Hotbed of local history: Havant and district

ALTHOUGH ‘publishing’ at one time only meant producing something in print, all-digital products are now everywhere. And that means that issues such as print runs and upfront finance – especially in the context of local history – are becoming things of the past. Someone who has shown what the future might be like is Havant resident and former local councillor Ralph Cousins.

This page in the Chronicle generates a steady stream of feedback from readers. All very welcome. It gets sent review copies of new publications from the many local-interest groups, numbering well over 100. Again, all very welcome. Recently it was sent digital files of more than 140 publications all published over the past eight years by Ralph.

The first point to make clear is that in this setting ‘published’ means many things. Some of the material has been written by Ralph, some edited by him, some collected, some reprinted. Like a literary hoover he has cast his eyes around his local area and drawn together what he can find.

Everything is focused on Havant and district, including Bedhampton, Emsworth, Warblington, Leigh Park, Hayling Island, Rowlands Castle and Waterlooville. They are attractive productions, all properly typeset and proofed. There are some professional caveats (see below) but it’s all there. Everything is printed by Park Community School, Havant, under the logo ‘Park Design & Print’, a unit ‘established to give young people real life experience’.

Copies can be purchased for modest sums from local bookshops and museums or direct from: ralph.cousins@ btinternet.com. But more than that, every one of them can be downloaded free from the website of The Spring Arts and Heritage Centre of Havant Borough Council: www.thespring.co.uk/heritage/local-history-booklets/. It gets hundreds of hits a month, with more than 2,000 in May 2020.

The overall experience of trawling through Ralph’s list is like finding a long-hidden cache of old papers and photos in a loft. There are personal accounts on local events and industries, such as the making of parchment and gloves. There are snippets of past news, like Wallis & Steevens traction engines, built in Basingstoke, and used to haul boilers and alternators to Portsmouth Power Station in the early 1900s.

There are also reprints of rare sources, transcripts of interviews, press cuttings and much else. There are detailed accounts of D-Day rehearsals on Hayling Island for landings on Gold Beach and the building of Phoenix breakwaters. Another booklet tells the story of Rowland’s Castle and its railway in the run-up to D-day, especially as an assembly point for troops and materiel.

There is historian John Pile on the Royal Forest of Bere, which stretched from the Meon valley into West Sussex. And on the Hundred of Bosmere (Havant, Warblington and Hayling Island), based on a rare Topographical Account by the Rev. Walter Bingley published in Havant 1817 and now reprinted in part. An interesting tailpiece tells a tale of ‘fourteen notorious smugglers’.

The history of Havant itself, researched by the Havant Local History Group some years ago, makes five volumes. The story of Waterlooville is told in three volumes. There are several volumes of ‘cuttings’ researched by Steve Jones from a wide range of newspaper titles, starting in 1721 with a case of bankruptcy noted in the Stamford Mercury.

Other topics include railways, hospitals, brickmaking, nonconformist congregations, local hospitals and the workhouse, postal history, and specific topics such as the Hayling Island Bridge and Wadeway and the Proposed Langstone Harbour Air Base.

A new edition of Robert Hind’s book on the Naval Camps of Bedhampton and Leigh Park tells the story of a huge hutted encampment built as an offshoot of HMS Daedalus, Lee-on-Solent, during World War II. It was later used as emergency accommodation for local people bombed out of their homes, refugees and others after the war with nowhere to live. Much of the story was air-brushed from history, but dogged research has revealed the struggles faced by local people at the time.

Many of the booklets are liberally illustrated, often in full colour. Those on Leigh Park, for example – not an area widely regarded as an important part of the county’s heritage – are enriched with rare and informative images that would raise the heart rate of any local historian. The paintings of Rowlands Castle by local artist Charles Rogers Cotton (1797-1878) are a delight.

There are many opportunities here for local historians to follow up with more detailed research and ask key questions – the why, when, how of the past – and put findings in a wider context. Anyone wanting to write a biography of the Chinese scholar, Sir George Staunton, 2nd Baronet (1781-1859) of Leigh Park, for example, should download Steve Jones’ 140-page timeline in Booklet No. 78.

The series provides an incredibly rich window on the history of Havant and its area, all eminently readable. But there are some caveats: sources of pictures and information are often not fully cited. And some ‘publishing norms’ are not followed, such as contents lists and indexes. ‘Running heads’ (the words at the top of the page of books) would be useful and if figures were numbered they could more easily be referred to in the text.

Commenting on his work, Ralph said: “I am afraid we are obsessed with producing these books. Doing so has been a godsend during lockdown. Researching old newspaper articles gives a valuable insight into social history.

“With regard to Leigh Park, it is of interest to us to look at the previous owners of this private estate that is now home to 10,000 houses and a population of some 30,000 people. I don’t know what they would have thought about it! It’s a bit emotional for me as I live alongside the lane they would have passed along many times and, as I look out of my window, I imagine them there.”

Overall, the project has brought the Park Community School, as well as local shops and museums, considerable profit. And it seems set to grow and grow. As this was going to press, Ralph sent his latest publication, a reprint of the District Council 1912 Guide to Havant, Emsworth and Hayling Island, rich in period ads, now enlivened with archival photos of the premises. What next?

For more on Hampshire, visit: www.hampshirearchivestrust.co.uk. All images from Havant History Booklets.

barryshurlock@gmail.com