Today we continue to share a few precious images collected by Andy Vining’s family. Andy’s family farmed the North and South Millers Dale and surrounding areas for over 100 years, living in Hiltonbury Farmhouse until 1976.
These images may not be very clear, but we hope you get a sense of what the area was like in those days. We hope these inspire your memories and you can share what you remember with us.
Show these photos to your older friends, your parents or grandparents, and they may be able to tell you some stories.
You can click to enlarge these photos to get better views.
1) The first set of the photos is:
A closer look:
2) The second set of photos is about Hursley Road.
Put your answers in the comment below. Thank you.
hmm; having difficulty orientating myself to the Hursley Road photo. Am I incorrectly assuming that it is Central Precinct in the background?
The cars in the photo date it to 1980s, I think. It could be the construction of the current Hursley Road junction – the roundabout. Don’t know when this was, but it was before 1988. Or it could be construction of the block of flats that is opposite Central Precinct, on the land between Hursley and Winchester roads. These were built in the late 1980s.
When Andy dropped off these photos to me, he mentioned briefly about a ‘cycle path’ at the current Hursley Road junction – the construction site in the photo.
Yes you’re right it’s the Central Precinct in the background.
Perhaps someone could explain a bit more – I have no idea what was going on there.
Hi Janet et al …
Although I had left the village when this was going on, looking at the work and materials on the site, I suspect it is/was drainage for the flats that were built there … I have no idea what they were doing in the middle of Winchester Road at the end of Hursley Road though, but perhaps some ‘preparatory’ work for the roundabout … I don’t think the 2 lots of work are connected …
Keep ’em coming please … keeps on our toes, so to speak.
Doug Clews
Back to the boards in the middle of the Winchester lane at the junction of Winchester Road/Hursley Road … I realise now that they are signs possibly indicating that the lane ahead is closed or obstructed by roadworks, perhaps an access point from Winchester Road to the work in Hursley Road shown in the other pictures, and has nothing to do with a roundabout …
Regarding the other photos, the first two are Winchester Road looking towards Southampton outside the Halfway Inn/end of Brownhill Road …
The garage group is ‘as was’ before it became Young and Beeton, and is situated in Winchester Road between the Fish and Chip shop and Brownhill Road, pretty well opposite the Methodist Church …
The last 2 in Hursley Road near the end of Park Road, were featured an explained last week.
Keep smiling all …
Doug from ‘WOZ’
First set as Doug says were the the garages at Fryern Hill.
Second set in the first photo just before Wheatleys builders the tin shed before it on the right was where they kept / repaired the the bikes for the cycle speedway track down the dip behind, pedal cycles I should add, raced on a cinder track very little safety gear hankie or scarf tied round the mouth bikes mostly made up by the team no fancy mountain bikes, anything they could get their hands on, great fun riders and spectators all covered in cinder dust at the end of racing.
The work certainly looks like drainage of some sort probably done after I left ‘Ford.
Hi Roger …
Were you involved with the setting up of the cycle speedway and building the track, along with Peter Smith (and others) … the ‘Hiltingbury’ or ‘Lake Mob’ as they were known, built a track in the pine woods between the lake and Lakewood Road … mainly dust and pine needles, nothing anywhere near as sophisticated or professional as the Mead Road track, but all good fun just the same.
Hi Doug,
No I had nothing to do with the actual track, team or bikes, just an onlooker / supporter. I did used to ride my bike through the woods around Cuckoo Bushes Lane – it was all sandy up there .
There was a fabulous unofficial off-road style bike track in the ancient oak woods where now stands the ASDA roundabout and beyond. It covered quite a large area extending towards what is now ASDA’s car wash and downhill towards the plant nursery in what is now Nursery Gardens, and was full of exciting features, deep dips, rough sections, smooth downhill straights, jumps, tight bends etc. You had to steel yourself before going through the deepest dip as speed very quickly built up and was then absorbed as you climbed the hill to exit it.
We were often told as reported fact (but probably a boys’ scaredy-cat test) that someone had died trying to use a motorbike on the track, which ran through some awkwardly-placed oak trees. Like the story about the lad’s body that was said to be at the bottom of Bundy’s Lake in what is now Brickfield Lane (and certainly served to scare us non-swimming anglers from getting too clever near the deeper water), it was never confirmed officially by a grown-up.