The area now known as Hook Park was once a prestigious country estate, with a grand country house (destroyed by fire over 100 years ago) as its centerpiece.
The estate was the creation of William Hornby, one-time Governor of Bombay, who wanted an impressive country residence with commanding views over the landscape, the Solent and Southampton Water on his return to England.
You can read about the onstruction of the house, the features it boasted, and learn something of the Hornby family that occupied it for several generations.
The booklet also tells of the fate of the estate after it was sold to a property developer, Sir Warden Chilcott, in 1911.
Many rarely seen illustrations aere included along with the painstakingly researched story, the work of four local historians, who each provide a fascinating insight into a forgotten country estate.