Coventry with Carole and the girls

Carole and Margaret - friends since 1972

On Wednesday morning I said goodbye to Ange and Paul (temporarily anyway) and set off for Coventry in Warwickshire.  It was a two hour journey by train, with no changes necessary.  The only weird thing was that we travelled backwards to Reading, and forward from then on.

Ange had seen me off at Southampton Central, and Carole met me at Coventry station.  I had not seen her since 2008 when John and I met Carole and her husband Mike in town and they had shown me Coventry Cathedral (the ruins which are now a war memorial) and we then had a great pub lunch.

Carole and her girls

This time, I stayed over with Carole and her family.  I'd asked to meet her daughters, and what a delight they are - Sharn, CarolAnn and April.  I also met Sharn's daughter Eve (10) who was on half term holidays, and two young husbands, Anthony and Dave.  The girls had dinner with us and were most friendly and interesting and interested in my doings.

Eve with her grandad Mike

I had met Carole when I first moved out of home to live in a boarding house at Strathfield.  Carole was my room-mate.  I shared because I was saving hard to go back to England for a working holiday.  Carole was in Australia for a working holiday and went back to England in 1972.  I then stayed with her family in Coventry in 1973 or 4, and Carole came down to London for a weekend. Those were the days.

Eve, who is as bright as a button, with Frank (Bruno) the boxer

Now of course, Carole is a grandmother.  Who'd have thought!

Poole, Highcliffe and Lymington

Joseph R. Rose's wedding 1901 - wish we knew who the other people  were.

It's now Thursday evening and I am two days behind with my blog!  I'm currently in Barnsley, in a hotel room which reminds me of one of our good motels, the first such room I've had since I left Sydney.  But this blog is still about Hampshire - and Dorset.

I first met Hannah Mack on Ancestry.com, and we've since become friends on Facebook, even though I am older than her parents.  She has a History MA, which explains why a young person is so interested in family history.  She is also a distant cousin, being a descendant of my favourite ancestor's 17th child!  I am the descendant of his 2nd child, who is 27 years older than hers.

St Michael's church where John Rose is said to have taken refuge.

Her parents live just near Poole, and they were very interested to receive a copy of my story about John Rose, and I was interested to see the photo they had of him.  They also had a very good family photo of their ancestor Joseph R. Rose who built up a stevedoring company in Southampton with 5000 employees.  It was lovely to meet them and to swap family folk-lore.  We shall prove it all one day.  They had heard that John Rose had been a gambler, and used to take refuge in the church (probably St Michael's in Southampton) whilst trying to organise a settlement of his debts.  Sounds like something he'd do.

Ange and Paul had driven me down to their village just outside Poole, so after a delightful visit with Hannah's family, we set off to have lunch at Highcliffe, which is on the south coast outside Bournemouth.  It was very wet, quite a miserable day for driving really.  But we had a delightful lunch, apart from Paul getting exceedingly wet when he found the accessible entrance to the restaurant locked.  He nearly ran over the waitress who opened the door - she did not realise she was in his way.

Lymington Harbour

The Ship Inn

Ange drove us back via Lymington, which is in the New Forest not far from Totten where they live.  It is a delightful town, famous for its sailing community.  Here are some views of the harbour and the cobbled streets.

The cobbles were no good for wheelchair users.  There was no one else around since the shops had just shut and it was very miserable with the rain.  A delightful small town though.

Exploring Southampton Old Town

Yesterday (Monday) the rain held off ALL DAY, which was lucky since we planned to explore the Old Town of Southampton, mostly but not all of it inside the ancient walls, which still stand in many places.

Southampton was badly bombed during World War II, particularly in 1940.  My Tucker great grand-father owned a musical instrument dealership in Upper Canal Walk, and although he had died in 1924 (predeceased by my grandfather in 1919), his much younger second wife was still running it when the war broke out.  It was completely destroyed in 1940, together with all the other shops in Canal Walk.

Additionally, most of East Street, a major commercial area adjacent to Canal Walk was badly bombed.  This is where my other great grandfather Robert Henry Reed had one of his bakeries prior to his death in 1915.  During the war, his widow and three of his daughters were running the tea room, which may have been in the East Street shop.  Yet to sort that one out.

But even worse, for the people of Southampton, many of the important buildings were badly damaged or completely destroyed.  These included the churches of Holyrood, St Johns and St Lawrence.  Many sections of the ancient walls were destroyed.  Overall 600 civilians and 900 buildings were destroyed in Southampton.

So even the old city is full of sixties style apartment blocks both Council built and owned and private, with many of the older ruins scattered in between, and luckily some of the ancient buildings which survived the bombing.  For instance, St Michael's Church seemed to have escaped entirely, unlike its sister churches.

My ancestors lived in Vyse Lane off French Street for over 20 years between 1849 and 1871, and the Lane is still there, but most of it is unrecognisable.

Wellington Hotel and Vyse Lane

The Duke of Wellington pub is still there, but all the cottages have disappeared, maybe well before 1940, because by the 1880s, the area was pitiful, with many houses overcrowded, unhygenic and almost falling down.




Most respectable families had moved Above Bar to the north of the town.  This included my Reed family - my grandmother was one of six daughters of the master baker who had three bakeries and a tea room by the 1890s.

Even John Rose moved a few streets away to Westgate, but still within the old town and nearer to the Town Pier.


He would have felt very comfortable there.  Unlike his sons, most of whom seemed to want to better themselves, John Rose preferred to remain anti-establishment, and seemed far more at home amongst the poor town labourers and in the beer houses.

We also visited the Tudor House Museum in Bugle Street.  This was built during the Tudor times in the 1500s, but has had many uses.  It has been a museum since 1911, but has recently been extensively renovated and brought into the 21st century with a great sound and light show in the banquet room.

Unfortunately the lift to the upper floors stuck, with Paul upstairs, and so we were given our entry fee back.  Almost worth it.  Anyway, they were very good at resolving the problem, and explaining to the staff how the lift worked.

Yes, that's me in the stocks.

And wearing a silly outfit.

Old and the new, with Paul.

Considering the damage, Southampton City Council has done a good job of redesigning the Old Town and minimising the traffic to mostly residents.  New buildings these days must be sympathetic to the remaining buildings.

Diamond Jubilee celebrations at Totton

Pity about the weather, but the Poms are used to having lots of it, and it certainly didn't dampen our spirits down here at Totton where Ange and Paul and I started with a huge English breakfast.  Here it is!

This included black pudding, which I did not like, and refused to eat any more of after Ange told me what was in it.... Answer at the bottom of this post.

I couldn't finish my plate, and neither could Paul.  We noted that Ange gave herself a smaller helping but was most insistent we finish ours!

Ange's high tea

Understandably we had no lunch.  The mothers (Paul's mother Bette and Ange's mother Enid) were invited for the high tea which was to follow the watching of the Queen's parade of boats on the Thames.  Here are a couple of photos from the BBC, which I photographed on the TV.

You can see the Queen in white on the barge

Tower Bridge opening

Ange's son Robert and his girlfriend Soozy joined us for the party.

Those English strawberries were simply delicious.

The sandwiches included Coronation Chicken, and salmon and cucumber.

I did the Royal wave and high-fived Robert.

That's Bette at the end of the table.  She was born in the same year as the queen.

We had a great day, as you can see in this photo.

Later, Ange's older son Christopher, a train driver and his wife Sarah, a photographer came over for coffee and cake.






Answer: Oats and pig's blood.

Isle of Wight with John and Sue Moxon

At Osbourne House

Since John and I (officially me) are taking over Moxon Down Under for The Moxon Society at the end of this year (from Margaret Moxon of Brisbane, no relation), I thought it would be a good idea to make contact with John and Sue Moxon who live on the Isle of Wight.  They are very active in The Moxon Society, and have been since day one, about 25 years ago.  In fact, they met through the Moxon Society, which I find rather sweet.

Before I left Sydney, they had invited me to stay overnight, so me being not so shy these days took up the invitation.  And I'm so glad I did.  They are perfect hosts, and made me feel quite at home, and generously showed me around.

I was able to book the Red Funnel Ferry return trip from Southampton to Cowes online, and a entry ticket to Osbourne House, which is the place Queen Victoria lived and died in 1901.  Her children were mostly brought up there, and it was her favourite place.

Royal wheelbarrows, each with the child's initial

The house of course is huge and her many children had their own cottage about 500 metres away - called Swiss Cottage.  The royal children would have loved it - each child had his or her own garden plot, and Prince Albert would pay them for their produce if it was any good.

Prince Albert encouraged the children to explore and bring back curiosities or strange looking or shaped items.  The Swiss Cottage is full of items from all over the world.

Later Princess Bea, the youngest daughter who looked after Queen Victoria in her old age  lived at Carisbrooke Castle and started a museum there.  Apparently she used to fossick all over the island for articles for the museum - she must have picked up the habit in childhood.

We spent some considerable time at Osbourne House and saw many splendid rooms.  I was most interested in the rooms used during World War 1 as a convalescent hospital.  I was told my grandfather was convalescing there in 1918, but he wasn't an officer, so maybe that story was wrong!  I shall have to check.

After a very pleasant dinner at John and Sue's place we took the dog Nutmeg for a walk down to Northwood House near the water.  It was still light at 8.30pm.

Northwood House built in 1839

Sue is a qualified family history researcher, both John and Sue having done a course with the Heraldic Society.  But John didn't sit the exams.  They are both extremely knowledgeable.





After coming home with a satisfied dog, we sat over a cup of coffee and John filled me in on the history of The Moxon Society.  Very interesting and useful if I am to become more involved at the end of the year.

Then to bed and to catch up with the Sydney Morning Herald on iPad.

The following morning, after a leisurely breakfast we attempted to Skype John (my John Moxon) but not terribly successfully.  We were doing it on their computer since my laptop wasn't on line.  The call kept dropping out.  But nevertheless, Skype is wonderful for keeping in touch.  We are missing each other dreadfully.  Think I'll invest in a magic carpet so I can whisk him over here without going anywhere near Qantas or Heathrow Airport.

A visit to Carisbrooke castle beckoned.  I also had a ticket to that, bought online with a one third concession.  Luckily my hosts have a season ticket to all these heritage listed places, since they often take visitors there.

Carisbrooke Castle was built about 1100 as the main first line of defence for Britain against the marauding French and Spaniards over the centuries.  It is famous for being Charles 1's place of imprisonment in 1647 prior to having his head chopped off in 1648.  He tried to escaped twice but got his shoulders stuck in the window grills.

Replica of bed he slept in - the very room

Just to make me feel at home, here is a reminder of Australia - right outside their house at West Cowes - they have other Australian visitors from time to time.

The lovely Ange met me at the ferry and so to "home" in Totton, near Southampton.

So to bed, and tomorrow will be full of Union Jacks and a very British menu.  I'm no monarchist, but I do appreciate a woman who has done her duty very well for over 60 years - and even before she was Queen she stayed in London throughout the Blitz and drove an ambulance.  Jolly good show!

Wednesday in Eling, Hampshire

Originally I had intended spending the day in Winchester, where the Hampshire Records Office is located, but I decided to take the morning off, since I was feeling totally washed out.  I think Ange was quite disappointed because we were planning to all go.  But Paul was quite pleased, since he had "plenty to do at home".

What I didn't realise was that I was just about to get a virus, so whilst I was tired from all the travelling, in less than a day, I was feeling quite ill with a 24 hour (thankfully) virus.

After lunch however, we visited Eling which is an unspoilt village not more than two miles away on the River Test on the edge of the New Forest.   The water is very brackish since it is at the end of the Solent (Southampton Water) which is tidal.  The water is so clean that its water is used to clean British bank notes.

Eling church of St Mary the Virgin

My Henbest ancestors (William Tucker married Christian Henbest of Bramshaw in 1724) lived in Eling in the 1500 and 1600s.  The main industry was flour milling.  There has been a mill on the site for 900 years, and with a short break, it is still working today.

There are many beautiful walks around the village and its environs.  Here is Ange walking through the graveyard.

To cross the estuary, non-locals have to pay a one pound toll.  However, since we had Paul with his disabled sticker in the car, we did not need to.

The photo shows a local and his dog who had been talking to the toll collector.  The latter was camera shy.

We walked through the village to a couple of nice pubs but they were shut.

Here are Paul and Ange outside one of the pubs.   Like John, Paul can get around so much more easily now that he has a power wheelchair.

The village is very pretty.

So much different from Totton, its near neighbour.  The latter used to be an even smaller village than Eling, but has boomed to become quite a big town.  It is a commuter suburb of Southampton, even though it is outside the boundaries of the city council and is in the New Forest administrative area.

Southampton with Ange and Paul

My cousin Linda has met Ange at last!  They've been hearing about each other for the past four years, since John and I met them and their husbands Peter and Paul in 2008.  And in 2009 I stayed with both cousins.  Both offered to make them my base, which was lovely.

Linda and Peter drove me down to Ange and Paul's place yesterday morning on their way to Brixham in Devon where they have booked a week's holiday.  They like exploring new places.

The photo of Ange and me was taken three years ago during my last visit.  This is the resting place of my great great grandfather George Henry Rose who died in 1901.  His sister in law Hannah Moody was Ange's great great grandmother.  So we are 4th cousins, but also very best friends.  We have a great deal in common, even though Ange is 10 years younger.

Yesterday afternoon, after the obligatory visit to the tea shop for coffee and cake, Ange introduced me to the local library which is very small, but I stayed to look at their local history collection and found quite a few useful books.  Trouble is with the libraries and archives, they will be closed on Monday and Tuesday next week for the Queen's Jubilee long weekend.  Fortunately the local museums and historic houses are open on the public holidays, so we will save visiting them until next week.  Ange likes being a tourist so she will come too.

Later I wrote to the Southern Evening Echo since they have a section called Your Hampshire Heritage.  I don't know how many of you know that before I left home, I researched and wrote a 19 page story called John Rose 1805-1884: opposition town crier.  I found most of the information online on Ancestry (births deaths and marriages, baptisms) and even more important, a great deal of  information in the Hampshire Advertiser between the 1830s and 1880s.  This publication is now on line in The British Newspaper Archives .  I found information about two tragedies in the family (one a man-slaughter indictment, although resolved as a tragic accident; the other a drowning), as well as plenty of fines and at least two periods of imprisonment, one for libel.

John Rose

And would you believe?  I had a phone call this morning from the journalist who writes the Your Hampshire Heritage section, and he is most interested in my story.  I'd said to him that I was prepared to write a shorter version suitable for the paper, and he asked for a photo of John Rose, and he will send a photographer out to take a photo of me!  That may not happen until I come back down here about 15th June.

I hope the graphic designers at the Echo can improve this photo better than I could.  A very distant cousin told me the portrait was hanging on the wall at her parent's place, and kindly took a photo of it for me, the next time she went to visit the "olds".

So I'll be busy tonight crafting a shorter story, with a suitable angle.

This morning (it's still Tuesday here), Ange drove me into the Civic Centre, and we had another obligatory coffee at the SeaCity Museum, a new museum about Southampton's maritime history and in particular this year, the centenary of the Titanic disaster.  We didn't visit the museum since it is open on the weekend and the public holidays next week.

After visiting Tourist Information within the Library to find maps and a bus timetable, we found our way to the Southampton Archives.  This contains parish records and much besides.  I was disappointed to find that the reports of the Southampton Quarter Sessions - where John Rose appeared often to answer charges of assault and selling "unstamped" newspapers - were not available.  I shall have to check the newspapers in the library around the dates I want.  I could well have missed some of the reports.  I especially want to find a report of his libel case in 1839.

I did have some unexpected success though.  Whilst checking the card index of births and burials, I found that my ancestor did not have 15 natural children by his two wives.  He had 17!!!!  I and others thought that Isabella (c1807-1850) had 12 children by him.  But I found two extras - Robert and Caroline.  Both had been born and died between the 1841 and 1851 census, so there was no record of them without trawling through every Rose birth to in Southampton to check their parentage.  

John Rose had three more children by his second wife Hannah Rawlence Rose, whom he married in 1855. And she had brought a five year old son to the marriage.  Hannah died in 1871 aged just 40, even younger than her predecessor.  Both are buried with John Rose at the Southampton Old Cemetery.

I stayed at the Archives until it closed at 4.00pm and found my way home by bus, quite easy really.  

Ange is a great cook.  We had lamb shanks for dinner tonight.  My favourite!

Paul has been sunbaking for the past few days and is quite brown - he doesn't care about cancer it seems - obviously it's not as prevalent in Britain as it is in Oz.  He has a wheelchair that tilts right back like a bed (John would be jealous) and goes to sleep in the sun.

I thought you'd like to see a poem that was on an original flyer that is also on my Facebook friend and distant cousin's parents wall.  It is a flyer about a "benefit" night for John Rose at Southampton's Theatre Royal in 1860, and includes a ditty written by him.  I am still attempting to find out why he would have been given a benefit night.  Here it is: