K&DLHG SUMMER OUTINGS. Our first summer outing of 2022, on Friday 17th June, is to the village of Ilmington, just the other side of Halford. The street layout reflects its medieval origins, but there are prehistoric, Roman and Saxon elements in its history. Ilmington also had a strong catholic presence throughout the religious controversies of the early modern period. We will be led by Brian Brock, meeting 6.30pm at the Red Lion, in Front Street – medieval “Back End”!. Cost £5.00
Our outings in July and August are to explore the new bridleway on Pittern Hill (6.30pm July 15th, £5.00) and an afternoon in Chipping Norton (August 12th 2.30pm, £10.00). A flier is attached with more details. To book for any of these outings email djfreke@gmail.com and either pay on arrival, or by BACS direct to our bank account: Kineton and District Local History Group, sort code: 40-43-19, business acc. no. 71281992. Please indicate what your payment is for.
Report on April’s talk and performance by Alan Benjamin, entitled The History and Music of Morris Dancing . Alan’s presentation was as informal and entertaining as we anticipated. He took us through the history of the traditional instruments, playing several pipes (including one with only one hole), and the melodion. He demonstrated the different rhythms of the “chorus” and “figure” which are repeated throughout each dance. The importance of hats he demonstrated by showing his own very battered example. We learned the role of the fool, and the captain. He was cautious about determining the origin of the name Morris. The Oxford English Dictionary comes down in favour of “Moorish” with the earliest literary reference dating from 1458, probably initially in the sense of “outlandish” rather than suggesting that English Morris dancing was actually similar to the dances of the Moors. Alan recounted the different forms the dance has taken in different regions, – the multicoloured streamers and black faces (now eye-masks) in Ludlow and the clogs in the north. He related the Morris dancing phenomenon to the early 20th century revival of folk dance and song spearheaded by Cecil Sharpe, culminating in the publication of The National Song Book, which many of us remember from our school days. Ilona briefly abandoned her tea and coffee preparations to thank Alan for a splendidly informative and entertaining evening.
Report on May 20th talk The Early Allotments in Warwickshire by Anne Langley. Anne gave us a thoroughly researched account of the development of local allotments, from informal grants compensating agricultural workers for the loss of grazing and other rights s a result of enclosures, to the formation of Allotment Associations. During the enclosures of the 19th century landlords were obliged to let small areas of land to the parish poor to help eke out their meagre wages or inadequate poor relief. These plots were sometimes called “field gardens”. Other names such as The Poor and The Promised Land (both names occur in Tysoe parish) indicate areas of allotments. Early allotment landlords made rules governing who would be eligible (church-going often obligatory), what holders could do and when they could it (eg Sabbath observance restrictions), and what they could do with their produce. Even the most enlightened regulations would seem to us to be paternalistic. Our own local political activists, Joseph Ashby of Tysoe and Joseph Arch from Barford, both came from farm labouring backgrounds, and campaigned for allotments, among other issues, supported by Edward Raleigh Bolton King a major landowner in Chadshunt, who established allotments in Gaydon. A series of acts of parliament in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries have attempted to regulate the legal aspects of allotments but some are still under threat, as in Wellesbourne, where many of our members will have noticed the “Save Our Allotments” sign on the approach to the village.
2022-3 Programme: NB The October and November talks have been swapped around, the table below is correct at the time of writingthe
| 17 June 6.30pm | Brian Brock | Walk around Ilmington |
| 15 July 6.30pm | Brian Lewis | Pittern Hill bridleway walk |
| 12 August 2.30pm | Sean Callery | Walk around Chipping Norton |
| 16 September | Norman Hyde | ‘Tennis the Leamington Way.’ the oldest tennis club in the world and its importance to Leamington over 170 years. |
| 21 October | Rosemary Collier | A Potted History of the National Vegetable Research Station, Wellesbourne |
| 18 November | Roy Smart | ‘David Beatty – The Last Naval Hero’ fame and celebrity following the Battle of Jutland, the greatest naval battle in history. |
| 9 December | Richard Churchley | ‘Christmas Songs Through the Ages’ the Middle Ages to the 1940s |
| 20 Jan 2023 | Beat Kümin | ‘For a Good Cause – Church Ales and Early Modern Drinking Culture.’ |
| 17 Feb 2023 | David Fry | The Silk Ribbon Industry of Coventry’ |
| 17 March 2023 | AGM |
Membership. If you are, or would like to become, a Member of the group, your 2022 subscription is due (still £10pa!). Our Treasurer Alec Hitchman awaits! You can pay by cheque made payable to Kineton and District Local History Group, sent or delivered to Alec Hitchman, The Hills Farm, Pillerton Hersey, WARKS, CV35 0QQ, For queries contact Alec on alec.hitchman@btinternet.com You can also join at any talk.
With our bank now charging for payments by cheque or cash, we would urge those who can to please pay by BACS to our bank business account:
name: Kineton and District Local History Group,
sort code: 40-43-19;
acc. no. 71281992. Please include your full name so we can correctly attribute your payment.
Other Societies’ Events.
Saturday July 2nd CBA West Midlands AGM and Summer Field Day.
The Making of Tysoe Project is an ambitious community project and the day is being run in collaboration with the Tysoe Heritage Research Group
‘CBA West Midlands members and members of the community are invited to join with the Tysoe Heritage Research Group to hear more about the project and its work to date. There will be several short talks in the morning to explain what is being done, while the afternoon will include a walk around parts of the village to look at its historic setting, and visits to look at the church, and a demonstration of our work to record the graveyard around the church. There will also be a display of finds from field walking, and other materials, that may be visited throughout the day.’
The venue has been confirmed at the Tysoe C of E Primary School, School Lane, Tysoe , CV35 0SD. Non-CBA West Midland members are welcome to this free event. Booking via Eventbrite preferred:
or use the booking form above.
Monday 27th June. Leamington History Group. Fetch the Engine: a history of firefighting in Warwickshire by Mike Bunn. Oddfellows Hall, New Street, Leamington, 7.30pm
Wednesday 10th August Alcester and district Local History Society The South Warwickshire Coin Hoard by Dr Stanley Ireland, St Benedict’s High School, Alcester, 7.30pm. The topic of this talk is the large hoard of Roman coins found locally during excavations.
Warwickshire Local History Society
K&DLHG is affiliated to WLHS and our members are entitled to join their meetings.
Sat 16 July 2022 Edgehill BattlefieldWalk.
Please visit WLHS’s Eventbrite page: WLHS Members,’ Meeting Tickets, Eventbrite, to register your interest for this talk. A link and joining instructions will then be sent to you a few days before the event.
Sunday 19th June National Gardens Scheme Maxstoke Castle Open Day Castle and gardensopen between 11.00am and 5.00pm by kind permission of the Fetherston-Dilke family. Adults £8.00 concessions £5.00. No wheelchair access inside, and no dogs. Proceeds to Centre of England Riding for the Disabled, and National Garden Scheme
Saturday 9th July MoD DM Kineton Station Open Day celebrating 100 years of ammunition technical training in the British Army. Flypast, bands, parachute display, refreshments, military stands, children’s entertainment. Gates open 12 noon, Marlborough Barracks, CV47 2UL
British Association for Local History. The Kineton Group is also a Member of BALH and they run lectures and talks which are open to our members.
Check their website www.balh.org.uk for upcoming talks available virtually.
Warwickshire in WWII
The link below takes you to a fascinating article about WWII in the locality, keep going to the end to read about PoW Camp 31 at Ettington.
Don’t forget to check our own website at:
Kineton and District Local History Group (kinetonhistory.co.uk)
2022-23 KDLHG Committee
President: Dr Robert Bearman MBE
Chairman David Freke Other committee members
Vice-Chairman Roger Gaunt Rosemary Collier
Secretary Ilona Sekacz George Lokuciejewski
Treasurer Alec Hitchman Catherine Petrie
Outings Secretary vacant Pamela Redgrave
Programme Secretary Claire Roberts Isobel Gill
Committee News. The committee met via Zoom on 14th March.
Date of next Committee meeting: 11th July via Zoom 4.00pm,
Contact David Freke tel 01295 670516 mob. 07876 290044 email: djfreke@gmail.com
NB change of email address