The statue of Saint Nicholas holding a boat was carved from a piece of driftwood by Peter Eugene Ball, and fixed here in 2005. Saint Nicholas is associated with the giving of gifts and is the patron saint of, amongst others, sailors and children.
In some European countries he is in charge of filling children’s stockings on 6th December, his feast day.
To the right of Saint Nicholas, the colourful stone monument is to remember John and Grissell St Barbe of Broadlands, a big house in Romsey. They died, within hours of each other, in 1658 from the ‘sweating sickness’. Their four children were all boys; the one without the little piece of greenery had died before his mother and father.
Many, many years later, the Broadlands estate was owned by Earl Mountbatten and his wife, Edwina. Earl Mountbatten was a great-grandson of Queen Victoria. He became an Admiral in the Royal Navy and was the last Viceroy of India. Sadly, he was murdered in 1979. After his funeral service in London he was brought here to be buried.
Return to the statue of Saint Nicholas and then continue eastwards (right) for a few metres until you reach a display case on your left.
