GOSPORT SOCIETY NEWS & UPDATES
16th JANUARY 2025.
Dear Gosport Society Members,
Social Get Together after Christmas!
Gosport Society members met at ‘The Vine’ at Stoke Road on 15th January 2025, for an informal ‘Get together’. I intended to take photographs, however, we were all so busy in conversation a photograph was not taken. My only option was to take a photograph of the remaining cakes! Many thanks to the 19 members who attended, it was a good chance to meet up informally. Ian Jeffery (a GS Member) from Gosport History Luncheon Club also attended and was introduced to Mike Williams, a possible speaker for their meetings.
Gosport Society next Speaker Meetings
Our next Speakers Meeting is on the 12th February 2025. At The Community Hub Brune Park School. Military Road Gosport. 7pm for 7:30pm start
Speaker – Jeremy Prescott – Iconic Memorials of the fallen.
PLANNING MATTERS
Since the Last Executive Meeting on 12th November 2024, the Gosport Society has received 20 Planning Consultations in respect of properties across the Borough.
To read the Gosport Society’s responses access link for Gosport Planning Applications is, https://publicaccess.gosport.gov.uk/online-applications insert the planning application reference in the box, click search, then click on Documents to read Gosport Society consultation response letters.
A samples of Gosport Society’s responses are –
Daedalus Waterfront, Lee on The Solent – 24/00363/DETS
2-24 High Street Gosport – 9 Flats – 24/00322/FUL
20 Bury Road – Retrospective application (unauthorised works) – 24/00375/FULL
Immigration Removal Centre, 2 Dolphin Way – 24/00382/FUL.
GILKICKER
Our Planning Team was invited to visit to see the progress at Fort Gilkicker, spiral staircases are to be installed to the upper floors, access holes are literally being drilled between the floors to form the stair wells. I don’t think my Black & Decker drill would be capable of this job!
Discovery Centre – within our archives we have a collection of publications about Gosport, which are not written by Gosport Society authors, we have contacted the Discovery Centre who are checking their stock list, publications which they would like to make available for the public will be donated by Gosport Society, which will help the public to be more aware of local heritage.
Gosport Society Website – www.gosportsociety.co.uk
The first draft of our new Website will be presented to Gosport Society Executive Committee in the next 14/21 days. Circulation of the draft content had been circulated amongst the Executive Committee for comments before handing over our proposals to the Web Designers, no further comments had been voiced at the Executive Meeting yesterday, and a meeting had been arranged to confirm minor draft amendments to progress the design further.
The project is still at the preliminary stage with further content is to be completed. An introduction video on the Website is also being organised, Gosport Drones have kindly offered their services for free, an introduction video of an overview of Gosport from the middle ages up to the Gosport of today, together with the story of how Gosport Society was formed.
It is still work in progress, however we hope to be in a position to launch the Gosport Society new Website next month.
Thinking about the future. (repeated from Novembers & December Updates)
Although our AGM is not until June 2025, all Executive Posts will be up for election.
Chairman, Vice Chairman, Hon. Treasurer, Hon. Secretary, Membership Secretary, Social Secretary and members for our Planning Team. Also, Trustees are required. We are actively seeking new active members to assist with the administration of our Society. Please give the matter serious consideration, any member of the current Executive Committee would be only too pleased to have an informal chat with you or you may possibly know of a new member to introduce.
MIKE WILLIAMS ARTICLE.
Christmas is often a time for reflection. Families get together and remember times gone by; the good times and the not-so-good times. So, I thought I might reflect on Christmas time a very long time ago, that is, Christmas in the 1600s and what Christmas might have been like in our 17th Century Little Woodham Village of 1642.
Many people believe Christmas, then known as “Feast of the Nativity” was banned; yes, it was. One Christmas fell on a Wednesday and so it coincided with a new law. In January 1642 a bill was passed by Parliament, legislating for a monthly day of prayer. Under the 1642 law in England and Wales the last Wednesday of every month was to be set aside for such a purpose. The Ordinance, in this picture, demands that Christmas be remembered with “more solemn humiliation”, and less “giving liberty to carnal and sensual delights”. Villagers, please take note!
As with most Commonwealth legislation, the Christmas ban was removed in 1660 by Charles 2nd with the Restoration. One of the reasons why Charles was known as the Merry Monarch was because of his fun-loving and scandalous life style. While there were no legitimate children from his marriage to Catherine, he had at least seven known mistresses and as many as 12 children – so, he obviously enjoyed rather a lot of ‘carnal and sensual delight’!
The Christmas ban, and Cromwell’s association with it, has become part of popular mythology (not so ‘mythological’ ed.) over the last 380 years.
Richard Cook Dated 16th January 2025