Local History Group
The Local History Group normally meets on the first Thursday of each quarter at Old Holly's, Tubbs Lane at 8pm. Please contact Ron Snipp (details below) if you are interested.
Having a clearout? Before you ditch those old local documents or photos, think of us. See below for details of what we are collecting.
What we do
- Collect documents, photographs and other material of local interest
- Talk to older people about their reminiscences
- Maintain a database of records and other material received or loaned
- Project 2000 (ongoing) - collation of history of individual properties
- Mount regular displays on a theme inside the display panel in the village hall
- Update our records, and look for interesting facts and connections
- Produce occassional publications, e.g. Highclere Past & Present
- This booklet is just one of the items on our local history CD-ROM - for details see below
Feature (Autumn 2011)
Barns in Highclere
With harvesting well under way (in between the showery weather) let's look back at one aspect of our agricultural past which remains today. Highclere and its outlying farms have several interesting barns, several of which are listed buildings. In 1985 the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) conducted a 'Domesday Survey of Ancient Barns' around the country.
Parish Council Minutes
In Spring 1985, the minutes noted that:
"The Society [SPAB] are seeking volunteers from a Parish Council or Community Body [the Highclere Society did not then exist!] to complete a simple questionnaire for all barns in the area"
Resolved: The Clerk will contact the Society for further details and the Parish Council will consider participating in the survey."
At the AGM held in the village hall on 14th May 1985, an updated was provided under 'any other business':
"Councillor French had volunteers to undertake the survey of old barns in the Parish on behalf of the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Barns [sic, Buildings]. The Clerk has a supply of extra forms should any person wish to survey the barns in their locality and pass on to Miss French to complete the survey.
The Survey
The questionnaire was two pages and asked about postion, size, conditions, building materials and gave some shape and beam diagrams for the surveyor to tick. Some of the barns surveyed were at Top Farm and Blakes Farm in Highclere Street, Zell House Farm, and Dairy Farm in Highclere Park. Following the completion of the survey, the Parish Council minutes for 15th January 1986 read:
"The survey had been a very intersting exercise with the discovery of many interesting old barns, some very skilfully converted to private dwellings or garages. The survey also discovered some very old barns which unfortunately had been demolished in the name of progress."
As we look around today we see that most of the surveyed barns survive and continue life in a variety of uses. SPAB gives a list of "suggested alternative agricultural uses", most of which are based on storage - of materials, modern machinery and so on, adding that barns "provide an excellent means of concealing these [potential eyesores] from general view". It continues "Two extremely common uses for older farm buildings are as garages for tractors or as farm workshops", and later "Lastly, there is a use which all farmers should be aware of - the farm shop".
Alas, we don't have a farm shop in the village (though The Natural Garden in a modern barn comes close), but we do now have locally the monthly Woolton Hill Village Market selling produce from (relatively) local farms.
Material in this section is © copyright of Highclere Society and contributors and must not be reproduced without their permission.
Highclere History CD
Produced in 2003, this CD contains over 500Mb of content, including copies of the survey sheets for several of the old barns, as well as photos old and modern. It includes the Highclere Past & Present booklet and has 20 detailed sections from which the booklet was derived:
- Village halls, barns, churches and chapels
- Great and Little Pen Wood, The Chase, The Castle and the Park
- Houses and residents, maps and aerial photos
- Milestones, Parish minutes, Penwood model railway
- Post offices, shops, tradesmen and public houses
- Engineering works, schools, sports and playing fields
- Transport - roads, railways stations, early cars, buses, garages
- Trees, hedges and hedgerows
- Women's Institute, miscellany, e.g. ghosts, Swing riots of 1830, wartime.
The CD-ROM was made possible with a grant from the National Local Heritage Initiative Scheme as well as support from Nationwide and the Countryside Agency. You can access all this wonderful material by contacting Ron Snipp (details at the bottom of this page) for the princely sum of £5!
How you can help
We are still collecting, scanning and promptly returning photographs and documents illustrating the History of the Village. Here's how you can contribute to our growing collection:
- Loan us your photographs or documents - if you have such material relating to the area please allow us to scan them and extend our database. They will be returned safely to you after being scanned on to the computer.
- Tell us about the history of your property - this started as Project 2000 for the millennium. If you haven't done so yet, please download and complete this form (PDF) with as much detail as you can provide about the house you live in - who lives in it now and previously if you know - when it was built etc. In fact anything that you can discover about it.
- Come to our meetings - these are informal and we usually have some material to share or review.
Any document we receive is protected and filed in ring binders and will be available to be read as part of an on-going Parish History. If you want to present material for archive purposes but do not wish it to be published, then we will respect your wishes.
Thank you in advance for your involvement and help.
For further information
If you think you may be able to help in any way please contact Ron Snipp (Tel: 01635 254026) or email rgs*highclerevillage.com (substitute @ for *).
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