A walk around the Town has a lot to offer, and that includes the
newcomer or the established  inhabitant.
A good place to start is The Square facing South West.
1.
Walk down the route of one of the oldest tracks in the Town, which
goes back to the pre-historic times, when it brought salt and pottery
from the coast. Sheep Street most probably got its name from the
Ship Inn or as a corruption of Cheap Street, similar to Cheapside
in London.
2.
You now find yourself in The Spain, a picturesque enclave of pleasant
houses which are thought to have been roofed with spaynes or tiles
to lessen the likelihood of fire which plagued the thatched roofs
of the poorer dwellings. It once served as a subsidiary to the main
Market Square, where farm carts owners used to lime-wash their carts
in order to prevent the spread of infections.
3.
Turn right and pass out of The Spain where the road narrows, by
a house named Tully’s, turning into Borough Road, and take
a fork to the right up a footpath. At this fork you are where two
pre-historic tracks, the one from Winchester and the other from
the coast, met before joining those that came from the east and
the north. This is how Petersfield came about!
4.
The path you are walking is traditionally called The Borough and
leads to Borough Hill. (Did the path lead to a fortification for
the Town?) When you come to a junction with a right angled bend
in the road, turn right down what is now called Borough Hill. It
used to be called  Frenchman’s
Lane and is thought to be where, in the 1700s, French prisoners
of war were accommodated in the open field to your right. Close
by there are clues to the justification of that claim. Carry on
walking either down the field or the lane, and turn right where
you meet the road.
5.
Soon you will come to Petersfield Hospital which is opposite the
Town’s Fire Station; in the Fire Station is the bell which
used to summon the firemen of Petersfield to duty.
6.
At the cross roads turn right and take note of the Forge on the
corner. (If it is made of iron or steel it can most probably be
made in there!)
7.
Follow the road round to the left and you are back in The Spain
8.
Take a look at the houses on your left and see the grandeur of some
and the yeoman nature of the other. The white house used to be a
much-frequented public house. It was named The Bricklayers Arms.
9.
 Another
turn to the left and you are in Sheep Street with its lovely old
houses, some timber framed and dating back to the 1500s.
And now back to where we started in The Square, (the site of the
Town’s twice weekly markets), the Petersfield Library, the
Post Office, the statue of King William III, and on the first Sunday
in the month, a very popular Farmers’ Market.
Tourist Information Centre
The Town has a T.I.C. which can give details of accommodation
in the area and has a wealth of information of interest to the visitor
or the local inhabitant. Run by Tourism South East in partnership
with East Hampshire District Council, it is situated just inside
the Library on the west side of The Square. Tel No 01730 268829.
Opening hours are:-
Mon-Tues-Weds-Thurs & Fri 9.00am - 5.00pm
Sat 9.30am - 1.00pm
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