St Cross Hospital And Village
The Village
St Cross Hospital
St Cross Church
Contact
The built-up area is low-lying, with a pleasant one-mile level walk into central Winchester that makes it attractive to the elderly. The main group of smaller terraced houses are in St Faith's Road, Clausentum Road and Cripstead Lane. A picturesque district of mixed housing fronts both sides of St Cross Road, Cripstead Lane and Back Street; much of this is at the back of the pavement. It is this housing that retains the "village" feel in spite of the traffic.
The Hospital of St Cross and Almshouse of Noble Poverty has provided accommodation since about 1130, but with a markedly different character to other institutions. The Hospital is a major medieval national monument of distinction and its attraction to tourists is to some extent in conflict with the privacy of the brothers.
On the corner of Cripstead Lane and St Cross Road the White Horse public house has been sympathetically converted to residential use, with a new hanging sign showing a white horse as a background to domestic activities. Opposite the one-time pub the then wine shop is now a house with a new house built on its previous parking area; this might have looked better if a simpler design had been chosen.
The Nancy Harper Nursery
The Nancy Harper Nursery is a privately run pre-school providing sessional care for children between the ages of 2 years 5 months and school age.
It i s located in St Faith’s Parish Hall, Back Street, St Cross, Winchester and are open between the following hours.
Monday to Friday 9 am to 12 noon
(children from 2 years 9 months to school age)
Tuesday & Wednesday 1 am to 3 am
(children 2 years 5 months and 2 years 9 months)
We are registered to receive funding from the LEA for the provision of pre-school education for 3 & 4 year old children.
Visit the web site: The Nancy harper Nursery
Apartment Housing
The large size of a number of houses has led to some flat conversions, a process that is preferable to demolition, especially where a large garden and the front of the house can be kept as existing. A large 3-storey block of thirty flats of banal design has been built in Norman Road; these back onto a commercial garage and there is unfortunately no room for a tree screen between the two. Fifty-four dreary-looking flats have been built near The Grange; these have the merit of being screened from the road by trees. There are twelve flats on the corner of Stanmore Lane and a further ten in Cripstead Lane. The shop at St Cross has recently re-opened. In the past complaints were made about advertising on and around the building, but this is something that must surely be accepted for a shop in this position.
Other Land Uses
On St Cross Road there is The Bell public house; there is a primary school, St Faith's, in St Faith's Road, and St Faith's church hall in Back Street. These and
St Cross Church form the social nucleus of the village. In Gamier Road there is the sewage pumping station; built in 1875, this is an industrial building of some distinction but unfortunately it has lost its chimney; it has now been converted for office use, and one of the pump wheels now makes a distinctive external exhibit. A refuse reclamation depot is at the back; the City Council aim to move it to a more spacious site, which would reduce the present traffic congestion on Gamier Road. There is a builders' yard between the main road and the Hospital, and a petrol station and car dealer further north on St Cross Road. The latter has been smartened up, but the site has potential for residential development. The small commercial garage in Cripstead Lane is very much in scale with the neighborhood and is to be encouraged.
St Cross Writers' Group
St Cross Writers' Group meets locally, every three weeks
Email: info@stcrosswriters.co.uk
Routes, Traffic & Car Parking
St Cross Road is the main route from the south for local traffic coming to Winchester. At present this traffic disturbs what could be a picturesque village. Further development of the Park-&-Ride to the south of the City to provide enough space for shoppers and visitors as well as commuters may help, but it is unlikely that this traffic will ever be sufficiently reduced to create a quiet village centre.
At present parking is in short supply to the east of St Cross Road; on the western side there is limited short stay space in Mead Road for tourists visiting the Hospital.
The footpath from the city to Farley Mount and Salisbury, the Clarendon Way, passes along the water meadows to the Hospital then up Mead Road to the railway and thence into Whiteshute Lane, an ancient trackway cut deep into the ground by years of heavy use.
There is a marked cycle route from Twyford to the city centre. This passes under the M3, along Five Bridges Road (a bridle way) and along St Cross Road to Kingsgate Road, but on the St Cross Road section the cyclists are tangled with the traffic on a busy road as they always have been. Plans for a long distance cycle route through Winchester are being discussed; this might pass along a widened footpath from The College's New Hall past the pumping station and to the east of the Hospital to Five Bridges Road, and this could disturb the quiet walk from the City to St Cross. An alternative route would be from Domum Road along the widened footpath between the embankment and Palmer Field to the Tun Bridge and thence alongside the canal to Five Bridges Road.
Important Viewpoints & Spaces
The land between Clausentum Road and the river to the canal is wetland; behind Back Street there are allotments, and the remaining land to the north, east and south of the Hospital is pasture and two cricket grounds with pavilions. The footpath from the city through this land to Shawford and Twyford provides some recreational facility for people within and outside the district, although to the south of the Hospital the footpath is often very muddy.
St Faith's graveyard is a small open space, perhaps not fully appreciated. It has a number of conifer trees and is used as an unofficial children's play area; falling tombstones could be a danger. The church on this site was lost early in the 16th century, since when the parishioners have worshipped at St Cross.
ABC TODDLER GROUP
Join us on Monday afternoons in
Term time, 2 - 3.15pm,
At St Faiths Parish Hall, Back Street.
Come and enjoy a cup of tea,
With craft, toys and singing
for pre-school
age children. Babies equally welcome!
Phone 842649 if you have
any queries
or just want to find out more
St Cross Village and The Hospital of St Cross Winchester Contact Us
This is a place where you can post your free classified ads
Please use this space for advertising items for sale, comments or anything which you wish to publicise locally at the Village Hall
The Garden Society
Everyone with an interest in gardening is welcome to join our Society.
Every year there are two talks, an open garden afternoon, a visit to a site of botanical interest, and our Annual Show in early September. At the show members exhibit flowers, vegetables, craft work and cookery items. The annual subscription is £2.00 for adults, free for children under 16.
For historical reasons the teams are called
Hursley A and Hursley B
If you'd like to drop in and watch a match, even for a few minutes, you can find Fixture lists here
St Cross Fellowship
St Cross Mens Group
Kitchen Dancers
Mothers Union
Archaeological Dowsers
Map & Directions
Village Clubs
| More The Village |
| Village Diary |
| St Faiths Parish Hall |
| St Cross Fellowship |
| St Cross Mens Group |
| Kitchen Dancers |
| Mothers Union |
| Archaeological Dowsers |
| St Faiths Parish Hall Venue Hire |
| Notice Board |
| St Faiths Appeal |
| More info on Hospital |
| Visiting St Cross |
| Tourist Information |
| The Hospital Shop |
| Becoming A Brother |
| Masters of St Cross |
| A Winter Special |
| Photo Gallerys |
| The Tea Room |
| Contact The Porter |
| The Masters Letter |
| More on St Cross Church |
| Childrens Activities At Church |
| Pastoral Care |
| Useful Links |
| Map & Directions |