Somborne and District Society

Kings Somborne, Hampshire

Our society, founded in 1978, exists to promote interest in the area of Kings Somborne and the surrounding hamlets. We wish to foster interest in a wide range of subjects particularly in local history, archaeology, genealogy and ecology by means of lectures, visits and exhibitions.

Since its inception the society has collected old photographs of the locality which provide a unique record of changes which have taken place over the years. These are displayed whenever there is a major function.  The Group also contributed to the Hampshire Photographic Project.

A large collection of records relating to the history of the village has accumulated. These have been indexed and are stored in the church room at Ashley. In addition, local benefactor Richard Sawyer has bequethed his large collection of books to the society. The collection is kept at King Alfreds College in Winchester and is available to researchers in local and family history.

In 1996 the society undertook the formation of an unusual archive portraying life in the village at the end of the twentieth century. It sought to record everyday events which usually pass unnoticed. The archive includes monthly reports from all the local organisations, school timetables, outings and staff changes, all parish magazines published during the year and reports of Parochial Church Council meetings. A food survey recorded what people ate and which crops were grown in each named field in the parish. Propety which changed ownership, new developments, newly planted and fallen trees were recorded together with village hall bookings, events held at the three public houses in the parish, bus timetables and postal collection times. Surveys included village amenities and a household response to subjects such as gardening, occupations and holidays etc. The total archive occupies 0.5 cubic metres of information and is held at the Hampshire Records Office.

The society has published an illustrated guide to the village, a guide to the parish church, a village directory for the Parish Council, a guide to local footpaths, a video of village life and various Christmas cards and postcards. In 1989 the history of the parish was published in 'Celebrating Somborne', a hardback comprising 30 chapters and written by society members (ISBN 0 9515 110 17). This was followed by 'Illustrating Somborne' which concerns the changes in the parish in the twentieth century.

Our regular meeting is held at 8 p.m. on the fourth Wednesday in the month at Kings Somborne Village hall. Visitors are very welcome to come to our meetings for which there is a small charge.