BASINGSTOKE HERITAGE SOCIETY

Basingstoke Heritage Society
News for Members no 83
April 2010

Basingstoke Heritage Society

invites you to a talk on

The Painted Glass of the Chapel of the Holy Ghost, Basingstoke

John Jenkins

(Author of The Painted Glass of William, Lord Sandys (1470-1540))

The Willis Museum on Thursday May 6th at 7.30

Come and hear this great local story. Why were the glass windows removed and when? Where did this fabulously high quality glass end up? What stories can the glass tell?

Followed by the AGM of the society

Members and non-members welcome (members no charge, Ł2 for non-members).

Refreshments. Tea/coffee – museum charges apply.

Local List additions

St Thomas of Canterbury Church Hall

We were delighted that some properties nominated by the society have been given Local List protection. We nominated 41 and 43 Cliddesden Road, 1-8 Hackwood Cottages (which used to belong to the Hackwood Estate), the Hare and Hounds pub in Flaxfield Road, the Queens Arms, Bunnian Place and (shown here) the old school at Worting – St Thomas’ Church Hall. Like other old schools, this one has the marks made by children’s slate pencils being sharpened on the brickwork. The point of getting buildings and structures onto the Local List is to give them at least a little protection in the event of an application to demolish. It also notes the historic buildings of interest which we have in the town.

For example, should the surviving air-raid shelters at Brinkletts now be local-listed? They are now quite rare survivors of a grim moment in our history. We would be interested in knowing what you think about this. Please let us know.

Fewer newsletters

The costs of photocopying our newsletter has gone up – Kall-Kwik did it for us at a favourable rate and they have closed. Our last one cost Ł86 for copying, postage and envelopes. Some members have theirs emailed, but we understand that people do like a hard copy. We are proposing to reduce the number of newsletters from 5 or 6 a year to 3 or 4. These could then be longer. In the meanwhile we could put news onto the website .. let us know what you think.

Joining Civic Voice

What is Civic Voice? Civic Voice is a new organisation which has formed to replace the Civic Trust which collapsed last year throwing the Heritage Open Days programme into confusion. Many people were keen that civic societies like ours need to keep an umbrella body. However the proposal from Civic Voice is a membership levy of Ł1.50 per member. That would mean a cost in the first year of nearly Ł300 compared with the Ł75 we paid to The Civic Trust. If you can, look at the website for Civic Voice and see what you think – should we join or not? There are advantages for us to be affiliated to a civic society umbrella but the cost is significant.

Plaques
our heritage plaques – there are 16 of them and they are to be ‘done up’.

The council has given us permission to turn them into proper blue plaques. The first one has been done – it’s the Thomas Burberry one on the old Burberry showroom next to the Deanes Almshouses in London Street so go and have a look. We think it looks great (blue background, white text) and will make the plaques noticeable.

Here is a full list of all 16

1 Jane Austen, Barclays Bank, Market Place, June 8 1993
2 Bluecoat Boy Statue, Cross Street, September 29 1994
3 George Willis, 3 Wote Street, September 24 1998
4 John Curwen, London Street, URC, February 6 1999
5 James Lancaster, St. Michael’s – opp. W. Door, May 14 1999
6 John Arlott, Cemetery Lodge, Chapel Hill, June 13 1999
7 Thomas Warton, Chute House gatepost, October 29 1999
8 Walter de Merton, Steps below Bass House pub, October 29 1999
9 Sir Edwin Lutyens, Lutyens brickworks building, June 25 2000
10 Thomas Burberry, London Street, October 12 2000
11 Oliver Cromwell, Drake’s Bar, London Street, October 14 2000
12 Alton Light Railway, Railway Station, June 1 2001
13 Mrs Blunden, South View Graveyard, March 17 2002
14 Gilbert White, South View Graveyard, March 17 2002
15 George Whitefield, Yates’s Wine Bar, London Street, January 2004
16 Market Place, Corner of Market Place, May 2005

Other Matters

=>Bronze Age Burial Mounds – Brackley Way - We are seeing if an interpretation board could go up here which would explain this area.

=>New Community Woodland - Phase one of the new community woodland strategy, which will take an estimated four years to complete, started last November with a project to improve upon the existing hedgerow bisecting Basingstoke Common.
Once planted, with native tree species, the area will act as a wildlife corridor linking the woodlands of Crabtree and Old Basing and it will form a long term landscape feature.

=>Lilly Building and Lemon Land Application - This application attempts to meet and overcome the objections which caused the last application to be turned down by Development Control.   The society’s concern is that the landmark Lilly building should survive in good shape. This proposal, like the previous one, anticipates hotel use for the building - a use which we support as it would preserve the building.   Lemon Land has appealed the earlier refusal so the two proposals are still ‘on the table’.

=>24 Winchester Road - This house is the subject of a new planning application.   This is a property which has been sadly neglected by its owners and became the target of vandalism and eventually a fire.   This proposal seeks to retain at least the frontage of the house, which is described as ‘a notable building’ in the central conservation area.   We would have liked to see the property rebuilt, but may have to be content with something much less.   We hope that it won’t fall down during construction as has happened to 2 other buildings in the last year or so.

=>Blue Coat Boy statue - We are grateful to builder Barry Champion for repairing the tiled top of the statue.   We intend to do something about the lettering on the plaque as this has become nearly illegible.

=>Loddon Valley Parks - This project is a County Council scheme to connect park and open space from West Ham Lane (now known as Thornycroft Lane), past Morrisons, through George V playing field, then Brookvale (Victory Green) and to Glebe Gardens.   This will be excellent – linking sites together means that wildlife thrives in a way that it cannot if areas are cut off from each other.

=>Queen Mary’s College - An application to build houses and flats on the main car park has been made. We have objected to the crowding of dwellings in this space as well as the loss of some of the car park which is useful to Central Studio.

=>Basing House - there will possibly be activities this summer if funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund is available.   We were asked to support this and did so, but would like to see explicit links made between Basing House and Basingstoke – noting where Cromwell stayed during the siege and the damage done to St Michaels.   History tells us how in 1644, Colonel Gage rode into Basingstoke and commandeered “100 cattle whereof divers were excellent fat oxen, as many or more sheep and 40 and odd hogs ..”   and that was just the meat!!   The food was to enable the Marquess to hold on against the Parliamentary forces, but it must have been a nightmare for the townspeople!

=>Exhibition at the Willis - We have booked the community gallery in April next year for an exhibition about the Holy Ghost Cemetery, building on the work done for the Heritage Open Day on both the ancient monuments there and the burial place of old Basingstoke.   A small group are working on this project which will hope to borrow items in the museum collection.

All members are welcome to attend meetings of the society.

At most meetings we consider planning applications which fall within the area of concern to the society and agree comments.

Next meetings - May 6 AGM at the Willis, June 3 and July 1 at Queen Mary’s College (go in at the main entrance and reception will guide you to the room) at 7.30.

NB. NO MEETING IN AUGUST.

For further information contact Debbie Reavell on 01256 473390
or by e-mail