>From the Hampshire Chronicle Keep pub as pub, owners are told Planners have decided not to call time on the Shearers Arms pub in Owslebury, near Winchester. The free house is threatened with closure, but there are two potential buyers. City council members, meeting on Wednesday, rejected an application for the pub to be converted into a private house. Ray and Christine Sutherden want to close the pub they have run for 23 years and live in it. But councillors blocked their plans so potential buyers had a chance to come forward. The Sutherdens have not put the pub on the market. Instead, they commissioned a study by Christie & Co, which concluded it was not viable. Council officers said the property needed extensive internal and external work, at a probable cost of £150,000. Patrick O'Neill, of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, asked members to reject the application so a buyer could be found. "We are very concerned at the loss of country pubs. I think this pub would sell, but there's not been any attempt to put it on the market." After the meeting Mr O'Neill said he knew of two potential bidders for the Shearers Arms, but they wished to remain anonymous. One of the bidders said the pub could be popular with walkers, and it would be a shame if it closed. They added: "It needs an awful lot of work doing to it, but it's a beautiful location and it's got a beautiful garden. "You just have to look at the Ship Inn half a mile down the road. It's heaving in there all the time." During the meeting, there was a broad agreement between members that the Shearers Arms had business potential. The only member to vote in favour of closing the pub was David Atwell, who chairs the planning committee. "I can't recall seeing more than two cars outside and it's not a place you'd walk to." Mr Atwell added that he did not want to "evict" Mr and Mrs Sutherden if they wished to carry on living in the property ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------ Close to death, Lady Mabella de Tichborne crawled over 23 acres of land to feed the poor of the parish. Her sacrifice, in the 13th century, was commemorated by the modern-day residents of Tichborne and Cheriton on Tuesday. The Tichborne Dole takes place every year on March 25th, the Feast of the Annunciation, also known as Lady Day. Adult residents of the two villages are entitled to a gallon of flour each, while children receive half that amount. Around 200 of the 800 residents eligible came to the dole and they basked in the brilliant spring sunshine. A chest, containing three-quarters of a ton of Botley Mills' best self-raising, was blessed by Roman Catholic priest for Alresford and Bishop's Waltham, Father John Buckley, before it was distributed by Anthony and Catherine Loudon, descendants of the saintly Lady Mabella. According to legend, she wanted to provide food for the poor as a kindly act before she died. Her husband, Sir Roger, callously replied that they could have all the produce from as much land as she could encompass. He must have imagined he was on safe ground, but his crippled wife managed to drag herself around 23-acres of fields, which are known to this day as "The Crawls". With her last breath, she ordered her husband to honour the promise and warned him that his family would be cursed from the grave if the dole should ever lapse. The curse would later see a generation of seven daughters to end the family name and the collapse of Tichborne House. Sir Roger kept his word and for the next six centuries, his descendants kept theirs, but in 1794, the dole was suspended after increasingly rowdy behaviour and fraudulent claims. Eight years later, a large section of Tichborne House fell down. Then in 1821, Sir Henry Tichborne became the new baronet, and fathered seven daughters, in line with the curse. The dole was restored in the 1830s and has run every year since, apart from one isolated year just after World War II owing to rationing. Dardanella Woollard (87), of Tichborne, has attended since the 1960s. "This is the 38th time I've been here. This is the best weather we've had for a long time. It's usually raining." Gordon Sutton (62) was at his second dole, having moved to Cheriton18 months ago. "It's a lovely event. I've never known anything like it anywhere else in the country." Canon Graham Hendy, installed as CofE rector of the united benefice of Tichborne and Cheriton last November, was attending his first dole. "I've brought along a container from B&Q. I'm told there's usually enough to last about a year." ------------------------------------------------------------ 50 YEARS AGO Saturday, March 25, 1953 Lyndhurst - The Forestry Commission is offering, as an experiment, a bonus of 1s. per grey squirrel tail. Tails must be sent by post to the Pests Department of the Hampshire Agricultural Executive Committee, who will arrange for payment. Not less than six tails can be accepted at one time. --- All of our Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. And attachments are also scanned before being added. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.465 / Virus Database: 263 - Release Date: 25/03/2003