WORK may be a four letter word in both its literal and colloquial sense but, whether it’s working to keep oneself alive or paid employment, we can’t manage life without it.

The latest in a series of illustrated titles by publisher Amberley, focuses on Petersfield and how the town and its people changed through work.

It is written by local historian David Jeffery and opens with reference to excavations at Petersfield Heath, which have revealed the first settlements were in the early Bronze Age of about 5,000BC.

At the time, survival and subsistence were uppermost in the minds of people living where east-west tracks along the valley of the River Rother met north-south routes through the South Downs but this way of life quickly developed into farming – an industry which was central to East Hampshire for centuries.

Following through the Romans, Saxons and early founders of the town of Petersfield, agriculture and the sale of produce and animals at regular markets became the reason for Petersfield’s existence.

Trades associated with sheep-rearing were important from the Medieval period into the Tudor and Stuart eras but the signs of Petersfield looking further away for its trade and prosperity was the growth of coach and carriage traffic, which led to the need for inns and hotels to serve the travellers.

With increasing prosperity, new trades emerged – brewing and brickmaking, both becoming major employers of residents.

At the turn of the 19th century, the possibilities of local employment for the 1,500 people living in the town still remained largely with farms, inns or in private estates.

However, the breweries were expanding and with the coming of the London-Portsmouth railway line, many more opportunities arose for people to find work both in the town and for those travelling by train.

The Victorian expansion of Petersfield saw many family businesses open in the town centre, a number of which are still going today.

The later chapters of the book, The Modern Era, describe the continued growth of businesses and industrial estates in line with the increasing population.

The Itshide rubber products factory in Sandringham Road, nearby Petersfield Laundry, Corrie’s fencing manufacturer, Tews engineering in Lavant Street and Henry Willis, the organ maker, were among the major employers in 20th century Petersfield.

In 1970, Whitman Laboratories, part of the Estee Lauder Group, opened its site on the western side of the town and has continued to develop since.

Now, with shops, offices and other service industries all as part of the mixture of places to work, there is little sign of the agricultural heritage which lay at the heart of the town’s original prosperity.

But it is all covered in the concise history of why, how and where, people went to work in Petersfield.

Petersfield At Work, by David Jeffery, is published by Amberley Books.