I love my vintage postcards. To go through boxes and boxes of postcards to find ones of interest or great additions to a growing collection is thrilling. Yesterday I spent several hours delving into thousands of postcards at Silverdale Antiques. One card caught my eye! The picture is not anything spectacular, but the front still caught my attention!
"WINKLING on NETLEY BEACH"
Where is Netley Beach? What is Winkling?
Like any good sleuth, my inquisitive mind took me down many paths searching out the answers to my questions.
.jpg)
.jpg)
Where is Netley? It is in Hampshire southeast of Southhampton. Netley is officially referred to as Netley Abbey.
In the early 1800's the area consisted of only Netley Abbey Ruins and two villas Netley Castle and Netley Lodge.
The Netley Abbey ruins are the most complete surviving abbey built by the Cistercian monks in southern England. Almost all the walls of its 13th century church still stand. ~English Heritage.org
Netley Castle was built by Henry VIII in 1542 or 1544, it was abandoned in 1743. Over the years the castle went through different owners, renovations and uses. Today the castle has been converted into nine residential flats!~ Wikipedia
I searched for details on Netley Lodge and could not unearth anything. Maybe it has been destroyed or demolished. I will continue my search.
Netley Beach is a hidden beach in Hampshire, it is not a beach that attracts many tourists.
So what is "Winkling"? The dictionary definition: extract or obtain something with difficulty.
It took some searching, I did uncover a few tidpits of information regarding WINKLING!
Newsprint: "COSTLY WINKLING. At Southend, on Tuesday, Alfred Whitehead, a fisherman, of Prifctlewell, was summoned for stealing two pecks winkles, value 35., the Southend Shellfish Co. Defendant said he gathered the winkles from Crown property." Friday November 11, 1910 ~ Chelmsford Chronicle, Essex England
"Howard and Katrine both grew up in the UK where periwinkles—or “winkles” as they’re known—are commonly sold in fish shops and seaside towns. Howard has memories of going “winkling” as a child and Katrine said she’d buy a newspaper cone full of them at the fish and chips shop where they were usually served sprinkled with vinegar.
They explained that periwinkles were considered “a sort of working class snack”, with most of the winkle shops in London being concentrated in the poorer East End." Edible Cape Cod
A JANE AUSTEN CONNECTION: In the 1700's to 1800's, the abbey ruins made Netley a popular excursion from Southampton - there is reference by Dr. Cheryl Butler in her article written for JASNA in the Winter 2019 issue of "Persuasion". At seven Jane and Cassandra Austen went to boarding school in Southhampton. During that time, it was unlikely they made it to the Abbey ruins, as many came down with typhus which almost claimed Jane's life. It would be nearly 10 years later when Jane would visit the Abbey.
***************
On another note, today I learned what collecting postcards is called: Deltiology. Collectors of postcards are deltiologists. See definition below.
Deltiology, taken from the Greek logos (science), and deltion (writing tablet) is the study of postcards. The term was coined by Randall Rhoades of Ashland, Ohio in the 1940’s during a period of renewed interest and research into postcards. The term is meant to impart dignity to the act of postcard collecting so it is looked upon as something more than just a hobby. It is not an internationally accepted term, and is not used by most postcard collectors (deltiologists). ~ from Metro Postcard Glossary
