Open Spaces
Open Spaces in Compton & Shawford
The Parish Council was asked to identify publicly accessible open spaces within the parish under the following six headings: Allotments, Equipped children’s play areas, Informal green space, Natural green space, Parks and recreation grounds, outdoor sports.
Note that while some areas containing footpaths have been included explicitly, there are many other footpaths through and skirting the parish, including historic trails such as the Monarch's Way, the Clarendon Way and the Itchen Way.
Usage notes: You can view the various open space areas by selecting different overlays in the green box on the map below.
Note: The borders of the various areas are as accurate as we could readily make them with the tools available. They should be treated as indicative and not as definitive.
At certain zoom levels, roads are shown wider than their true scale. In particular, this has the side effect that the Hockley Viaduct outline can appear to overlay the road. If you zoom in, its location is shown more accurately.
Scroll down to see details about the open spaces in the table below the map.
Map of Open Space areas
Click on a name below the map to zoom in on that place
- Shawford Down
- Sparrowgrove Woods
- Queen Elizabeth II Playing Field
- Memorial Playing Field and children's play area
- The Knoll
- Bushfield Camp
- Butterfly Reserve
- South Winchester Park and Ride
- Compton Lock
- Yew Tree woods
- Southdown path
- Hockley Viaduct
Compton & Shawford Open Space Areas
Scrollable list of Open Space Areas in Compton & Shawford.Note that while some areas containing footpaths have been included explicitly, there are many other footpaths through and skirting the parish, including historic trails such as the Monarch's Way, the Clarendon Way and the Itchen Way.
| Area | Category | Owner /managed by (if known) | Comments | Link (there may be other relevant links) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Memorial Playing Field | Outdoor sports | Compton & Shawford Parish Council | The Memorial Playing Field was acquired after the Second World War thanks to the generosity of a local landowner. It is leased to the Compton & Shawford Sports Club and used for football, cricket and tennis with a multi-use games area due for completion in December 2013 | CSPC Sport & Leisure |
| 2 | MPF Play Area | Equipped children’s play area | Compton & Shawford Parish Council | The children's play area was formally fenced off and new equipment installed in 2001 | July 2001 PC meeting report |
| 3 | QE II Playing Field | Outdoor sports | Compton & Shawford Parish Council | Purchased from the City Council in the 1980 for the benefit of local residents and made part of the Jubilee Fields In Trust scheme on 2013. The small football pitch is well used by local young people and by some who come from outside the parish. | New goalposts in Compton Street playground |
| 4 | QE II Play Area | Equipped children’s play area | Compton & Shawford Parish Council | New Open-Space-funded play equipment was installed in 2002 and has been updated several times since. | Queen Elizabeth II Playing Field Opening |
| 5 | Shawford Down | Natural green space | HCC Countryside Services | A Natural England Local Nature Reserve. It was fenced a few years ago to allow HCC Countryside Services to use highland cattle as an environmentally-friendly way to keep the grass under control. The highland cattle were much appreciated by many residents and visitors. | natural England website |
| 6 | Bushfield Camp | Informal green space | The Church Commissioners | This large 43 hectare area forms an important open space lying mostly within the parish of Compton & Shawford. The Parish Council took the view that the area occupied during the war by Bushfield Camp is a brownfield site and so did not support the move by the Bushfield Down Supporters Group to seek Village Green status for the whole area. 20 hectares are identified as an employment site under the Winchester City Council Local Plan, with the undeveloped part of the site to be reserved for public recreational purposes. | WCC - Bushfield Camp |
| 7 | Sparrowgrove | Natural green space | Sparrowgrove and Oakwood Copse Conservation Trust (SOCCT) | Sparrowgrove (and Oakwood Copse in the adjoining parish of Otterbourne) were sold off by Southern Water after its privatisation. Local residents formed SOCCT with the specific objective of acquiring these two important woodlands and preserving them for public enjoyment. | SOCCT |
| 8 | The Knoll | Informal green space | HCC Countryside Services | The Knoll was formed after the rearrangement of land following the construction of the M3 around Winchester. Highland cattle were grazed there for a while. | |
| 9 | Compton Lock | Natural green space | Compton Lock and the open areas of Twyford Mead on the eastern bank of the Itchen Navigation are an important recreational asset for residents of our parish and in particular Shawford. While most of the recreational area lies within Twyford parish, the wooded pathway to Compton Lock from the end of Bridge Lane is an asset within our parish that needs to be preserved. | Twyford PC website | |
| 10 | Yew Tree Woods | Natural green space | HCC? | This wooded area with paths passing ancient yew trees – together with the footpaths leading to and from it – are an area much valued by walkers and an important pedestrian link between the village of Compton and the settlement of Compton Down. | Ancient Yew walk description |
| 11 | Yew Hill Butterfly Reserve | Natural green space | Most, if not all of the reserve lies outside the civil parish of Compton and Shawford. It is however, surrounded on three sides by the civil parish and, surprisingly, completely contained within the ecclesiastical parish of Compton. It is an important habitat for chalk land butterflies. There are excellent views down the valley of Compton village and in the distance Twyford church can be seen. | Butterfly Conservation website | |
| 12 | Hockley Viaduct | Parks and recreation grounds | Winchester City Council/ SUSTRANS | The refurbishment of the viaduct and its opening in February 2013 as part of NCN route 23 have confirmed the viaduct's position as an important recreational feature of the parish | WCC writeup of Cycle Route 23 |
| 13 | Southdown path to station | Bridleway | During October 2011, a party of residents together with British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV) opened up the track at the foot of Shawford Down which follows the railway south and meanders up to the bottom of Southdown Road. This route is now fully accessible and offers great views across the water meadows. Following representation from the Parish Council, in 2019 this path was defined by Hampshire County Council as a public bridleway, path number Compton & Shawford 506. | CS PC 2012 Annual Report | |
| 14 | Winchester South Park and Ride Cycle Track | Parks and recreation grounds | Winchester City Council | Officially opened by Cllr Rob Humby, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Sport at Winchester City Council, at a special event on Sunday 17 November 2013 | WCC Press release |