A guided tour of Tangmere Military Aviation Museum on Monday 10th August has been arranged. The cost of the visit, which includes a talk about the museum followed by a guided tour, will be £15.00 for those under 65 years of age, and £13.50 for those over 65 years old. This will be a self-drive visit and the address is: Tangmere Military Aviation Museum, Gamecock Terrace, Tangmere, Chichester, PO20 2ES.

As there will be no meetings between now and the date of the visit it has been decided that payment should be made on the day of the visit to either Sharon Stratton or Ted Howard. A booking form is available in "Documents" and this should be returned to either Sharon Stratton at 7 Yew Tree Place (off Rake Road), Liss or at the Triangle centre for the attention of Sharon or myself. The reason for submitting the booking form is in order to be able to notify the museum prior to the visit of the number of those attending.

The museum has a small café which will be available after the tour for snacks and drinks.

Liss Parish Council is hosting this event on The Riverside Walk together with their partners, on 13th June.  In addition to the things mentioned, Liss Area Historical Society will present our new display covering the History of The Longmoor Railway.  There will also be some short talks on this subject.

We will also have copies of our most recent booklet, Liss Past and Present, available to buy for £4.  We look forward to seeing you on the day. 

The visit to Petworth House will be on 11th May 2026 with members making their own way to the National Trust Car Park at Petworth House and then making their way to the Main Entrance for 11.30 a.m. where Bob France and any additional guides will be waiting. As it is a reasonable walk from the car park to the main entrance it is recommended that arrival should be 11.00 a.m. The cost per person will be £3.00 plus £19.50 for those who are not National Trust Members. The guided tour will last 60 to 90 minutes. There is a recently refurbished tearoom at Petworth House who would like some refreshments after the visit.

Please return booking form and payment to Sharon Stratton, 7 Yew Tree Place, Liss.

The booking form can be found in Documents on this website.

A Cake Sale will be held on Saturday 9th May at the Triangle Centre from 9.00 a.m. until 12 Noon with the profits going towards maintaining the LAHS funds. All cakes, big or small, along with biscuits, cookies, sausage rolls and any other pastries and confectionaries that can be donated should be either dropped off on the day at the Triangle Centre or, alternatively, prior to the event, delivered to Sharon Stratton at 7 Yew Tree Place (off the Rake Road in Liss)

The 2025 Member's & their Guests Christmas Lunch has been arranged with Petersfield Golf Club for Sunday 7th December.  The two course meal will cost £26.50.  Please let Sharon Stratton know if you would like to reserve a place 01730 895644.

This has always been an enjoyable event for our members and we hope that you will be able to come again this year.

1985 - 2025 Liss Area Historical Society celebrates it 40th Anniversary.

This exhibition will focus on a project undertaken by the Society in 1987 ' A Year in the Life of Liss' where various vilage groups and organisations were encouraged to document their activities over the year. There will be a rolling slideshow as well as archive material.

Public viewing will take place in the Triangle Community Centre, Liss, on the 31st March 2025, 9:30 am to 4 pm.  Admission FREE.

Sharon will be selling cakes in the Triangle on Saturday 15th March from 9am to 12 noon, to raise funds for our society. Donated bakes can be given to Sharon early on the morning of the sale, or taken to her home, 7 Yew Tree Place, in the evening of the night before. Please support us, either by making or buying cakes (or doing both). Thank you.

The 2024 Member's & their Guests Christmas Lunch has been arranged with Petersfield Golf Club for Sunday 1st December.  The two course meal will cost £26.50.  Please let Sharon Stratton know if you would like to reserve a place 01730 895644.

This has always been an enjoyable event for our members and we hope that you will be able to come again this year.

Sharon will be selling cakes in the Triangle on Saturday 12th October 9am to 12 noon, to raise funds for our society. Donated bakes can be given to Sharon early on the morning of the sale, or taken to her home, 7 Yew Tree Place, in the evening of the night before. Please come to the Triangle to buy a cake or two. 

Thank you to everyone who donated cakes and bakes for the sale.

A group of 16 members visited West Dean House and Gardens on 1st July and very much enjoyed a guided tour of the house and its contents, including its eclectic collection of art and furniture - examples include Salvador Dali's famous lobster telephone. (the Summer Newsletter has a photograph).

We would like to thank Liss Parish Council for awarding Liss Area Historical Society a grant of £400.00.

A group visit to the Rural Life Living Museum at Tilford will take place on Thursday 15th June 2023, and the cost will be £12 per person, this covers the entry fee and the guided tour and also reflects a group discount. We will travel by car to arrive from about 10:30. The cafe will be open on arrival and the guided tour is planned for 11;00.  After the tour, you are free to wander the museum at leisure. For lunch, there is a picnic area or the Market Garden Cafe serves a variety of hot and cold food.

Booking in advance is required.  Non-members are welcome.

You will find the booking form with payment details at the end of the March Newsletter ( in Documents) together with further details of the venue. 6th May 2023 at the latest for payment.

Our Christmas Lunch for members this year was held at Petersfield Golf Club. 

Liss Area Historical Society (LAHS) is seeking a Treasurer. This is an essential role within the Society and represents an excellent opportunity to support LAHS to fulfil its role as a champion for local history and an important community group. Our Society has a regular membership in excess of 70, and provides eight monthly meetings a year, with talks on a variety of topics (including local subjects), as well as other social gatherings and trips, and produces an annual journal. We also curate the Liss Collection of documents, photographs, books and objects on behalf of our community, with support from Liss Parish Council. In 2022, we held a major exhibition in the village to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. 
The Treasurer will be required to manage the Society’s accounts, including the payment of bills, the receipt of income, and the administration of our annual Gift Aid claim. They will also need to prepare the annual accounts for examination and write a financial report for our AGM (held in October). They will need to be comfortable with online banking, as well as making occasional visits to a bank / building society, in order to pay in cash and cheques; they will also need to be familiar with Microsoft Excel and knowledge of bookkeeping would be helpful. The Treasurer will need to be elected to our Committee and attend our meetings (around six a year), and generally assist with the management of the Society. 
If you would be interested in taking on this role, please contact our Chairperson, Nichola Court, at chairperson.lissareahistorical@gmail.com, for an informal discussion and further information. Our current Treasurer will stay in post until the end of this financial year, and can provide support and training.  

Visit to Fernhurst Furnace on 17th August at 11 am, where Robin and Carla Barnes will be able to tell us more about the site and the workings of the furnace.  They have advised that the ground is mostly level but recommend stout walking shoes.  Parking will be available in the field behind the site, where visitors to the Open Day can park.  The address is Vann Road, Fernhurst, GU27 3NJ, and Robin will be putting a large board out on the day.  You can find further information about the furnace, its location and directions on their website, http://www.fernhurstfurnace.co.uk

The visit costs £5 per person payable in cash on arrival: please contact Julia Mayo if you wish to book, preferably via email - juliamayo@btinternet.com - or by phone if you do not have email - 01730 894866.

Please note that this tour is for LAHS MEMBERS ONLY. 

Free Tour of Petersfield Museum on Tuesday 28th June 2022, including a look behind the scenes.  The tour begins at 11am and should last from 30-45 minutes, after which we are free to take a look around the Museum.  The tour is all on one level and the Museum can provide mobile seating and has a wheelchair available for visitors. Gathering in the courtyard from 10:45am; although the cafe is open from 9am.

If you wish to join this event please contact Nichola Court, Telephone: 01730 890242 or email: info@lissareahistorical.co.uk by the 21st June to be included.

Our 2021 Christmas Lunch will be at Petersfield Golf Club on Sunday 12th December 12:30 pm for 1:00 pm. A bar will be available.  The golf club has a lift up to the bar/restaurant area.

Booking will be essential, please ring Sharon Stratton on 01630 895644. Provisional cost is £18.50 per person.

9am to 1pm on Saturday 2nd October we will have a cake sale in the Triangle Community Centre.  Lovely homemade cakes.  Come early to have the best selection because they sell very quickly, but its never too late.

9am to 1pm we are holding a book sale in the Triangle Community Centre.  Come to see what we have on offer, and you might like to buy a cake too.

We are very pleased to have found a solution to delivering our monthly talks to members without group meetings in the Triangle.  As all events are subject to COVID-19 Government restrictions ruling at the time, our safest way to enjoy our talks is by Zoom.  We will continue to use this method until such times as it is safe, and allowed, to meet up again together at the Triangle in person.  We all look forward to that day.

Dear Members of LAHS,

This message is "hot off the press".......

In 2019, the Society collaborated with the East Hampshire Community Rail Partnership and the Liss Station Adoption Group to help improve the look of Liss Station.  The Society's contribution took the form of a some of our photographs of old Liss together with captions which were displayed on a series of vinyl panels. This was part of a wider package of improvements as you will see below.  It is great to see that Liss came third, nationally, in our category. 

Best wishes, Ron

“Dear Liss Station Adopters

It is with great pleasure that I report back on the National awards ceremony which took place last night.  You may recall I entered Liss Station Vinyls into the “Community Art Schemes – Permanent or Larger” category and I am delighted to say that we gained a third place award.

This is a fantastic achievement out of all the entries nationally and I would like to thank you all for your positive contributions and input into the project which saw the South Downs National Park vinyls and then the local Liss history panels considerably brighten up Liss station and make it more attractive and interesting.

You should all be very proud of what you have achieved.

When you place these wonderful pieces of artwork alongside the beautiful flower tubs and beds in the forecourt, history panels and South Downs tourism information posters, model railway, indoor plants, walks leaflets and second hand bookcase, you have helped to substantially enhance Liss Station and put it on the national map!

Thank you for what you have done and what you continue to do.  You deserve this praise and the Community Rail Network accolade.

Well done – a certificate will be available soon, which I hope will be able to be permanently displayed in the station.

Best wishes

Mark

Mark Miller

East Hampshire Community Rail Partnership Officer”

Zoom technology allowed Liss Area Historical Society members to enjoy a talk by military historian and author, Paul McCue, yesterday evening (Wed 18 Nov).  His subject was the role of Stodham Park at Liss as a WW2 training school for the Special Operations Executive (SOE).  Members joined from as far afield as the West Country and Canada, demonstrating how technology can help societies such as the Liss Area Historical Society carry on in the current situation.   It is planned to use this facility in the future where physical meetings are not possible and also as an option when life gets back to normal, if it ever does!

Change is the current theme for the Society with a new Chair taking up their post in January and other committee members taking on new roles. More attention will be given to Liss history and material has already been provided to Petersfield Museum for their new exhibits.  The annual publication ‘ Liss Histories’ has now been published and copies are available by contacting the Society via the “Contact Us” facility on the website.   Join now as a member till the end of 2021 for £12 or£23 for a couple.  Contact Penny Briggs direct on 01730 892297 or download a membership form from www.lissareahistorical.co.uk .

"Petersfield Museum recently closed for an exciting redevelopment. It is now packing up and going on tour visiting villages surrounding Petersfield!

The Museum will be visiting Liss on the 17th of August. Come along to the Triangle Centre  and view objects from the Museum’s collection, take part in hands-on family fun activities, and share or donate your own stories and objects to the Museum. A selection of previously un-displayed photographs will be on show and we would be thrilled to see your own photos of the village. There will be the chance to grab a cup of tea or coffee and enter a prize draw.

We hope to see you there!"

Visit with a talk.  Own transport. Cost: £15.00 Full Adult; £14.00 concession for age 60+ years.  Payable to Sharon Stratton, in cash please.  To put your name down ring Sharon on 895664.

1. Blenheim Court resident Nancy Battersea and some of her friends raised over £220 by making Christmas and birthday cards to sell, along with other gifts, to residents and friends at a recent sale at Blenheim Court Care Home on Farnham Road, Liss. Nancy, who had her 100th birthday in 2018, decided to donate the money to Liss Area Historical Society in recognition of the help the Society gave towards a World War 1 display at Blenheim Court in August 2018.
   
   Vice-Chairman, Mike Jordan, and treasurer, Judy Hayes, received the sum of £222.40 from Nancy at a ceremony in December.  Mike Jordan said that the Society committee and members were most grateful and that the money was a real boost to the Society’s funds. It would be put to good use, helping to pay towards the ongoing task of looking after the village archives.  Thank you Nancy and friends.

There is a trip to the Weald & Downland Museum in Singleton on May 12th 2018, £13.55 including guided tour for 20 visitors.  Lunch will follow at an extra cost.  Announced at January meeting on a 'First come first served' basis.

 Mon 16th July - Thur 19th July.

Colin and Christine Dring have been working (with Joy Martin as well) on a 4 day (3 night) trip to Ilfracombe, North Devon. This is planned for Monday 16th.-Thursday 19th July 2018 (3 nights).  The hotel is the Osborne Hotel, Ilfracombe on a Dinner, Bed and Breakfast basis. Visits are planned to Arlington Court (NT) with its carriage museum as well, a guided tour of the Dartington Crystal Glass workshop and a guided tour of Barnstaple.  Pick-up points will be Liss and Petersfield as usual. The approximate cost is £290 per person, but this is just a rough guide at present. Further details will be available next year.   

Members and friends of the Society had a 3-day visit to the Banbury area in July.  This was much enjoyed by everyone and included visits to Upton House, the Bucks Steam Railway Centre and Bletchley Park the home of the WW2 code breaking activities.

LISS AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY

BANBURY TRIP:  SUNDAY 16 – TUESDAY 18 JULY 2017

Further details to follow.

If you are interested please contact Joy Martin – 01730 265275  or email jmartin19@hotmail.co.uk

DAY TRIP TO MUSEUM OF LONDON: DOCKLANDS: Saturday 27th May: We are arranging a day trip by coach to the Museum of London: Docklands to see the new exhibition “Tunnel: The Archaeology of Crossrail”, which is on for a limited period. The exhibition results from the Crossrail Project, the largest of its kind in Europe. The wide variety of items on display explore 8,000 years of human history, revealing the stories of Londoners ranging from Mesolithic tool makers and inhabitants of Roman Londinium to those affected by the Great Plague of 1665. The finds sit against a backdrop telling the engineering story of the largest infrastructure project currently underway in Europe, with key facts and figures presented throughout. More information at http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk The exhibition and the other regular galleries at the museum are free, but they will welcome donations on the day. Please get your booking form to Joy by 29th April with a cheque payable to Liss Area Historical Society for £25 per person. 

See Newsletter February 2017 - Extra for application form.  (found in Documents on About Us)

To secure a place on this event please contact Sharon Stratton to arrange booking and cash payment (only cash no cheques etc.) Telephone 01730 895644.  This event will be on a 'first come, first served basis' as the number of members attending has to be restricted to between 20 and 25.

Detail:

The Kings Theatre, Southsea

Date: Wednesday 29 March 2017

Transport: make your own way there.

Time: 10:30 am

Duration: 2 hours, includes some stairs.

Cost: £6 to include tea or coffee.

Museum of London: Fire! Fire! Saturday 22nd October
This year sees the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London and we have arranged a coach for a day trip to the Museum of London where the Exhibition “Fire! Fire!” will be taking place. The cost is £29.50 per head including gratuities (cheques made payable to Liss Area Historical Society). The coach will leave Liss (main car park) at 8:30am, Petersfield (Festival Hall) at 8:45am. We should depart London around 4.30pm. Approximate arrival times home are: Petersfield 5.45pm and Liss 6pm, all depending on traffic of course. The charge includes the coach, entry to Fire! Fire! as well as to the regular exhibits at the museum.

See July Newsletter for details and members application form.

The 2016 Annual Dinner will be held on Friday 7th October at the Half Moon P.H. in Sheet.  See July 2016 Newsletter for details and members application form.

East Hampshire District Councillors, Laetitia Pienaar and Mike Kendall have awarded the Liss Area Historical Society a grant of £530 towards our 2016 exhibition.

The exhibition will be put on for a week in August.

Pictured are Chairman, Ron McCann, and Archivist, Mike Jordan, receiving the cheque from the Councillors.

We celebrated 30 years of the Society at our December meeting although the actual anniversary was in November, the first public meeting being on 21st November, 1985.