Travels in Egypt

When Edgar Bonham Carter visited Egypt in 1899, it was to work on preparing law codes for the Sudan. Although busy, he was still able to visit ancient sites such as Heliopolis, now buried beneath a Cairo suburb, and Giza.

The illustrated document - Hampshire Archives 38M49/G4/2/9 - is a postcard to his parents in Petersfield describing a visit to the Pyramids in Nov 1899.

I came out here eight miles from Cairo at the foot of the Great Pyramid for a change and to see the Pyramids. Shall return Monday. As the post leaves here tonight I again find myself without time to write a letter. Have been up to the top of the Pyramid this afternoon. As I drove out here on Friday I passed Charlie [Bonham-Carter] with mounted infantry returning. Have been slightly seedy but am now well.

Visit 'Out of Egypt', an exhibition of diaries, letters and artefacts brought back from Egypt, from 11 October to 16 November in the City Space at Winchester Discovery Centre, Jewry Street

Life in a debtor's prison

With little chance of release until debts were paid, the experience of prison for debtors was a truly miserable affair. One such sufferer, a clockmaker by the name of Joseph Shelley, was imprisoned in the Westgate, Winchester in August 1727.

The illustrated document - Hampshire Archives W/K5/8 page 99 - is his petition for release. It gives a vivid description of what it was like to languish in gaol, with no bed or clothes on his back and having to beg for scraps from those passing by. The document is a chance survival, rescued by W H Jacob, the Winchester Councillor and antiquarian, who pasted it into one of his scrapbooks. Luckily for Shelley the petition must have had some effect as it appears from the court records that by October he had been released.

To This Honorable Bentch
The Humble Petichon of Joseph Shelley Clockmaker now Prisner in the Citty hole of Westgate

Humbley Beggs Leave to lay befor your Worshipps the Miserey and hardship that I now undergoe in the said hole of Westgate and have Endured this for above too months parste…

Humbley sheweth that your Petictener has nothing left in the world to suporte Him Nor that your Petictener has not a frend that is able to helpe him, and your Petichoner has solde that small mater which he Had to suporte him, all Exsept too peases of Clockwork Unfinished, which I Humbley begg that your worshipps will be pleased to Grante me liberty, of having my tools Broate into the Gate, that I may finish the to peases of work when sold will Raise as mutch money as I am now Confined for, Your Petichoner Hubley beg that you will be pleased to Consider the Hard Shipp which I Laber under for I have no Bead to lay on & nor has my Close bin of my Back for 59 nites, and what is yet wors, I have Neither Money no Vitells to Eate, Nor Can I Gitt a dropp of water butt what I am forsed to beg of Som Bodey that Pases by, for I have Nott seen aney of the Sargants this six weakes Nor Can I Git Somutch as a Quarte botel into the Prison this I beg you will be please to Consider, for without Some timely Release I must of nesety Perish And in duty bound shall for Ever pray for You.

Both the Westgate Museum and Hampshire Archives and Local Studies at Hampshire Record Office are holding an Open Day on Saturday 13 September. Why not visit both?

Digging for victory

During the Second World War, restrictions on imported food supplies meant the public were encouraged to look to their gardens and grow their own food as much as possible. The Dig for Victory campaign offered useful advice on the best way of doing this and also about the nutritional value of vegetables. Not surprisingly, the national diet improved during these years.

The illustrated document is a poster from a district council file relating to the Dig for Victory campaign - Hampshire Archives reference 29M75/DBC20. It is part of our free exhibition 'Digging in the Archives,' on show in Hampshire Record Office reception from 4 August to 31 October, which examines horticulture through the ages and features artwork inspired by the archives.

A new era in health care

On 5 July 1948, the National Health Service was founded, providing comprehensive healthcare for all regardless of the ability to pay. The work of surveying existing health services and preparing for that momentous day had been going on for several years beforehand.

The illustrated page, Hampshire Archives 59A07/2/1, is part of an inventory and evaluation of furniture at Alton Cottage Hospital in May 1947. The furniture of sixty years ago seems rather drab and not particularly hygienic, a far cry from the clinical atmosphere we expect today.

Household dramas

For most of the19th century, Testwood House in Totton was the home of William Sturges Bourne MP and his family. Their lives have come down to us in great detail, described both in the drawings made by Mrs Anne Bourne and through the letters of their daughter, also Anne, to her friend Marianne Dyson of Petworth, Sussex.

The illustrated document - Hampshire Archives reference 9M55/F68 - is a sketch entitled 'Arrival of Mrs Arbuthnot' and shows the housekeeper at Testwood, Mrs Smith, and another servant, clearly caught in disarray by the event.

As part of the Hampshire Food Festival, Hampshire Archives and Local Studies is holding a food-themed evening of archive film footage and exhibitions of historical photographs and other documents, from 7.30pm to 9pm on Tuesday 8 July (booking required)

Pity the poor sparrow

Churchwardens were responsible for all monies coming into and going out of the parish and their account books are usually very detailed. Church repairs meant frequent references to masons, carpenters, glaziers and unskilled labourers; also tradesmen supplying goods such as bread, wine and candles for church services; and monies paid out for capturing vermin - including sparrows - which were paid for by the head.

The illustrated document - Hampshire Archives reference 83M76/PW1 is a page from the churchwarden's accounts of Whitchurch, listing payments to people, including children, for destroying sparrows as late as 1832.

The document has been digitised as part of the Access Hampshire Heritage project, introducing local history sources online, which will be launched in May. An exhibition will follow, touring Liss, Denmead, Buriton, Havant Museum, Gosport Discovery Centre, the Red House, Willis, and New Forest museums.

May 1832
Sparrow Heads at 9d per Dozen

William Farn 12 sparrow 9d
William Benham 12 Ditto 9d
C Twynam ?? [6] 4 1/2d
Henry Grace 15 Ditto 11 1/4d
John Clark 13 sparrows 9 3/4d
Young Francis sparrows 8 6d
Silcose 15 Ditto 11 1/4d
Crossley 30?? [20] 1s 3d
Swain 2 dozen 1s 6d
Taylor 3 sparrow 2d
Loft['s] Son 2 dozen 10 2s 1 1/2d
Will Swain 62 3s 10 1/2d
Pointer 6 4 1/2d

An ancient borough

The town of Lymington was laid out in medieval times with burgage plots arranged in the typical fashion; short frontages on the main thoroughfare and long, narrow curtilages behind. This arrangement has changed very little and is still a feature of the modern town.

The illustrated document - Hampshire Archives reference 21M65/F7/150/2 - is from the tithe map for Lymington showing the centre of the town, c1845. The numbers on the map relate to the accompanying award which gives property descriptions and the names of both owners and occupiers.

The central sections from all Hampshire tithe maps have recently been digitised and will be available soon through the online catalogue.

The fun of new technology

Dr George Vivian Poore of Wimpole Street was clearly keen on the newest gadgets and must have ordered a typewriter as soon as they became commercially available. The illustrated document - Hampshire Archives reference 39M85/PC/F30/1/32 - shows one of his earliest efforts, produced on a Remington No 1 typewriter. Dr Poore was clearly pleased with his new acquisition. The letter was in upper case as it was not until the Remington No 2 in 1878 that lower case letters, and the shift key, were introduced.

MY DEAR MOTHER
ELIZA SAYS I HAVE GOT A SPELLING PEEANNY AND SHE IS NOT FAR WRONG FOR THIS MACHINE IS UNCOMMONLY LIKE ONE IN APPEARANCE. IT IS CALLED THE REMINGTON TYPE-WRITER AND I DARE SAY YOU HAVE SEEN SOME ACCOUNT OF IT IN 'THE TIMES'. I ONLY GOT IT YESTERDAY AND I CAN ALREADY WRITE TOLERABLY FAST WITH IT SO YOU MAY IMAGINE IT IS NOT VERY DIFFICULT TO USE. IT HAS GOT FOUR ROWS OF KEYS FOR WORKING THE TYPES LIKE AN ORGAN AND THEY SAY THAT WHEN ONE BECOMES EXPERT WITH IT THAT ONE CAN WRITE AS MANY AS 100 WORDS A MINUTE

I HAVE HEARD NOTHING YET OF FRANK BUT I AM HOPING THAT HE MAY TURN UP THIS EVENING IN TIME FOR THE BALL AS I BEING ONE OF THE BALL-ROOM STEWARDS AM EXPECTED TO PROVIDE PARTNERS FOR A GREAT MANY YOUNG LADIES.

FRED GALE IS COMING TO DINE AND HIS DAUGHTERS WILL PICK HIM UP HERE IN THE EVENING. IN HASTE. YOUR AFFECTIONATE SON. GEO.V.POORE

MAY 18TH 1876

A worried man

When civil war rages, the stable patterns of life are disrupted and regulations are often neglected or ignored. During the English Civil Wars, for example, the recording of baptisms, marriages and burials was notoriously poor. Thomas Hooker, parish clerk of Odiham in those troubled times, wrote a note to posterity in Odiham's parish register - our reference 47M81/PR1 - explaining why he had been unable to do his duties.

Thear will com a time when men will com to search in this Booke for the names of thear children and in Regard that thay cannot find Theare names hear writen let them not blame me for it but looke upon theare selves for since the wars began in this land [t]heare have been maney that have been baptised that I never knew of nether had I aney notes of them never the lese I know that the blame will be laid upon me. Thomas Hooker, parish clerke 1652

The document is part of our free exhibition in the Record Office foyer from 2 February to 30 April, 'Quills to Keyboards,' which examines the changing face of record keeping

You're in the Strong Country

Strong & Co advertising hoardings were a feature of the downside line from Waterloo to Hampshire from the 1930s. The artist was Rowland Hilder, a watercolour painter of Kentish landscapes. The hoardings started with ‘You are going to the Strong country’, followed by ‘You are nearing the Strong country’ and then ‘You’re in the Strong country’. Apparently another well-known brewer took space a little further down the line and put up a sign saying ‘So take Courage’. The signs were removed when Strong & Co threatened to take legal action!

The records of Strong & Co form part of the Whitbread collection - Hampshire Record Office reference 79A01. Cataloguing has recently been completed and can be viewed on our online catalogue

A murder most foul

A murder that took place in the Hampshire town of Alton in 1867, is unusual in that the name of the victim is still remembered, while the murderer's name has long been forgotten. Fanny Adams, aged 8, was killed by Frederick Baker who then cut her body into pieces. His diary confession read, 'Killed a young girl' but his motive, as is often the case, was never really established.

The illustrated document - Hampshire Record Office reference 3A00W/A1/38 - is a news cutting from the Hampshire Chronicle of 28 Dec 1867, describing Frederick Baker's execution. His hanging was to be one of the last public executions held in Hampshire.

The execution and confession of Frederick Baker
The execution of the criminal Frederick Baker for The horrible murder of Fanny Adams , at Alton, took place at Winchester on Tuesday morning, in front of the County Gaol, in the presence of more than 5,000 persons, a large proportion of whom consisted of women.

The criminal retired to rest at eleven o'clock, when he was visited by the Chaplain, the Rev Foster Rogers, who has been unremitting in his attentions to the culprit. At seven o'clock the condemned man partook of breakfast. He continued in close converse with the chaplain until five minutes to eight o'clock, when the prison bell began to toll. Some hundreds of the working classes of the city and many by early trains from Southampton and Portsmouth , a few shopkeepers, a large proportion of women and a small sprinkling of nondescripts made up a concourse of not less that five thousand persons, who stood in the grey dawn gazing at the hideous machine which overtopped the noble and massive portals of the county gaol. The striking of the hour of eight by the clocks of the city churches was the signal for the tolling of the prison bell. The prisoner then, accompanied by the chaplain, the under-sheriff, the surgeon, the deputy governor, Mr Greig and 10 warders proceeded to the scaffold. The distance to be traversed was nearly 200 yards, including the ascension of a flight of 100 stone steps. The whole of this the criminal walked with a firm and unfaltering step. The pinioning room is just below the scaffold, and the culprit with great courage and composure submitted to this trying ordeal, to which he was subjected by Calcraft. He ascended the remaining steps to the scaffold with great firmness, and listened with attention and responded with fervour to the pious ministrations of the chaplain. The fatal bolt was then drawn by Calcraft, and after a few convulsive struggles the unhappy criminal ceased to exist.

The behaviour of the crowd was exemplary and on the culprit appearing on the scaffold he was received with solemn silence....

More information Fanny Adams can be seen at the Curtis Museum in Alton

Scouting around with Baden Powell

The illustrated document - Hampshire Record Office reference 83M73/G77 - is from a scrapbook compiled by Sir Harry Crichton, County Commissioner which includes this note of thanks from Robert Baden Powell, Chief Scout.

Commemorations in the centenary year of the scouting movement are nearly over but there is another chance to see our exhibition, 100 Years of Scouting in Hampshire at Hampshire Record Office reception from 5 November to 25 January 2008.