Eastleigh Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester in South Hampshire. It was originally developed as a railway town by the London and South-Western Railway. The town lies on the River Itchen, one of England's premier chalk streams for fly fishing, a designated site of Special Scientific Interest. The modern town of Eastleigh lies on the old Roman road, built in A.D.79 between Winchester "(Venta Belgarum)" and Bitterne "(Clausentum)". Roman remains discovered in the Eastleigh area, including a Roman lead coffin excavated in 1908, indicate that a settlement probably existed here in Roman times. A Saxon
Venta Silurum Roman temple, perhaps dedicated to Mars and the Celtic god Ocelus, have been identified on the site. A bowl with a chi-rho symbol shows that the worship of early Christian worship had begun in the late 3rd century. Following the withdrawal of the Roman legions from Britain, the town remained occupied until at least the mid-5th century. Early Christian worship was still established. The town might have had a bishop. A monastery was founded by Saint Tatheus in the 6th century. The site of the present church occupies part of an early Christian cemetery. The name "Venta" gave its name