Portchester, Yachting c.1965

Photo ref: P73048

More about this scene

Prehistoric Cams Most people enjoying a round of golf on the Cams Hall Estate today are probably unaware of the existence of the 429 pieces of worked flint that were recovered during topsoil stripping when the estate was renovated. According to the Archaeological and Historic Buildings Record of Hampshire County Council, some of these flints date from the Palaeolithic period (500,000 BC to 10,000 BC). They indicate significant prehistoric activity on the Cams Hill peninsula. Long before the Admiralty requisitioned Cams Hall during the Second World War, long before the Delmé family as lords of the manor hunted deer in the woodlands of the estate in the 19th century, long before Lady Emma Hamilton was rumoured to have met Nelson, long before John Ludlow was imprisoned for hiding Roman Catholic clergy in the 16th century, our prehistoric ancestors had occupied the land at Cams. Thousands and thousands of years ago they were hunting animals and gathering berries where now we play golf. It is not surprising, therefore, to discover that the name of Cams is one of the oldest in Fareham, and derives from the Celtic word meaning 'crooked'.