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OUR HISTORY
The History of The Portchester Society
As early as 1973, it came to the notice of local
residents that there was a proposal for a large housing development on the land which now is known at Castle Shore Park.
Soon afterwards an application was lodged by Warings, in association with Vosper Thorneycroft and a Dutch company, to infill
11.2 acres, later reduced to 5.5 acres, of Portchester Lake, between Vosper Thorneycroft and the Castle Shore Park, and to
develop this for industrial use. Portchester Sailing Club were opposed to this development as they believed that it
would contribute to the further silting of Portchester Lake. Sufficient residents of Portchester responded to this threat
by forming the Portchester Lake Action Group (PLAG) under the chairmanship of Mrs. Jean Barr-Taylor. The PLAG was disbanded when it became
apparent that the infilling scheme would not proceed.
Growing public concern about the undesirable consequences
of an increasing number of development proposals, gave rise to a public meeting held on 15th. November 1978 to
gauge what level of support there would be for an organisation dedicated to “conserve and protect the heritage of the
village and its surrounding waters and enhance the quality of life in Portchester”.
The inaugural meeting of The Portchester Society was
held at the home of Rev. Jackson, on 29th. November 1978. It was the decision of that meeting, chaired by
Mrs. Isobel Snocken J.P., that the organisation should be known as The Portchester Society, and Mrs. Snocken was duly elected
as the Society’s first chairman.
In 1980 the Portchester Society published a booklet,
‘A Portchester Walk’.
Members of the Society took a leading role in 1992 in
a fund-raising group whose purpose was to renovate the lych-gate at St. Mary’s Church and save it from falling into
decay.
In 1999 the Society, with assistance from the ‘Awards
for All’ millennium grant, decided to place twelve blue plaques on buildings of historical interest around the village.
This project was followed by the production of a booklet describing the project and the plaques together with their locations.
The work of The Portchester Society continued successfully
until in the autumn of 1999 when the Trustees of Portchester Parish Hall, announced that they were considering a plan to demolish
the hall, sell the site to a developer and to build a new hall in Castle Street, near to the Shopping Precinct. An alternative
plan to renovate the existing Parish Hall was considered, by the Trustees, to be too expensive. The Trustees held a
public meeting at the Parish Hall on 10th. November 1999 and invited Portchester residents to express their views.
A campaign to retain and repair the Parish Hall and to
oppose its demolition was mounted and in a petition of local residents over 1900 signatures in favour of its retention was
presented to Fareham Borough Council. However the Council supported the application by The Trustees to demolish the
Parish Hall and gave outline planning consent for a new Parish Hall on a garden site.
The Portchester Society supported the retention of the
Parish Hall, but a significant proportion of the Society’s management committee voted with the Parish Hall Trustees
in opposition to the majority view of the membership. With this volte-face all the committee members, with one exception,
resigned and ultimately formed another society in Portchester calling themselves the Portchester Civic Society, in December
2000.
Since that unfortunate schism, the original Portchester
Society has continued its work and has been active in the community fulfilling its remit, to work for the betterment of life
in the village.
In 2003, three members of the Portchester Society produced
an illustrated book entitled “Portchester” containing many historic photographs illustrating life in the village
during the early years of the twentieth century and earlier. This has sold well and has been reprinted several times.
Following the Society’s founding principles members
successfully campaigned against the development of a Greenfield site in Cranleigh Road, Portchester, in 2006 and lodged objections
at the Public Enquiry which was held in that year. In the same year, in association with other organisations, they planted
the Trafalgar Oaks to the west of Nelson’s Monument on the hill above Portchester and in the village, including all
the schools, in commemoration of the 200th. anniversary of the death of Admiral Lord Nelson.
Registered Charity Number 290778
Membership Application and Subscription
with Standing Order Request
(To print the forms below, highlight the necessary parts
and use the 'print selection' feature of your system. The 3 forms will fit on one side of foolscap.)
Mr/Mrs/Miss/Other (please delete as applicable)
Address:
Postcode:
Telephone:
Email:
Please complete and return this form with Standing Order Request or cheque/cash
to:
|
Individual
Membership -------- |
£4.00 |
Joint, Member and Partner -------- |
£7.00 |
|
Senior Citizen -------- |
£3.00
|
Joint, Senior Citizens ------- |
£4.50
|
|
Junior Member -------- |
£1.00 |
Group Membership --------
|
£8.00 |
Standing order form is below
Standing Order Request
To the Manager ………………………………………………………………
Bank plc
Address of Bank:
Postcode:
Please pay to Lloyds TSB Bank plc, sort code 77-25-13 NOW* and on the 1st
of November each year until further notice the sum of:
£………………. For the credit of The Portchester Society account, number 00226863
* delete "NOW* and"
if dated between 1 September and 31 October
This cancels any existing order to The Portchester Society
Signed: …………………………………………………………… Date ………………………….….
Full Name (Block Letters):
……………………………………………………………………………
Address: …………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………… Post Code: ……………………………
