IT ONCE flew proudly in the streets of a Hampshire market town.

Now an important Victorian flag is to again be flown in Romsey following an absence of more than a century.

The flag of the Romsey Volunteer Militia, as reformed in December 1859, will be displayed in the town’s King John’s House and Museum.

The group was formed when there was unease about French intentions and also intermittent civil unrest. This flag has long been in the care of the trust that runs the museum, but its fragile condition meant that it had to be withdrawn from display some while ago, when it was carefully wrapped in acid-free tissue paper and stored in an archival banner bag.

Fortunately, The Arts Society Romsey and Test Valley councillors came to the rescue by generously funding the flag’s conservation.

And for the last few years, members of the society have formed the core of a collections team that has been helping to record and care for the Trust’s collection of historic artefacts, both on display and in reserve store.

Sue Mullane, who was until recently the volunteers’ rota manager, set the ball rolling by recommending the flag’s conservation as a suitable project the society. She also made contact with Rachel Rhodes, a specialist textile conservator, who guided another team of willing sewers who worked hard on stabilising the flag.

This workaday flag in modest olive green with appliqued portcullis of faded gold has been stabilised with ultra-fine netting, and still bears its ‘wounds’ with pride – darns, patches and general wear and tear, resulting from its use at drills and exercise camps. The webbing close to the pole has the word ‘Slater’ written on it in ink. This is the name of Sergeant Slater, an enthusiastic member of the Militia, and presumably custodian of the flag.

Sergeant Slater was a leading light in Romsey during the mid-19th century. A Romsey Borough councillor, he was also a chemist with premises at 4 Church Street. There he and his assistant, William Frost, became the town’s first photographers, starting in 1858 with portraits of fellow councillors and other local dignitaries. So the flag links into many aspects of Romsey’s Victorian life.

The flag is now to be displayed within the Moody Museum close to a cabinet that also contains the 1798 minute book of an earlier incarnation of the Romsey Volunteer Militia, formed to confront the possible threats of the Napoleonic Wars, and disbanded in 1814.

A small ceremony to unveil the flag is scheduled for 12th December, when those who have been involved in its conservation will be given first sight of it in its new location. Afterwards, they will be able to move into King John’s House itself to view a new exhibition featuring artwork, old and new, of this medieval stone building.

The exhibition is called ’90 Years On’ and marks the 90th anniversary of the opening of King John’s House to the public by Miss Moody, the last private owner of the property.

King John’s House & Tudor Cottage Trust Ltd is an independent trust supported by Test Valley Borough Council.