Flashback: The tale of travelling homes in Basingstoke

This separation work has meant that some caravans have been turned from their original angle by up to 10 degrees to allow the owners and occupiers more space between each other, and to fulfil the rules and regulations that have recently been announced by Parliament for all caravan parks.

Attwood Close was established in 1961, on land that was originally used as allotments, with room for 80 caravans.

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The local council, in its wisdom, decided that the sight of caravans dotted around the town on patches of green areas was making Basingstoke untidy, so the councillors agreed to allow this part of the town to be used for those who could not afford the price of a house or rental of any brick-built home.

Within a few months, the caravan site was built with all the necessary facilities, and was occupied by people of all ages who were happy with their rental fee.

Within a few years, the park found that it was being used for car parking by employees of the Thornycroft factory, which was opposite the caravan site. In March 1965, the local council was asked by some of the residents to put up “No waiting” signs, as these “intruders” were blocking the lanes to their homes.

Thornycroft later informed their staff to keep away from the caravans and instructed them to park in the company’s car park.

The name of Attwood Close comes from the Attwood family, who lived in Basingstoke for several centuries.

In the 18th century, Anne Attwood was the leaseholder of all the college lands in the town, while, during that period, Roger Attwood was a brandy merchant. By the 1820s, one Abraham Attwood was a tailor, while in the 1840s, William Attwood was a butcher and Samuel Attwood was a shopkeeper who dealt with groceries and sundries.

The latter has become well-known for his diary, which he kept throughout the 19th century, in which he recorded many of the changes that took place in Basingstoke during that time.

By the 1880s, Joseph Attwood was a bookseller in Castons Road. In more recent years, Arthur Attwood became known as a reporter and local historian for this newspaper.

The word caravan comes from groups of salesmen who used to travel together on camels and mules across European and Asian countries, and used mobile wagons to sleep in.

Over the years, these wagons were converted into more comfortable vehicles and became known as caravans.

By the 10th century, gypsy communities from India, arriving in Europe, had similar vehicles to live in, pulled by horses.

From then on, until the late 19th century, these mobile homes were used for transport by various travellers, including circus people.

The first use of a caravan for touring purposes was in 1885, when the Bristol Wagon Company was asked by Dr Gordon Stable to build a special vehicle so that he could travel around Britain, accompanied by his valet and a coachman.

The first motorised caravan was built in 1902, at a cost of £3,000, in Paris for Dr Lehwess, a German who intended to drive around the world. He left London in April 1902, and travelled across Europe to Russia.

But upon reaching St Petersburg, the vehicle broke down, due to cracked cylinders, and it was abandoned in a snowdrift.

From 1903 onwards, a Manchester firm began to produce 30hp motor caravans and these became quite popular, but the Motor Year Book for 1905 criticised them in a statement which said that they were “for those misguided folk who imagine that motoring has something to do with carrying your home about with you”.

As the motorcar’s popularity grew, so people bought or hired caravans from firms which advertised in various publications. These more modern designs had kitchens, lighting and sanitation, as well as bedrooms and living rooms. Farmers realised the financial benefits of letting “caravanners” use their fields, and, soon, official caravan parks were provided by local councils.

In Basingstoke, there were several caravan parks around the town in the years after the Second World War.

The “Travellers’ Rest”, on the corner of Basing Road and Eastrop Lane, was run by Jesse Cole, who advertised in 1952 as Wessex Caravans. His son Alfred took over the business when his father died, and when the area was acquired for the construction of Eastrop Park in July 1970, the site closed down.

The Bridge Caravan Park, in Winchester Road, was established in 1952, by Mr and Mrs Tate, and over the years, some 70 caravans were situated there. It closed down in August 1967, when the land was partly needed for the ring road system and roundabout.

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Another caravan park was established on the corner of Cranbourne Lane and the Harrow Way, on the bypass, on land that once had part of the Alton Light Railway built on it. It is now used for commercial units.

This column was originally published in The Gazette in March 2008. It was written by Robert Brown, a former photographer, columnist and historian at The Gazette. He died on March 25, 2019.

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