Category: News

Sadly, we will not be holding the talk about the history of falconry on Friday 7th January at the church hall.

The reason for this is that an increasing number of our membership have indicated that they have concerns attending a live event in a public hall during the current surge in covid cases.

I have taken the decision to postpone the talk until the 14th of October 2022 when hopefully we will be in a healthier and happier position to hold the talk with a larger audience.

Instead, on Friday 7^th January at 7.00pmwe are offering a Zoom only talk given by retired Detective Paul Stickler, on the 1947 Gay Gibson ‘Porthole murder’. Gibson was an actress travelling on a cruise ship from South Africa to Southampton. She went missing from her cabin en route. When the ship docked at Southampton, Hampshire Constabulary investigated. A suspect was arrested and put on trial at Winchester Crown Court. Paul will present the evidence to the audience who will then be asked to decide if the suspect is guilty or not. Paul will then reveal what verdict the Jury arrived at and what happened after the trial.

MHS Members will be e mailed the Zoom link. Non-members are welcome to attend the talk for a £5.00 fee. Please use the website contact page to ask for details on how to access obtain your invitation and pay the visitors fee.

We are still intending to run the next live Milton Heritage Society talk on ‘The Many Lives of Hurst Castle’ presented by the chairman of the friends of Hurst Caste, Mr Roger Walker. That will take place on the 11th of February at 7.00pm at the Church Hall.

The last talk of this season will be held on the 11th of March. It will be given by MHS committee member Steve West who is talking to us about ‘The Golden Age of Smuggling in the Local Area’. Steve poses the question were the smugglers, heroes or villains?

Nick Saunders
Chairman
Milton Heritage Society

The next external tour of Christchurch Priory and monastic grounds will take place on Thursday 14 October at 2.30pm. This is the last tour of the season, so if you are interested in finding out more about this ancient Priory, its history, architecture and lovely setting, then this is for you.

The tour lasts approximately 1 ¼ hours, taking visitors to areas that the public does not normally have access to, as well as including the new gargoyles. Tickets are £6, and can be booked via the Priory gift shop (01202 485804). Please book in advance; payment can be made on the day.

The Milton Heritage Society are pleased to announce that the above talks will be given on behalf of the society for the 2021 to 2022 season.

MHS members will be e mailed with details of how to join the Zoom talk. Non-members who wish to see the talk either in the church hall or via Zoom should contact the MHS Secretary, Steve West via secretary@miltonheritagesociety.co.uk There will be a £5.00 charge for visitors.

Dear MHS member

On Friday 16th of October 2020 we had planned to present to you a talk on the history of Exbury Gardens. Sadly the speaker and head gardener, Tom Clarke is no longer able to give the talk owing to health issues. He has said that he will come to give us the talk next season.

Instead we are very fortunate to have MHS committee member Philip Benstead step in as a last minute replacement.

His talk is on;

Building The Direct Line to Bournemouth – 1883 to 1888.

A tale of self-interest, optimism, naivety, fraud, bankruptcy, incompetence, arrogance, violent deaths, royalty & religion with congratulations to the non-participants & ignorance of the achievers. 

Before the so called, ‘Direct Line’, just ten miles long, was built the chief engineer of the LSWR declared that, “No substantive difficulties would be encountered”. 

The line opened two years late after bankrupting the contractors and was later described by the LSWR as “the most difficult of lines”. 

The talk opens with an overview of the socio-economic conditions in the 1800s and the existing rail network followed by how the politics of planning a line through the New Forest and land owned by powerful men was managed. A visual tour of the line, stopping along the way for a raft of anecdotes and stories, that paint pictures from outrage to tragedy & triumph. 

If only one of the main participants had been a gardener?

Philip is a lifelong railway enthusiast and has been involved in designing and implementing major capital projects around the world. 

After reading Jude James book on the ‘Direct Line’ he was intrigued by the story and during lock down, as his daily exercise, cycled to every part of the line to examine it at first hand.

The talk is starting at 7.00pm on Friday 16th of October 2020 at the Memorial centre and via Zoom. We have been allowed 40 persons in the hall. That is now fully booked. We are able to take more bookings for Zoom attendance to the talk. Please contact the secretary, Steve West for booking details via secretary@miltonheritagesociety.co.uk

Nick Saunders

Chairman
Milton Heritage Society.

Dear MHS members, 

Theresa Elliot at the Town Hall has made me aware of the following training course that are available from New Forest National Park. They may be of interest to you especially if you own an older property, such as a Cob Cottage. if you are interested see the below for details and apply to NFNP direct. 

Regards 

Nick Saunders
Chairman.
Milton Heritage Society.   

The New Forest National Park Authority and local buildings expert Kevin Stubbs are delivering a series of evening talks for homeowners in the New Forest.

The talks are part of the Building Skills project, one of 21 projects being delivered through the Our Past, Our Future Landscape Partnership Scheme. The project is informing local people of the importance of traditional buildings to the area’s character whilst providing knowledge of specialist repair techniques. This information is helping conserve and enhance the local distinctiveness of the settlements within the Forest as they raise awareness and encourage sensitive repair and management.

The series of evening talks begins in November on Wednesday evenings in Brockenhurst Village Hall. The subjects that will be covered are as follows:

Local heritage of New Forest homes 
Wednesday 6 November, 7pm – 9.30pm.

New Forest cob, thatch, flint and stone 
Wednesday 20 November, 7pm – 9.30pm.

New Forest brick, mortar, plasters and renders 
Wednesday 4 December, 7pm – 9.30pm.

New Forest timber framed buildings and timber roof structure 
Wednesday 15 January, 7pm – 9.30pm.

New Forest tile, slate and lead roof coverings 
Wednesday 29 January, 7pm – 9.30pm.

New Forest building details and finishes 
Wednesday 12 February, 7pm – 9.30pm.

If you would like to attend one or more of these evenings, please visit our training webpage to book your place: www.newforestnpa.gov.uk/conservation/landscape-partnership/training/ . The cost of a ticket is £5 per person, and you can buy a ticket for all six evenings for £25. If you would like more information, please contact Richard Austin (Richard.austin@newforestnpa.gov.uk or 01590 664661)

Hi All,

The New Forest National Park Authority and local buildings expert Kevin Stubbs are delivering a series of evening talks for homeowners in the New Forest.

The talks are part of the Building Skills project, one of 21 projects being delivered through the Our Past, Our Future Landscape Partnership Scheme. The project is informing local people of the importance of traditional buildings to the area’s character whilst providing knowledge of specialist repair techniques.

If there is any chance of you adding this in an article in your newsletters or monthly magazines it would be much appreciated.

Best wishes
Suzi Shilling

Dear MHS members

The below conference may be of interest to you. The subject of this conference is how buildings and structures have shaped, and themselves been shaped by, the Forest.

If you would like to attend on the 1st of November please make contact with New Forest Heritage Cerntre using the contact details below. 

Regards 
Nick Saunders
Chairman
Milton Heritage Society