HAMPSHIRE grown strawberries have always been known for fine taste and quality, and it won’t be long until the first strawberries of 2016 can be picked in the Hampshire countryside – but there was a time when many local families depended on the business.

There were so many strawberry fields around Southampton, especially in the Swanwick, Hedge End and Bursledon areas, that it could be rightly called an industry.

Until 1845, most strawberries were sold locally from horses and carts, but the arrival of the railway brought a major trade boost.

Initially, Fareham was the loading station, but when Swanwick was opened in 1887, it took over as the major distribution centre, together with Bursledon station.

By the early part of the last century more than 3,000 tons of strawberries were loaded at Swanwick, and in season as many as 20 “strawberry specials” left every day.

The relatively mild weather of Hampshire benefited the growth and often gave a second harvest.

The locals and itinerant workers would work the fields from mid-May, and were known as “Joe Pickers” after the Sir Joseph Paxton strawberry, the best-known variety. The local gentry would arrange tea and games.

The Church Army would try to bring some spirituality to the occasion – not too successfully as Saturday night fights outside the local pubs were not uncommon.

It is said that the strawberry harvest was of paramount importance, so much so that the celebration of the coronations of both Edward VII and George V were postponed until the harvest was completed.

The schools changed the holiday dates – children were a large part of the labour force – to coincide with the strawberry harvest.