Petersfield, Hampshire: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

Petersfield is a market town in the English county of Hampshire, situated on the northern border of the South Downs. The town was founded at the end of the 11th Century. It grew as a coach stop on the Portsmouth to London route, and today is situated on both the main rail and road link between the two cities. Petersfield is twinned with Barentin in France, and Warendorf in Germany.

The artist Flora Twort, the agriculturalist John Worlidge, the actor Alec Guinness, and the cricketer John Small all lived in Petersfield at some point.

Petersfield holds regular markets twice weekly, as well as monthly farmer's markets and 'French Markets' with stalls from Petersfield's twin town Barentin.

The East Hampshire Council offices are in Petersfield.

Petersfield is also the location of well known independent schools Bedales and Churcher's College.

Attractions

Museums

Petersfield boasts the world's first Teddy Bear Museum. There are also several other museums in the town including the Flora Twort Gallery, based in her old studio, and the Petersfield Museum, which is concerned with the history of the town and is situated in the town's old Courthouse.

Nature

Petersfield is surrounded on all sides by countryside and so has a great deal of scenery and foot/bridal paths.

Close to the town and situated on the South Downs is Queen Elizabeth Country Park, which incorporates Butser Hill (the highest point on the downs), and has a wide variety of scenery from chalk hills to pine forest.

Within the town is Petersfield Heath, a large area of heathland with a lake which offers boating and fishing amongst its activities.

Cinema and Theatre

Petersfield's Festival Hall shows many plays and concerts during the year, and there are plans to construct a small cinema in the building.

Pubs and Bars

Petersfield offers a good range of Public Houses and Bars to suit all tastes, from historic coach stops to trendy modern bars, nightclubs and coffee houses.

One famous pub near Petersfield, the Cricketers, is the place where the rules of modern cricket were written down.

Petersfield has a wealth of sporting teams for most sports. Many players have gone on to lead succesful sporting careers, such as footballer Maik Taylor and rugby player Tim Rodber.

• Association Football - Petersfield Town F.C.
• Cricket
• Hockey
• Rugby - Petersfield R.F.C

Petersfield is based both on the mainline rail and road (the A3) link between Portsmouth and London. Another major road, (the A272) runs between Petersfield and Winchester, Hampshire's County Town.

Petersfield is located at 51°00'00" North, 00°56'00" West (51.0000, -0.9333)¹.

Petersfield is situated on the northern border of the South Downs, and Butser Hill, the highest point on the downs is only 3 miles from the town.