History of surrounding area

Netley Abbey is a village steeped in history. Its routes date back to the 13th century. With Netley Abbey Ruins and Royal Victoria country park this area has much to pull in the visitors. The pub needs to appeal to them.

Netley Abbey Village - Via Google Maps

Netley abbey is in quite close proximity to The Cottage Inn and on this map and it is represented by the green dot. The red dot represents the Royal Victoria Country Park.

Netley Abbey ruins show more than 800 years of change. It is also the most complete surviving Cistercian Monastery in the South of England. It started life as a Monastic House, got turn into a Mansion and now is classed as a romantic ruin.

A man called Peter Des Roches, who was the bishop of Winchester, founded the abbey in 1238.  He however died before it was finished. A year after completion Monks from Beauliea Abbey arrived. It became the home of 15 monks, 30 Lay brother, officials and servants. It remained working as a monastery until Henry VIII suppressed monasteries in 1536. 

The abbey as a Monastery - Source from www.english-heritage.org.uk

At this time Netley was granted to a man named Sir William Paulet due to his loyal services to the King. He changed Netley Abbey into a mansion, more specifically a Tudor courtyard house.  He reused many of the existing building into his transformation. The only thing he demolished was the monk’s refectory and built a grand turreted entrance instead.

The abbey as a Mansion - Sourced from www.english-heritage.org.uk

This house was sadly abandoned in the 18^th Century when the then owner sold it for building materials.  Demolition of the Abbey was started, however when a worker was killed this forced the work to stop. In the late 19^th century people used the place to socialize, dance and have tea.

Due to the change in design and style the owner at the time cleared all debris, vegetation and all of the Tudor alterations.

The abbey is now a ruin that many authors and artists visit to find inspiration for their work. It is also a hotspot for tourists to visit and learn about the history of the abbey. 

As it is now - Sourced from www.english-heritage.org.uk

It is around a 20-minute walk from the pub and according to Google Map is a 3-minute car journey. (Information and images for the history of Netley Abbey Ruins were collected from www.english-heritage.org.uk)

The Cottage Inn to Netley Ruins

The other area of great importance to the history of Netley is Royal Victoria Country Park. Royal Victoria Country Park over looks Southampton water. It has much to offer its guest such as, Railway ride, Sensory Garden, Tearooms and walks. All of this is set in a 200-acre site.

(Images sourced from - //www3.hants.gov.uk/) 1.Chapel  2.Train ride  3.The park itself

Royal Victoria Country Park didn’t always used to be a park for visitors to enjoy themselves. It was once the site of a working military hospital. This was the British army’s first purpose built hospital and in 1856 work started to build it.  This hospital was built due to the horrible conditions during the Crimean war. Florence Nightingale had gone about improving cleanliness and hygiene during this time. Queen Victoria was alerted of her success and she went about getting support for a new hospital in Netley. In 1856 the design for this hospital started and in March of 1863 it started functioning as a fully working hospital.  

The Military Hospital - Sourced from www3.hants.gov.uk

Florence Nightingale worked out her life at this hospital and her ghost is said to be roaming around the Abbey. 

Florence Nightingale - Sourced from www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk

The severity and uniqueness of the injuries of the soldiers admitted, an Army medical school was set up in the later part of 1963. It became a place of learning where nurses and doctors alike trained.  This however shifted due to the start of World War 1. There was a high demand for beds and expertise so there wasn’t enough time to teach or the room for error. This again happened during World War 2.  Various other buildings were erected during both wars to cater for more patients. To lift sprits activities were started on the surrounding area such as concerts, pony rides and other outdoor entertainment. After the war this hospital became a site for patient recovery rather then treatment as the need for it was not there. Because of this areas of the hospital that were not need became very run down. After a large fire in 1963 section of the grand main building were demolished.  The only part of the hospital that was kept is the Chapel that remains today. After the last asylum patient left in 1978 the hospital was no more and in 1980 the Hampshire County Council bought the area in which it lie. They changed into in the Royal Victoria Country Park that visitors use today.  The old Chapel plays homage to the area's history as well as the memorial gardens and tearooms.

Memorial Garden - Sourced from www3.hants.gov.uk

The  Royal Victoria Country park is also around the 20 minute walk from the pub and a 5 minute car journey.(All information on the history of Royal Victoria Country Park was collected from the Hants website - www3.hants.gov.uk

The Cottage Inn to Royal Victoria Country Park

Just down the road from the park along Netley Front/ Victoria road is a row of  houses called 'Ellis Row'. They were built to accommodate nurses and doctors that worked at the hospital.  The hospital bought wealth to the village and so it expanded. Many of these houses remain today.

Netley Front - Sourced from www.thebunney.co.uk

Also in the area there are a couple of reservoirs. One called Sophie's Pond that is at the entrance of the Country Park. The other is a 5- minute walk from the pub itself. The reserve is now called Butlocks Heath Resvoir. Both areas were created to ensure the hopital always had a supply of water for ablution use. Butlocks Heath Reservoir is now owned by Castle Angling Club. The reservior sits with in the Priors Hill Copse, which is a woodland that backs onto the playing field.

This village has so much history and attracts lots of visitors every year . The Cottage Inn has to appeal to the ongoing stream of guests to the area. I hope to do this by holding that popular friendly village pub with in the decoration. 

Bibliography

English Heritage, Netley Abbey History and Research. [No Date] [Online]  http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/netley-abbey/
[Accessed: 17th October 2011]
Hants Web, Royal Victoria Country Park Site History. [No Date] [Online] Hampshire County Castle. Available from: http://www3.hants.gov.uk/countryside/rvcp/history-rvcp.htm
[Accessed: 17th October 2011]
The Bunny,  Butlocks Heath Village, and Netley Village. [No Date] [Online] Joomia. Available from: http://www.thebunney.co.uk/
[Accessed:17th October 2011]