Salisbury & District U3A Press Report
February 2005
| The Chairman, John Illston, reminded members that the March meeting will be the AGM and members attending will need to produce their membership card. He also asked any member who could recommend a speaker for a future meeting to give details to Elisabeth Richmond, who is now Speakers Secretary. |
The Secretary, Neville Jennings, reported that the IT course is due to finish at half term. He would like anyone wishing to carry on after that to contact him so that he can negotiate for a continuation course.
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| The amplifying set owned by the U3A is currently not being used. If any group leader could make use of it, please let Neville know.
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| A new committee member will be needed, nominations to the Secretary by 15 February. |
The Treasurer, David Wilson, expressed his thanks to everyone who has paid their subscription; the issue of cards is under way. Over 100 current members have not yet paid. The deadline is mid February, after that new members will be recruited.
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John Ewington has arranged a visit to the Lighthouse in Poole to hear the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra on Wednesday 23 March, there are still some seats available for this. |
| Future trips include a visit to Slimbridge on 28 April, a visit to London on 18 May and a trip to Osborne House on the Isle of Wight on 10 June.
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Chris Dickson is collecting the names of group leaders for the next session beginning in September. She is sending out the forms and anyone interested in forming a new group should discuss this with Chris.
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The guest speaker, Mr Norman Thorne, gave an illustrated talk on Major Robert Poore and the Winterslow Land Court. Major Poore was born in Naples in 1834, he served in the 8th Hussars in the Crimean War and the Indian Mutiny. He was wounded and left the army, married and eventually settled in the Old Lodge on Porton Ranges, near the Pheasant Inn. There he had a Turkish bath and a gymnasium and he brought up his four sons in the martial arts; his eldest son Bertie was a great all-round sportsman who fought in the first Boer War. |
As a JP Major Poore became aware of the poverty of the local villagers, and in 1884 he came to the Lions Head in Winterslow and heard of the villagers’ economic insecurity. He set up the Winterslow Pig Club, a mutual cooperation group whose members were an independent and radical group led by the blacksmith, Louis Rogers. Major Poore was elected as councillor for the newly formed District Council with the support of the Winterslow voters even though he stood as a Conservative. He held house meetings and set up a village council, and realised people needed a foot on the land a smallholding of their own. |
When Coopers Farm came up for sale Major Poore bought it in 1892, sold off half to the Knight family and split up the rest into smallholdings each on a 1999 year lease. The 50 leaseholders became members of the Winterslow Land Court, they had 15 years to pay for their property at a nominal rate of interest. The new landowners negotiated finance to build their own cottages, mainly made of chalk blocks with slate roofs and with a rainwater tank in the hole where the chalk had been dug out. Now independent, the landowners could set up their own businesses, e.g. The Post Office on Middleton Road and Walter J Annetts’ bakehouse. Any surplus in the fund was made available for villagers to obtain mortgages, and was in existence until the 1950s. |
Mrs Poore and her daughter, the Duchess of Hamilton, set up a spinning and weaving business for the women of Winterslow. Rider Haggard in his book “Rural England” was amazed by the prosperity of Winterslow in 1902-03, and very impressed by the local school under its headmaster Henry T Witt. |
| Major Poore died in 1918, and his memorial is in Winterslow Church.
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