NOSTALGIA: Anyone remember Hayling swing bridge working?

Queen Victorias statue being moved 100 yards to her present position in Guildhall Square in the early 1970s.

I recently bought a copy of London’s Lost Route to the Sea by PAL Vine and there is a section about the wadeway that locals used and which connected the village to Hayling Island.

When the company wanted to dredge the harbour they had to remove part of the wadeway so a bridge was built. It opened on September 8, 1824.

The book says that in the middle of the bridge was a swing bridge which allowed sea traffic to get from the east side of the harbour to the west side and thus get to Milton locks in Portsmouth.

In this 1907 diagram we can see that the pedestrian/road Hayling bridge also had a swing bridge like on the railway Langstone bridge.

Can anyone remember the swing bridge being in use?

To differentiate between the two bridges I see that the railway bridge was called Langstone bridge and the road bridge Hayling Bridge.

•There was a time when the Leigh Park estate boasted enough pubs for a pub crawl, even though it meant a bit of a stroll between them.

If you started at the Prince of Wales in Bedhampton on a summer’s evening, a 15-minute stroll would take you to the Cricketers alongside Stockheath common.

jpns 160518 rw

The former wooden trestle bridge across Langstone Harbour.
The wooden trestle bridge across Langstone Harbour. The swing bridge can just be seen.
Picture: Ralph Cousins collection. — jpns 160518 rw The former wooden trestle bridge across Langstone Harbour. The wooden trestle bridge across Langstone Harbour. The swing bridge can just be seen. Picture: Ralph Cousins collection.

From there a walk across the common would bring you to the Greyhound in Park Parade.

If you visited that pub in the mid-1960s you might catch the Southern Dance Orchestra who used the pub as a rehearsal room, much to everyone’s enjoyment.

From there you could walk to the Wheatsheaf in Botley Drive and then up to the Swallow at the junction of Dunsbury Way and Middle Park Way.

If you had still not had your fill then a walk to what was once known as West Leigh Crossroads brought you to the Rover Inn now called the Heron.

The Fox at West Leigh, Havant. There was a time when there were many pubs on the Leigh Park estate. Most, like The Fox, have closed.

Still not slaked your thirst? Then stagger on to Prospect Farm an area of Leigh Park now called West Leigh. This pub was called the Fox in Prospect Lane. It is now a convenience store. Perhaps then a taxi might be called to take you to the recently closed Curlew in Petersfield Road.

By now I should think you have had your fill so another stroll along Leigh Road and into Havant for an Indian or Chinese would end the evening nicely.

•To make room for the Central Library in the early 1970s, Queen Victoria’s statue was moved 100 yards or so to her present position in Guildhall Square.

Here we see her being lowered on to her new dais outside the civic offices.