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John Sadden

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Gosport Gardening

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Weather In Gosport

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Gosport Weather

The Early 1900’s  St. John’s Square and the Miller Family

In the place which is now St. John’s Square, there used to be Marsh’s Bakery, Mr. Brain’s Fish and Chip shop and Mr. Miller’s stable.  Grandfather (Miller) had a pub in a big house called the “Military Arms”.  This was opposite Elm Grove, the road past Eddie Crosslands.  Mr. Miller’s horses and cabs were kept at the back of the pub, and there was a blacksmith’s shop in the yard of the house.  Mr. Miller and his assistants would take the horse and cabs to the station to carry passengers from the trains.  Sometimes his customers were officers from the barracks.

Forton Map 1898

One of his daughters, Poppy, sometimes helped with the horses.  Besides the horses, the family kept a dog, cats and kittens, about 20 chickens and about 6 ducks.  When Grandfather died, the Miller Family moved into the big house and Mr. Miller renamed it the Military Mews.  St. John’s Square was an open space at the back of the house (where Garland Court is now), - 3 sides, each with seven small houses.

Next to the big house, there were about 12 smaller houses (where other flats now adjoin Garland Court) – with a shop on the corner, Tickner, the general store, then Marsh the baker.  This shop changed several times and then lastly became Chatfield, a bicycle-repair shop.  Next, over the road were the Barracks. Between the Queen Charlotte pub and The Stag pub was St. John’s Cottage.  Mr. Lancaster, the church warden, lived there. The Headmaster of St. John’s school, Mr. John Ray, lived in a large house at the end of Moreland Road.

Poppy Miller started school when she was 3 years old.  Her older sister went to St. John’s School and she wanted to go too.  She loved school and stayed until she was 15 years old.  It was suggested that she should go to the Technical School when she was 14, but she didn’t want to leave St. John’s, so she stayed on and went into Standard VII, with Miss John’s as her teacher. In every writing book the girls had to write, “I must do my very best, because it is for Him”  Poppy was Head Girl.  When she had to leave at 15, she cried. The ground floor of the Miller’s house was later used as a surgery by Dr. Berry.  During the Second World War the house was bombed and the Miller family and Dr. Berry had to move out.