Older Than We Had Thought

Our brother-in-law Ron Salinger sent me an e-mail yesterday alerting me to a mention of our house in the New Milton Advertiser. We therefore bought a copy from Ferndene Farm Shop, and continued into the forest on a much brighter, more sun-sparkly morning than the miserable looking afternoon featured more recently along Christchurch Road below.

This set of pictures, gathered on a gleaming Braggers Lane, exemplifies the glittering foliage we enjoyed throughout the lanes we traversed, and demonstrates that summer has no intention of yielding to autumn just yet.

The seasonal conflict is most apparent in ferns and bracken, some of which remain stubbornly verdant and others curl in submission.

Grasses show signs of age and of youth.

Trees are not yet prepared to shed their leaves, although

pannage pigs would enjoy rooting among the varied mast dropped beneath them.

After lunch I applied myself to the newspaper article.

Forming part of Reflections: The A337 – story of a road well-travelled (part two) by Nick Saunders on https://www.advertiserandtimes.co.uk, the article suggests that the core of our much periodically updated house is older than we had thought.

Of the A337 from Christchurch Mr Saunders writes: ‘When the road crossed over the Danestream it also crossed the boundary into Hordle Parish. Here, too, the road has been realigned. The 1841 map shows a dog-leg junction at the crossroads with the Royal Oak Inn. The hostelry, recorded on the tithe map, was an important staging post for the horse-drawn transport of the 1800s. It was here that the mail could be collected along with goods and supplies brought to the area by wagon, and horses could be changed or given a rest and water.

The cottages on the entrance to Downton beside the car sales premises have an 1897 date stone and, therefore, would not have been something the traveller from 1841 would recognise. Opposite the inn was the blacksmith’s forge and house. In 1958 the junction was straightened out by demolishing a cottage and taking a large slice of the blacksmith’s garden.

Just a little to the east is the old post office, possibly built in the 1850s or later. (my italics). The tithe map shows the post office of 1841 on the road to Hordle village.’

We have https://derrickjknight.com/2015/07/23/an-historic-view/ of the house from probably earlier than the 1930s.

The changes undergone since the 1960s are detailed in https://derrickjknight.com/2014/07/30/friths-postcards/

This evening we dined on moist roast lamb, boiled new potatoes, crunchy carrots, firm cauliflower, tender green beans and meaty gravy, with which Jackie drank Hoegaarden and I drank more of the Malbec.

78 comments

  1. There is so much wonderful green there, it reminds me of my Michigan home. Lovely! I may be wrong, but this old post office is now your home, Derrick?

  2. What joy to discover more evidence of the history of the house in which you are living. I enjoyed following up the other links you provided too – both are fascinating.

  3. Your photos in the forest are amazing , Derryck.
    Some years ago I took a photo like your first one on this post . I titled it: “the path” , with a load of symbol, of course .
    In friendship
    Michel

  4. The history of your home is so interesting. How wonderful to live in a building that served the community in a positive way. I know you and Jackie have added to those good vibes. Your autumn flora photos make me realize what a beautiful time of year this is with such variety of colors changing and coexisting.

  5. What wonderful history about your house! I enjoy touring old houses/buildings and learning their history! 🙂
    Your forest photos are fabulous! The change of season is on it’s way.
    (((HUGS))) 🙂 ❤️

  6. I love the early autumn photos, Derrick and Jackie, and this history behind your house, and the area. Even the Danestream sounds like it goes back a long, long way to the time of the Saxons and Danes.

  7. The sunlight this time of year is really beautiful on the Fall foliage as you have shown in your beautiful shots! The Downton Post Office is really unique!

  8. As always, I always enjoy the beautiful power, or shall I say powerful beauty of your diction. An immersive post yet again, with a surprising revelation about your current abode.

  9. The history of houses is fascinating and it is always good to learn new things about a house. My Dad, working in USA was once taken round “the oldest house in town”. He was less impressed when they told him it was built in 1928 as it was exactly the same age as him! 🙂

  10. I still remember my first visit to England, and my astonishment as I began to grasp the history there. Of course I’d learned the importance of 1066 in school, but discovering all that flowed from that was quite something. Living in a house that has its own quite interesting history would be quite a pleasure.

  11. My mind went off on a tangent there at the end. How long does Malbec last once it’s opened? And do you store it out or refrigerate it and then let it set for awhile?
    Lovely photos, especially love the texture of the ferns, etc.

  12. Hola Derrick, Thanks for interesting shots. I love to muse over historic connections and what former occupiers saw from the same windows!! Cheers.

  13. Your beautiful writing evidences an equally beautiful appreciation of life in our world. Students of present moment awareness might learn a lot from your work 🙏

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