Hanger Farm Arts Centre

Hanger Farmhouse (on Water Lane) and its Barn (on Aikman Lane) date from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and are listed Grade II. Standing empty and unused since the 1950s, they were on the buildings at risk register in 2005 when Totton College took over the farm and converted the buildings. The barn was converted to an arts centre, forming part of a complex with tennis courts, picnic and play areas, a cafeteria and open spaces. The area is on the edge of the New Forest and although now surrounded by modern housing estates, is still a rural location.

An old photograph suggests that the derelict farmhouse and barn formed an L-shaped group with part plain-tiled, part thatched roof. No trace of this external character now remains in the two adjoining clean-lined wood-clad and slate-roofed buildings that form the Arts Centre. The exterior, however, incorporates the timber-framed structure of the nine-bay barn, with queen stout roof trusses. The auditorium has a sprung floor and an end performance space. Seating can be for 200 - 100 on retractable bleacher seating, and a further 100 on fold away chairs. There are two dressing rooms at the rear of the performance space. The foyer houses a spacious box office and bar area, large enough for a rehearsal space or lecture room and a gallery. Although operating as an arts centre for students and amateurs, it will also attract professional performers.