Lover, Wiltshire

Coordinates: 50°58′44″N 1°42′04″W / 50.979°N 1.701°W

Lover

Lover (pronounced like Dover, /ˈloʊvər/) is a hamlet in Wiltshire, England, close to the county border with Hampshire. It is part of the parish of Redlynch and lies within the boundaries of the New Forest National Park.[1][2]

The hamlet was once known as Warminster Green, but by 1876 it was known as Lover, possibly a corruption of Lower Redlynch.[3]

Lover is compiled of three roads that ultimately connect together to form a triangle. These roads are called 'Besomer Drove', 'School Road' and 'Church Hill'

The name Besomer Drove was derived from back in the day where woman used to make brooms which the husbands would then travel to Southampton to sell to earn a living. The men would set off and would normally take a week to travel by horse to sell the brooms.

The hamlet was known locally for the Redlynch Church of England voluntary aided primary school.[4] The mission statement of the school was:[4]

The school is the heart of a village. Its children provide a continuing flow of new life to sustain it. Its buildings and grounds provide an amenity to enrich it and its activities provide opportunities for sharing and caring that nurture it. Without a school a community loses its heart. We are committed to ensuring that this doesn’t happen.

The school was closed in August 2006.

Although the School closed down in 2006, the village community fought together and earned the right to keep the field for community purposes such as the Lover Country Fayre which happens on a yearly basis. It is used regularly by the young kids in the village as a recreation ground.

The Lover Post Office used to do big business around Valentine's Day, as the cards were postmarked "Lover".[5] The post office was regarded as a "vital" service for the 100 people a week who used it.[6] The post office was closed on 2 April 2008.[7]

Lover also once had a village store and pub, but both have been closed.[6]

The "Lover" road sign is often stolen, or vandalised to read "Love".

References

  1. ↑ "National Park boundary map". New Forest National Park Authority. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  2. ↑ Redlynch Parish
  3. ↑ Redlynch - Wiltshire Community History, Wiltshire Council, retrieved 12 October 2011
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Redlynch Primary School, www.archive.org, 24 April 2006
  5. ↑ The lady who gets 2,000 valentine cards. BBC. Retrieved 2004.02.07.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Fight to save Lover Post Office, Salisbury Journal, 11 January 2008
  7. ↑ In Pix: Lover's Post Office Closes, BBC Wiltshire. Retrieved 11 October 2011

External links

Media related to Lover, Wiltshire at Wikimedia Commons