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What's the story here?

Warsash is situated on the east bank of the River Hamble, immediately adjacent to the entrance. The small village is made conspicuous by the Harbour Master's Office tower, a distinctive conjoined pair of round towers circled by two black bands and a flagstaff, that fronts its riverside. Hamble Harbour Master holds jurisdiction of the river, within the limits best seen on a chart, on behalf of Hampshire County Council.




The Harbour Master offers three potential berthing options:

• • The Harbour Master's jetty at Warsash with a draft of 1.8 metres chart datum.


• • A midstream pontoon at the entrance supporting drafts of over 4 metres LAT.


• • The Harbour Master's jetty at Hamble with a draft of 1.5 metres chart datum.

The River Hamble provides a draft of no less than 3 metres chart datum to all of the Harbour Master's berths.

The Hamble Harbour Master strictly allocates berths in the order in which visitors arrive. The only exception to the first-come, first-served rule is in the case of rallies that may be accommodated in advance. It is therefore advisable to make contact in advance of arrival so that the Harbour Master can advise on the current availability. Likewise, it may be helpful to call well in advance to avoid times when they are likely to be overwhelmed by rallies or special events. In most cases, they find a way to accommodate their visitors.




Harbour Master +44 1489 576387, Ch. 68 [Hamble Harbour Radio]. The office in Warsash is open from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, daily. If the office is unavailable, Hamble Patrol operates in the summer, from April 1 to September 30, from 6:30 am to 10:00 pm, and in winter, from October 1 to April 30, from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm. The patrol is available on +44 7718 146380 or +44 7718 146381.

Daily Visitor Berthing [2025]:

• • Summer (April 1 - October 31): £3.50 per metre per night


• • Winter (November 1 - March 31): £3.00 per metre per night

Weekley Visitor Berthing [2025]:

• • Summer: £3.50 per metre per night (calculated as 6 nights x daily rate)


• • Winter: £3.00 per metre per night (calculated as 6 nights x daily rate)

Short Stay Berthing (Up to 4 hours):

• • Up to 6 metres: £8 (Summer/Winter)


• • Over 6 metres to 12 metres: £10 (Summer), £9 (Winter)


• • Over 12 metres: £12 (Summer), £11 (Winter)

At Warsash Jetty, electricity and water are typically included in the fees. The peak season is summer, from April 1 to October 31, and the off-peak season is winter, from November 1 to March 31.


All Harbour Master berths may be used freely for quick set-downs or pickups. No charge will be made for stays of up to 30 minutes provided the berths are available and the vessel is not left unattended.

How to get in?

Guidance, tide timers, and waypoints to Southampton Waters are provided in the Western Approaches to The Solent and the run-up to Southampton or the Eastern Approaches to The Solent and the run-up to Southampton . Approaches, tide timers, and waypoints for the run-up the river as far as Bursledon Bridge, the effective head of navigation for most sailing craft, are covered in the Navigating the River Hamble .




The Harbour Master's visitor's pontoon is the first mid-stream pontoon encountered immediately to port of the main fairway, between Warsash and Hamble Point Marina. The first pile has red/green/red striping, followed by distinctive blue piles, numbered B1–B6, and is marked 'Visitors'. By night, its head pile exhibits a light off its southern end, Fl(2+1)R.10s 2M.




Land by tender at the Warsash Jetty in front of the Harbour Master's office, at the Harbour Master's Jetty at Hamble or on the public hard. Alternatively, a River Taxi service is available on and may be contacted by +442380454512, +44 7720 438402 or by Ch. 77 [Hamble Water Taxi]. Contact is preferred by phone.




The Harbour Master's Warsash Jetty is the third jetty projecting from the east entrance point of the river. The first is Warsash Sailing Club's pier, the second is the Lobster Quay, which is reserved for fishing boats. The Harbour Master's jetty is made evident by its gangplank leading across to the foot of its conspicuous tower. All the piers exhibit a light at night, and the Harbour Master's jetty has two, one from the southwest face of the jetty and the other from its north end.




Visitors may berth on both sides of the Harbour Master's Warsash Jetty's hammerhead and the inner southern finger. The inner and northern fingers are reserved, as is the inner side of the inner third of the southern finger. The minimum depth that can be expected at this jetty is about 1.8 metres LAT.





The Harbour Master's jetty at Hamble, officially Hamble-Le-Rice, is located just below the RAF Yacht Club on the west side of the river and a ⅓ of a mile north-westward of the Warsash Jetty. It is a single hammerhead-shaped pontoon jetty extending into the river from the quay. Lights are displayed at its northern and southern ends at night. The harbour master prefers visitors to come alongside the outside of the pontoon, as the river ferry uses the inside berths.




Significant caution is needed when berthing in the Hamble River on the ebb. This is particularly true during Springs when the 'river effect', caused by a very rapid initial tidal drop, is intensified by the Solent's double high 'tidal stand', which allows only 3-4 hours for the ebb to complete its cycle. The combination of the 'stand' and 'river effect' results in a disproportionately sudden and intense first ebb flush that is best avoided when coming alongside, or if the skipper chooses to proceed, requires close attention from the helmsman.




Likewise, be alert for strong cross currents when passing between the marina's pontoon heads. These currents will not remain constant as the depth decreases into the marina area, and in some cases, the tidal flow may even decrease.




It is helpful to know the berth orientation in advance; if there is a stream, it is easier to approach against the tide. Therefore, having prior knowledge of the berth orientation or requesting a more straightforward berth to approach is advisable.

Why visit here?

Warsash was first recorded as Wereasse in 1272. The name is believed to have originated from a description of an 'ash tree by the weir' or perhaps the 'ash bank' owned by a man called 'Waer'. Locally, it is thought that the area acquired its name many centuries later, in the 16th century, after the dissolution of the monasteries. At that time, the riverbank was used for donkeys to graze freely, which led to it being called 'Warish Asse Field', a name that was eventually shortened to its present form.




Either way, the Warsash area remained largely untouched by development over the centuries. Before the 19th century, Warsash and the surrounding region consisted of several small hamlets dotted along the entrance to the River Hamble and the shores of Southampton Water. These included, in order, Warsash, Newtown, Hook—at the mouth of the River Hamble to the south—and Chilling to the southeast. Among these, Hook was by far the most historically significant. Evidence of Iron Age peoples, Romans, and Saxon settlers has been uncovered in Hook. It was during the 1337-1453 'Hundred Years' War' with France that Hook experienced its golden age. Its strategic position at the confluence of the wide, sheltered river entrance and the southern end of Southampton Water allowed Hook to develop a substantial dockyard, which sent 11 ships and 208 men to the French Wars.




When the French wars finally ended, so did Hook's importance, and it fell into terminal decline. For more than three centuries afterwards, Hook, along with Chilling, settled into a small community focused on farming, fishing, and smuggling. However, in 1783, things were about to change dramatically for Hook when the government granted the lands of Hook, Chilling, and Brownwich to William Hornby. Hornby had served as the Governor of Bombay from 1771 to 1784 and returned to England to retire, beginning the construction of a grand country mansion. The mansion was designed in the style of his Government House in Bombay, and he named it 'The Hook'. It was finally completed in 1790, after he had cleared away the remains of a medieval village to create his parkland, transforming Hook into a country gentleman's estate.




Newtown, situated between Hook and Warsash, began to develop gradually. By the end of the 18th century, it had a tallow chandler, a blacksmith, and many salterns lining its shoreline. The salterns at Newtown were converted into a Chemical Works by the mid-19th century, and an iron smelting works developed alongside these facilities. The Hornby family offered Hook Spit to the Admiralty on a 90-year lease, leading to the construction and opening of a Coastguard Station there in 1881. The Newtown Coastguard Station included an officer's house, a signal station, a water tower, and cottages to house eight families. Before this, four families had lived in an old wooden hulk beached near the river's mouth. The hulk was later towed up to Warsash, where it was beached, renamed the 'Gypsy Queen,' and converted into an eatery in summer for crab and lobster, and a dancing venue in winter. After many years of service, the 'Gypsy Queen' fell into disrepair and was broken up for firewood, by which time Warsash had become well established.




A passenger ferry operated between Warsash and the village on the opposite bank since at least the Medieval period. The original ferry could carry horses, as recorded in 1598, when the fare was half a penny with a horse, or a farthing without. It is most likely that it used the same 'hards' for landing as the present ferry does today, as a 1797 survey map indicated it was in its current position. Warsash's proper development, similar to Hook many centuries earlier, centred on shipbuilding for conflicts with the French. It was during the Napoleonic Wars that Warsash expanded and the legendary shipbuilder George Parsons emerged.




Born in Poole in 1744, Parsons worked as a shipwright in the Royal Dockyard before establishing his yard at Bursledon. By then, he had built numerous fine ships for the navy, including most famously HMS Elephant, which became Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Copenhagen. However, in 1807, Parsons somehow lost the lease to his shipyard at Bursledon. Fortunately, he received ample notice to acquire a new yard at Warsash, which he named 'George & John Parson's Yard'. With the help of his son, John, and his grandson, John Rubie, he dismantled all his buildings and machinery at Bursledon—including a large graving shed and mould loft—and reassembled them in Warsash. Two elm launch-ways were built on the riverfront, along with seven houses to accommodate his men, a blacksmith's shop, and an inn. Shipbuilding resumed, and several vessels were launched from the new slips in Warsash.




Warsash's maiden ship was the Royal Navy 18-gun Cruizer Class brig-sloop HMS Peruvian, launched in 1808. It gained renown in battle, especially during the War of 1812. In 1813, after a 15-hour chase, HMS Peruvian overhauled and, despite a running fight and fierce resistance, captured the 16-gun American privateer John, manned by 100 men. HMS Peruvian later claimed Ascension Island for Great Britain in 1815. Following this, the 36-gun frigates HMS Theban and HMS Hotspur entered service in 1809 and 1810, respectively, along with the 38-gun frigate HMS Nymphe in 1812. However, HMS Nymphe was to be George Parsons' last ship, as he passed away three days after her launch. An obituary from that time noted that 'He has left a high character for inflexible, undeviating integrity, and, the punctuality and uprightness with which he performed his Contracts with Government, in the building of ships of war for the Navy, gained him the esteem of the Navy Board, and render his death a public loss.' George Parsons passed his yard to his son and grandson, who went on to build the 36-gun frigate HMS Laurel and many other vessels at Warsash.





Most of Warsash's cottages grew up around Parsons' shipyard. The rest developed along the Newtown Road, which was laid out to serve the Chemical and Iron Works and connected Newtown and Warsash in 1865. These Victorian cottages virtually fill the open space between Newtown and Warsash, creating a single community. However, this was not a prosperous time, as the lack of threat from the French had sent the shipbuilding industry into terminal decline, along with the iron and chemical works. The primary sources of income for the area were the burgeoning strawberry growing industry and traditional fishing and agriculture. However, by then, sailing as a leisure activity was starting to gain popularity, and businesses that provided refreshments and services to the new leisure sailing market began to emerge around Warsash. William Page noted in his 1908 'A History of the County of Hampshire' that 'The village of Warsash is small, and its inhabitants are chiefly employed in the crab and lobster trade, which occupies them through the late autumn, winter, and spring, many of them in the summer working as sailors on the many yachts which make their headquarters in the Solent and Southampton Water.




Today, Warsash is a small, quiet commuter village, but boating remains the most vital part of the village's economy. The daily management of the River Hamble harbour is handled by the Harbour Authority and its staff, based in the Harbour Office in Warsash. The village's close-knit connection with the sea is maintained through the world-renowned maritime training college, Warsash Maritime Academy, which occupies the former coastguard station. Now known as Warsash Maritime School, it is part of Solent University in Southampton.




The institution offers a comprehensive range of educational, training, consultancy, and research services to the international shipping, offshore oil and gas, and commercial yacht industries. Although the main teaching activities and student accommodation for Warsash Maritime School have moved to Southampton city centre, the Warsash site remains operational. This is mainly used for the essential practical elements of maritime training, which take place on the purpose-built Pier Head and Survival Craft facility. With this and the Hamble recognised as the birthplace of British yachting, the entire river area forms a key hub for servicing all types of recreational boating.




From a boating perspective, Warsash is often overlooked by many visitors, which is unfortunate. The convenient and cost-effective berths provided by the harbour master, along with the Warsash Sailing Club, offer an excellent river berth and base from which to explore the area.

What facilities are available?

Electricity and a fresh water tap are available at Warsash Jetty. The water can be used free of charge, and electricity is included in the berthing fees. The Harbour Office no longer provides shower facilities, but public toilets are available at Warsash and Hamble Village. The Hamble Jetty also has a water tap. A Recycling Point is located on the Harbour Master's Jetty.

Diesel, unleaded petrol, and gas are available at the upstream Stone Pier fuel pontoon. Fuel can also be obtained across the river at the head of pontoon ‘B’ at MDL’s Port Hamble Marina or at Swanwick Marina's self-serve fuel berth on pontoon ‘F’, again upriver.

The harbour office provides general waste disposal and full recycling facilities at Warsash. Arrangements can be made for the disposal of waste oil. A sewage pump is available for vessels with holding tanks at Harbour Master's Jetty, Warsash. Maintenance piles are available at Warsash, Hamble, and Lands End Hard. These are on a first-come, first-served basis, with a charge of £25 for 24 hours or part thereof for visiting vessels.

Warsash village offers a selection of shops, pubs, and restaurants, including some mini-supermarkets and a village post office. Hamble, or Hamble-Le-Rice, accessible by ferry, features several restaurants and pubs, as well as a useful mini supermarket. The village is served by Hamble railway station, which provides trains to both Southampton Central and Portsmouth Harbour. These services run once per hour in each direction. From Hamble rail station, a local bus service operates to Hamble village. It is also linked by ferry to Warsash and has bus services running from early morning to late night / early morning to and from Southampton and Eastleigh.

Any security concerns?

The river area is monitored 24-hour's a day by CCTV.

With thanks to:

Sharon Baggaley Assistant Harbour Master.