The Friends of Stokes Bay is a society founded in 1975 to safeguard the environment of Stokes Bay for present and future generations
The aims of the Society:-
To safeguard the environment and amenities of Stokes Bay and its immediate surroundings for present and future generations.
The area concerned is from the boundaries of Fort Monckton in the east to the River Alver in the west, all the area south of Fort Road and Stokes Bay Road, and the area north of Stokes Bay Road and south of the mobile homes, Bay House School, the Alverbank Hotel, and the boundaries of the properties in Palmerston Way.
The objectives of the Society are:-
(i) To conserve and enhance Stokes Bay as an open, clean and safe recreational area for the enjoyment of all those who live in Gosport Borough and of visitors from elsewhere.
(ii) To preserve and protect the flora and fauna within the area, minimising the effects of human activity on the environment.
(iii) To monitor development proposals affecting the area and to contribute to the debates on these in support of our aims and objectives.
(iv) To provide practical assistance, advice and support to Gosport Borough Council and their contractors in maintaining a clean and safe environment in the area, while remaining an apolitical and independent society.
(v) To liaise and/or affiliate with other bodies with a legitimate interest in the area in order to achieve the aims of the Society.
Stokes Bay derives its name from the nearby village of Alverstoke. Stoce, Allwardstok. 10th century. Old English stoc – a farm or place. legend has it that Stoke was given to St. Swithun’s Priory in Winchester by the widowed Lady Alwara, the name thus becoming Alwarstoke. The village, with its parish church, contunued to be called Stoke until the 1820s when it became known as Alverstoke Village (to distinguish if from Alverstoke Parish). The original form lives on in Stoke Road and Stokes Bay :
Philip Eley “The Place Names of Gosport”