27th November 2001 - Roy Underdown Pavilion

Some of us thought we knew a little about our Parish Church. It was founded in 1109 by monks from Thiron, who paid 20,000 oysters for the rent. But then we listened to an enthusiast who has been researching and helping to restore the building for many years, and we saw it in a different light!

At our meeting in November, Bert Allwood covered not only the history of the site, but of the monastic movement that occupied it and how it spread to other parts of the country. He told us about some of the things that had been found during restoration work, like Roman bricks and Saxon stones, oyster shells and graffiti on some slabs inherited from Winchester. Choir boys perhaps? He showed us how the building had been altered over the centuries, walls removed and doorways blocked. One was closed for 600 years! The 20,000 oysters rented a large area of land - including the site of Ye Olde Whyte Harte. Although this was established circa 1562, Bert said that there was probably an alehouse nearby in the twelfth century. Well, monks got thirsty too!

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