The London and Southampton Railway was first proposed in 1831 and the bill approved by Parliament in 1834 at a cost of £900,000. The section between Basingstoke and Winchester opened on 11 May 1840 – and was the final part of the London and Southampton Railway to be completed. Prior to its construction, all of the traffic between London and Southampton was carried by eight stage coaches, four wagons per week, and one barge weekly on the Basingstoke Canal!
The London and Southampton Railway was first proposed in 1831 and the bill approved by Parliament in 1834 at a cost of £900,000. The section between Basingstoke and Winchester opened on 11 May 1840 – and was the final part of the London and Southampton Railway to be completed. Prior to its construction, all of the traffic between London and Southampton was carried by eight stage coaches, four wagons per week, and one barge weekly on the Basingstoke Canal!
The London and Southampton Railway was first proposed in 1831 and the bill approved by Parliament in 1834 at a cost of £900,000. The section between Basingstoke and Winchester opened on 11 May 1840 – and was the final part of the London and Southampton Railway to be completed. Prior to its construction, all of the traffic between London and Southampton was carried by eight stage coaches, four wagons per week, and one barge weekly on the Basingstoke Canal!
Dever Singers
Enjoy singing? - Keen to make local friends? – Come along and join us
The Dever Singers were originally founded in 1984 to perform at a ‘Village Weekend’ in Micheldever as The Micheldever Singers. Over the years, the choir membership has extended throughout the Dever Valley and beyond
Contact information
Please contact our new membership secretary or any other member of the choir.
Membership and Publicity Secretary
Ruth Ironton Tel: 01962 774817 / 07784967464;
Email: ruthironton@gmail.com
The Choir Today
The purpose of our choir is to encourage people who enjoy singing to practise together and improve their musical and vocal skills in a friendly atmosphere; to bring enjoyment to the community and help others achieve their charitable aims.
We are always keen to welcome new members, in particular men as, like many other choirs, we could always do with more Tenor voices. We are a community choir with no auditions. Some of us can read music but others do not but we make a pretty good sound! You will be given a warm welcome if you would like to consider joining us and exploring how enjoyable – and good for you – singing can be. Rehearsals are held on Thursday evenings from 8.00 pm until 10.00 pm at either St. Mary’s Church, Micheldever or St. Margaret’s church at South Wonston school.
For more information, offers of lift-sharing or just to find someone to come along to rehearsal with, see contact details above.
The Choir's History
The Dever Singers were originally founded in 1984 to perform at a ‘Village Weekend’ in Micheldever as The Micheldever Singers.
Over the years, the choir membership has extended throughout the Dever Valley and beyond, with our current name of The Dever Singers reflecting this. Since those early days, the choir has grown considerably in voices, repertoire and reputation and it flourished for over 30 years under the original Musical Director, Colin New.
More recently he was joined by Karen Middleton as his assistant. In 2018 when Colin retired to Wales, he introduced Ben Cooper to us as a new candidate for the directorship role. Despite Colin leaving ‘very big boots to fill’, Ben has been welcomed wholeheartedly into the choir and he has continued to lead us with some fresh repertoire, his expert vocal teaching and unique sense of humour, ably supported by the continued presence of our beloved assistant director Karen. Like Colin New, they have both worked as professional music teachers with the Hampshire Music Service delivering instrumental and singing lessons in schools for both groups and individuals. Ben also sings professionally as a Baritone soloist, and is a senior member of Winchester Cathedral Choir.
Our repertoire varies all the way from classical and religious choral works, sometimes performed in combination with other choirs, to more intimate and relaxed programmes of popular songs and showtunes. We rehearse from September round to June and usually give two pairs of performances a year at South Wonston and Micheldever churches but we also sing at some weddings, funerals and charity fund-raising events on request.
Christmas as The Dove
Summer concert
Christmas as The Dove