There seems to have been a misprint on page 6 of the Romsey Advertiser of May 31, 2024.
The headline should read ‘Five quirky fictions about your town’ as the comments are factually incorrect.
Item 1. The report has confused breweries with pubs. Although there were many, often small, retail outlets for beer across the town, only a few of the larger ones brewed their own beer. The rest were tied houses or bought beer from a common brewer.
Item 2. I have not come across this story and I wonder where it came from.
READ MORE: Five quirky facts about Romsey, how many do you know?
Item 3. Florence Nightingale’s father, W. E. Nightingale bought Embley Park including the house, although he spent money on its renovation. I am not aware of any new building works instituted by him at Embley of a style that would have been suitable for himself and his family. Florence was buried in the same grave as her parents in the churchyard of St Margaret’s church, East Wellow.
Item 4. King John was a keen huntsman. Since the New Forest was Crown land, he cannot be described as a poacher there. Indeed he spent money protecting the place for his own use. King John died in 1216. There is no evidence that he built the house known to us as King John’s House since the earliest date of its construction is put in the 1220s. (This date is contested and the 1250s preferred by some experts). It is known that he provided accommodation for his daughter Princess Joanna while she was a day pupil of the nuns of Romsey Abbey, but the site of her residence has not been identified.
Item 5. The Remount Depot for training horses for war work was established on the plateau at the top of Pauncefoot Hill. Part of it is now farmland, and the western part is occupied by Romsey Crematorium. After the First World War, hardcore was taken from the site and used to improve the drainage of the field that has become Romsey War Memorial Park. The statue of the warhorse was placed there where people could enjoy it, whereas few would see it if it were located on any part of the site of the Depot.
Phoebe Merrick,
The Thicket,
Romsey
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