Twentieth Century Merry Oak
As the estate and its great house fell into decline in the early 20th century, it was sold on to Southampton Corporation to be given over to the development of one of the earliest Council Housing estates. Held in disdain by some local people, wherever they were constructed, the Merry Oak Estate was intended to rehouse the inhabitants of the slum ‘courts’ and tenements in the town of Southampton, across the river. The land amounting to 51 acres was compulsorily purchased for £32,500 in 1928.
The early development of Merry Oak from 1930 onwards has been ably documented by Joan Rolfe in Memories of Merry Oak Estate 1930-1950: The Garden Estate. Published by the Bitterne History Society as Local Paper 31 in 2001, it brings together history and personal recollections, including memories of some houses being bombed during World War 2, and may still be available at the Bitterne History Society’s shop and museum in Peartree Avenue (the historical Ridgeway).
The overall tone of these recollections is one of pride in living in such pleasant conditions. Joan Rolfe mentions walking with her parents in what she ‘thought of as countryside’, surrounded by trees – the famous standard oaks have remained a feature of the estate, but sadly the meadows on the east side of Merry Oak Lane/Road have been built on and only the Veracity Recreation Ground preserves a pale vestige of open grassland in its football pitches.
The line of the elegant drive that led to the great private house in the 19th century is said to become Cypress Avenue, still tree-lined, but leading after 1930 to the smaller private houses of the council estate, with their attempt at architectural diversity which still makes the estate more visually interesting than many other council estates.
Sadly, the small Merry Oak stream was forced to flow underground to accommodate the full extent of the new estate, bringing with it some problems of flooding in Spring Road, a problem that re-emerges at times, in spite of remedial work, but where the ground remains damp on the ‘green’ on Blackthorn Road, some vision of the flora of past centuries can still be glimpsed in spring when the grass is brightened with purple crow garlic ‘pompoms’ and delicate, pale ‘cuckoo flowers’.
The mature beech trees on the green further up the hill, mark the northern edge of the estate, and may have been part of the planting for the ‘improvement’ of the 19th century estate garden, and marking that estate boundary.
In this early photograph of Spring Road the shape of the road margin on the right may suggest the course of the stream flowing under the road. No sign of the 19th century estate boundary can be seen, but the thick undergrowth gives some indication of the historical look of the stream and its valley (I am most grateful for permission to use this online private reproduction).
Joan Rolfe’s engaging work has been supplemented by R.V. Ward’s Memories of Merry Oak, also available from the Bitterne History Society. This booklet records the history of the Merry Oak school, founded in 1935 and closed in 1986.
Besides recording the development of the school, and the names and exploits of the pupils and teachers, including their experiences during the World War Two, Ward continues the search for the reason behind the name of the estate: perhaps it named a ‘mere oak’ – a prominent tree that stood by the lake into which the Merry Oak stream flowed before descending to meet the Itchen. Ward also cites the guide book to Netley, written by Philip Brannon in 1887, which records ‘the hamlet of Merry Oak in the little dell beyond Pear Tree Green‘, where people gathered to celebrate festivals? Ward accepts this as fact, but other options have been put forward.
Does the name descend from Old English ‘mearc āc’, ‘mark oak’, referring to a tree that marked the boundary of two pieces of land, in this case the boundary marked by the modern Sholing Road that was once the boundary between the lands of the Bishop of Winchester and the lands of the Abbot of Netley. Or was it perhaps, as Cheryl Butler has suggested, a corruption of St Mary’s Oak, and recall a time when the land was part of the Parish of St Mary Extra? No records exist to confirm or reject any of these theories, and there may be others. My own opinion is that the land had no official name until the process of the enclosure of Bitterne Common and others made naming necessary to conveniently define each parcel of land.
However, the 1815 Map of the estate shows clearly that there was a tree marked out as the ‘Merry Oak’. There is a possibility that this recalls a local tradition, since lost. The claiming of a tradition by a later generation to give itself am appearance of historical depth, regardless of its legitimacy, had already been established, when in 1770 it was recorded that: ‘Opposite to Bitterne on the west side across the River is a Hill call'd Bevois Hill, from a legendary Tradition that Bevois of Southampton lies buried under it; it is now part of the beautiful Gardens made by the late Earl of Peterborough’ (SSH821 … Bibliographic reference: John Speed (ed. E.R. Aubrey). c1770 (1909). The History and Antiquity of Southampton with some conjectures concerning The Roman Clausentum. https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MSH257&resourceID=1016 )
The 18th and 19th century fascination with antiquity and history may have been all that was needed to name the land, on the other hand, a genuine source may still await discovery somewhere in the extensive records of the Bishopric of Winchester.
What can be said with certainty, however, is that the once anonymous little dark and overgrown stream valley bore witness to historical changes, and its present configuration, obscured under tarmac, brick and concrete, has not been able to entirely obliterate its original form, nor the recollection of its wooded past in the mature trees of the estate and the mixed woodland of Freemantle Common on its western edge.
It is also obvious from the popularity of online sites which share photos and reminiscences that Merry Oak, its former school, and its local environment prompt ongoing nostalgia. It still has its own distinctive character, irrespective of modern intrusions, and will hopefully celebrate its centenary in due course.