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Thursday 15th December at 7.30PM. The popular annual Christmas sing-along at the Merry Harriers is tonight. Simon Willetts and Lisa will be leading the well known carols and a couple of poppy Christmas numbers to get everyone in the festive spirit. Book a table (food will be served as usual), or come along. All welcome, and do invite friends.

SUNDAY REFLECTION

Life is slowly getting back to something like “normal”. But we know that many things will have changed forever. There is, therefore, some comfort in reflecting on the past. In this week’s Reflection, Jane Woolley reminds us that our little village has a rich heritage. On this website, and within the Heritage archive that Jane keeps at her home, much can be discovered.

Ever wondered what your house used to look like?   The chances are that it was one of Hambledon’s many small cottages, probably with no modern utilities, before it was “developed” to create a fair-sized family home complete with wi-fi and superfast broadband.    Ever imagined what the noise must have been like when the empty expanse of what is now “Nutbourne Park” was a thriving brickworks?  Ever been curious to know whether The Hydons and Hambledon Park always looked the way they do to-day?

Well, thanks to the Hambledon Heritage archive, it’s easy to find the answers to these and many more questions about the village, its activities, its inhabitants and its institutions.   By charting the development of the village over the best part of 200 years, the archive also demonstrates how much the Hambledon of to-day owes to the Hambledon of the past:  there’s nothing new about Hambledon’s community spirit.

The material in the archive has accumulated gradually over the last 60 or so years.  It’s a real social  history, in words and pictures, of families from all walks of life, their homes, their workplaces, their farms;  of the village hubs – the shop, the Post Office (they weren’t always the same thing and the village had more than one shop in the past), the Village Hall, the church and the pub;  the changing landscape; the sporting and social clubs, past and present;  and the institutions (including the Hydestile Hospital and the Hambledon Institute, the predecessors of The Hydons and Hambledon Park respectively – and the Institute was originally the workhouse). 

Disasters (from bombing raids to storms) are recorded;  so are successes such as winning best-kept village competitions and saving the village shop and the school (now the Nursery School).  Village fetes and celebrations of national events ranging from VE Day to jubilees are chronicled in detail.   There are scrapbooks, booklets written by villagers, photographic albums, press cuttings and numerous individual contributions.  On the whole they paint a picture of an ideal village – but don’t be fooled:  less than 10 years ago the Surrey Advertiser reported that “A village regarded by police as one of the safest places to live in Surrey has proved to be the ideal base for two cannabis factories” – which led to the arrest of six people under the Misuse of Drugs Act.   Never let it be said that the archive is a dull read. 

When my mother bought Cobblers, little did she (or I) realise that the two outbuildings that go with it were almost more spacious than the cottage itself.

  This means that I have been able to provide a home for the archive in the sun room.  Anyone is welcome to visit and browse.  You can find a list of all the documents with, in some cases, a list of their contents, on the village web site:  just click on history/historical village documents/the Hambledon heritage albums.  And do please consider whether you can add to this invaluable village resource:  although everything that happens now is media-recorded, that used not to be the case.  Our history is still dependent on paper documents and photographs. 

Hambledon on the BBC

The BBC show this painting, but where is this in Hambledon?
Ian Hislop presents

William Westmore, a National Trust Volunteer at Oakhurst Cottage, sent us this link to BBC iPlayer. It is a 2014 TV programme that features Hambledon (from around 4 minutes in) and it may be of interest to Hambledonians. The painting above is a wonderful illustration of a quieter time in our village… (well maybe not as quiet as it is now)

Click the box to go to BBC iPlayer:

“Time” Called At Merry Harriers – For Now

In its long history of serving the people of Hambledon, the Merry Harriers would not have witnessed anything quite like it.

On Friday evening, as news filtered through of the latest Government measures to help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, including the closure of all pubs, clubs and restaurants, customers were told by manager Jake Andreou that the pub would call “time” at 8pm.

Pictured above: Lights about to go out at village pub on Friday evening.

Quite a number of village locals were at the bar – social distancing, of course – and the only cheer came when Jake said he was buying everyone a drink  in thanks for local loyalty and in the hope that all would be back together soon.

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Merry Harriers – Hellos and Goodbyes

The Merry Harriers is undergoing refurbishment under its new ownership, beginning with a striking new sandy-coloured forecourt surface already labelled by locals as “the beach”.

International businessman and entrepreneur Peter de Savary and his family acquired the pub a month ago from previous owners Colin and Julie Stoneley. Regulars at the 16th Century freehouse said a fond farewell to Colin and Julie, who ran the pub for nine years, taking over from the Beasley family, who had been in residence for the previous 40.

 

In a Facebook posting as they prepared to depart the Stoneleys wrote: “We hand over the Merry Harriers to the next “caretakers”. It has been an absolute pleasure to be a part of its 427 year history and to have worked with, met and served so many fabulous people. Thank you for your support…and keep supporting your village pub for many years to come.”

Their final weekend on May 20th and 21st was celebrated with live bands and the Stoneleys said that they were proud of the variety and quality of the music sessions staged during their time at the helm.

Colin and Julie Stoneley

The de Savary family, who recently moved into the area, have ambitious plans for the Harriers and Peter de Savary is expected to attend a forthcoming meeting of the parish council to outline his proposals. In the meantime a great deal of work has been undertaken, including the new surface, a sprucing up of paintwork and signs, new benches, landscaping and kitchen equipment.

 

 

 

Summer Art Exhibition at The Merry Harriers

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Featuring Paintings by Becky Grove – NOW until the end of August 2016

Join Becky at the pub for an evening with the artist on Thursday 4th August.

Becky currently lives in Bethnal Green, London but is originally from Hambledon and so is excited to be having her first exhibition in the pub.

Inspiration for her work comes from far and wide; a road trip from the Yukon (Canada) to the US through Montana, The Grand Tetons National Park and Nashville to name a few, The Lake of Stars festival in Malawi, her friend’s farm in Somerset, her Mum’s beautiful English country garden and cowboys!

You can see some of Becky’s work at her website.