Welcome to the Westbourne Local History Group
The Group has published 17 books of which 12 are currently available as hardcopy and are listed below. Generally each book represents the research of an individual member, and so far ten authors have seen their efforts in print. Three recent additions have been made in the form of CDs containing files in pdf format. There are always subjects worthy of investigation, and approaches from budding (or practised) historians are welcome.
The Group used to meet, extremely informally, bimonthly to discuss progress and share information. A couple of years ago the few remaining core members decided that it was time for change and the Group should reach out more, and more often, by organising public open events, as well as continuing it’s traditional practice of publications. Thus a more formal “committee” structure was adopted to drive this forward. After two successful years the Committee membership was flagging, and another change has created a larger supporting group which has been christened the ‘Council’. See the News page for fuller and continuing updates.
Recent years activities include Westbourne History exhibitions at Emsworth Museum (below) and at the Parish Hall:-
and Open Meetings as below.
News Flash
Click here for Latest News on the
2024/25 Meetings Programme
For history items click on
the new menu bar item –
“HISTORY ARTICLES”
Group Membership
President
Peter Wilkinson, our Chairman for many years, decided to step back from the role and we are delighted that he has accepted the honorary position of President. Peter was a founder member of the Group and a senior officer at the West Sussex Records Office prior to retirement.
Committee
Chairman – Roger Wilding –
01243 374502
Secretary – Nigel Peake –
01243 372718
Asst. Secretary – Glynis Lockley –
0747 826 8826
Publicity – Jim Clarke –
01243 373788
Research – Roger Norfolk –
02392 426683
Council
A number of members with history projects, deep village knowledge or specialist skills, join with the Committee members a small number of times a year to discuss progress, plans and Group aims.
Members
Membership is open to all at no cost. We now have a more formal membership list. The advantage of membership is notification by email (or phone if not possible) of changes and forthcoming events. Contact Nigel, our Secretary to be included or sign up at any future event.
Publications
And now back to our traditional stuff !
The publications which are no longer available are the first five, but two of these have been updated and reprinted. The other three are:- “The Poor of the Parish and the work of the Select Vestries, 1819-1835”; “Westbourne Then and Now” and “The Westbourne Union, Life in and out of the New Workhouse”. Copies of these may be found in some local libraries, in Emsworth Museum and the West Sussex Records Office has a full set. Alternatively, a CD containing scans of the three as pdf files, together with the first version of “Trades People”, is now available. The Group’s latest product is a CD containing scans of a unique collection of Property Sales documents from the early 20th C.
Current Publications – click on number for details
No.6 – Westbourne Church Guide, by Lindsey Fleming (reprint) £3.50
No.7– Cleaning up Westbourne, by David Hogg £3.50
No.8– Westbourne Worthies, by David Hogg £3.50
No.9– The Bastards of Westbourne, by Peter Ellacott £3.50
No.10– Westbourne’s War 1939-1945, by Tom Edwards £3.50
No.11– A Millennium in Tandem , Westbourne and Stansted, by David Hogg £3.50
No.12– Sindles Farm, a story of a Farm and its Farmers, by John Veltom £5.00
No.13– Westbourne Memorials, Church & Churchyard, by Jill Storer with Keith Linder £4.00
No.14– Cottage Economy. by Augusta Ann Pitney, edited by Denise Thain £3.50
No.15– The Village Schools 1819-2011, by Nigel Peake (updated and revised) £3.50
No.16– Westbourne and the Great War, by Nigel Peake £6.00
No.17– Tradespeople of Westbourne 1845-1838, by Peter Ellacott. Updated 2015. £4.50
The latest additions:-
CD.1– Bourne in the Past – a 2017 reproduction on CD of Rev. J. H. Mee’s book. £5.00
Via Internet File transfer – £3.00
CD.2– Out of Print Booklets – a scan of our four out-of-print booklets £5.00
Via Internet File transfer – £3.00
CD.3– Property Sales – a unique collection of early 20th C. sales documents £5.00
Via Internet File transfer – £3.00
All available from The Village Stores, Monks Hill, Westbourne.
The Group is delighted to confirm the restoration of our mail order service. See the Publications page.
Visitors from afar
Readers may be interested to know that there has been interest in the Group and its publications from far-flung corners of the Globe.
Requests for information and for copies of our publications have come from South Africa, Portugal, Belgium, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Belgium to name a few. Added to these are the many enquiries from within the U.K. reaching from Cornwall to Edinburgh, Kent and East Anglia.
We are proud to be able to help our contacts (as best we can) in their search for lost relations.
Visitors to the village have been given walkabout tours when our legs permit. The visitor that everyone of the time remembers was an Australian family history enthusiast. He was so enthusiastic that the visit ended with a working meal (strangely at the Barley Mow – Walderton) with a number of the Group members of the time.
Of the history of family names sought some are of long association with the village for example: Covington, Goddard, Goble, Guyatt, Barwell, and many more
The Internet, more than ever before, ensures that Westbourne Past is known across the globe.
Contributions
The Group would very much welcome donations of old photographs and documents, or the opportunity to view same. If you have material that you would like to find a safe and worthwhile home for, for posterity, we can connect you with the West Sussex Records Office who will doubtless be able to advise
“The Westbourne Story”
This amazing publication is now out of print.
The Group is working with the original publishers with the aim of continuing it’s availability, with additions.
Please see our news page for more, including how to contribute information.