Back through the pages: Andover Advertisers from the past

ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-FOUR YEARS AGO – FRIDAY 26 APRIL 1860

VESTRY MEETING

A fortnight since, a vestry meeting was held, and that meeting raised the salary of the clerk from £25 per annum to £40. This proceeding appears not to have given satisfaction to the large ratepayers of the parish, who on Saturday last met. In force, for the purpose of undoing what had been done at the previous vestry; the result was that the proposition ‘that the clerk’s salary be reduced to the original amount’, was carried by a large majority. At the same meeting a poor rate of 1s in the pound was made.

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO – FRIDAY 28 APRIL 1899

TO SMALL INVESTORS: FOUR CONVENIENT FREEHOLD TENEMENTS.

Messrs Frederick Ellen & Son have been instructed to sell Nos 5, 6, 7 and 8 Alpha Buildings, approached through an entrance from Chantry Street. Each contains a living room, two bedrooms, scullery etc, and have large gardens in front, with the usual out-offices and water from the corporation being laid on. These are currently occupied by Messrs Randall, Spreadbury, Gorey and Halfacre, weekly tenants at rentals amounting to £26 per annum, the landlord paying the rates.

ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO – FRIDAY 25 APRIL 1924

CORRESPONDENCE – COUNTY EXPENDITURE

Dear Sir: The remarks made at a meeting of the Andover Board of Guardians, demand some comment and it is amazing that members do not obtain information before committing themselves to such utterances. It may interest them and your readers generally to know that Hampshire is one of the lowest rated English counties, and the present high rate is caused by the increased cost of salaries, wages and materials, and was necessary a year ago, but in view of the then stringent financial position, balances were depleted as an effort to lighten the ratepayers’ burden. Many members of the county council spend long days (not half-hours) at Winchester in the interests of those they represent, and every effort is made to supervise and ensure reasonable expenditure (£1,500,000 in total). All accounts are thoroughly checked by sub-committees, and in my humble opinion far more care and thought is given to every detail than by the majority of members of local authorities. It is in justice to these gentlemen that I am constrained to make these remarks, as it is not the first time that disparaging utterances have been made by members of the Andover Guardians, who if they had public interests at heart would help the county officials instead of giving vent to ill-times sneers. Yours truly, Robert T Moore.  

SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO – FRIDAY 29 APRIL 1949

THE SWEET RUSH: ANDOVER SHOPS SELL OUT

With the end of sweet rationing, hundreds of children and adults alike crowded the Andover sweet shops on Sunday. By Monday evening six shops and a cinema had sold their entire stock. For many children, it was the first time in their life that they had been able to buy an unlimited quantity of sweets. Mr Vaughan of Millway Road sold 350lbs of stock, three times as much as he usually sold on the first Sunday of a sweet rationing period, and Mrs A F Abbess, of Toni’s Snack Bar, disposed of some £65 worth in one day. Aubrey’s Café sold half a month’s quota in two hours. The two extremes were the children who rang the bell at 7.30 am and asked, ‘Please, what time are you going to open?’ and the lady who produced her ration card on the Monday, not knowing that sweets had been de-rationed. Large queues formed outside some shops before 8 o’clock on Sunday morning and several shopkeepers served continuously from eight in the morning until one in the afternoon. Some shops had catered specially for children, one having a special counter for sweets that cost less than sixpence. Children mainly bought the old-fashioned sweets such as lollipops, nougat and liquorice pipes, and chewing gum was in great demand, some children buying as many as 20 packets at a time. Adults seized the opportunity to by pound boxes of chocolates and various types of toffee, although it is expected that after the initial rush, buying levels would soon return to normal.   

St Mary’s church bells during the 1980s (Image: Michael Bull)

FORTY-SEVEN YEARS AGO – FRIDAY 29 APRIL 1977

THUMBS-UP REPORT FOR ST MARY’S BELL TOWER

St Mary’s bells will soon be heard regularly if the vicar, Rev Peter Chandler, gives permission for them to be rung. The Essential Repairs Committee has received a report on the recent test ring of the bells prepared by Miss Corinne Wilson, the church architect, and Mr Brian Taylor of Messrs Archbold Shaw and Partners Engineers, stating that there was no longer any structural reason why the bells should not be rung regularly in future. The tower is in good condition and the strengthening tie-rods are now not required. Although the tower stonework still needs attention, especially on the east side, as do the parapet copings and a crack in the reveals of the tower arch, the insurance company has no objection to the bells being heard again, although full indemnity will only be provided once this work has been done. Major John Gouriet, chairman of the appeal committee, has written to the vicar asking him to give permission for the bells to be rung on special occasions, including the Queen’s Jubilee, subject to the necessary safety precautions being exercised.