Winchfield, Hampshire

Living in

When I moved to live on the Cricket Green with my parents in 1947, the previous tenants were called Bacon, and for many years afterwards, people would say "Oh you live in Bacons' old house" - my mother would seethe!  My brother Richard was born in 1948 and our younger brother Patrick arrived in 1950, always doing his own thing, and was delivered by my mother on the kitchen floor - the baby born in a bucket, as he was reminded for many years.  When I married in 1965 at St Thomas More RC Church in Mildmay Terrace, we borrowed a piano from the Stewart family at Longfield Cottage - ours was the second wedding held at the church.  Many happy memories of childhood and beyond of Hartley Wintney - my children spent many holidays with their grandparents, playing on the green, feeding the ducks on Causeway Pond and blackberrying on Hazeley Heath with their Grandma Vaughan.  I learned to score for cricket matches, something I thoroughly enjoyed until marrying my sailor Michael and moving away - but often returning to be with my family.  My parents are remembered by we three siblings  with a seat in the Millennium Orchard on Hunts Common; another close by is in memory of Richard who died aged 56 in 2005, leaving a loving family; we have come to love this orchard, a project dreamed up by Patrick when he was Parish Clerk to the village, a job he thoroughly enjoyed doing.  Sadly Patrick died of cancer in August 2008 - his funeral at St John's was joyful and attended by so many friends, family and colleagues, followed by a wake at the Cricket Clubhouse on the Green, yards from "Bacons old house" where he lived for almost 58 years.

Today Mike and I drove to the Apple Day celebration in Victoria Hall, meeting our daughter and her two children, Ruth Vaughan (Richard's widow) their two daughters and three grandchildren - Pat's death is still raw, but we all talked about him and later went to the orchard, which is where Patrick's ashes will eventually be scattered. I am so very fortunate to have been connected with Hartley Wintney for sixty years. Still known by my maiden name - YOU know, that Heather Vaughan who married a sailor!   Incidentally, our home is clearly seen in the 1960 picture of the Cricket Green - I can see the porch built by my father.

Claremont - Aldershot Road

The house on the right hand side of this picture was called Claremont.  We lived
there in the early 60s.  There were two cottages to the side.  In one of those cottages lived a girl called Elizabeth Holland, she used to babysit us.  They had the most wonderful vegetable garden.  We had fires in all the rooms, but also had paraffin heaters.  I would go to the garage which you can just make out in this photo to buy paraffin.  The Verne was just to the left.  This was a most exciting walk, as there was a newsagents where I could buy comics, Bunty, Judy and Princess.  The butcher shop always had bones for the dogs.  Further on down Aldershot Road was a fish and chip shop - delicious.  Then you would hit some Army buildings.  That is where we went to church.  Father Scantlebury, he gave us ice cream cakes when we had out first communion!  A little further on was the racecourse.  Going the other way was the Wyvern.  Ivy was the kindest of landladies to children.  A Schweppes bitter lemon and a dairy milk tray chocolate bar that had different centres . Such happy times

Chalk Pit & the Hunt

Julian's hunt story is almost right. I was living at the Chalk Pit at the time, and still do. It was about 1981, on a Saturday lunchtime, when the hunt came over the top, but it wasn't on Boxing Day.  The hounds were chasing Hares.  The leader of the hunt knew there was a main road so directed the hunt across the field.  The Hare was chased through a hole in the hedge at the top of the Pit, and the dogs followed through.  From about 34 dogs they lost 18. Mr Cleverley, the local vet, had the sad task of ministering to the injured dogs.  To my amazement the Kennel Maid knew every dog by name, and sat in our barn with the survivors.  I've not seen a dog hunting near the Pit since, though we have had dogs fall over the top.  And, on one sad day, a local man fell to his death.
Some of the buildngs in this photograph still survive, as we live in one.

Bad day at the hunt

The chalk pit at Odiham looks much the same today as it did over 100 years ago, except that most of the buildings are no longer there. An old story I heard in the The Bell Pub, mentioned the local hunt gathering in the Bury Square on boxing day some years ago. They left in the direction of the Chalk Pit on a foggy morning, only to lose half of the poor hunting dogs over the shear face of the cliff. It seems the wily old fox had the better of them on this occasion.