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Reflections: We’re lucky to have a wealth of history in the Forest




Local History Societies.

This year why not consider becoming involved in discovering the history in your area? We are so fortunate to live in and around the New Forest with a wealth of history and heritage to enjoy right on our doorstep. If you are new to the area delving into the local history is a fascinating way to find out more about your surroundings. If you have always lived here, you will probably have good local knowledge, photographs, documents, and memories that will be of great interest to history groups.

The virtuous circle concept explains the benefits of local history. Once people start to understand the heritage and culture, they will begin to value it. By valuing it, they will begin to care for it. When people start caring for the local heritage, they will want to help others enjoy it. Once they start to enjoy the culture and heritage, they will want to find out more, which leads back to greater understanding and placing more value on the local history of the area. The virtuous circle is at the core of our local history societies and museums.

Lymington

High Street and Town Hall Lymington (Audrey Corbin Collection)
High Street and Town Hall Lymington (Audrey Corbin Collection)

The Lymington and District Historical Society (LADHS) was founded in 1951. Its original purpose was the study of the history of Lymington, publishing the results in papers and providing lectures for the general public.

At the time it was known as the Lymington Historical Record Society. In 1983 it was renamed the Lymington and District Historical Society which reflected the greater emphasis on a variety of lectures covering not only Lymington but much of the surrounding area.

The LADHS has a thriving membership and newcomers will be made very welcome. They hold talks on a wide variety of local history topics. These are given in the Community Centre in Lymington on the last Friday of the month from September through to March. More information on the LADHS can be found at lymingtonanddistricthistoricalsociety.co.uk

A visit to the St Barbe Museum and art gallery in Lymington is a good place to start to get an overview of how the history of the area. Part of the building was once the town school house which was built in 1835. The museum’s catchment area covers Boldre, Sway, Hordle, Milford and New Milton.

One of the many assets for local historians at the St Barbe Museum is the King Research Room. Here it is possible to carry out your own research into the history of the area. The archivists will help you to locate relevant objects or sources for you to view. The research room holds a near-complete set of this newspaper. The A&T was first published in 1928. Prior to that the newspaper of the area was the Lymington and South Hants Chronicle. The King Research Room holds many editions of that publication on microfiche.

Access to the research room can be obtained by booking an appointment via www.stbarbe-museum.org.uk The website will also give details of the latest exhibition. Many of the objects in their collection have been photographed and can be viewed online.

Lymington Town Tours have been in existence since 1986. From May to October each year they offer a series of guided history walks that will take you through the streets of Lymington and Pennington where you will learn more about the history of the area, including the buildings, the interesting characters linked to Lymington’s past and the stories that accompany them. Last year Lymington Town Tours added two walks at Milford to their repertoire.

The walks last for about 90 minutes and go at a leisurely pace. There is no need to book, simply turn up to the start of the walk at as detailed in the schedule on the website lymington-town-tours.co.uk/index.html

New Milton

Milton Heritage Society exhibition in the memorial hall
Milton Heritage Society exhibition in the memorial hall

The Milton Heritage Society (MHS) of New Milton is a local history group that collects, preserves and presents the history of the Milton Parish area. They have a small exhibition in the main room of the Memorial Hall. The MHS put on local history talks from September through to March each year. The presentations cover a wide range of local history and heritage and are held on the second Friday of each month in the Church Hall in Church Lane.

The MHS displays history exhibitions in support of town events on the Recreation Ground and elsewhere. The MHS is supporting the Friends of New Milton Railway Station by providing material relating to the history of the railway station. This will link in to Rail 200, a national commemoration of 200 years of the railway in Britain that is happening later this year.

The MHS has supported Quench Café in Station Road by running 90-minute local history walks which start and finish at the café. More walks are planned for 2025 and will be advertised by Quench Café.

The MHS warmly welcome visitors and those seeking membership of the society. Working in collaboration with the Lymington and District Historical Society it is now possible to obtain discounted joint membership of both societies. More information can be found via miltonheritagesociety.co.uk

Note the website is currently undergoing refurbishment.

Milford

Milford and village green area, dated 30th December 1939
Milford and village green area, dated 30th December 1939

The oldest local history society in Hampshire is the Milford on Sea Historical Record Society (MOSHRS) which was founded in 1909. The society collects, preserves, and presents the history of Milford and Keyhaven. In recent years they have completed two major projects, Cornwallis Remembered and Local History Lives. The latter has created a searchable database of Milford history records.

MOSHRS gives presentations on the last Thursday of the month. This year the talks will be held in January, March, May, July, September, and November. The venue is the church hall and the doors open from 6.30pm for a 7pm start.

The Occasional Magazine is a history publication produced by MOSHRS since 1909. The well researched topics covered have been wide ranging. The contents of the magazines for the last twenty years are advertised on the MOSHRS website.

For those wishing to participate in uncovering local history MOSHRS run a research and discussion group on the second Thursday of every other month starting in February. The group meets at the Village Hall in Park Road, Milford and is a great way to meet fellow local historians and become involved in history research projects. The current research project is helping Heritage England to reinterpret the history of Hurst Castle.

The first MOSHRS Occasional Magazine of 1909
The first MOSHRS Occasional Magazine of 1909

The MOSHRS website, found at www.milfordhistory.org.uk is well worth visiting. Not only does it give details of the presentations, research meetings and field trips for the coming years it also contains a wealth of local history material to help the researcher.

Christchurch

The Christchurch History Society was formed in 1989. It promotes and encourages the study of history, heritage and archaeology in Christchurch and surrounding area by means of lectures, talks, visits, research projects and publications. The society hosts local history talks on the first Tuesday evening of the month. Details of the talks and other useful material can be found on their website at historychristchurch.org.uk

Christchurch Priory by A R Quinton. Above the porch is the home of the Christchurch History Society
Christchurch Priory by A R Quinton. Above the porch is the home of the Christchurch History Society

The society has a wonderful archive with over 20,000 items including microfiche copies of the Christchurch Times. It is located in a room above the porch of the Priory. The volunteers running it are the font of all knowledge on the history of Christchurch and the local area. There is an archive catalogue on the website. If you wish to visit the archive booking an appointment via the website is essential.

The Red House Museum in Christchurch is located in the former workhouse which was built in 1764. It has been a museum since 1951 and is a wonderful place to visit to get a good overview of the local history from the Bronze Age through to more recent times. The museum holds many artifacts and documents relating to Milton Parish history and has a research room. Their website is available at hampshireculture.org.uk/red-house-museum-and-gardens

Beaulieu

Beaulieu circa 1923
Beaulieu circa 1923

The Beaulieu History Society (BHS) is a group dedicated to researching preserving and promoting the history of Beaulieu and surrounding area. They host regular history talks, usually on the last Thursday of the month. These are held in the village hall. The BHS produce an informative newsletter bi-annually. Their website can be found at beaulieuhistorysociety.org.uk It contains details of future talks and a number of local history resources including an archive of previous talks and research papers.

Boldre

The Boldre Parish Historical Society was founded in 2007 when a group of locals banded together to assist the parish council in creating an exhibition of Boldre history. The society have been going from strength to strength and are still holding local history exhibition open days which offer access to their archive. The society hold talks in the village hall on the second Friday of the month. Details of forthcoming talks and information on how to join the society can be found at boldreparishhistoricalsociety.co.uk

Lyndhurst

The New Forest Heritage Centre is located in the central car park in Lyndhurst. The centre has an excellent museum telling the visitor about commoning, the wildlife of the forest, Roman history, snake catchers, how the two world wars impacted on the area and much more.

The aim of the heritage centre is to inspire visitors and supporters to explore and value the New Forest. It does this by collecting and preserving a wide range of artefacts and sources that tell the history of the New Forest. The centre puts on several exhibitions each year telling different aspects of the history and heritage of the New Forest.

The Christopher Tower Reference Library, located on the mezzanine floor is a treasure trove of over 50,000 books, documents and maps covering all aspects of the history of the Forest. The library is one of the most comprehensive collections of material about the New Forest and surrounding area available to the public. The library is open Monday to Friday and a visit can be arranged via library@newforestheritage.org.uk or calling 023 8028 6150.

Much of the Heritage Centre collection has been photographed and can be seen on the New Forest Knowledge website which is a database providing an insight into the history, geography, and development of the Forest. It can be found at nfknowledge.org

The New Forest Heritage Centre website gives details of visiting hours and can be found at newforestheritage.org.uk

Aviation history

Another Forest wide history society is the Friends of the New Forest Airfields (FONFA) which is dedicated to telling the story of the 12 airfields in the New Forest. Most operated in the Second World War but the aerodrome at East Boldre was open from 1910 and became a training airbase in WWI. FONFA have a museum located on the old RAF camp at Sopley which is open on advertised days. The FONFA website fonfa.co.uk gives opening times and provides a wealth of local history material including the memories of those who were stationed at the various airfields. It is well worth looking at before going on a forest walk on one of the airfield sites.

Military history

The New Forest and Hampshire Wartime Association promotes the military history of the Forest and the county. Their website at nfhwa.org contains some fascinating and very well researched reports on our local military history. Each month at East Boldre village hall the association presents popular monthly talks. Details of future presentations and how to book a place can be found on their website.

With a wealth of local history societies and museums nearby, there are many opportunities to find out more about the area and take part in fascinating talks, walks, research, and other events.

• Nick Saunders MA is a local historian and chair of the Milton Heritage Society. He is contactable via nick@miltonheritagesociety.co.uk



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