villages in the area, was a strawberry growing area. Its produce was despatched to London and Scotland by train service from Botley station. St. John's Rooms was built in 1907, which was the church hall until the Underhill Centre (named after the Reverend Mervyn Spenser Underhill, Vicar of St John's Church 1961–1994) was opened in 2002. St. John's Rooms now serves as a day nursery for small children. Wartime history To avoid the air-raids, some of Southampton's citizens rented accommodation or otherwise sought shelter in Hedge End during World War II. In 1943 and 1944, during the build-up to D-Day and the invasion of Europe, Hedge End was on the outermost edge of a huge marshalling site set up in Hampshire by the military, known as Area C with the nearest camp, camp C3, located at Netley Common. Hedge End was actually part of sub-area Z within Area C. St Johns Road and Upper Northam Road are shown on a military map dated 1 May 1944 as being operational routes for the flow of military vehicles around the area. Upper Northam Road is also recorded on that map as being used as a vehicle park. Hedge End was situated within Regulated Area (No 2) established 31 March 1944, which placed restrictions on the movement of people in the final build-up to D-Day. A V-1 flying bomb fell on HMS Cricket, a military camp just outside Hedge End on 15 July 1944. Becoming a town Development of another new road, the M27 motorway enabled Hedge End to expand further in the final two decades of the 20th century, although as a Southampton suburb, rapid development had commenced in the two decades before the arrival of the motorway. Hedge End is situated near Junctions 7 and 8 of the motorway. With access to the new infrastructure, there was rapid expansion of the village with office parks, out-of-town superstores and new residential areas. The most recent major development in Hedge End has been that of Grange Park, situated to the north and east of the village centre. It has continued to grow extensively for several years, and now includes a public park at Dowd's Farm. In the early 1990s the village gained Hedge End railway station opened by British Rail, a stop on the Eastleigh to Fareham line. The parish council resolved to give the village the status of a town in 1992,