Meet the Village Historical Society

The Milford on Sea Historical Record Society (MOSHRS) was founded on the 25th January 1909 and is the oldest historical society in Hampshire and one of the oldest local history societies in the country.

In 2018 the Society became a registered charity run entirely by volunteers and adopted a new constitution. As well as a Board of Trustees, there is a committee to manage the direction and activities of the Society.

The Society meet 5 times a year where you can hear an interesting historical talk and meet people from across the village. There is also an Occasional Magazine and annual visits to places of interest. 

Membership is just £10pp pa and everyone is welcome. 

Meetings: Doors open at 6.30pm with the Talk at 7pm. Held in All Saints Church Hall, Greenbanks Close, Milford on Sea SO41 0SQ

Programme of Talks 2025

Thursday 30th January 2025: 

MOSHRS AGM - The Annual General Meeting followed by: 

Talk– ‘Fighter-bombers in the Forest' by Chris Thomas

Thursday 27th March 2025: 

Talk: 'War Hero or Murderer’ by Paul Stickler

Thursday 29th May 2025: 

Talk: ‘Hurst Castle the Victorian Fortress’ by Duncan Williams

Thursday 10th July 2025:

Annual Outing  to Royal Armouries, Fort Nelson, Portchester, Fareham

Thursday 25th September 2025:

Talk: ‘Beaulieu Abbey’ by Robert Amis

Thursday 27th November 2025:

Talk: ‘The Funerary Hatchments of St Thomas’ Church, Lymington’ -Barry Jolly

MOSHRS has an excellent website with an extensive archive of over 10,000 local records and historical pictures featuring our village history. 

Search aids on the website include:

• A Research Library containing over 150 research articles prepared by the Society over the last 100 years.
• A Names Directory which searches through over 80,000 records of people or places associated with Milford.
• Parish Registers from 1595 – 1837 split into Baptisms, Marriages and Burials and containing nearly 20,000 records.

In the last decade major projects have been completed:

In 2017, the Bringing History Home project commenced with the aim to make more than 100 years of local records readily accessible to the residents of Milford on Sea as well as for those around the world who have connections with the area.

The project encourages the local community to explore and contribute to our rich historical heritage. 

The initiative is made possible through money raised by National Lottery, together with contributions from the Parish Council and from MOSHRS itself.

The project culminated in the launch of the website www.milfordhistory.org.uk in 2018.

Individuals can add to the archive by emailing editors@milfordhistory.org.uk.

In 2014 the Cornwallis Remembered project was conceived. 

This followed the discovery of Cornwallis’ grave in poor repair in All Saints' churchyard. The aim of the project was to give a fitting tribute to this distinguished admiral. 

MOSHRS was partnered in the project by The 1805 Club (which was founded in 1990 to preserve and care for the memorials and graves of those associated with the sailing navy of the Georgian era) 

The project was a major success and in July 2019 several important events were held to commemorate the 200th Anniversary of the Death of Admiral Cornwallis. 

To read more, please click here.

In 2022, Local History Lives! was a project the Society completed to place ancestry in Milford on Sea at everyone's fingertips. 

A video about the Local History Lives! project was featured at the British Association for Local History Annual Conference on 16th September 2023.

Next will be Hurst Castle Interpretation Project which will carry out research into the history of Hurst Castle. 

To find out more about joining MOSHRS; please click here.

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Meet  the MOSHRS Chairman - Chris Hobby

The family name of “Hobby” has been synonymous with the area of Milford on Sea for many generations, in fact almost 250 years. 

Chris, sometimes called Mr. Milford on Sea, has spent much of his life gathering, collating and recording as much information as he can find relating to the village, people, buildings and his family.

Chris has held many role in the village from being a parish councillor to most recently leading a team of local historians in the 'Cornwallis Remembered' Project.

The project resulted in a permanent memorial being established for the famous Milford on Sea admiral in June 2023 at Portsmouth Royal Dockyard. The full story is told in the book 'Cornwallis Memorial Decade'.

He has also published his own hardcover book, full of fascinating photos entitled 'Album of Old Lymington and Milford on Sea'.

Chris is currently the chairman of the Milford-on-Sea Historical Record Society (MOSHRS), a staunch supporter of the Royal British Legion Milford on Sea Branch, and other village organisations.

click image to view

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Join the Milford on Sea Historical Record Society 

They are a friendly and social bunch, so why not contact MOSHRS on admin@milfordhistory.org.uk, then invest your £10 to join, and go along to the next meeting.

You can also register to join by clicking here.

Milford on Sea Historical Record Society

admin@milfordhistory.org.uk

www.milfordhistory.org.uk