Waterlooville Named After the Battle of Waterloo

1815

The name Waterlooville derives from a public house called the Heroes of Waterloo, which was established at the crossroads on London Road shortly after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. The victory over Napoleon was a matter of enormous national pride, and pubs, streets and buildings across England were named in its honour. The pub at the crossroads became a landmark, and the surrounding hamlet gradually became known as Waterloo, later Waterlooville. Before this, the area had no distinct name, being simply part of the wider rural landscape between Portsdown Hill and the South Downs. The naming of the pub, and by extension the settlement, was an act of popular patriotism that gave Waterlooville its unique identity.