NEWSLETTER 5th February 2018

IMPORTANT NOTE: Thank you to all who came prepared to pay your subscriptions at the January meeting.  Our Treasurer Richard will be on hand at our February meeting to issue programme cards (£10) to anybody who missed that opportunity!   

ALSO:  our AGM and supper is on March 16^th  (NOT the 17^th as in the Programme Card), and tickets (£12.50) for the supper will be available at our February meeting or from Isobel Gill (01926 640426) up to the 12^th March.  Please note that the (short) AGM business starts at 7.00pm.  If you, or any of your friends, would like to nominate yourselves, or them (with their permission!) for the committee, please let a member of the present committee know so that their nomination can be put to the AGM.  Nominations will also be accepted at the AGM.  

Forthcoming talk Friday 16^th February

Our next talk, by Anne Langley, is entitled: “A Trip Down the River Avon in 1900 revisited”.  This is a chance to discover what changes have happened in more than a century to the river itself and the activities along its banks.

Anne Langley is a noted local historian who has spoken to us most recently about Joseph Ashby of Tysoe and  previously about Victorian Village Life.  I hope to see you at the meeting.

Man on a punt at Welford Weir 1900s.

Reproduced from the “Our Warwickshire “ website

© Warwickshire County Council

Report: January meeting  talk on “Hanwell Castle and the Jacobean Water Gardens  ” by Stephen Wass.

Those who have heard Stephen before knew that we were going to hear – clearly – a lively and well informed account of the new work he has been undertaking in the designed landscape behind Hanwell Castle.   First he presented a brief history of the castle, really a prestigious late 15^th century country house built of brick, a very early example.  The existing buildings represent a fraction of the original 4-sided courtyard plan.  The Cope family were aristocrats of the second rank, they had another “castle” in Holland Park, London.  During the 17th century Sir Anthony Cope mixed with the elite scientific and cultured minds of Oxford, to the extent that he was nicknamed “the Virtuoso”.  This word had a different emphasis then, it referred to elite men (always men) of  taste and refinement, skill and connoisseurship, not just musical excellence.  The Oxford intellectual circle included natural philosophers (scientists) and antiquarians, and indeed a virtuoso in the modern sense of the word – a Dutch violinist called Thomas Balthzar, who stayed at Hanwell for several years after stunning audiences in London and Oxford.   Stephen’s documentary researches suggest that the 20 or so acres of the enclosed Hanwell garden were transformed into a water garden, with linked ponds, sluices, and playful water features, embodying the ideas of the Oxford group.  He has spent several years as part of his MPhil expertly excavating and recording some key sites within the overgrown landscape, with a loyal and hard-working community volunteer force, to try to uncover the layout and function of the various features.  So far some crucial elements have eluded the research, but given the extent of the features, revealed in Lidar surveys, there is plenty still to explore.  Although the Copes kept Hanwell Castle intact through the Civil Wars it was abandoned in the 1670s, and left to become derelict. This means that it escaped the attentions of Capability Brown and so is potentially a rare survival of a pre-Brownian designed landscape.  As an aside Stephen gave vent to a little rant about Brown, pointing out that he was probably responsible for the loss of virtually all English baroque gardens, such as those which survive on the continent.  A debateable point.

Stephen challenged the audience to explain the function of a stone-lined tank on the island in the top pond.  He, like us, is still puzzled.  The Chairman gave a vote of thanks, endorsing Stephen’s comment that if he gave a talk on this subject in a few years time he would almost certainly present different issues and conclusions.  History is made by research and enquiry, and, as such, changes all the time..

Other Local History Society events.

Council for British Archaeology West Midlands: Saturday 17^th February, “News from the Past” presentations by local archaeologists about recent work in the region, including the excavations at Warmington. 10.00am – 4.00pm Carrs Lane Church Centre, Carrs Lane, Birmingham B4 7SX website http://cbawm.archaeologyuk.org

Warwickshire Local History Society: 20^th February.  “Old Pubs and Lost Hostelries of Warwickshire” by Richard Churchley at the Friends Meeting House, High Street Warwick 7.30

Lighthorne History Society:   Friday 9^th March “Little Known Warwickshire part 2” by Alan Winterburn Lighthorne Village hall 7.30

Leamington History Group:  26^th February “Jane Austen and Stoneleigh Abbey” by Sheila Woolf at the Dormer Centre, Leamington Spa, 7.30.

Committee Matters.  

The next Committee meeting is Monday 12th February 2018. 

Errata.  The sharp-eyed will have spotted at least 2 erroneous dates on the Programme Card.  The first is the AGM which is on the 16^th not the 17^th of March, and the second is the talk by our member Brian Morgan about Morton Morrell Hall which is on Friday 16^th of November not the 18^th.  Mea culpa, sorry.

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NEW YEAR NEWSLETTER 12th^th January 2018

IMPORTANT NOTE: annual subscriptions (£10.00) for 2018 are due in January. Please come prepared to our January 19^th meeting, when programme cards for 2018-19 will be available.

ALSO: our AGM and supper is on March 16^th, and tickets (£12.50) for the supper will be available at our February meeting or from Isobel Gill (01926 640426).

Forthcoming talk Friday 19^th January

Our next talk, by Stephen Wass, is entitled: “Hanwell Castle and the Jacobean Water Gardens”. Those of us who have heard Stephen speak (and perform!) will eagerly anticipate his no doubt enthusiastic and informative presentation of the results of his several years of investigations into the landscape in the valley behind Hanwell Castle. I hope to see you all at 7.30 at the Village Hall to enjoy Stephen’s presentation.

Report: Christmas meeting talk on “Folklore and Folksong ” by Richard Churchley

Richard Churchley informed and entertained us effortlessly through his presentation of Warwickshire and Worcestershire folklore and song. He brought along, and played, a varied collection of musical instruments – accordion, cittern and guitar – but he also plays the harmonica, the banjo and keyboards, and belongs to a number of groups performing a wide variety of folk styles. His relaxed familiarity with the region’s traditional music persuaded even our members to join in the choruses of some songs. He pointed out that some of the songs from “The National Song Book” -familiar to those of a certain age – were collected in the region by Cecil Sharp and his colleagues. One of the earliest ever voice recordings is that of an Ilmington labourer in 1899 on a wax cylinder. Richard sang a Wootton Wawen folk song “The Bitter Withy Carol” which explained why the willow tree was considered unlucky. It recounted how Mary had beaten the child Jesus with a willow stick after some naughtiness

The origin of some surviving folklore and songs can be traced to the mumming and mystery plays of the medieval towns and their guilds. In Coventry of course we have the Coventry Mystery Plays, source of the Coventry Carol. Richard explained that originally carols were not necessarily connected with Christmas. During questions Richard explained that the origin of the name “Morris” dancing was probably a corruption of “Moorish”, ie exotic, in keeping with the alien elements in many of the mumming plays – the Turk etc. We learned that there are clear regional differences in the costumes and performances of Morris groups., and how Jesus then, allegedly, cursed the willow.

Members raised the issue facing some modern Morris groups – how to accommodate the tradition of “blacking up” in some regions, which might give offence? Those of us who went to Ludlow last June saw a Morris group there who wore black masks, as well as the brightly coloured ribbons of their regional costume.

Ilona led our vote of thanks for an enjoyable and educational evening, before serving her traditional mulled wine, and the mince pies provided by the Committee.

Other Local History Society events.

Marton Local History Group. 29^th January, “Marton Vicars Part 2”, Group Members, Village Hall, 7.30

Warmington Heritage Group, 15^th February, “The Pont du Gard” by Andrew Baxter, Village hall, 7.30

Council for British Archaeology West Midlands: Saturday 17^th February, “News from the Past” presentations by local archaeologists about recent work in the region, including the excavations at Warmington. 10.00am – 4.00pm Carrs Lane Church Centre, Carrs Lane, Birmingham B4 7SX website http://cbawm.archaeologyuk.org

Leamington History Group. 26^th February “Jane Austen and Stoneleigh Abbey” by Sheila Woolf at the Dormer Centre, Leamington Spa, 7.30.

Committee Matters.

The next Committee meeting is Monday 12th February 2018.

With our AGM due in March it’s timely to remind members that the committee is keen to recruit new representatives to its ranks. If you would like become more involved in running of the group or know someone who could be helpful in that role, please talk to a committee member, and consider putting your name forward at the AGM.

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    CHRISTMAS NEWSLETTER10^th December 2017

Forthcoming K&DLHG event.

On Friday December 15^th our Christmas talk is by Dr Richard Churchley entitled: “ Folklore and Folksong of Warwickshire and Worcestershire”. Richard is an accomplished musician as well as an experienced local historian, with an interest in vernacular buildings, family history, and the working man’s and woman’s experiences in the West Midlands. I hope to see you all at 7.30 at the Village Hall to enjoy Richards presentation followed by mince pies (provided by the committee) and mulled wine (prepared by Ilona) and/or soft drinks.

. Dr Richard Churchley at an Open University History Society “talk” at Redditch

Report: the 17^th November evening talk on “A Year in the Life of Avon Dassett 1914-15” by Sarah Richardson

In this fascinating talk Sarah Richardson gave local colour to the international events at the outbreak of World War in 1914, concentrating on the impact on village life and families. It was based on research carried out by the Avon Dassett Local History Group to mark the centenary of the outbreak, chronicling the day-by-day occurrences in and around this small community. Surprisingly there were only three war fatalities from the village, although the first village death was Lieutenant Holbeach, of Farnborough Hall, at the 1^st Battle of Ypres in November 1914. Many local able-bodied men were in agriculture, a reserved occupation. We heard from Private Tap’s diary entries describing the Christmas truce, during which he exchanged cap badges, buttons and cigars with Germans from the opposing trenches.

A wider history of Avon Dassett

produced by the ADLHG

The strong class divisions at the time were exposed in some strange decisions, like the token reduction of hunting from 5 days a week to 4, but a complete ban on football! Using newspaper articles, diaries, adverts, and official documents Sarah showed how many aspects of village life remained the same – pigs loose on the road, a fire at the canal wharf, sewage found in a well, theft of wood, no rear light on a vehicle, and a telephone betting scam, being some examples, At the same time there were moves to support the war effort through appeals for horses, woollen pants, etc, and a rise in agricultural wages. There were classes in woodwork and veterinary practice at Warmington. The local militia initially were armed with pitchforks. All this in the context of poverty and squalor for some village families, a situation unchanged by the fact of war.

During the project in 2014-15 the group produced a weekly blog, and a regular printed newsletter of the daily events of 100 years earlier, all made financially possible by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. This material is now archived at the WCRO, but it was a disappointment to some of our members that it is no longer available online.

Gill Ashley-Smith gave our thanks, with admiration for the detailed work put in by the Avon Dassett group and emphasising the value of such local research, and how other groups could learn from the Avon Dassett experience.

Other Local History Society events.

Many local groups are having their Christmas celebrations this month but Banbury Historical Society is hosting a talk on Wychford Forest and Cornbury by Dr Simon Townley on Thursday 14^th December, at the Museum. The Museum itself is running The Ironstone Art Prize, open to artists living within 20 miles of Banbury. Entries can be in any media but must be submitted on the 24^th January 2018. For details go to the Museum’s website: www.banburymuseum.org/ironstone2018/

Committee Matters. Monday 6^th November notes.

Finances: outgoings have exceeded income, but this is mainly because several expensive pieces of necessary equipment (up-to-date projector, and PA system) have been purchased. Membership numbers are up and there has been a healthy number of visitors.

The committee confirmed that the membership year will continue to start in January, and the AGM will remain in March. The 2018-19 programme card will be available to members at the January meeting. The list of committee members traditionally occupying the back of the card will be reduced to the Chairman and Secretary as at 2017-18 with their contact details.

The discussion about our archives identified some areas where members could assist in making the wealth of information in Peter and Gill Ashley-Smith’s archive more accessible, principally through cataloguing the contents of the files. The WRO’s format for would be adopted so that the records would be compatible with their standards. Gill has kindly made some of Peter’s digital records available to David Beaumont and to your chairman. Our President Bob Bearman has assisted in identifying which of Peter’s archives should be lodged with the WRO. Your chairman is the Group’s representative on the Village Hall Committee, and, at that committee’s November meeting, endorsed the VHC desire to extend the Village Hall, to include an element which could house our archives.

The next KDLHG Committee Meeting is on the 12^th February 2018 .

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Forthcoming K&DLHG events.

Our Friday November 17^th talk is: “ A Year in the Life of Avon Dassett 1914-15” by local researcher Sarah Richardson. This is her second visit to us; she previously gave us the fascinating story of the Warwickshire women who fought for women’s rights, including some very local stalwarts. Her talk this nonth is based on the work she and her group of enthusiasts have done to bring alive the impact on Avon Dassett of the first year of WWI. I hope to see you at 7.30 at the Village Hall for a fascinating talk.

Report: “The Rise and Fall of Percy Pilcher and the Art of Flying” by Roy Smart 20^th October

Roy Smart assured us that he would not need the microphone when he came to talk to us last month. For once this proved to be accurate, as was everything else he told us in a revelatory talk, which touched on Greek mythology, early theories of flight, the first woman to fly, European scientific co-operation, and ambition. Percy Pilcher, of whom none of us had heard until that evening, could have been a hero and a household name but for the weather, a broken crankshaft and the desperate need to fund his flying experiments. Perhaps a little unfairly he was compared to Icarus, the son of Daedalus who escaped from the labyrinth on wings held together with wax. His hubris led to his downfall when he flew too close to the sun and the wax melted. Roy pointed out that the myth had a moral: proceed with moderation. Percy certainly had sky-high ambitions and the technical know-how to achieve his goals, but possibly the desire to be the first to attain powered flight did lead to his downfall.

Percy Pilcher 1866-1899

He realised that to overcome the limitations and dangers of gliding (sadly illustrated by the death of Lilienthal in a glider crash in 1896) he would need to develop powered flight, so he formed a company to make engines. He made a triplane with an engine in 1899 but by then he was in debt and running out of money. Patrons were desperately needed. He put on a demonstration of his latest glider – the Hawk – at Eynstone in Kent, and then went to Stanford Hall under the keen eyes of potential financial and political supporters, including the Honourable Adrian Verney-Cave

e was clearly a gifted scientist and engineer. He joined the Royal Navy (aged 13) serving for 7 years before becoming an apprentice engineer with shipbuilders in Glasgow. By the age of 25 he was an assistant lecturer at Glasgow University. He mastered hang-gliding in the 1890s with a series of “soaring machines” inspired by bat and bird flight. Through his contact with German pioneer Otto Lilienthal he developed a flying technique which relied on shifting body weight to turn, rise and dip. In 1897 he broke the world distance record in the grounds of Stanford Hall, Leicestershire with a flight of 250m.

The Hawk glider, 1897, possibly being piloted by Miss Dorothy Rose Pilcher his cousin

Unfortunately his 4hp engine broke a crankshaft just before the planned event at Stanford Hall.

Such was Pilcher’s need for funding, patronage, and the recognition that his ideas were viable, that he did not abandon the event, but instead intended to fly the Hawk, which he had successfully flown many times. His cousin Dorothy had also been towed into the air in the Hawk, becoming the first airborne woman, ten years before the French woman Therese Peltier. Dorothy was also the first woman pilot to crash into a cine-cameraman. On the late September day of the Stanford Hall demonstration the weather was stormy, wet and windy, and it was not until 4.00pm with the threat of failing light that Percy decided the weather was suitable. He made two successful flights but on the third the tail assembly of the glider snapped with a loud crack– Roy made us all jump with a wooden spoon brought sharply onto the table – and Percy fell 15m breaking his thigh and suffering back injuries from which he died the next day.

The BBC sponsored a replica of his triplane and, with a few tweaks, it flew considerably further than the Wright brothers managed 5 years after Pilcher’s death. A tale of might- have-beens, memorably told by Roy about a man we shall now never forget. David Gill led our appreciative vote of thanks for a stimulating evening

The BBC replica Pilcher triplane constructed at Cranfield University. It flew.

Pilcher’s monument at the site of the fatal crash

Forthcoming Local History Events:

Friday 24^th November is the Village Victorian Evening starting at 6.00pm. Many shops will stay open and there will be stalls and entertainments.

The Warwickshire Local History Society has circulated the following note to us,as affiliated members:

Dear Member I have been asked to send a reminder about the Society’s next meeting at 8.00pm on Tuesday 21 November at the Quaker Meeting House, High Street, Warwick.  Rather than a one hour lecture, we are welcoming three members to speak on aspects of their own research.

We will hear several short presentations —

Alec Ross: Visualising Local History: the 1910-15 Valuation Survey in Stretton-on-Dunsmore

Stewart Fergusson: ‘The Factious Citie of Coventry’: Crisis and Change in the 17th Century

.Professor Ronnie Mulryne: The Stratford Guildhall and Shakespeare’s Schoolroom.

The presentations will start at 8.00pm, with coffee or tea served, as usual, from 7.30pm.

We do hope you are able to come to what promises to be an interesting evening.

Best wishes

Lesley Caine (Membership Secretary)

Other Societies’ Talks:

24^th November: For railway history enthusiasts the ever popular Stratford and Moreton Tramway is the subject of a talk by Jackie Checketts to the Welford and Weston Local History Society at Memorial Hall Welford, 7.30pm

27^th November. For Civil War enthusiasts Dorothy Entwistle is speaking to the Leamington History Group on “Re-enacting the Civil War with the Sealed Knot” at the Dormer Conference Centre, Dormer Place, Leamington, 7.30

27^th November. A somewhat later war is the subject of David Morse for Marton Local History Group: The Home Guard at the Marton Village Hall, 7.30pm

Kineton Camera Club Calendar. The Camera Club has produced a calendar featuring historic and corresponding modern views of the village, which they are selling at £8.50 to raise money for local First Responders.. If you are interested in having one and supporting this worthy cause, they will be on sale and taking orders at our 17^th November meeting and at the Victorian Evening Friday 24^th November..

Committee Matters

Your committee last met on the 6^th November. Our membership numbers have risen to 76, an increase over the last few years but still down on our peak of nearly 100. New members and visitors are always welcome, so please invite friends to come along to our meetings.

The 2018-19 talks programme is finalised and the Programme Card will be available as members renew or join in the New Year. We discussed the potential for members, and the wider community, to contribute talks or short presentations from their own researches or experiences. We might have more “members’ evenings” like the biennial Christmas Treats, or more full evening talks by local speakers. We will make enquiries among members, but if anyone has a topic of local historical relevance which they would like to propose, or knows a good local speaker with such a topic, please contact any member of the committee. A form will also be handed out as members renew or join for the first time.

The Village Hall has a newly installed loop system. We hope to use it at our 17^th November meeting, after learning how.

The Group has a Twitter account – @kinetonhistory – please have a look at it and tweet for updates and more.

The committee is keen to recruit new members to its ranks, and although the AGM is not until March 2018 if members want to have a say in running the Group, or know somebody who would, please start thinking about joining us!

The committee has discussed the Ashley-Smith archive with Gill, David Beaumont and Bob Bearman and identified some ways in which members could assist in making it accessible, particularly by cataloguing the boxes of material collected by Peter. In the meantime DB is answering email queries with the help of a digital copy of Peter Ashley-Smith’s researches.

The next Committee Meeting is on Monday 12^th February 2018

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Forthcoming K&DLHG events.

Friday October 17^th our evening talk is the intriguingly titled: “ The Rise and Fall of Percy Pilcher and the Art of Flying” by Roy Smart. I hope to see you all at 7.30 at the Village Hall to find out wh Mr Pilcher’s fall was actual or metaphoric (or both) .

Report: the 15^th September evening talk on Rebuilding Kineton Railway Station by Mark Reader

Mark (behind the setup) and colleagues

Mark Reader is a member of the Leamington and Warwick Model Railway Society which has its headquarters locally at Knightcote. He came early, and mob-handed with Mike, Kevin and David, to set up the 2mm to the foot (what a wonderful confusion of metric and imperial!) scale model of Kineton’s lost railway station. Even at this minute scale the model took up most of the width of the Village Hall. The skill in representing trucks and buildings in miniature was astounding, and Mark gave credit to the dedicated craftsmen of the Model Railway Society who have spent several years creating the topography and buildings that used to be on the site near Brookhampton Lane.

To a packed Hall of members and visitors Mark gave us a brief history of the railway companies that ran the not very financially viable line through Kineton from 1871 before it was finally axed by Beeching in 1965. A poignant short video showing trains running on the line and photos of the last train at the station drew murmurs of recognition from the audience. Mark had made an appeal to our members some time ago for memories, photographs or material related to the railway to help to replicate the detail necessary for an accurate model. Hardly any physical remains of the station or track still survive, but to show that not everything had been lost Mark flourished the baton handed to the train driver to guarantee that the single track section through Kineton was clear. One member had been able to produce the lamp from the waiting room and others had unearthed photographs and reminiscences. Apparently the signal box was the scene of “hanky-panky”, though no names were offered.

Part of the display of phtographs and memorabilia. Note the waiting-room lamp at the right hand edge.

Mark meticulously detailed the historical changes he and his colleagues had identified, and how they had faithfully incorporated them into the model. The height of the platform varied, and several explanations were offered – the higher levels possibly used to aid the loading and unloading of heavy goods, or maybe to help the transport of horses, remembering that the railway was used by huntsmen travelling to attend South Warwickshire Hunt meets. Lord Willoughby de Broke even had his own mini-branch siding for a while. After passenger trains were withdrawn in 1955 the platforms were cut back to allow wider trucks to pass, transporting iron ore from the local quarries to the South Wales smelters.

The model is still under construction and any new information would be welcomed. A big problem for the modellers is colour, as most photographs at the time were black and white, so an extra appeal was made for any colour photos of the line.

The model, with members sharing memories with the modellers. Note the bridge, still there on the Warwick Road.

The Group admiring the model at the back and enjoying tea, coffee and gossip.

The question session was lively and informative with several members able to clarify aspects of the line and its history. Mary Wheilden even admitted to owning a truck left on the line at its closure. A former member of staff at the Norton Grange Approved School remembered how the removal of the sleepers gave them a better chance of running down absconders, who used the old line to get to Banbury or Stratford. No further light was thrown on the signal box hanky-panky however.

Richard Hammon gave our thanks to Mark Reader and his skilled colleagues at the Leamington and Warwick Model Railway Society, for a superbly well informed and entertaining evening. The Society’s Open House Day is 11.00am to 4.00pm on Saturday 21^st October at the Clubhouse, New House Farm, Knightcote, CV47 2EQ

The Fund Raising Dinner for the Warmington Dig

On Friday 13^th Professor Carenza Lewis, well known for her long stint on Time Team, was the guest speaker at the Warmington Heritage Group’s fund raising dinner at the Primrose Hill Barn venue in Arlescote. Several members of the Kineton Group attended, as well as representatives from other local societies. Professor Lewis gave a chilling account of the effects of the 14^th century Black Death on the population, but her main point was to show how public participation in archaeology can contribute massively to our knowledge and understanding of the past but just as importantly works for the benefit of local communities, particularly the vulnerable and disadvantaged. Her title at the University of Lincoln is Professor for the Public Understanding of Research and on Friday she demonstrated, in spades, how inspiring it can be when local communities engage with researching their own neighbourhoods, or even just digging their own back gardens. Professor Lewis generously waived her fee and John Jeffries donated the venue for the evening, to help the fund raising effort.

Warwickshire Local History Society News

The WLHS is working on raising the Society’s profile and to this end have redesigned their webpage at http://www.warwickshirehistory.org and have a Facebook page.

The WLHS 21^st November meeting will be devoted to members’ presentations with short talks on the 1910-15 Valuation Survey in Stretton on Fosse, Crisis and Change in 17^th century Coventry, and Shakespeare’s Schoolroom and the Guildhall in Stratford.

Committee Matters

There have been no meetings since the last Newsletter

The next Committee Meeting is on Monday 6^th November.

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Forthcoming K&DLHG events.

Friday September 15^th sees our first evening talk after the summer outings: “ Rebuilding Kineton Railway Station” by Mark Reader.  I hope to see you at 7.30 at the Village Hall for a fascinating talk about the reconstruction of Kineton Station as a model.

Report: the evening visit to Shipston-on-Stour  17^th August

In front of the George Inn, with our backs to the Co-op

A striking feature of the town’s buildings is the number of finely carved date-stones sprinkled around, carefully conserved for the most part, and often enhanced by recent explanatory notes.  The date-stones are from the late 17^th century to the 1730s, but mainly before the fire.  Some are on relatively modest structures, but one above a garage door, dated 1681, is certainly not in its original place.  They presumably relate to a prosperous period when this was the accepted way for the more prominent townspeople to display their status.  Sheep Street exhibited many examples, as well as 18^th century Fire Insurance plates – possibly a case of shutting stable doors too late?

Examples of local masons’ work

Near the top of Sheep Street the traffic roundabout is reputedly the burial place of a suicide, denied the consolation of consecrated ground.  The construction of the roundabout is supposed to have disturbed her ghost.

We contemplated a fine granite horse trough, a relic of the cattle market, before proceeding down Telegraph Street where we admired the 1960s development which blends so convincingly into the historic townscape.

A new use for an historical feature

The new development at the top of Telegraph Street

Distressed dragon escaped from Chinatown

Further down Telegraph Street unsympathetic modern developments again intruded, with one dreary brick lump only relieved by a surreal roof ornament.  The plaques on the walls here warned against parking, littering, and the risk of demolishing the wall to which the notice was attached.  Round the corner we admired the renovated historic toll-road milepost, while nervously noting a rainbow and the gathering clouds.  Tea and cakes provided by the Shipston U3A beckoned at St Edmunds, where.  Ed Jackson sat us down and gave us an excellent description of the church.  It is an early work of G.E. Street and is full of the gothic details he later developed in his mature style.  His original intention to demolish the 15^th century tower was thankfully not approved by the church authorities.

Our thanks to Dick Burge, who gave us a superbly well-informed introduction to the town, showing us how its history and characters were still embedded in the buildings and layout, and to Ed Jackson and the U3A who ensured that our visit was rounded off in a thoroughly civilised manner.

Other Forthcoming Local Event:

Dick Burge is giving a talk about the The Stratford to Moreton-in-Marsh Tramway  at 7.30 on Tues 13^th at the Women’s Institute Hall, New Road,  Moreton-in-Marsh.

Committee Matters

This is a new element of the Newsletter, but it seems right that the members should be kept informed of what their elected committee has been doing on their behalf, so starting with this one  the first Newsletter after a Committee Meeting will include a brief update on its deliberations.  We last met on the 4^th September.

Your committee has been working during the summer holidays to finalise the 2018-19 talks programme and Summer 2018 outings – yes! we have to get these things sorted well in advance!  We have almost completed the talks list, awaiting just one contributor to confirm.  The programme will be a mix of local and wider topics delivered by enthusiasts both from within our own community and from further afield, and we hope there will be something for everyone in the course of the year.  We will be able to release the list around Christmas or New Year, all being well.

Isobel is working on the potential venues for the 2018 outings.  The 2017 evening visits were a great success, and we hope to have similarly stimulating trips in 2018, with a possible variation to make one of them a daytime picnic.  The day trip to Stokesay Castle and Ludlow was greatly enjoyed by those who came.  The day trips have sometimes proved problematic over the years.  It’s not been the quality of the venues but the difficulty sometimes encountered in raising the numbers sufficiently to cover the considerable transport costs, without raising the price to the members to an amount which could deter some.  We are actively considering ways to make these trips work more effectively.

The sad passing of Peter Ashley-Smith, apart from leaving the committee without a knowledgeable and obliging colleague and friend, has also brought into focus a long term issue — our archives, where to put them and how to manage them?  When I became Chairman this was a matter I was concerned to address, but then there seemed to be no straightforward solution to these questions.  With Peter, Gill and the Davids Beaumont and Gill and others on hand to provide answers to most queries from their own resources the matter went on the back burner.  With the loss of Peter and with Gill and David Gill retired from the committee after decades of service the issue has become pressing.  Gill is working with David Beaumont and our President Bob Bearman to devise a plan to ensure that the copious material collected and collated over the years by Peter and other members of the Group will remain a resource for the Group in the future.

The next Committee Meeting is on Monday 6^th November.

A future event:

Friday 13th October:
Warmington Heritage Group is hosting a Dinner at Primrose Hill Barn in Arlescote to raise funds for the post-excavation work planned for the Herb Centre Excavations.
The speaker will be Professor Carenza Lewis, late of Time Team, but more recently the leader of a community scheme in East Anglia to unravel the early histories of village communities. Her topic at the dinner is “Archaeology and the Black Death: finding global history in your back garden” – a suitable theme for Friday the thirteenth!

Tickets at £40.00 can be ordered from Sue Baxter

NEWSLETTER 1^st AUGUST 2017

Evening visit to Moreton-in-Marsh Friday 21^st July

A hardy two dozen Kineton Group members gathered under a spreading tree in the rain as the Friday evening holiday traffic roared and swished past. An unlikely but colourful mascot appeared unimpressed by the weather. Tim Porter, President of Moreton-in-Marsh Local History Society was our guide, supported by Vice-president Margaret Shepard. His introductory remarks explained how the town had several centres, originally focussed on the church, then the market, then in the 19^th century the station. He took us on an extremely informative and surprising (to me anyway) tour, to show us the way these changes could still be traced in the fabric of the town.

Tim Porter (on right), introducing the group to the town.

We went backwards in time; after passing a grand ex-Post Office building, we started with the station at the north end of the town, which in 1853 replaced a 1826 horse-drawn tramway connecting Moreton to Stratford and Shipston. We huddled amidst the passengers disembarking from the London train, then sheltered under the attractive canopy while Tim explained its history.

The line of the tramway was still visible in the skewed alignment of the adjacent houses. Tim waxed lyrical about the original features of the station buildings, remodelled in the 1870s, noting especially the polychrome brick and stone detailing around the gents toilets, and the cast iron brackets of the canopy, while regretting the loss of the chimneys. He drew our attention to the finials and decorations on the small but perfectly formed signal box at the end of the platform.

Has it stopped?

We moved on through the back lane and puddles behind the market buildings, noting the Redesdale Hall market hall and the Mann Institute working men’s club, both the result of generous patronage, the former by Lord Redesdale and the latter from Miss Edith Mann in memory of her father.

Tim pointed out that neither was in the Cotswold architectural tradition, and these, with other important buildings, give a distinctive character to the town. The 17^th century Curfew Tower was covered in scaffolding.

Nineteenth century dwelling, with the group under umbrellas and the medieval corbel sheltering under the eaves

We then walked back along that very High Street, peering into the windows of the very comfortable-looking Manor House Hotel, tracing the route the Roman armies took on the Fosse Way almost 2,000 years ago. At the W.I. Hall umbrellas were left in the lobby, and while the very welcome W.I. tea and cakes provided by Pam Clarke were consumed, Margaret Shepard enlarged on the situation of Moreton, located at the boundaries of 4 counties and at the national watershed.

Despite the challenging weather conditions during the walk we all agreed that we had had an excellent introduction to a neighbouring town sharing many qualities with Kineton, not least a thriving history group.

Tysoe Archaeological Day on 23^rd July. Kevin Wyles organised a display in the Tysoe Old School Rooms of his finds made over many years in Tysoe fields. He displayed copious quantities of mainly Roman pottery, tiles and other fieldwalking material and his many metal detector finds, recorded by the Portable Antiquities Scheme. The finds were backed up with geophysical surveys carried out by local professional archaeologists David Sabin and Richard Grove.

Forthcoming K&DLHG events.

Thursday August 17^th evening visit to Shipston-on-Stour guided by Mike Ashley. Meet 6.30 at the Telegraph Street car park, Shipston, followed by tea/coffee and cakes provided by Shipston U3A. Note the evening is on a Thursday.

Friday September 15^th sees our first evening talk after the summer outings: “ Rebuilding Kineton Railway Station” by Mark Reader

Other Local Events:

Friday 13^th October: Warmington Heritage Group is hosting a Dinner at Primrose Hill Barn in Arlescote to raise funds for the post-excavation work planned for the Herb Centre Excavations. The speaker will be Professor Carenza Lewis, late of Time Team, but more recently the leader of a community scheme in East Anglia to unravel the early histories of village communities. Her topic at the dinner is “Archaeology and the Black Death: finding global history in your back garden” – a suitable theme for Friday the thirteenth! Tickets at £40.00 can be ordered from Sue Baxter on 01295 691011 or email baxtersue@btconnect.com

Chedham’s Yard has a series of summer events the last of which has a historical focus:

Sat September 9th Heritage Open Day

All open 10.00am to 4.00pm

Hornton History Group

Sat 26^th – Mon 28^th August (Bank Holiday Weekend) 12.00 – 500pm: “Step back in Time: The Way We Were.” The Hornton History Group are presenting an exhibition, a guided village trail, live demonstrations of country crafts, an “oldie worldie cinema”, and a wealth of objects and documents from Hornton’s past.

Committee Members: a reminder that the next committee meeting is Monday 4^th September

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NEWSLETTER 6^th JULY 2017

Peter Ashley-Smith.

The Group and the community have lost a gentleman and an encyclopaedic source of local history information. As you are all aware Peter Ashley-Smith died unexpectedly on 12^th June. St Peters church was full for his memorial service on Friday 30^th when the Rev Barry Jackson and many friends and colleagues paid tribute to the contribution that Peter, with Gill, has made to the life of Kineton, and to the History Group in particular. Our President Bob Bearman described Peter’s exemplary local history principles and practice, with reference to Hoskins’ handsome tribute to local studies. Peter’s brother Jonathon gave a humane, witty and moving address describing their relationship with reminiscences of their childhood and careers. For myself I will miss his immediate responses to even casual queries, his reminders about events and his generous self-deprecating contributions to discussions, committee meetings and talks. His legacy is assured, and I am still working with his transcription of the Burial Register, completed while Gill managed the churchyard survey – a project which exemplified the PASGAS teamwork. He will be missed, and our condolences go to Gill for her loss.

Trip to Stokesay Castle and Ludlow Sat 24^th June.

Stokesay Castle. After a short delay (!) the Johnson’s coach to Stokesay passed without incident through the increasingly attractive West Midlands landscape, and we had our first insight into the skill of our driver Tracy as she negotiated the very tight entrance to the Stokesay car park. As we arrived early at the medieval castle – really a 13^th century fortified house – we had it virtually to ourselves for the hour and a half we spent there, and our numbers did not overwhelm the essential but tiny café. Stokesay Castle is a remarkable place. Now owned by English heritage it is uninhabited and in parts stripped back to the stones. The sumptuously carved 17^th century panelled solar chamber is in contrast to the massive medieval hall with its exposed roof timbers, cantilevered stairs, and uneven floor.

The Hall, with Joy and David Gill, and Pam Redgrave posing as scales to show its size

Visitors climbing the defensible stairs to the impressive south tower rooms were subject to the squeaking swallows swooping through the glassless windows, and the rare bats roosting in the roof. The 17^th century gatehouse has fine wood carvings depicting Adam and Eve, dragons, and contemporary figures. All this was excellently described by the (free) audio tour devices. The adjacent mainly 17^th century parish church of St John the Baptist was a bonus. It has a West Gallery originally for choir and musicians (see Hardy’s “Under the Greenwood Tree”), a wonderful canopied double pew and a two-decker pulpit. The wall paintings have religious texts including the Lord’s prayer, and some interior funerary monuments have trompe l’oeil painted surrounds with prayer texts, presumably to enhance their effectiveness.

Ludlow. Tracy then threaded her coach through the congested streets of Ludlow, earning our applause, noticed, we discovered later, by the nearby Saturday Market stallholders.

As we disembarked we found ourselves watching a skilled Morris dance troop, with an all female group, followed by a lively male stick dance team in outlandish costumes, followed yet again by several clog dancers who danced with extraordinary speed and precision, all the dancers accompanied by live music – accordions, a tuba, tambourines, violins and a surely inauthentic saxaphone.

The town is stuffed full of historic buildings – 500 of them are listed. The most elaborate had carvings similar to those at Stokesay. It was striking that the historic town centre is not disfigured by chain stores and high street familiar names, which tend to make so many British town centres indistinguishable from one another. The Ludlow council’s positive strategy to refuse permission to such planning applications has resulted in a charming and idiosyncratic centre at a human scale.

We saw an ironmongers the like of which we thought had become extinct (remember Hoods in Banbury?), and a haberdashers (do young people even know what such a thing is?), as well as any number of small specialist shops, some no doubt dependent on the tourist trade but none the worse for that.

The imposing church of St Lawrence was hosting a conference of the Church Monument Society, so at lunchtime there was the spectacle of the chancel and north aisle occupied by tables of earnest academics and experts eating and debating the qualities of the rather wonderful sculptured monuments around them. Dame Mary Eure (d. 1612) lies, stiff as a board, propped on her elbow “expecting a joyefull resvrection”.

It was worth scrambling round the lunching conference delegates to examine the fabulous series of misericords in the choir stalls. One shows a woman still clutching the false measure that got her into trouble, being carted off to hell, hoisted over the shoulder of a devil, accompanied musically (?) by a bagpipe-playing demon. Another demon reads a scroll listing her sins and her bottom can be seen disappearing into hells mouth.

After a last cup of tea at a table overlooking the passing street scene, it was back on the coach for some more heroic coach driving to get out of the town, then smoothly back to Kineton.

The day was a great success and our thanks are due to Isobel Gill who organised it so efficiently.

Forthcoming K&DLHG events.

Friday July 21^st K&DLHG evening visit to Moreton-in-Marsh, guided by Tim Porter. Meet at the War Memorial in the High Street in Moreton at 6.30.

Thursday August 17^th K&DLHG evening visit to Shipston-on-Stour guided by Mike Ashley. Meet 6.30 at the Telegraph Street car park, Shipston

Friday September 15^th sees our first evening talk after the summer outings: “ Rebuilding Kineton Railway Station” by Mike Reader

Other Local Events:

Chedham’s Yard has a series of summer events some of which have a historical focus:

Sat July 8^th Blacksmiths tales and customs

Sat August 5^th Family history with Michael Dane

Sat September 9th Heritage Open Day

All open 10.00am to 4.00pm

Sun 23^rd July: The Archaeology of Tysoe, The Old School Room, Tysoe 10.00am – 4.00pm.

An exhibition of finds and research in the Tysoe area.

Committee Members: a reminder that the next committee meeting is Monday 4^th September

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Peter Ashley – Smith

It is with great sadness and sorrow that we learned of Peter, although in hospital, suddenly passing away on Monday 12 June 2017 aged 77.

Peter was one of the stalwarts of the Kineton and District History Group having served on the committtee and was our Secretary for some seventeen years until he stepped down last year. He was also a member of several other local groups/societies and also well known throughout Warwickshire in local history circles.

Our sympathy and condolences go to his wife, Gill, on this very sad occasion.

A memorial service will be held at St Peters Church on Friday 30 June 2017 at 1.30pm following a private family cremation.

RWG 22.06.2017

The last evening talk on March 17^th was “Spade Husbandry” by Judith Ellis (not Ruth Ellis as I mistakenly announced her previously!)  This was not a gardening talk. She described the political development of the allotment movement in Campden, from her own research, showing how in Campden and elsewhere it was an important social force in the 19^th century.  This was particularly relevant to Kineton and district, as several major figures in rural social reform at that time came from Tysoe (Joseph Ashby), Chadshunt (Bolton King) and Barford (Joseph Arch).  Judith’s talk was fascinating, well presented, clearly illustrated and delivered with a personal touch, possibly fired by the fact that her own house was closely associated with Campden’s allotments.

Next talk:

Long Compton at Domesday       by Bill Cook

SUMMER OUTINGS

SATURDAY JUNE 24^th  COACH TRIP

STOKESAY CASTLE and LUDLOW TOWN

£22.00

(Ludlow Castle £5.00 entrance fee not included)

Stokesay Castle, England’s finest medieval fortified house (entrance fee included). Ludow historic market town, medieval castle and St Laurence’s Church the “Cathdral of the Marches” as well as the Ludlow Spring Festival-in full swing.  Coach leaves St Peter’s Bus Stop 8.00am, return by 6.30pm

FRIDAY JULY 21^st

Evening tour of Moreton- in-Marsh plus WI provided refreshments

£5.00

Meet 6.30pm at the war memorial in Moreton-in Marsh.
Guided by local historian Tim Porter

THURSDAY AUGUST 17^th

Evening tour of Shipston-on-Stour plus U3A provided refreshments

£5.00

Meet 6.30pm in Telegraph Street car park Shipston-on Stour
Tour guided by Mike Ashley

Information and tickets for all outings from Isobel Gill 01926 640426 or Ilona Sekacz 01295 670675 or at 19^th May meeting

Other News

Sadly our member Peggy Hill has died since our last meeting.  She came regularly to our meetings and outings until her recent illness limited her mobility. Her presence in the village will be missed.

As well as our web site (www.kinetonhistory.co.uk), our Vice Chairman Roger Gaunt and his daughter Lucie, with David Beaumont, have organised a Twitter account: @KinetonHistory where you can post comments etc., and remember our email address:  kinetonhistory@yahoo.co.uk for queries and contacts.

Correction and apology.   By some oversight, despite proof reading and scrutiny, Peter Waters’ name was omitted from the list of committee members on the 2017-8 Programme Card. His phone number is 01789 740823.    My apologies to Peter.

Committee Meetings

Just to remind the committee that we have arranged an extra meeting for the 3^rd July at 7.30 at the Library, specifically to discuss next year’s talks programme. The regular autumn committee meeting will be on 10^th September.

Other events

Thursday 19^th May 7.30 Warmington Heritage Group talk by Professor John Hunter: “Memories of a Forensic Archaeologist” Warmington Village Hall.

Saturday 20^th May 10.00am – 4.00pm Southam Heritage Collection Local History Fayre and Valuation Day at St James’ Church, Southam.   Entry free, valuations £1.00

Friday 14^th July 10.am – 2.30pm Portcullis History study day led by Dr John Hunt “Warriors, Warlords and Saints: some themes in Mercian history” Hatton Village Hall fee £30.00 inc lunch  (www.portcullis history.com)

Friday – Monday 25-28^th August (August Bank Holiday) Hornton History Group event “Looking Back on Life in Hornton” Hornton Pavilion and village trail,