Occasional Magazine N.S. Vol.1 No.1 (January 1980)
Memories of Milford, Everton, Lymore and Keyhaven by W. H. Hackwell. Recollections of the 1880s-1890s are given when mud-walled thatched cottages were still to be found in the district and the old, larger houses were owned by public-spirited people active in village life. In Milford the grounds of Newlands Manor saw entertainments, sports and the flower show, while Westover House had annual treats for children. The Parish Room was also much used for entertainments; St. John’s Ambulance instruction took place and it was the Milford Band’s practice room and the drill hall for the 4th Volunteer Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment. This small village had two shops, one a grocer and baker and the other a butcher. The old mill still functioned and was another baker. Most Everton villagers baked their own bread, brewed their own beer, kept pigs for food and drew water from wells. Next to the Crown Inn was an off-licence and village stores. The year’s big event was the Whit Monday Fete organised by the Everton and Lymore Club. There was a school for young ladies and the Efford Estate benefactor, Sir Beethom Whitehead, also provided a field and the equipment for various sports. The Post Office delivery and collection extended as far as New Milton. The author writes of the roads in Everton and notable inhabitants of the time. Lymore’s roads were very narrow and winding, it had a shop and the cottage gardens were well stocked with flowers and vegetables. A lime kiln, also a brick and tile works, existed whose products were used in Milford and local house building. A prehistoric pit dwelling was found at the gravel pit, while clay excavated from pits around Lymore was used to divert streams. When sluice gates were also built at Keyhaven it meant land could be reclaimed for grazing. The road over the sluice gates had a tollgate. Keyhaven had a village shop and Post Office and Gun Inn landlord, Arthur Payne, was also Harbourmaster. He hired out horse and trap and owned boats to take trippers to Hurst Castle or on the Solent. Wildfowling flourished but only the two boats of Colonel Cornwallis-West and Abdy Williams were then moored in the river. The busy scene of boat repairs and small racing craft only came later.
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