Related Articles
Then and Now (with St Barbe Museum + Gallery): Holme Mead House, Lymington, 1946
Holme Mead House, once a grand residence on Lymington High Street, stood on land originally granted to William Sanedon in 1365 and later owned by Lymington Corporation.
The house, with views across the Solent, served as a military hospital during the First World War, caring for Indian and New Zealand troops.
After the war, the building declined, became a furniture store, and was eventually compulsorily purchased and demolished.
In 1960, the site was redeveloped as Lymington’s main post office at 54 High Street.
Today, the site remains home to the Royal Mail sorting office but Post Office counter services closed in 2019 and relocated to Rashley Mews nearby.
50 YEARS AGO
An urgent request by Lymington traders for reconsideration of the parking ban in St Thomas’s Street in the town came before New Forest District Council’s amenities committee.
The ban was introduced in June for an experimental six months and Tuesday’s committee agreed that the trial period should continue. At their October meeting reports the effectiveness of the ban will be presented to the committee including one on accident statistics.
Principal engineer Mr Frank Harris told the meeting: “The Chamber of Trade objected to the scheme before it was introduced so you can’t expect them to turn round now and say it is a good thing.”
He said that the general impression and from other bodies in that “the scheme is an excellent one”.
* * * * *
Fawley Parish Council had received a letter from Mr Elliott tabling his resignation as caretaker of Holbury Halls. The council had displayed notices in the post office and on parish notice boards for a male caretaker which had met no response. They are now advertising for a male or female caretaker.
* * * * *
Despite the fact that the New Forest District Council do seem interested in building council houses at Milford, Col D V Hutchinson said the matter should not be allowed to pass over by default.
Mr E B Trehearne suggested a suitable method of supporting the Neighbourhood Council’s case for more council housing would be to point out that already the Camden Hurst and Milford Laundry have closed due to a shortage of labour.
Suggesting that the large area off Barnes Lane would be an ideal site for the district council to purchase and build on, Capt J Stanning said that he was worried about the extensive acreage to the east of Barnes Lane which is now in the hands of the Receiver.
He said it was rapidly deteriorating with many partly built houses being smothered by undergrowth. He said council houses were needed as labourers could not afford to live in the village.
25 YEARS AGO
As the Dome was given a further £47 million of National Lottery cash, Oakhaven Hospice has learned that its application for a grant has been turned down.
The money was requested to complete a scheme to extend and improve facilities at the hospice in Lymington. “We had hoped for a modest level of support from the National Lottery, but sadly this has been rejected,” said Oakhaven Trust chairman David Proudlove.
He said the National Lottery was supposed to support worthy local community programmes but attention seemed to be focused on national projects. “Lottery funds are supposed to be for good community causes, and this is absolutely a good community cause.”
* * * * *
Emergency services, motorists, undertakers and businesses throughout the New Forest and Christchurch were amongst those struggling this week to cope with the effects of the fuel crisis this week. Esso Fawley Refinery came under the national spotlight as it was blockaded by angry haulers and farmers.
The crisis began over the weekend as petrol stations were besieged by drivers with queues of over a mile long. Panic buying was setting in, said an assistant at Hinton petrol station on the A35. He said: “By Monday it was horrendous, it went wild.” It was not just petrol, with panic buyers raiding supermarkets.
Lymington customers who had ordered organic produce from Warbourne Farm, Boldre, were told their food could be delivered by horse and cart this week.
* * * * *
There was a Grand Auction at St Thomas Church Hall, with proceeds going to Macmillan Cancer Research. Lots include a book written by HR The Prince of Wales ‘The Old Man of Lochnagar’, signed by him, a double CD of Dire Straits signed by John Illsley and Mark Knopfler, a Hank Marvin autograph and Barbara Windsor’s nightie.
Source link
