Parchment production was a significant industry in Havant from the late 18th Century until around 1935. Animal skins were cleaned using local clear spring water and then spread out to dry.
Havant parchment is reputed to have been used for the Treaty of Versailles, signed on 28 June 1919 to formally end the First World War.
Although the armistice of 11 November 1918 ended the actual fighting, and agreed certain principles and conditions, including the payment of reparations, it took six months of Allied negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference to conclude the peace treaty.
As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace of Versailles, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, which led to the war.
Germany was not allowed to participate in the negotiations before signing the Treaty, which stripped Germany of 65,000 km2 (25,000 sq mi) of territory and 7 million people. The treaty also required Germany to pay an equivalent of 20 billion gold marks ($5 billion) in gold, commodities, ships, securities or other forms.
Many Treaty critics said the reparations were excessive and counterproductive, with others stating that the reparations contributed significantly to the ensuing inflation in Germany, which led to the collapse of the German currency.
This caused a lot of ill feeling in Germany and bitter resentment of the treaty powered the rise of the Nazi Party, and eventually the outbreak of WW2 in 1939.
- Find out more about the Treaty of Versailles – click here