About Marchwood
Marchwood is a village sat between the New Forest and the River Test, Marchwood has a long history dating back to Roman times indeed a Roman military road is believed to have passed through the village where roman coins have been found at Bury Farm.
The etymology of Marchwood comes from the completely unpronounceable Old English word merecewudu, meaning ‘smallage wood’. Smallage is Old English for wild celery, which was believed to flourish here.
The village became an ecclesiastical parish in 1843 and a civil parish in 1894. By the beginning of the 20th century, there were Government gunpowder magazines and a Metropolitan Police barracks in Marchwood.
A Military Port, was built here during World War II, vital in the Normandy landings. The Royal Navy Ordnance Depot was where the famous Mulberry harbours were made. The port continues to service Britain’s overseas military interests.
Laying outside St John’s Church is the Falklands Memorial commemorating the live of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary personnel lost on RFA Sir Galahad and the damaged RFA Sir Tristram during the 1982 South Atlantic campaign.
The village’s population in the 2011 census was 6,141, the population in the 2021 census was 5,774. The Parish Council aims to maintain and promote a good quality of life for our parishioners of all ages.