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!
Queen's Platinum Jubilee Celebrations
Thursday 2nd – Sunday 5th June
What wonderful memories were created across the parish over the Jubilee weekend to celebrate the remarkable reign of our Queen?
The festivities started on Thursday with the amazing Champagne Breakfast at The Half Moon and Spread Eagle and the day then ended with a delicious hog roast in Woodmancott, plus a drink or two! At 9.45 pm the beacon was lit to coincide with the lighting of beacons around the country.
On Friday, Micheldever Station organised a splendid children’s party in the Warren Centre, and in the evening The Dove was full to capacity for the BBQ.
The fete at East Stratton on Saturday was a huge success, enjoyed by a large number of people, with an evening at The Northbrook Arms to follow, watching The Jubilee Concert and quenching thirsts.
After all these wonderful events, all blessed with fine weather, it was with great trepidation that the Micheldever Jubilee committee decided on Sunday morning to go ahead as planned and hold the street party outside, even though the weather forecast wasn’t looking at all promising.
At 8.30 am Church Street was closed to traffic, marshals were in place, bunting and balloons were strung across the road and an army of volunteers appeared to begin setting up tables and chairs, all delivered by yet another team.
It was lovely to hear the bells being rung before the Thanksgiving Service in St Mary’s, beautifully decorated with flowers from the Flower Festival which had been running over the Jubilee weekend. While we were singing away in the church the team outside continued to set up the tables, covered them with tablecloths, decorated them with flags and placed location letters on them to identify where party groups should sit - an incredibly well-thought-out plan.
Everyone started to arrive at midday, the bar opened, manned by more volunteers, and the children paraded to show off their costumes for the ‘Kings and Queens’ competition. At 1 pm the party began, food was shared, and an atmosphere was created that was just unbelievable. And let’s not forget the amazing community singing and of course the conga at the end!
At 4.30 pm the new play area at the LRPF was officially opened by the chairman of the parish council. By 6 pm Church Street was cleared of everything, tables and chairs returned, and no rubbish was left behind, so thank you all for that.
A HUGE thank you - to everyone who worked so hard to help in any way to make the truly fantastic memories we are all still talking about, and to everyone who supported the events.
Maurelle and Olly
