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Annual Garden Party a Great Success
Annual Garden Party at Chawton House Gardens
Around 40 members and guests were able to enjoy the beautiful gardens of Chawton House Surgery for the Lymington Society Annual garden party The weather meant members could wander amongst the garden and admire the planting which gave the garden a mature feel with many specimen plants to view .
Members were treated to wine prosecco and some delicious canapés The society are very grateful to the partners at the Surgery for allowing us to use their picturesque gardens .
National Heritage Collection of Shell Posters, A Talk by Nicki Balfour on May 1st 2018
Nicki Balfour Penny gave a truly fascinating talk to around 30 members of The Lymington Society on the Shell Heritage Art collection .
In her presentation Nicki explained that the collection is still owned by Shell but kept on view at the Museum where she is the archivist . Nicki gave a chronological walk through the collection starting with the early postcards used for advertising and highlighting some of the social issues of the day such as Votes for Women .
Members were surprised to discover that the advertising also featured Valentines cards and even early silent films .
The posters themselves provided a unique insight into the social history of the twentieth century from the early 1900s to 1970s. Nicki emphasised the importance of Shell’s director of advertising Jack Beddington, who in the 1930s was successful in commissioning some of the country’s best artists to design poster collections such as “Visit Britain’s Landmarks”, Prefer Shell, and “ Everywhere you go “ among others This has made the collection not only a showcase for the social history of the time but has helped highlight the early works of artists such as Ben Nicholson, Paul Nash, Vanessa Bell , Rex Whistler , Graham Sutherland, Edward Kauffer and Hans Schleger.
Members were also interested to learn that Shell compiled a series of Travel Guides edited by John Betjeman which were made into short films, and broadcast in black and white on TV. There were also a series of poster on nature topics which were used in school in the sixties.
Indeed it became clear that the collection is foremost a great treasure trove of commercial art rather than just a series of adverts.
Peter Chitty
We note with great sadness the recent death of Lt-Col Peter Chitty, who played such a significant role in the Lymington Society.
Peter was a long standing and valued member of the Society, undertaking many pivotal and important roles, latterly as President. His enthusiasm and commitment to the Society were responsible for many of our achievements, and significantly enhanced our influence and standing in the community. He personally encouraged many of our membership to join the Society, and he will be fondly remembered by us all. We send our warmest wishes to his family, and especially to his wife Penny
John Noote Exhibition of World War ll Art at St Barbe Museum and Art Gallery
For the fourth meeting in the Lymington Society Social Programme for 2017 to 2018 – held on the 23rd of January, Society members were very pleased to be able to return to St Barbe Museum and Art Gallery for a Private View of the current exhibition of World War II art.
Following the normal Society meeting format of a short Drinks Reception, where members could chat over refreshment, the Private View and talk was conducted by St Barbe Exhibitions Curator Steve Marshall, who is well known to Society members from his many excellent presentations to members over the years.
The exhibition seen features an amazing collection of art collected over many years by successful art dealer John Noote. John was 7 years old when war broke out in 1939. Later in life as a successful art dealer he began to collect art made during the war.
The collection now includes over 100 paintings, prints and posters by famous and lesser known artists including Felix Topolski, and Eduardo Paolozzi.In this remarkable exhibition you will find rarely seen portrayals of Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, the Blitz, life on the Home Front, the war at sea and in the air, the battlefronts in Africa, Europe and the Far East and the aftermath of this global tragedy.
Speaking about his collection he said:
“I don’t think I ever made a specific decision to collect, it just became what I did alongside the rest of my business, trawling auction catalogues, asking other dealers to look for suitable works on my behalf, I gradually realised that I had a collection which might not only be of interest to others, but could also be educational”.
As member have come to expect, Steve Marshall – who curated the exhibition – gave a stimulating and captivating glimpse into the world depicted in the wide-ranging collection of the images on display.
As members were taken round the exhibition by Steve, he shared with them fascinating facts about the many different types of images in front of them, answered many questions and really illuminated the exhibition for the large number of Society members present.
The Lymington Society actively works locally as a planning watchdog and amenity society, representing the views of local members and residents in the town on important issues. It also organises an exciting programme of social events including talks, Christmas Drinks Party and Summer Garden Party for its members.
22nd March – AGM 6.30 pm for 7.00 pm
It’s time once again for the Society’s Annual General Meeting.
We are in the Mc Clellan Room at the Lymington Centre
This is the chance for members to hear what the Committee has been up to in the last year, and to have a say in the running of your Society.
Refreshments of Wine, Soft Drinks and Nibbles will be served from 6.30pm with the meeting starting at 7.00pm.
The business meeting will be followed by a talk from Nick Saunders, a local historian, about the Special Operations Executive in WW2 and the training of agents at Beaulieu
Lymington Society Approaches MP Desmond Swayne For Help with Ongoing Redrow Bridge Delays
The Lymington Society has had a meeting with Desmond Swayne, MP for the New Forest West constituency, which includes Lymington, to ask for his help with the seemingly everlasting delay in completing the railway bridge linking the Redrow Lymington Shores site into the town at the railway station and completing the many other community facilities originally promised, including the riverside walk
This follows confirmation from a representative of South Western Railway, at a meeting held in the town last week, that the latest plans produced by Redrow for the bridge are still not acceptable and that Redrow will have to go back to the drawing board before further progress can be made.
Almost 6 years since the original planning permission for the site was given, we still appear to be many months away from a resolution which will allow the bridge to go ahead, despite an extension given by the NFDC planners of almost a year which allowed Redrow to delay construction of the bridge until they had sold 125 units. This target is apparently almost in reach and it seems likely that once again the NFDC are considering granting Redrow yet more time to get the work done with no start date in view.
The remaining issues appear to be:
- the layout of the car parking spaces in the station to facilitate the repositioning of the bike rack away from the construction area for the bridge and to allow for the wider spaces now required for public car parking.
- the insistence by Hampshire County Council that the pedestrian bridge and the disabled lift bridge are separate so that the council does not become responsible for the upkeep of the more complicated lift facilities.
The Society is also concerned that this unique opportunity to reorganise the car parking at the station is also takes into account the desirability of radically improving the bus service to and from the station with the aim of creating a real transport hub for the town. If this means fewer car parking spaces on the station forecourt, with Redrow donating spaces on the Lymington Shores site instead, then that would be a good result for the town and for local bus users who currently are poorly served by the new arrangements made following the closure of the bus station in the centre of town.
Speaking after the meeting this Saturday with Desmond Swayne, which took place at the station in Lymington, Lymington Society Press Spokesman Don Mackenzie said:
It really is ridiculous that almost 6 years after outline permission was given for a development which included a vital bridge needed to link the development into the town, we appear to be no nearer to Redrow even applying for planning permission for the bridge
Despite assurances from Redrow that they are now giving this their full attention and that they expect to have designs available for inspection within the next couple of months, following which they will apply for permission, we are tempted to say we have heard this all before.
From comments made by representatives of South Western Railway at a public meeting in the town last week, it would seem that the current plans are still not acceptable and have not yet been agreed by the train company, or signed off by the national rail safety regulators
We have asked Mr Swayne to kindly use his good offices to try and bang heads together to get this important link designed, approved, and built without further delay.
We also hope that if major changes are to be made to the parking at the station, the needs of bus users are also taken into account to allow the development of a better bus service from the station and the development of a true transport hub
