Compton & Shawford Local History Society
The Local History Society met at the Sports Pavilion, Compton Down, on Thursday 2nd May 2019.
We had a good attendance of eighteen people who came to hear Adrian Walmsley talk about and launch the new booklet “The Story of a Quiet Parish; Compton and Shawford” written by the late Barbara Clegg in 1963.
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- The Story of a Quiet Parish – Compton and Shawford, by Barbara Clegg.
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- Compton Wild Flowers July 1971 by Hilda Willis
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- Church History booklet
Adrian discovered the foolscap manuscript in the Winchester Records Office and having gained permission, diligently photographed every page. He then electronically transcribed them into print prior to detailed checking for errors and re-editing.
The completed booklet is a delight, with covers including a pen and ink drawing of the Norman Church before the church extension, a copy of Hilda Wilson’s watercolour painting of “Compton Wild Flowers” and a brief biography of the writer.
For those of you who are interested in where you live, this book is a must-have. It is detailed, but highly readable and put into digestible sections from Early History and the Romans to the second half of the 20th Century, plus a section on Village Societies and additional Author’s notes.
And if you haven’t already purchased one (or two) copies of the “Guide to the History of All Saints Church Compton” with full-colour photographs, they are for sale in the church for a minimum donation of £1 each.
There are many other fascinating local History stories on the LHS website:- lhs.comptonshawford.uk
Other matters discussed were:-
- Mapping the graveyard and recording grave inscriptions before they are totally weathered out.
- Examining the history of local tracks and routes.
- Interviewing elderly long-term residents about their memories of the villages and homes.
- Requesting that the Scouts put their collected data on WW1 comrades whom they researched for the 100-year commemoration of the end of hostilities, before considering a similar exercise on WW2 names on the memorial for the 75th anniversary of the end of that war next year.
The next meeting will be towards the end of October, possibly 24th. Confirmation will be in the October Magazine and by email to those signed up.
John Wilkinson, OBE.
Convenor Compton & Shawford Local History Society.
Editor’s note: This article first appeared in the Compton and Shawford Parish Magazine for June 2019.
The next meeting is now confirmed for Monday 21 October 2019
