Occasional Magazine N.S. Vol.1 No.2 (August 1982)
I remember … Milford-on-Sea. The paper is sub-titled “An anthology of memorabilia recollected by some of the older residents in the summer of 1975”. As a group reminiscence the article touches on numerous unconnected topics but is a useful example of how necessary it is to commit memories to paper before they fade and disappear. Recollections include when the remains of the old mill were still visible by the Danestream in (today’s) Pleasure Grounds and when the grounds of Milford House extended almost to the High Street. It meant traffic from Lymington had a circuitous route to the bottom of the Green before turning left for Keyhaven or right for Bournemouth. This inconvenience for the motorised age was finally rectified in 1929 when, by detaching the lower part of the grounds, a new section of road was made joining up with the Lymington Road at the far end of Church Hill. The changes to Milford House, Milford Lodge and Newlands Manor are recalled and the theme of events like sports and pageants in the grounds of the big houses recurs. The village was also much enlivened by concerts, carnivals, dances and the Milford Brass Band fostering a strong sense of community and participation now unlikely to return. Useful details for the historical record relate to some of the shops and the families who ran them. The group had recollections of important developments in modernising Milford: the first school, the first bank and the first hospital. They remembered the first Parish Room in Barnes Lane, the first Church Hall in Sea Road, the Women’s Institute Hall in Keyhaven Road and the Village Hall. The publicly subscribed Victoria Hall (Assembly Rooms) always suffered from not being in the village centre, however.
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