29th January 2026 • The HERALD • Page 27 v INDEPENDENT, LOCAL AND PROUD v All aspects of Plastering undertaken Fully Qualified, Reliable, Quality Service Free Quotations Call Joe: 07713 724610 @jbplastering92 THE MYRTLE INN, PART 2 by Robin Somes, Fawley and Blackfield Memories added to that of the Fawley inns, seems to indicate that (at least, upon the surface) the whole vicinity has gone ‘dry’, and is to be avoided, therefore, by those possessing a thirst”. In 1932, there arose a dispute over the use of Green Lane, or Stone Lane, which runs from Stanswood down to Stone Point. Opposing Cadland’s attempt to close it o , many testi ed that they o en used it, including George Williams, founder of the Williams Shipping Company at Ashlett. George claimed: “Lots of lads used the lane to get to Stone Point to bathe. Others used the lane to get to the beach for shrimping and winkling. … His father liked a drink, and as a nipper he had walked with him along the shore to the ‘Myrtle Inn’ at Hillhead. Plenty of others did the same, and were never stopped”. We might revisit the Green Lane dispute in another story, but for now, there ends the tale of the Myrtle Inn. Previously we learned of the Myrtle Inn at Hill Head, and le the story a er it was repossessed by its owner, a Mr Taylor. He then sold the property to the Cadland Estate, and the building was knocked down and replaced. In 1882, an anonymous correspondent wrote to the Hampshire Advertiser: “Passing by Hillhead, in the neighbourhood of Eaglehurst, I see they are pulling down the old Myrtle, for many years in possession of the Philps family. The thought occurred to me respecting those gentlemen and their families who, for many years past, from London as well as Southampton, have spent a short time here in the summer. I have heard some of them say, they thought it the loveliest spot on earth, and how they felt invigorated both in mind and body, and that they would come again next season; but last summer owing to the house being shut up, of course no one was staying there”. e story of the Myrtle Inn would have ended there, were it not for F. J. Penny, who wrote to the Advertiser in 1927, recalling (only slightly inaccurately) his three favourite inns, the Ship, at Lepe, the White Horse, at Nelson’s Place, and the Myrtle: “… a quaint old place, stood at Hill Head, a once divine spot, facing the sea, right opposite Cowes, its last landlord being jolly old Richard (or Dick) Philps, a much-respected member of a very old Fawley family, whose venerable mosscovered headstones besprinkle the village churchyard. Unfortunately, the ‘Myrtle’, of which for generations the Philps’ had been the freeholders, fell into the hands of the brewer, by whom it was sold to the ‘estate’, being then forthwith razed to the ground, to the great grief of many, who loved to sit around and enjoy their beer and the pleasant outlook, and a friendly chat with the veteran ‘Dick’”. Penny concluded: “When at Exbury I looked in vain for the ‘Mitford Arms’, an inn of former long standing, and the only one in the village. Its disappearance, Swans (Support with Additional Needs) Parents Support Group Families Matter run Swans (Support with Additional Needs) Parents Support Group, supporting parents and carers of children with all kinds of additional needs, as well as the needs of their siblings. Swans o er drop in sessions on Fridays during term time from 10am to 12noon at Cornerstone URC Church in Hythe, children are welcome to attend with you. ey also o er activity days during the school holidays for your child/ children with additional needs and their siblings 1:1 home visits are o ered if you would like to have a chat and nd out more. For more information visit: www.familiesmatter.org.uk, email: office.fm.hurc@gmail. com or call: 023 8020 7623 INFORMAL BOOK GROUP AT HYTHE LIBRARY From Hythe Library If you’d like to discuss what you’ve been reading and hear about books you might not consider, BookAbout might be the group for you! Why not keep the freedom to decide what to read next and talk about it in the following meeting? We meet on the second Thursday of every month, 11am-12noon.
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