NEWSLETTER 09 Oct 2020
SUBJECT TO ANY NEW COVID RESTRICTIONS, OUR SCHEDULED TALK ON
OCTOBER 16th WILL TAKE PLACE, USING THE SAME FORMAT AS SEPTEMBER’S TALK
As well as the virtual presentation via Zoom, the Village Hall will be open for up to 27 pre-booked attendees; priority will be given to those without internet access or skills. Members and Friends will be invited by email to participate via Zoom. Those in the Hall will need to observe the Village Hall’s covid-19 instructions – i.e. the one-way system, hand cleansing, social distancing and face coverings. There were some glitches experienced by some Zoom participants in September, and we appreciate your patience then. My thanks to those who gave feedback on their experience. As a result, though, we are better prepared for October’s talk, with clearer advice and a better understanding of Zoom. We will send you an email with the invitation to join our October meeting virtually, or you can take this Newsletter as an invitation to attend in the Hall if you do not have the internet or the confidence to join using Zoom. Please contact David on 07876 290044 to book a place in the Hall. I encourage those who can, to participate via Zoom, so that our members without the internet can have the opportunity to experience our programme.
So, to the October 16th meeting itself. We are privileged to 
have Keith Westcott talking about his recent discovery of the extensive Roman villa on the Broughton Castle estate. As a keen metal detectorist he considered the landscape context and previous local discoveries and set about systematically investigating his hunch that there was some significant Roman activity in the area. His persistence was rewarded, and since his discovery he has been working with evangelical zeal to consolidate his findings. and to integrate the amateur, specialist and professional interests he has generated in researching the site.
Report on our first semi-virtual Covid 19 meeting on 18th September. With some nervousness we held our scheduled September talk by Tim Clark on Warwick’s First Factory, taking advantage of the Village Hall’s Covid Secure Venue status, for which we must thank the Village Hall committee. In the event the number in the Hall was 15, enough to justify our speaker’s attendance in person, but with space for up to 27 plus speaker, chairman, and greeter we could have accommodated a few more. Thirty of our Members and Friends participated via Zoom, which was a bit of a curate’s egg event for some. The hardware all worked fine, thanks in large part to our member Steve Gale’s advice, but navigating Zoom was more problematic. Our experience then, and subsequently, has improved our understanding of the Zoom app, and we hope that October’s talk will be glitch-free for virtual participants.
Tim Clark gave us a wonderfully researched account, of not only the historical evidence for this late 18th century worsted mill in Warwick, but also of the characters involved. It was the largest 
worsted spinning mill in England at the time, employing 500 workers, and it was the first factory in Warwickshire to bring all the elements for producing worsted yarn into one place – “vertical integration”. The factory system was a blow to the cottage industries and was not welcomed by all, although the frame breaking by Luddites experienced elsewhere did not affect Warwick. The Warwick factory’s efficiency enabled it to supply Leicester and Hinkley hosiery manufacturers and Kidderminster carpet factories. It benefitted from the innovations of the industrial revolution taking place in the west midlands, with a Bolton and Watt steam engine and a patented “Smoke Consumer” to meet the requirements of the 1821 Steam Furnaces Act, an early anti-pollution measure. The factory contributed to Warwick’s prosperity and growth in the early 19th century, although the living condition of the workers was appalling, with the factory district a notorious slum of “pauper squares”. The decline of the business came about through a combination of personality clashes between the partners’ heirs, the economic decline following the end of the Napoleonic wars and stiff competition as other centres with better resources caught up with Warwick. Our thanks to Tim Clark for his stimulating talk, and for agreeing to be our first semi-virtual speaker, and thanks also to our membership.
Other Matters
Obviously we have not been able to run our summer outings this year, and any member who has already paid for them will be re-imbursed. Our Treasurer will be in touch. It may be possible to reschedule the outings for 2021.
Not all of our remaining 2020-2021 scheduled talks are suitable for the semi-virtual format we are currently adopting. Also, official covid precautions may change for better or worse in the coming months, so we will be assessing the programme one meeting at a time and we will confirm each event when we are reasonably confident that we can run it. Even in a strict lockdown we hope that we will be able to continue virtual meetings online on the regular dates, but they may not be by the speakers or on the topics set out in the 2020-21 Programme leaflet. Please be patient if an eagerly awaited talk is postponed. We will try to re-schedule any speaker not suited to the Zoom route.
The archive storage facility at Pillerton will have to be maintained for a bit longer than anticipated as our HLF bid for finance for the new archive room behind the stage fell foul of HLF diverting all funding to Covid related causes.
When lockdown started Pam Redgrave suggested that members share cherished objects online, and many of you rose to the challenge, with a variety of objects and personal stories. Many thanks to you, and to Pam for her suggestion.
Other Society News
Other societies are exploring ways of reaching their members, and members who can use the various virtual meetings apps can usually join them.
Tuesday 20th October 7.20 for 7.30 start. Warwickshire Local History Society is hosting a virtual talk by Professor Michael Lumley of Warwick University entitled Carry Us Away, Migration to Brazil by Warwickshire Agricultural Labourers 1872. Poverty stricken agricultural labourers from many local villages, including Kineton, were encouraged to emigrate by the Agricultural Labourers Union formed by Joseph Arch. K&DLHG is affiliated to WLHG and our members are entitled to join their meetings, so I will forward the email invitation when I receive it.
It is worth exploring the Warwickshire Words webpage: www.warwickshirewords.co.uk , as their many historical presentations are available free online until Oct 30th. Local topics include David Howe on Tales from Warwick Schools, Trevor Langley on Puckerings Lane, Warwick, and Graham Sutherland on The Trial of Elizabeth Brandish -the Ettington Sensation, plus many more topics of general historic interest.
KDLHG Committee Matters.
The committee met on March 2nd. The treasurer reported that sales of Peter Ashley-Smith’s book were just about to break even financially. It was noted that the Village Hall Committee had approved our plans for the new archive room in Feb. and that the HLF application was about to be submitted with our financial records. Gill Ashley-Smith’s donation of furniture and materials for the archive room was gratefully acknowledged. The programme for 2021-22 was discussed in general and the committee tasked with coming up with suggestions for speakers and topics. Claire Roberts tabled a range of suggestions. Catherine Petrie was thanked for undertaking to submit our programme to the various local newspapers and other outlets, in addition to providing and distributing the posters as usual, in a bid to widen our membership. Arrangements for the AGM in March were discussed [it was held as a virtual meeting, via emails]. The next meeting of the committee was planned for May 11th at Catherine Petrie’s home at 7.00pm. [It was postponed].
DF 09.10.20
Contact: David Freke
Email frekedj@globalnet.co.uk
07876 290044