The Hampshire Family Historian | Volume 51 No.4 | March 2025

Local Group Programmes

Contact: Jane Painter Email: fareham@hgs-online.org.uk

Fareham Evening Group Meetings are normally held from 7.15 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of each month at the Wallington Village Hall, Broadcut, Fareham.

The group do not report on meetings. Forthcoming Meetings:

Please check on HGS Website

Contact: Email: fleetandfarnborough @hgs-online.org.uk

The group normally meets at the United Reform Church Hall, Kings Rd, Fleet GU51 3AF second Thursday of every month except August at 7.30pm. Fleet & Farnborough

Reports by Carol Gomm (Oct) The Work of Thomas Cowell, Stained-Glass Artist – Mary McLaren

Mary had always been fascinated as to how her ancestor went from being a poor boy in Soho, London, to a stained-glass artist working for the prestigious company of Powell & Sons (Whitefriars) Ltd. Using family documents and memories she was able to achieve her answer and much more besides. With Thomas’s own account books for his independent commissions coupled with information about him from museums, she was able to track down some of his work in buildings across the country. It is this wealth of documentation and images that formed the backbone of her talk, some of which she brought along to show. She also covered the process of stained-glass making and the history of the Whitefriars Glass works in London where he worked from c1884. (Nov) Member’s Evening – Allsorts This month instead of rows we sat around tables and split the evening into two. David started proceedings with a conundrum about a marriage, followed by Margaret and the pitfalls of owning a burial plot, a real eyeopener that generated a lot of discussion. Lastly, before the break, Nick gave a possible family link to Hambledon cricket club in the 1770s, but who was Richard Veck? After refreshments we continued as small discussion groups, though whether anyone talked about their family history (problems, stories, discoveries etc.) is another matter! But Helen did give a newspaper account she had recently found about an ancestor’s tragic accident, and Denise helped Nick solve part of his query. Richard was champion cricketer and Nick has since found that he is his 7th cousin once removed – well done Nick!

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