7th August 2025 • The HERALD • Page 37 v THE HERALD - PART OF YOUR COMMUNITY v Call for a FREE Quotation 023 8084 0257 www.gasworks.co.uk Visit our showroom at 299 Shirley Road, Southampton SO15 3HU The Curious Case of Hythe’s Ball and Chain by Marc Heighway Could the ball and chain have been used to restrain the accused awaiting trial? Or was it merely a humorous prop in the pub - a talking point for locals or a jovial “threat” to tipsy customers? Another possibility is that it was acquired later simply as a decorative curiosity. We may never know. But what do you think? If you have any information or theories about the ball and chain’s history, I’d love to hear from you. Or perhaps you are the person who originally donated it to the Heritage Centre and can con rm the details of how it was found. If you can help, please email the Herald O ce. And if you’ve never been to the Waterside Heritage Centre, I highly recommend a visit. e ball and chain are just one of many fascinating items waiting to be discovered in the old train station building in Dominey Close. It’s a brilliant resource for anyone interested in local history. You can nd out more at watersideheritage.co.uk Marc hosts monthly local history talks, visit: nfhwa.org/events A few weeks ago, I visited the Waterside Heritage Centre to do some research. While there, the volunteers showed me something I’d never seen before from their collection: a ball and chain. As you might expect, it is very heavy, and when attached to your ankle, you’re going nowhere, fast. ey know little about it, other than that it was donated a few years ago by a lady who claimed it was found in the basement of the Drummond Arms in Hythe. at’s the only note they have on the item. Sadly, no other details remain. If that’s true… why would there be a ball and chain in the basement of a pub? I can’t say for certain, but I have a few theories. e Drummond Arms, now converted into Drummond Court, has stood overlooking Hythe Pier since opening as a pub and hotel in 1846. In the 19th century, some pubs, especially coaching inns or prominent public houses, had a cell or lock-up in the basement for holding drunks or troublemakers until the police arrived. Could the ball and chain have been used to keep rowdy drunkards in check before they were carted o to Hythe police station, which stood roughly opposite where Lidl is today? Or perhaps it was connected to the Drummond Arms’ role in Hythe’s Petty Sessions. Although the building Ball and chain didn’t open as a courthouse, it became the venue for these local court proceedings about a decade a er it opened. From 1857 to 1894, magistrates heard minor criminal cases and some civil matters there, everything from assault and drunkenness to poaching, the , and even one instance of rape. New Forest/Waterside U3A members meetings are held on the first and third Tuesdays of each month, at St Andrews Hall in Dibden Purlieu, starting at 2pm. Meetings nish at around 3.30pm, but everyone is invited to stay for tea and biscuits if they wish. ey regularly welcome between 90 and 100 people to their meetings. PLEASE NOTE ere are no meetings during August. e next meeting will be a talk on 2nd September from Jane Glennie, entitled “Jane Austen’s Best Friend”. Jane is a regular speaker, and o en includes a little role play for her audience. ey recently enjoyed a most interesting illustrated talk from a representative of the Air Ambulance Service. Congratulations to Owen, one of their members, who recently raised over £2000 for this charity, from a sponsored parachute jump. ey have also been learning from Keith Betton, about bird life on some of the world’s most remote islands. He had some fascinating stories to tell! A coach load also enjoyed a day trip to Dorset, on one of the few cooler and more overcast days in June! ey had a steam train ride from Corfe Castle to Swanage, where they spent a few hours seeking out (mainly) sh and chips for lunch, along with a leisurely forage among the many independent shops and charity retail outlets in the town centre. Special interest groups meet regularly, including skittles, embroidery, history, and gardening. ere are lunch dates, which are o en fully booked on the day they’re announced. ere is also a group that meets to play boules on alternate ursday a ernoons, at the Old Mill, Hardley, a delightful venue, with a very pretty garden, and a table tennis group, which plays fortnightly at Gang Warily, and is actively seeking more players. Anyone who is interested in joining this friendly U3A group is welcome to go along to a meeting, or to contact the secretary if they’d like to chat rst. Please email: u3a.nfwsecretary@outlook.com New Forest/ Waterside U3A
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