Regular spectacular floods near Rowlands Castle | Nostalgia

For today and tomorrow I have taken a trip out of Portsmouth to Rowlands Castle and the border road from it to the village of Finchdean.
By Bob Hind
Published 20th Oct 2020, 14:58 BST
Updated 20th Oct 2020, 15:12 BST
THEN: Dean Lane End, on the road from Rowlands Castle to Finchdean. The road is flooded by the Lavants that rise every seven years without fail. Picture: Barry Cox postcard collection.THEN: Dean Lane End, on the road from Rowlands Castle to Finchdean. The road is flooded by the Lavants that rise every seven years without fail. Picture: Barry Cox postcard collection.
THEN: Dean Lane End, on the road from Rowlands Castle to Finchdean. The road is flooded by the Lavants that rise every seven years without fail. Picture: Barry Cox postcard collection.

I am sure many of you have passed over the railway bridge when on your way to London.

It is believed the photograph was taken in the late 1940s. I think the delivery lorry is a Bedford but I am sure someone will tell me if I’m wrong!

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On the left of the road, staging has been put up to save pedestrians getting their feet soaked.

TODAY: The same spot, a little drier. Picture: Bob HindTODAY: The same spot, a little drier. Picture: Bob Hind
TODAY: The same spot, a little drier. Picture: Bob Hind

SEE ALSO: When the King visited Portsmouth schoolboys

On the right is a deep ditch which took flood water into the surrounding fields.

The railway embankment is clear of shrubs. This was to stop any fires from passing steam engines where hot ash could set fire to the embankments. To the left of the bridge can be seen a gradient post which tells the line is level to the right but a falling gradient to Rowlands Castle station a mile away.

In the modern scene we can see the area has overgrown considerably. The ditch on the right has recently been cleaned. The hedgerow on the left is now part of a cottage with driveway gate. The cottage is behind the camera on the left.

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