Back Through the Pages: Stories from the Advertiser

ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-FOUR YEARS AGO – FRIDAY 6 JULY 1860

COUNTY BENCH

A group of Tasker’s workers under the chalk pit at Anna Valley (Image: Contributed) Thomas Cook of Upper Clatford, labourer, was summoned by his master, Mr Robert Tasker, of Waterloo Foundry, for absconding from his service before his contract had expired. The defendant pleaded guilty, and was ordered to pay the costs and to return to his service.

Henry Barnes of Amport, labourer, was summoned by Henry Silley, a gamekeeper in the employ of the Marquis of Winchester, for taking a hare. The defendant pleaded guilty, and was ordered to pay the costs.

George King of Thruxton, labourer, was summoned by Jane Heath, as servant in the employ of Mr Hayward of Appleshaw, for assaulting her. The defendant was ordered to pay a fine of £5.

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO – FRIDAY 7 JUNE 1899

USEFUL ODDS AND ENDS – ANTS

In many gardens ants become a troublesome pest, and on occasion they take up their abode indoors. The pouring of a little petroleum on the nest every few days is an effective means of destroying or driving away the enemy out of doors; but we have found the simplest of all remedies to be the pouring of boiling water on the nests at night. Care must of course be taken not to injure the roots of plants with whatever application may be chosen, and as ants are extremely tenacious of life, renewed applications must be made until the pests are quite destroyed. Whenever the nests of ants cannot be located, there is no other resource than destroying them wherever they can be found. The best means of effecting this is to place small pieces of sponge moistened with treacle or sweetened water wherever they are numerous. It is however, most essential to collect these pieces of sponge several times daily, and to immerse them at once, swarming with ants as they are, in hot water. In most cases the ants become stricken with alarm at the disappearance of so many of their fellows, and remove to entirely fresh quarters.

ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO – FRIDAY 4 JULY 1924

CORRESPONDENCE – ANDOVER WAR MEMORIAL HOSPITAL

Dear Sir: Will you kindly allow me to state the present position of affairs with regard to the proposed new hospital? The committee met recently and opened tenders from seven builders for its construction, and it now appears that at least £16,000 will be required for the building as at present planned, and to meet the architects’ and quantity surveyors’ fees etc. The amount of money available today is £8,300 with the sum eventually to be realised for the present hospital, say £1,500 – total £9,800. In view of these figures, the committee is of couse not justified in accepting any tender at present. When the idea of building a new hospital as a war memorial hospital was adopted, it was estimated that a sum of about £12,000 would meet all needs, but the high building costs now ruling make this amount quite inadequate. In conclusion, I ask all the inhabitants of Andover and the district to put forth every effort during Carnival Week, 31 August to 6 September, in order that the date of the commencement of the War Memorial Hospital may be brought appreciably nearer. Yours faithfully, Edmund Parsons, Hon Sec.

SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO – FRIDAY 8 JULY 1949

ERROR AT ANDOVER CEMETERY

Some months ago, two ladies died and were buried in one of the plots at the cemetery in nearby graves within a very short time of one another. By a mischance their names were transposed in the records. Recently the husband of one of these ladies also died and was buried in the grave shown in the records to be his wife but which was actually that of the other lady. The error was discovered and the issue was raised at the meeting of Andover Town Council on Tuesday night under the report from the Parks and Properties Committee which said that the committee was proposing to take action on the matter. Cllr S Vincent demanded to know exactly what was going to happen. The chairman of the committee, Cllr D Young replied, ‘I cannot answer in public, but I am prepared to give a full statement in Committee.’ A committee meeting then took place but after 25 minutes, the relevant committee members returned but no comment was given. On Wednesday afternoon, at the request of the Press, the town clerk, Mr E J O Gardiner, gave a brief statement of the facts and said, ‘An approach to the Home Office and the diocesan authorities has been made in order to correct the error.’ It is thought that this is the first such mistake at Andover in many hundreds of burials.

FORTY-SEVEN YEARS AGO – FRIDAY 8 JULY 1977

TO VIEW LISTED BUILDING

Members of Test Valley Borough Council’s Northern Area Planning Sub-Committee are to view Savoy Chambers in London Street, Andover, following an application by Glengall Estates Ltd to demolish the building. Savoy Chambers is a listed building and members of the sub-committee, which met on Thursday, were anxious about the way listed buildings were disappearing in the town. ‘It is incumbent on local planning authorities with listed buildings to make further inquiries when demolition is requested,’ said planning officer John Featherby. ‘We have not got that many listed buildings left in Andover and it would be quite cavalier to pull down one of our few remaining ones.’