Page 24 • The HERALD • 25th January 2024 v INDEPENDENT, LOCAL AND PROUD v FOR QUALITY AND SERVICE • DOMESTIC AND COMMERCIAL WORKS • DISABLED FACILITIES 235 Hampton Lane, Blackfield SO45 1XA Telephone: (023) 8084 9999 Fax: (023) 8084 9999 • Mobile: 07836 525286 Established 1955 PJ-T DOUBLE GLAZING REPAIRS • Misted Units • Locks • Handles • Hinges • Door Adjustments/Repair • Cat Flaps Paul Jackson-Turner 07708 620910 pjtrepairs65@yahoo.com uPVC & Aluminium Free Quotes Fully Insured Wet clean or Dry clean • Carpets • Rugs • Upholstery • Cushions • Mattresses • Caravans & Motor Homes Contact Chris for a free estimate and advice. We have full liability insurance 023 8104 0185 07770 792361 clean-u-up@hotmail.com We provide one of the best professional Carpet & Fabric cleaning Systems what is now the bottom of Ferry Road). ere were also ‘nightmare bunkers’ and the nal and ninth tee was found in a setting of Scotch r trees. e club house was refurbished to include a modern bar, dining and tea rooms, darts, billiards, and even a room in which to play ping-pong. It would also serve as a venue for social events including dances. But by late 1938 the clouds of war were gathering. In October that year, the club house was earmarked as a rst aid post in case war broke out. It was also assigned as a casualty clearing station where ambulances could be stationed in case of emergencies. How active the land was as a golf course during the Second World War, I have been unable to nd out. Aerial photography from the time suggests it wasn’t hit by any bombs. A semblance of normality returned to the golf course a er the Second World War. In 1951 it was still open for play, but this was likely one of the last years it was possible to do so. e demand for housing in the post-war period was high, Hythe’s population was growing, and the owners of the golf course saw yet another opportunity. Permission was granted for the land to be developed for housing and in 1955 the once vibrant golf course underwent a transition from well-trodden fairways and greens to the foundations of family homes. An initial one hundred and twenty three were built, then in the early 1960s more houses appeared, and the Hollybank as we know it today was almost entirely formed. Today there is no physical evidence on the ground to suggest that Hollybank was once a golf course. e mansion turned club house did survive until the 1970’s as Hollybank House before being demolished to make way for bungalows. It could have been very di erent though. In 1971 Dibden Parish Council opposed an application to turn it into a pub. But there is something that has survived and gives a small hint as to what once was. At the bottom of Lower Mullins Lane is a house which looks older than the rest. is house was built in the 1800s and was known as Hollybank Lodge. is is where gates to the original private estate and park were. A gatekeeper or gardener would have lived in the house, and then later in the golf era, players would have passed it to enter a driveway up to the course. Nowadays it’s hard to imagine that Hollybank was home to a mansion and large private estate that hosted high society events in the 1800’s. You might nd it even harder to imagine golf being played here in the 1930’s. But if you can, try to visualise a tranquil golf course that once graced this landscape. You might even hear the ghostly chatter of avid golfers who once trod the well-manicured fairways and sought refuge in the shade of trees lining the greens. I believe some of those trees still exist. See if you can spot them! Do you have any memories or photos of the golf course before Hollybank was developed as housing? If so, I’d love to hear from you. General Estates Limited, the company responsible for the development, also formed a sports club with facilities for bowls, tennis, and other games. Unsurprisingly, given its aesthetic qualities, the course became extremely popular and was even redesigned in 1937 by the renowned golf architect, Philip Mackenzie Ross. It remained as nine holes (there wasn’t the room to make it an eighteen hole course) and was described in the press as being an ‘undeniably beautiful setting with grand views over Southampton Water’. e course had a ‘belt of trees near a fairway, a green set beside a stream, and a woodland path leading to small lake’ (this is the pond I described as being on is time was also witness to a new sporting boom in England: golf. Previously golf had been something played north of the border in Scotland with little interest in it shown down south. But from 1890 this changed, and the sport became extremely popular with the middle classes of Victorian England. Over one thousand golf clubs were subsequently created between then and 1914. is increase in golf’s popularity wasn’t missed by the owners of Hollybank Park, who sensed an opportunity. Given how well the landscape overlooking the village lent itself to a sport such as golf, you can guess what happened next. On 25th August 1932, Hollybank Golf Course opened. e nine-hole course had taken eight months to landscape including converting the Hollybank House mansion into a club house. Mr C. Percy of Malden drove the rst ball down the fairway, and declared it open for play. To help with modern day orientation, Hollybank House, i.e. the club house, was situated on what is now Malwood Road West, roughly opposite the entrance to Douglas Way. e northern end of the course boundary stretched from Malwood Road West, down to the Hollybank Crescent shops and parade and then the bottom of Fairview Drive to the east, with the southern boundary roughly ending at Hillview Road, over to the end of Dale Road on the western side. It also had a couple of ponds, the larger of which was undoubtedly where a lot of golf balls ended up. e Modern Chinese takeaway and ats on Ferry Road now sit on top of what was the water hazard. In addition to the golf course, Marc hosts monthly local history talks, visit: nfhwa.org/events for details In the late 1800’s through to the early 1930’s, the area upon which Hythe’s Hollybank housing estate sits was called Hollybank Park. e undulating landscape featured small wooded areas, streams, and ponds with the main focal point of the private estate being an imposing mansion named Hollybank House. From here the residents were able to look out over a wide expanse of green as the land sloped gently down towards Hythe village. e privately owned grounds of Hollybank Park hosted high society events and parties. e events would o en be accompanied with music performed by a brass band from nearby Beaulieu. In the summer of 1931, the grounds were also used as a venue for scout camps, with boys sleeping under canvas in this beautiful setting. Fairways to Foundations: The History of Hollybank’s Forgotten Golf Course by Marc Heighway, mheighway@hotmail.com
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