29th October 2026 • The HERALD • Page 31 v THE HERALD - ENCOURAGING LOCAL ENTERPRISE v ABOUT US Our roofers are the best in the business and are ready to give your roof a full and completely FREE inspection PW Bathroom Installations Call 07778 345 124 Email: petewilliams21@hotmail.co.uk Design, Supply & Fit High Quality Bathrooms in Southampton and surrounding areas Over 20 years experience Fully Insured - Free Quotation For more pictures of our work visit: @pw_bathroom_installations PW Bathroom Installations SP DECORATING Painting & Decorating Specialist Simon Perks Tel: 07889 091420 Email: simonperks@rocketmail.com • Interior & Exteriors • Wallpaper Hanging • Prompt & Reliable Service • Free Quotations & Expert Advice • Fully Insured FLAT ROOFING SPECIALISTS All Roof Repairs Tel: 023 8184 5632 Mobile: 07880 508415 Email: steve@braithwaiteroo ng.co.uk THE FLAT ROOF SPECIALIST THE GREEN LANE DISPUTE, PART 2 by Robin Somes, Fawley and Blackfield Memories Previously, we learnt about the defendants in the Green Lane dispute, and their assertions about the history of public access to the lane and foreshore at Lepe. When the court case started, in December 1932, many claims were made; naturally the plainti sought to counter them. e rst witness was Lord Forster of Lepe House – who due to illness gave evidence away from the court. He stated that, as a personal friend of the Drummond family, he had permission to walk along Green Lane and the foreshore, but understood that it was never a public right of way. On his walks, he had been stopped and asked by Cadland keepers whether he had permission to be there. Until a few years previously, he had never heard of any claim to public rights, or encountered anyone else on the foreshore. David Nicholas, Owen Barlow, and Frederick Charles Loseby, sometime employees of the Cadland Estate, all testi ed that they had never heard of a public right of way, and that their duties had included warning o potential trespassers – few of whom had made a fuss about being turned away. Charles Bubb and John Musselwhite both gave evidence that gates either end of the lane were always kept locked, or at least closed. e only occasion when the public were invited in was on the day of one of the Schneider Trophy races; Bubb thought 1928, but more likely it was 1929. en, the Estate O ce had put up a notice announcing that the shore would be open, on that day only – incredibly, almost 30,000 people ocked to Calshot and Lepe beaches for the event. not have had a right of unrestricted access to Green Lane, despite individuals occasionally being given permission. In any case, the public highway nearby gave much better access for most people. A warning to landowners, perhaps, that informal privileges granted to individuals as a favour can easily pass into local lore as long-standing rights of way. Likewise, William Major, the Fawley coal merchant, John Herbert Hendy, and Lewis Smith, agent for the estate, all testi ed to the presence of noticeboards, and the private nature of the lane. Smith did note, however, that “People often asked him for permits to visit the beach, and he never refused them”. is same point of individuals getting permission to walk, or to bathe, was repeated by other witnesses for the plainti . None, however, had heard any suggestion of a customary right of way. Concluding the evidence, Cyril Augustus Drummond, said, of his father: “(he) was very benevolent, and would not interfere with local people, practically all of whom, in the old days, were employed by, or associated with the estate, but he would not allow strangers to use Green Lane or the beach without a permit”. Ending the case a er much consideration, Mr. Justice Maugham declared that, while the fences erected by the Estate on the foreshore were illegal structures – as they interfered with navigation and shing – the general public could The southern end of Green Lane at Lepe, 2026 (Photo: Robin Somes) Totton South u3a Information/ Recruitment Afternoon Totton South u3a are holding an information/ recruitment a ernoon on Sunday 15th November, 2pm-4pm, at Hanger Farm Arts Centre. Go along to nd out more about becoming a u3a member, the groups you can join, the holidays they run, and their monthly general meetings etc, which help keep your body and mind active and expand your social connections. ey look forward to meeting you! Age Concern New Forest AGM Age Concern New Forest will be holding their AGM on Saturday 14th November, 2pm-4pm, at Dibden Purlieu Scout Hut on Whin eld Road, SO45 4PX. If anyone would like to attend, please let their O ce know on: 023 8084 1199.
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