Colt Hill

The beginning of the 19th centurysaw a decline in traffic to Basingstoke due to lack of water and hence the increase in local trade to Odiham helped balance the Company's books. In 1804 the Chairman reported a considerable fall in the trade of timber felled at Odiham and Winchfield offset however by a new source of trade which had been "lately opened", with malt and flour from "King's Clear". Further very significant local traffic during the early part of the century was of course chalk from the various pits at Odiham.

In 1813it was reported that the Wharves at Odiham and Winchfield (at this stage not owned by the Company) had fallen into decay in recent years. Robert Bland, the Company's Chairman, visited them in July of that year and commented that they "exhibited a face of distress and desolation and were in want of every kind of convenience...having been for many years in the hands of an indigent and very indolent man". As a result most traffic to Alton and beyond was now going to the Farnham Road Wharf at Aldershot to which point it paid a much lower toll.

As a resultthe Company bought both the Great and Little Wharves for about £1,000 and spent further large amounts on buying the crane and other structures, rebuilding the warehouse, establishing new coal pens and building the Wharfinger's house. These works were completed in the autumn of 1815.

The Great Wharfwas positioned opposite the present day wharf. The Little Wharf was on the south western corner of the bridge between the landing stage at the 'Water Witch' pub and the bridge.

Three specific buildingswere the Wharfinger's house, the stables and the Tally Clerk's Office. The Office was positioned immediately adjacent to the south east of Colt Hill Bridge on the Great Wharf site and the Wharfinger's house and stables are adjacent to the site of Little Wharf.

The construction employedfor the stables in particular was somewhat unusual. The structure is positioned at right angles to the canal and hence built down the slope. The courses of bricks were laid parallel to the slope rather than horizontally!

In the late 1890sa revival of traffic on the canal was brought about firstly by the building of the brickworks (and the 100yd long Brickworks Arm) at Up Nately, and secondly by the shipment of bricks from there, commencing on 13 January 1899. The 'Mabel' left on that date with 15,000 bricks bound for Mapledurwell and Basingstoke. February saw 18,000 bricks dispatched, some of them bound for Odiham. These were samples for local builders' use. This traffic brought about a temporary revival in trade on the canal but due to the poor quality of the bricks the Hampshire Brick and Tile Company went into liquidation in January 1901. This failure sealed the fate of the upper reaches and regular traffic from and to Odiham Wharf ceased about this time. The occasional load of chalk to Woking continued to 1904 however.

The auctioning of the canalin 1949 with the resultant formation of the New Basingstoke Canal Company, from whom the County Councils purchased the canal, saw the sale of various buildings along the canal. Amongst these was the Wharf House at Odiham which was sold for £900! The stables at Little Wharf were retained by the Canal Company however, and so are now owned by Hampshire County Council.
(by Chris de Wet)

(from BC News 119, January 1985)