford.

An outline planning application has been agreed for the redevelopment of some of the former Military Town. The Aldershot Urban Extension will bring some 3850 new homes, two new primary schools, a children's day-care centre, additional secondary school places, community facilities, waste recycling and landscaping to an area of 150 hectares.

In 2013, the MoD announced a £100million investment to expand Aldershot Garrison and bring 750 more service personnel and their families to settle in Aldershot.

Landmarks

Wellington Statue

1st Duke of Wellington astride Copenhagen

Main article: Wellington Statue Aldershot

A statue of the first Duke of Wellington mounted on his horse, Copenhagen, is situated on Round Hill behind the Royal Garrison Church. The statue is 30 feet (9.1 m) high, 26 feet (7.9 m) from nose to tail, over 22 feet (6.7 m) in girth, weighs 40 tons and is intricately detailed including musculature and veins. It was designed and built by Matthew Cotes Wyatt who used recycled bronze from cannons that were captured at the Battle of Waterloo. It took thirty men over three years to finish the project.

Originally, in 1846, the statue was erected at Hyde Park Corner, London on the Wellington Arch. However, Decimus Burton, architect of the arch, had tried to veto this plan for his preferred "figure in a four horse chariot". Many agreed with Decimus Burton that the statue looked ridiculous since it was out of proportion. It was nicknamed "The Archduke" and was a popular topic in the satirical magazine Punch.

Queen Victoria claimed that the statue ruined the view of the skyline from Buckingham Palace, and she privately proposed that the statue be moved. The Duke, who had only sat for the sculptor on two or three occasions, suddenly became very attached to the statue and would not consider its removal from its arch.

In 1883, due to a road widening project, the arch was moved a short distance and then looked down Constitution Hill. The Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII ) wrote to the Prime Minister, Gladstone, "As regards the old colossal statue of the Duke. I would suggest that it should not be broken up but removed to Aldershot where it will be highly valued by the Army".

In 1885, the Prince of Wales handed over the monument to Lieutenant General Anderson, the commander of the Aldershot Garrison.

Aldershot Observatory

Main article: Aldershot Observatory

Aldershot Observatory

The observatory is a circular red-brick building with a domed roof and it stands on Queen's Avenue. Inside is a telescope, 8-inch refractor, mounted on a German-type equatorial mount with a clockwork drive. The telescope and observatory building were a gift from aviation pioneer Patrick Young Alexander to the British Army, a fact which is recorded by a plaque near the observatory door. It reads: "Presented to the Aldershot Army Corps by Patrick Y Alexander Esq 1906".

Transport and communications

The town is close to several major motorways including the M3, A3 and M25, which provide connections to London and the South Coast.

Farnborough Airport – Europe's leading business airport – is 5 miles, London Heathrow is 29 miles, and London Gatwick is 43 miles away.

The railway station and bus station are both situated off Station Road. From the railway station, South West Trains run services to London Waterloo, Alton, Guildford and Ascot.

Aldershot bus station is the terminus for many bus services in the Aldershot Urban Area, it also services buses from further afield.

The majority of the bus services from Aldershot are provided by Stagecoach in Hants & Surrey, with one being provided by Fleet Buzz and a National Express coach between London and Portsmouth twice a day.

Government and infrastructure

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), the British aviation accident investigation agency, is based in the Farnborough House in Aldershot.

Education

There are various schools in Aldershot. These will be joined by two new primary schools being built as part of the Aldershot Urban extension development of 3850 houses. This development will also be served by a further 675 secondary school places being created at the Connaught and Wavell schools.

A mix of infants and juniors, including Park Primary School and St Michael's (C of E). The infant schools are Talavera, Wellington Primary, and Bell Vue Infant School. Junior schools include: Newport County, Talavera, Beaumont County and St Joseph's Primary (Catholic). Aldershot has only one secondary school, The Connaught School (formerly Heron Wood School) though Ash Manor School, Farnham Heath End School, All Hallows Catholic School and The Wavell School are all local. There are also two public schools, Salesian College and Farnborough Hill School in nearby Farnborough.

Leisure and recreation

Following the demolition of the Theatre Royal and Hippodrome theatres in the 1960s, the local council opened its own Prince's Hall in 1973 as an entertainment venue.

Music and dance

Hardcore

The Palace (previously The Palace Cinema, The Rhythm Station, Cheeks, Vox), influenced the rapid growth of the hardcore scene from 1992 to 1995. Weekly events included Fusion (Hectic Records), Tazmania, Slammin' Vinyl and Future World. The club also groomed local talents such as DJ Sharkey, DJ Mystery, DJ Sy, DJ Unknown, Vinylgroover, DJ NS, Hixxy, MC Freestyle, MC Young, MC Smiley and of course the Spyder MC who in 2004 became the voice of carton Spiderman. The location of Aldershot between Southampton and London meant the club became a mecca for Hardcore and it was regularly sold out during this time. At the height of the club's popularity, a teenager's death from a suspected overdose of Ecstasy was the catalyst that saw dance music leaving the club and had a negative impact on the hardcore dance scene in the Aldershot area.

The Beatles in Aldershot

Sam Leach, their then agent, and wanting to become their manager, attempted to introduce The Beatles to London agents by promoting shows at The Palais Ballroom, on the corner of Perowne Street and Queens Road in Aldershot on 9 December 1961. The show was not advertised properly and, as a result, only 18 people attended. The local newspaper, The Aldershot News, failed to publish Sam Leach's advertisement for the show. However, the band and friends had their own fun after the show, including a mock funeral for Paul McCartney. Weeks after this Brian Epstein became the group's manager.

Shopping

Union Street shops

Union Street and Wellington Street at the centre of the town's shopping district were pedestrianised in the 1970s when the Wellington Centre, a covered shopping centre, was built over the site of the town's former open-air market.

In the 1990s the Victorian shopping arcade and various other period buildings in Wellington Street were demolished to allow for the building of an extension to the Wellington Centre known as The Galleries; many of these shops are currently closed pending refurbishment. In 2003, a health check of the town centre concluded that, "Aldershot is experiencing promising signs of revitalisation, particularly in the shopping core".

In 2005, Rushmoor Borough Council documented the percentage of vacant shops at 10%, 8% and 7% respectively for Union Street, the Wellington Centre and Wellington Street.

The Westgate Leisure Park, which opened in 2012–2013 and which fronts onto Barrack Road, includes a Cineworld cinema, a Morrisons supermarket, and several chain restaurants, including Toby Carvery, Harvester, Nando's, Mimosa, Pizza Express, Prezzo and Frankie & Benny's. There is also a Tesco superstore located at the rear of the development.

Parks and open spaces

Aldershot has many parks, playgrounds and open spaces for sport, play and leisure. The legacy of the Army has meant that the land for leisure use, as well as protected areas for flora and fauna, has been preserved over many years.

Sport

Aldershot plays host to many sports facilities such as the Rushmoor Gymnastics Academy, Aldershot Tennis Centre, Aldershot Bowling, Aldershot Pools and Lido, Aldershot Garrison Sports Centre, Connaught Leisure Centre and Alpine Snow Sports (Dry Ski Centre). Formerly the town also hosted short circuit motor racing including speedway and Stock car racing. Greyhound Racing formerly took place at Aldershot Stadium, and Point to point racing at Tweseldown. Famous running club AFD has produced top runners.

Swimming

Opened in 1930, Aldershot Lido is a traditional outdoor leisure pool that contains 1.5 million gallons of water situated on a 10-acre (4.0 ha) site. The original land was a lake that had become overgrown with weeds. It was bought by the Borough Council in 1920 for £21,000 and was the focus of the council's improvement projects for the town. The Lido became an Olympic venue in 1948 when it was the site of the swimming event in the Modern Pentathlon of that year's London Olympic Games. The pool has extensive areas of shallow water for children to play including a large fountain at the centre. It also has a diving area and water slides. There is an adjoining 25 m indoor pool that allows all year round swimming.

Football

Aldershot Town warming up at the Recreation Ground.

The local professional football team is Aldershot Town who compete in the Football Conference. Before 1992 the local club was Aldershot, which folded on 25 March 1992, while playing in the Football League Fourth Division. The current club was formed shortly afterwards and achieved five promotions in its first 16 seasons to return to the Football League in 2008. The previous Aldershot club's biggest success arguably came in 1987, just five years before closure, when they became the first team to win the Football League Fourth Division promotion play-offs, at the expense of a far bigger club – Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Since 1927, the main football ground in the town, and home of both teams, is the Recreation Ground, also known as The Rec. It has a capacity for 7,100, of which 2,000 can be seated.

A number of successful current and former footballers are from the Aldershot area, including Johnny Berry, who was born in the town in 1926. He played for Birmingham City and Manchester United before his playing career was ended by injuries sustained in the Munich air disaster on 6 February 1958. He had won three league title medals with Manchester United. He later returned to Aldershot to run a sports shop with his brother Peter. He continued to live locally until he died in September 1994, at the age of 68.

Other footballers born in Aldershot include Craig Maskell (a striker for clubs including Southampton, Swindon Town and Reading) during the 1980s and 1990s, and Bruce Rioch. Rioch played for clubs including Luton Town, Aston Villa and Derby County before managing clubs including Middlesbrough and Arsenal, but played for the Scotland team during the 1970s due to his ancestry.

On 25 October 2011 Aldershot Town played Manchester United at the Recreation Ground in the League Cup 4th round losing 3–0, their most successful run to date in the Carling Cup.

Cricket

Aldershot Cricket Club is also based in the town. The club shares facilities with Aldershot & Farnham Hockey Club and the Blackwater Valley Runners running and jogging club.

Rugby union

Formerly known as Fleet RUFC, the club started in 1991 as a pub side. The club was renamed Aldershot and Fleet RUFC (A&F) after move in 2003 from Farnborough to their current home Aldershot Park. With an ever expanding juniors section, Aldershot & Fleet were successful in winning the Coveted RFU "Seal of Approval" Club of the Year 2008 for the southern region.

Greyhound racing

Greyhound racing took place regularly at Aldershot Stadium in Tongham during the 1950s.

Stock car racing

Aldershot Stadium was located in Oxenden Road, Tongham and staged Stock Car racing for the first time on 30 October 1954. Together with other short-circuit formulae (including Superstox, Hot Rods, Bangers and Midgets) racing was held regularly (every Thursday evening, every Boxing Day afternoon and later on Saturdays).

The racing took place initially on a loose shale track inside the greyhound track; after Motorcycle speedway racing at the venue ceased the shale track was replaced with a hard tarmaced surface. The track was home to the Aldershot Knights for National League team racing in 1966 and again in 1971 and 1972.

The site was the headquarters for the promoter, Spedeworth International ltd. Major National events at the track were few and far between - the most notable title race contested there being the 1975 British Superstox Championship (27 Sep 1975, won by Steve Monk).

The final meeting at Oxenden Road took place on 21 November 1992. Immediately after this date the site was cleared for construction of the A331 Blackwater Valley Road, which forms a by-pass for Aldershot and Farnborough.

Now, short-circuit motor sport takes place in Aldershot again, at the Aldershot Raceway, Pegasus Village, Rushmoor Arena Founded and named by local man and ex short circuit racing driver Malcolm Roberts, his wife Gwen and their children in memory of and following the death of their eldest son, also Malcolm, a short circuit motor racing enthusiaist. The site is now operated by Spedeworth, whilst the Roberts family relocated to a new circuit in Aldermaston, West Berks, still employing their original operating name of Fleet Motor Club.

Speedway racing

Circa 1929, a track operated at a stadium in Boxalls Lane. Speedway returned to Aldershot in 1950 at the local greyhound stadium. The Shots featured in the lower echelons of the sport up to 1960.

Olympics

Aldershot hosted three of the five events in the modern pentathlon at the 1948 London Olympics. The swimming was held in Aldershot Lido, Maida Gymnasium hosted the fencing, and the cross-country equestrian event was held at Tweseldown. All of the Olympic equestrian events, excluding the Prix des Nations, were also held at Aldershot. It was announced on 15 January 2008 that the Aldershot Military Town had been chosen as the official training camp for the British Olympic team ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games in London, though a short while after it was announced that Team GB would be training abroad.

Media

The local press are the Aldershot News & Mail, a broadsheet, and the Surrey-Hants Star Courier, a free tabloid. The local BBC TV news is BBC South Today. Aldershot is covered on BBC radio by BBC Surrey (which covers Surrey & North-East Hampshire on 104.6FM). The Independent Local Radio stations are 96.4 Eagle Radio, broadcasting contemporary music, and Eagle Extra, which broadcasts pop classics. BFBS Radio also broadcasts from a studio on Middle Hill on 102.5FM as part of its UK Bases network.

Politics

Aldershot is divided into the following wards:

• Rowhill: southwest of the town.
• Wellington: west of the town together with the northern half of the town centre.
• Manor Park: south of the town and the southern half of the town centre.
• Aldershot Park: southeast of the town.
• North Town: northeast of the town.
• St Marks: north of the town and parts of Farnborough.

Wellington Ward is quite unique, as it combines the most compact urban parts of the town northern part of the town centre, much of the military town and a very large acreage of unpopulated woodlands, forests and heathland.

The town is represented in parliament through the Aldershot constituency. The current MP is Gerald Howarth (Conservative), with a majority in May 2015 of 14,901 (32.1%). Of the 39 councillors on Rushmoor Borough Council, 18 represent the six wards that cover Aldershot. Of these councillors elected since the last local elections in May 2015, ten are Conservative and eight are Labour.

Notable residents

• Martin Freeman, actor in The Office and The Hobbit
• Ian McDonald, footballer/manager
• Amelle Berrabah, singer, songwriter and former member of the Sugababes
• Holly Aird, actress known for her role in Waking The Dead.

Further information: List of people from Aldershot

In literature

Rudyard Kipling referenced Aldershot in his poem "Gunga Din".

You may talk o' gin and beer

When you're quartered safe out 'ere,

An' you're sent to penny-fights an' Aldershot it;

But when it comes to slaughter

You will do your work on water,

An' you'll lick the bloomin' boots of 'im that's got it.

Sir John Betjeman also mentions Aldershot in the poem "A Subaltern's Love Song"

Miss J. Hunter Dunn, Miss J. Hunter Dunn,

Furnish'd and burnish'd by Aldershot sun,

What strenuous singles we played after tea,

We in the tournament – you against me!

Love-thirty, love-forty, oh! weakness of joy,

The speed of a swallow, the grace of a boy,

With carefullest carelessness, how gaily you won,

I am weak from your loveliness, Joan Hunter Dunn.

Betjeman also wrote the poem 'Aldershot Crematorium' after attending a funeral at the town's Park Crematorium.

Aldershot appears as Quartershot in Thomas Hardy's novels.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle set the short story The Adventure of the Crooked Man in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes in Aldershot. Holmes suspects a deformed beggar knows what caused Colonel James Barclay's sudden death during an argument with his wife.

P. G. Wodehouse set several episodes of his early school stories in Aldershot, at a convocation of British public school athletes. He refers to the Queen's Avenue gymnasium as the site of the boxing matches there. He mentions this convocation in The Gold Bat, The White Feather, and The Pothunters.

Aldous Huxley mentions Aldershot in Eyeless in Gaza

Location filming

The barrack scenes in the 1968 film The Charge of the Light Brigade starring David Hemmings and Trevor Howard were filmed at the old West Cavalry Barracks (now largely demolished). The gates of the West Cavalry Barracks also stood in as the prison gates for the 1960 film Two-Way Stretch starring Peter Sellers, Wilfrid Hyde-White and Lionel Jeffries.

Due to its architecture, Bruneval Barracks in Montgomery Lines was chosen as the location for snowy scenes in Kazan, Russia at the end of the 2009 James Bond film Quantum of Solace. Parts of Aldershot's military training area were also used for the opening sequence in the 2002 James Bond film Die Another Day.

The Montgomery Lines were again used for Brad Pitt's new film World War Z based on the novel by Max Brooks. Filming began 1 September 2011.

See also

• List of army barracks around Aldershot
• Aldershot Military Cemetery
• Aldershot Cemetery, the town's civil cemetery
• Aldershot Crematorium
• St Joseph's Church, Aldershot
• Church of St Michael the Archangel

External links

• Rushmoor Borough Council
• The Aldershot Tattoo
• The Aldershot Civic Society
• Aldershot Military Museum
• Aldershot Library Military Collection