GUTTERS CLEANED AND REPAIRED • FASCIAS • SOFFITS • GUTTERING • ROOF CLEANING • CONSERVATORIES • ROOFS • GUTTER REPAIRS 07946 222820 info@hunterwgc.co.uk www.hunterwgc.co.uk WINTER’S HERE - GET YOUR GUTTERS CLEANED OUT & REPAIRED v THE HERALD - OUR 32ND YEAR - 1994-2026 v 8th January 2026 • The HERALD • Page 23 ABOUT US Our roofers are the best in the business and are ready to give your roof a full and completely FREE inspection SP DECORATING Painting & Decorating Specialist Simon Perks Tel: 07889 091420 Email: simonperks@rocketmail.com • Interior & Exteriors • Wallpaper Hanging • Prompt & Reliable Service • Free Quotations & Expert Advice • Fully Insured Send your news to The Herald by email: editor@herald-publishing.co.uk THE MYRTLE INN by Robin Somes, Fawley and Blackfield Memories We’ve recently explored the history of the Ship Inn at Lepe, and the people involved with it. A couple of miles along the coast, we nd another beerhouse, the Myrtle Inn, at what’s now Calshot. e rst thing to note is that there wasn’t really a de ned place called Calshot then. Calshot Castle was known as such for centuries, but otherwise, there was Eaglehurst, Stanswood Bay, and the tiny hamlet of Hill Head – where the Bluebird Café now is; the beach was called Fawley Beach. Of the three properties facing the Solent at Hill Head, the largest, described as “House and gardens”, was owned in 1838 by Richard Lovell Philps. 1851’s census records him as a gardener, and his son, also Richard, as a sailor. Although beer was almost certainly sold there earlier, the rst real evidence of a beerhouse comes from 1869, at the annual issuing of licences: “There was only one complaint, against the house kept by Richard Philps, of Hill-head, Fawley, the police stating that the landlord allowed poachers to congregate at the house, and also persons who had been convicted of a felony. – The certificate was granted with a caution”. is was almost certainly true; earlier that year 5 young men were apprehended there, and later convicted of poaching. In the 1871 census, Richard junior, then 50, was “Beerhouse keeper”, living with two nieces and a nephew, Henrietta, Anne and Charles Harrington. An extension of permitted hours was granted in December 1875, again to Richard Philps junior. Soon a er, Richard junior died, and there, things became complex. He had sold the property in 1868 to a Mr Taylor, but continued living there as a tenant and running the beerhouse. On Richard’s death in 1878, Taylor then rented the property to a Mr In 1881, both Etheridge and Henrietta were surprised to receive notices to quit, and even more surprised when a bunch of heavies turned up to repossess the house, dumping Henrietta’s household goods, a ton of potatoes, and a pig, out in the road. A court case followed, in which Henrietta and her family sued Taylor for damage to her furniture and potatoes. To cut a very long story short (for the details of precisely who owned what are unfathomable) the case concluded that Mr Taylor was indeed the rightful owner of the property, but that he should compensate the plainti s for damage to their possessions – although there is no word about the pig. In the next episode, we’ll learn the eventual fate of the Myrtle Inn. Etheridge, a brewer, and Richard’s niece Henrietta carried on the business as a sub-tenant. It’s not clear how aware she was of the true ownership of the property. “Hill Head Road at Fawley”, by E. W. Mudge Community Cinema Listings Tuesday 27th January Hythe Cinema is showing Downtown Abbey e Grand Finale at Hythe and Dibden Parish Hall, at 2.30pm and 7.30pm. Tickets are £6 and available from Lovells in e Marsh or on the door. 3rd February Hythe Cra Cinema is showing e Hundred-Foot Journey, doors open at 7pm for 7.30pm start, tickets £6 from Fully Woolly or on the door.
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