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Newsletter No. 90 - January 2008
Sonning Lock, looking downstream, January 1891. Thanks to Reading Central Library Illustrations Collection. Copyright reserved, no reproduction
By the time you read this, Christmas will be a distant memory, and you will be at the start of what I hope will be an exciting series of talks in your local societies. Some of you may even have made a New Year's resolution to try a bit of research on your own locality. If so, if any of us in BLHA can help in any way, just let me or our Secretary know. More to the point, you may be able to help BLHA. The AGM is not far away, Saturday, 15th March. Margaret Yates is retiring as Secretary; it is obviously essential she is replaced though I admit she will be a hard act to follow. It would also be great to have some new blood on the Executive Committee. There are only three or four meetings a year and since everyone reports on his / her own particular responsibility and contributes to the general discussion, there is never a dull evening. Think about it, please!! About as far from Berkshire as one can get is China; like some of you, perhaps, I am looking forward to seeing the Terracotta Warriors at the British Museum in the New Year. No connection with local history? Sometimes we forget that every community in every country has its history, though family historians among you will already be aware of this. But China? Local history on the Great Wall? Well, a recent television programme on the subject was not so much about the Emperors who ordered its construction as the men who built and defended it and their families. Their descendants still live in the area, some of which have made a transcript of a stellae in one of the fortresses, which gives the names of some of the workers, who were also its defenders and the problems they met in the construction. These were the people who made it happen, the usually unsung ordinary people whose lives are more and more coming into the light of books and broadcasts. Family names still survive in the area, forts are named after their original commanders. We in Berkshire don't have anything as spectacular as the Great Wall, but we still have a great deal of history, especially of ordinary people, to uncover. Happy New Year and happy hunting in the archives. Joan Dils, Chairman, BLHA Words from the EditorsThe beginning of 2008 heralds the 90th edition of our newsletter, quite an achievement. Now that the Christmas and New Year festivities are over we return to normality and routine, but judging by your programmes there is still plenty to look forward to over the coming months. There is of course the February Day School on the 23rd and, as our Chairman has already mentioned, the Association’s AGM which will be hosted by Goring and Streatley Local History group on the 15th March. We hope to see you there. Our special feature this time is our Chairman’s account of our November Day School, a day enjoyed by all those who attended. It is intended that we undertake more of this sort of activity, so if any of you have any suggestions for a theme for the day or would like to give a talk please contact the committee. Margaret Simons In MemoriamIt was with great sadness that the Executive Committee learned of the death of Kerr Kirkwood on 28 August last. Many of you will have known Kerr as an indefatigable Membership Secretary of BLHA and a generous host, with his wife, Pat, on some notable BLHA occasions. He was a very self-effacing man; few of us knew of his many activities and accomplishments: he was a graduate of Reading University where he continued his life-long association with agriculture in Berkshire, joining his father in a firm of agricultural auctioneers after graduation and later becoming a partner. He was involved in the Wokingham Show for many years, and, as befitted his interest in all things local, wrote its history as well as writing a column for the Reading Chronicle. His interest in agriculture also took him on visits to New Zealand when he retired. He was also Secretary of the Redingensians, (Reading School Old Boys') Association. Living a few doors away from me, he became a familiar sight on his very solid and unglamorous bicycle, en route to the shops or on business. He always had time for a quick chat. I miss him, as I do Michael Smart, another octogenarian neighbour and BLHA stalwart. We all send our deepest sympathy to his wife, Pat and the family. Fittingly, Kerr's ashes were scattered under an oak tree in a field in Grazeley. Joan Dils Requests for InformationFrancis Mcgready is interested in any information that you may have about a lady who I believe organised the White Waltham air show in the 1950s. I am not sure which year, but I went to it as a child. My mother was a great wartime friend of Fredas Leaf, and tried to contact her on that day, but failed to locate her. My mother is now 87 years old, and wonders if anything is known of her old friend, with whom she stayed in Cambridge on occasions, Fredas' father was a professor there, and her mother was the honourable Mrs Leaf, but I do not have any further information. I would be very pleased if any information were readily available. If you can help please contact the editor. Sylvie Le Gratiet, President of the Carriere Society, is studying the French symbolist painter Eugene Carriere (1849-1906) and would be very interested in any information on Frances Keyzer. Frances was a very important witness of his life, she organised his first exhibition in London at the Continental Gallery in 1897, but little is known about her other than that she married Albert Keyzer. It was discovered recently that she was the sister of Rufus Isaacs, Marquess of Reading. Sylvie wonders whether there are any letters or documents, maybe amongst family papers, that may help shed light on their friendship. If you can help, once again contact the editor. Robert Parrott writes, I am a furniture historian researching an early 18thC form of seating known as a forrest or forest chair. I have found a 1720 reference for these being supplied from Windsor by a Jno Kennedy. Does anyone in your society happen to know anything about him or know of any other references to forrest chairs? I am also wondering whether there might be a connection with Alexander Pope who lived at Binfield between 1700 and 1715 and who also wrote the poem 'Windsor Forest'. If you can help contact Robert on Rfparrott@aol.com Sue Young wonders whether anyone in the Association can help her with the names of boys’ boarding schools in Bracknell during the late 1960s and early 1970s. One particular school, she seems to think, was run by a Reverend Brownless. Can anyone help? If so you can contact Sue on Womansong01@yahoo.com Brian McDonough has lived in Shrivenham for over 25 years and he has not seen any pictures of the former manor house that was burnt down in the fifties ( I believe ). Can anyone help? Contact Brian at the Old Police Station, Shrivenham or on brian@bikeaddict.freeserve.co.uk Colin Hutchin is interested in the name HUTCHINS in Berkshire. He is searching for a connection to William HUTCHINS b1720 EAST HENDRED son of WILLIAM (b1679 ?) and CATHERINE to EDMUND b1653. Do any of our members have information on the HUTCHINS name. If you can help contact the editor. John Dearing of the History of Reading Society is currently working to complete a book on the inns and public houses of Reading. This will consist largely of photographs with the historical record in captions. He would therefore be very pleased to hear from members who have suitable material or are aware of any “less obvious sources”. If you can help please contact John on 0118 99580377 or via email gpwild@bt connect.com Notice BoardAGM Please make a note that our next Annual General Meeting will be held on the 15th March 2008. In a departure from previous years and in order to promote greater involvement of our societies in this event, Goring and Streatley Local History Group have kindly volunteered to host the event. Please show your support by completing and returning the enclosed application form. Electronic Newsletter In our present climate of being friendly to the environment is there anyone who would prefer to receive their copy of the newsletter via email? We already send an electronic copy overseas; so if you would prefer to get yours by email then email the editor. February Day School 2008 The day school on 23 February 2008 on religious change in Berkshire will soon be upon us. The day is hosted jointly by ourselves, the Berkshire Record Society and the Department of Continuing Education and will be held in the recently refurbished Gyosei lecture theatre at the University’s London road site. If you are interested please complete the enclosed application form and return with the necessary fee. Huntley and Palmers On the front cover of 89th edition of the Newsletter we featured a photograph of staff from Huntley & Palmers. Cecily Amos contacted me to say that the photograph was of the company guides who were employed to show visitors around the factory. My thanks go to Cecily for the information and more of her memories as an employee will appear late in the year. Margaret Simons Individual Membership If you are a member of a society, but would like to receive your own copy of our Newsletter and the journal Berkshire Old and New, why not take out an individual membership? For just £9.00 per annum you will receive three issues of the Newsletter one in January, May and September and one copy of the journal. All enquiries should be made to our membership secretary Christine Wardingley. Lockinge Estate Village Life Past and Present: the annual exhibition of aspects of Lockinge Estate, Saturday 15th & Sunday16th March. The Loyd Lindsay Rooms, Ardington, 2-5 pm, refreshments available. Standing Orders If you have not completed a standing order yet, it would be a considerable help if you could, as renewals are now due. Failure to renew membership either by standing order or cheque will result in your name being removed from our list. If you have any questions please contact our treasurer David Lewis or Christine Wardingley, details can be found on the back page. Special FeatureAspects of Berkshire's History 3 November 2007 This was a most enjoyable and successful day with seven contrasting but equally interesting contributions. Members of three local societies, Winnersh, Theale and Maidenhead explained how, by pooling all their different talents, they had produced some most unusual and worthwhile local history. Theale's Millenium Quilt, which hangs in the local community school, was the result of research by local historians, community memory and the skill of the needlewomen who produced the final masterpiece. Then to cap it all they published a charming and informative book with pictures of all the episodes on the quilt and the history behind them. Winnersh used a different technique to help residents to appreciate the past of the area, a somewhat amorphous locality between Earley and Wokingham: they produced maps of guided walks with descriptions of what walkers could see now and what used to be there in the past. Again the many skills of the team together produced a really worthwhile result. The other talks were by individuals. Despite a heavy cold, David Lewis confidently demonstrated that, from its layout and from archaeological evidence, Windsor was the result of deliberate town planning in the early Middle Ages, and not a consequence of the building of a castle. Two seventeenth-century contributions opened more new areas for us: Jameson Wooders showed how the Hearth Tax returns alongside probate inventories could shed light on housing and wealth in the county in the 1660s; Martin West, again using inventories but adding material from deeds, explained how many yeoman farmers of the period made or lost money through investment in land. Two very different nineteenth- and twentieth-century contributions again opened up new aspects of local history. Ann McCormack, in a lively talk on the Irish community in Victorian Reading, described a small but diverse community, which settled down, married with local partners and even prospered in business. It was a useful case study in combining census, directories and other sources. Finally Margaret Simons, in addition to providing a really appetising lunch, opened up the field of local health, an under-rated area of research still. Her theme was the work of Reading's early Medical Officers of Health in improving conditions in the Borough but she also showed how others could, by using similar records for their communities, add considerably to our knowledge of the history of public health in Berkshire since the 1870s. Overall the day was a great success. Many thanks to all the contributors: to the committee who publicised the event and to MERL for again allowing us to meet in their superb accommodation - and for providing tea and coffee. I hope we can do this again in the not-too-distant future. It was a pity more people did not come; about 30 is not a large audience considering our membership. We need to find better ways of publicising what we do. Any suggestions? Joan Dils Society NewsFinchampstead Society History & Heritage Group The September meeting was the first to be hosted by our new Chairman, Roger Black, however members had no trouble finding the venue as Roger is the next-door neighbour of our previous Chairman, Dr Dallyn Salter. The Group presented Dallyn with a Local History Resource Pack with thanks for his many years as Chairman and host. The Pack shows aerial photographs of the farm that had been in Dallyn's family for three centuries on Exmoor, North Devon. John Chapman was our Guest Speaker and he gave a very informative talk illustrated with slides of the area including various churches that had been built and subsequently demolished. A Norman font first installed in 1241 is still in use. In response to a question about how buildings long ago were moved, he explained that they were often constructed just like pre-fabs. They could be taken down and reconstructed quite easily. Our October meeting was held during Hallowe'en week and appropriately the speaker, Michael Bayley, told us about Local Traditions and Ghost Stories. We heard tales of headless horsemen, Roman troops recently seen marching around Caesar's Camp on the Devil's Highway and laundry maids hanging around centuries after meeting untimely deaths at South Hill Park. Some members were quite afraid to go home in the dark. December was our annual Members' evening when we have no invited speaker. Instead, Members are invited to bring along interesting artefacts, books, photographs and anything else of local historical interest they would like to share with the group. May we remind everyone that our publication "Finchampstead in Old Pictures" makes an ideal gift. Roger Black Mortimer Local History Group One of our speakers earlier this year was John Miller, a local farmer who has joined the Group and who was High Sheriff of Berkshire. This honorary position is held for three years and is concerned with leasing with the public and the law. John attended schools judging mock trials, welcoming new citizens when they took the oath of allegiance, dealing with social problems and a very enjoyable invitation to the Queen's Garter ceremony. His work included almost daily engagements and entertaining by his wife, Claudia. The perambulation of the bounds has been very successful. This has been a series of three-mile walks, which were fortunately in good weather. A small group including an ancestor of our present treasurer, Denis Nickless, undertook the previous eighteenth century perambulation of over twenty miles in two days. We hope to produce some literature on this, possibly with 'then and now' photographs. George Bell, the Pastor of Beech Hill Baptist Church told us in September of the Church's history. It has been in existence since 1715 when it served a large area, including Reading, as it was not permitted at that time to hold non-conformist meetings in the towns. The church is still flourishing and we were most interested in learning more about our adjacent parish. As we are a very informal group we often invite villagers to tell us of their recollections. This has proved very productive and we were entertained at our last meeting by two ladies, Jenny Broom (nee Emms) and Maureen Loxton (nee Cox) who recalled their high-spirited childhood in the village before attending The Holt school in Wokingham, which was the only grammar school available at that time to Mortimer and involved fifteen miles and two bus journeys to get there. Their talk stimulated many other reminiscences and will provide useful additions to our archive. Colin and June Woodward have been honoured by the presentation of the Village Community Award to them by the Parish Council for their long-term service to the Mortimer Local History Group. They received a plate from Aldermaston Pottery, which depicted the White Lion of Mortimer. This is one of the Queen's Beasts, a statue of which may be seen outside the Palm House at Kew. It is an extremely handsome lion and is the badge of the Mortimer family from which the village takes its name. June Woodward Friends of Windsor & Royal Borough Museum We have continued with our fund-raising towards a proper museum, while also running our usual programme of talks, outings and social events, beginning with our January social, where good food, chat and some testing of wits were washed down with Rip Hunter’s excellent mulled wine. Our first talk was a moving account by our Chair, Dr Brigitte Mitchell, about her German father’s experiences in the First World War, as terrible as any endured by a British soldier. Next Norman Oxley recounted the history of the high-class department store Caleys; first established in the early eighteenth century by the Caley family, it continued under that name until the summer of 2006 when, to the distress of Windsorians, the store was shut. At our AGM in May Brigitte paid tribute to resigning members of the committee, especially Norman Oxley, for many years Chairman. The meeting was attended by the Mayor, Cllr Margaret Cubley, who spoke powerfully on the importance of history and the need for a museum in Windsor. Penny Hatfield, Eton College Librarian, then gave us a talk about the many changes that a boy of 1900 would discover in the Eton of the twenty-first century, illustrating it with some fascinating documents. A group visited the Houses of Parliament, where after our guided tour Brigitte and others were able to talk to our MP, Adam Afriyie, who gave his support for our Museum campaign. In June we had a coach-trip to Strawberry Hill and Marble Hill House: this was a last opportunity to see Strawberry Hill before it closed for restoration. A pub lunch was followed by a self-guided visit to Marble Hill; sadly the weather did not match up to the splendour of the buildings. To compensate we had a beautiful evening for our visit to Amersham Museum where the Curator, Jane Bowen, gave us a guided tour and we finished the evening enjoying coffee and cake in the lovely garden. As part of the Windsor Festival the Museum put on an exhibition ‘Vile Victorians’, borrowed from Wycombe Museum. Based on the Horrible History series of books, this proved a huge success, attracting nearly 3,000 visitors. Volunteers from the Friends researched the Windsor aspects, Malcolm Lock installed the exhibition, and members provided stewarding. In October Elias Kupfermann told the history of Herschel Park in Slough, which has won a grant of £2.2 million for its restoration, and to end the year Hester Davenport talked about the phenomenon of the Royal Windsor Tapestry Manufactory which flourished in Old Windsor from 1878-90. See our web-site www.windsormuseumappeal.org.uk for details. Hester Davenport History of Reading Society Our two summer members-only outdoor events, to close the Society’s 2006/07 Session, were a Reading town centre tour with Sidney Gold on 20th June visiting ‘Some Statues and Monuments in Reading’ with particular emphasis on the Soane Obelisk in the Market Place, recently renovated, and a visit to Wargrave on 18th July, to be taken on ‘A Historical Walk of Wargrave’ by Peter Delaney, of the Wargrave Local History Society. With no August meeting, the Society’s 2007/08 session started on 19th September with a talk by Chris Doyle on the history and operation of the Thames Valley & Chiltern Air Ambulance. It was explained how the whole operation was financed entirely from donations and fundraising and was staffed by aircrew, doctors and paramedics in their own free time, there being plenty of red tape to prevent it receiving a single penny from public funds. Yet the area covered extends from the M25 out into Northamptonshire and the leased helicopter in use is extremely limited in range and payload. In fact the fairly imminent replacement aircraft, though newer and larger, will cost much more to lease, operate and maintain – at a time when dedicated sponsors are difficult to find and the need for the service grows year on year. James Ford, who had talked to us on local brick making in April, returned on 17th October, to give an instructive talk about chalk mines in and around Reading. He described the mining areas, reasons for the mining, ways of detecting the mines and how he found out them. As might be imagined, the talk was followed by an extremely lively questions session! On 21st November, the Chairman of the Berkshire Family History Society, John Price, spoke on the fundamentals of researching family history and how his organisation is able to help anyone with roots in the area. It becomes apparent that there is a lot of help available to anyone taking up the interest and it was urged that anyone so doing adds icing to the cake by researching and studying the occupations and other aspects of the day-to-day lifestyles of their ancestors. Joan Dils will be giving her Presidential Address in December, entitled ‘Reading: A Town of Two Rivers’. In January, Dr. Marshall Barr will be giving his talk on ‘Battle Hospital’, which he had to postpone from last March; and in February, we shall be welcoming John Chapman to speak on the Royal Berkshire Regiment. Meetings are held on Wednesday evenings mid-month (apart from August) at Abbey Baptist Church, Abbey Square starting at 7.30pm prompt. Entry is free to members; Non-members £2.00. Inexpensive car parking nearby is available for members. Meetings finish at 9.00pm with refreshments available. Ring 0118 947 2470 or email Edward.W.Hooper@btinternet.com for further details of the Society. John Whitehead Project Purley The Autumn programme opened with our Chairman John Chapman giving his Millennium lecture on the history of our Church of St Mary the Virgin. The venue was, quite suitably, the Church extension. John gave a comprehensive illustrated presentation, telling of the beginnings of Christianity in Purley, and the building of the first Church dedicated to St Mary the Virgin. The illustrations revealed the rebuilding programmes that took place over the centuries, and also showed where various aspects of the earlier Churches still remain, notably the font from the 12th Century, and the window of the old vestry dating back to the 14th Century and now situated in the entrance to the Church. John’s knowledge of the history of the life and times of this ancient holy place was apparent, and led to much discussion after the lecture. Members also spent time exploring the Church. In October Ben Viljoen gave his illustrated Millennium lecture on Purley Hall. The house, built in 1609 by Francis Hyde in the Manor of Purley La Hyde was then known as Hyde Hall. During the next two generations the fortunes of the Hyde family suffered, and in the early 17th Century the house was sold to Francis Hawes, and subsequently to his brother Thomas, as Francis had been made bankrupt. In 1777 the Wilder family of Sulham bought the property, which was then known as Purley Hall. From Ben’s research and illustrations it was quite apparent that during its lifetime there were various alterations made to the house and gardens, and the Wilders also made alterations and leased the house to various people, including, notably, Warren Hastings who brought his menagerie of exotic animals there. Later the house fell into disrepair, and in 1961 Major Bradley, who restored the house to its elegant state of today, bought the property. In November it was the turn of Rita Denman to give her Millennium lecture on the Cottages of Purley. Rita had a wealth of early photographs, which together with her careful research, and tales of some of the old characters of those times made for an interesting talk. There are of course some of the old cottages still in existence, restored and cared for by their owners. With her photographs Rita was able to take members on a guided tour of the village along the Street and the Oxford Road showing pictures of cottages long gone. Included was Home Farm situated in the Street, and the Forge at the bottom of Long Lane. Another photograph showed the Oxford Road, narrow, tree lined and peaceful. Purley was indeed very rural in times gone by, and it is good that we can recall past residents and their old cottages in such detail. Millie Bordiss Sandhurst Historical Society The archaeological dig at Ambarrow Court, Crowthorne in July proved to be a very successful venture. Although no artefacts of any particular significance were discovered, the school children enjoyed their experience learning much about the subject. Bracknell Forest has produced an excellent booklet together with a disc as a record of the dig. As yet we are unsure as to what will happen to the “dig area” though it hoped it may be fenced off and preserved. Our outing to Reading Museum, also in July, was much enjoyed as the museum underwent a refurbishment 3 years ago and is now well worth a visit. Afterwards we went on to Silchester where we were very fortunate to encounter Mike Fulford who kindly treated us to a superb lecture on the Roman remains. All in all an excellent outing. Our talks in August and September on the Story of Frimley Park and Military Medical History form the Civil War to the Gulf War respectively were both very enlightening. Our AGM, also in September, was again mercifully short lasting for only 20 minutes! Please visit our website at www.sandhurst-historical-society .org for up to date information on current committee officers etc. Our photographic competition produced around 40 entries. Our Mayor, Nick Allen, kindly attended our October meeting and presented a clock to the winner, Lynne Hughes. Our research group’s latest publication is now on sale. It is entitled “Sandhurst How It Has Changed”. Please phone Michael Young on 01252 875907 for further details. Our Latest outing of the year was a visit to the RMA in October when Dr. Morton, the deputy Archivist, gave us an extremely good insight into the history of the Old College including the Chapel. We were surprised to learn that the Cadets are no longer taught this history which wee felt was their loss. Our meeting are held at the Sandhurst Community Hall, usually on the last Thursday of each month commencing at 7.30 pm. See our website for further information. Janice Burlton Sonning and Sonning Eye Society In November the Society elected its first President. John Edmonds, one of its founding lights, sought to bring together two groups previously individually engrossed in either the proposals for a third bridge or planning applications. His wife, Armine, and her parents before that, had a long association with the village and will be remembered by many readers who may have heard her talk about the village’s history. Our Heritage Open Days Weekend contribution on Sunday 9 September was hugely successful this year. We were able to catch The Mill Theatre between productions, and to arrange for The Mill to be open for the afternoon with guided tours backstage for enthusiasts, led by Managing Director, Sally Hughes. There was also a small exhibition for which a lot of the intellectual energy came from Brian Eighteen. As a former employee at Sindlesham Mill, Brian is still in touch with one of the penultimate owners of Sonning Mill, Dennis Over. Dennis trekked to us from Dorset, and ended up becoming one of the first people interviewed as part of our Village Voices oral history project. Sons and daughters of former Mill employees also came, lending an evocative nostalgia to the afternoon. In 2008, we are pleased to report that The Mill intends to put up a permanent exhibition about The Mill as a working mill, its conversion, and its life as a theatre. Our autumn outdoor event took on a different flavour. Trevor Ottlewski kindly provided a full day studying timber-frames buildings on 13 October. In the morning Trevor gave a fascinating talk illustrated with his own drawings and various artefacts. In the afternoon we strolled around the village visiting the homes of one or two Society members and ending with tea in The Bull, an interesting timber framed building in its own right. The dedicated also got a chance to look inside an impressive barn conversion in Sonning Eye and the restoration of the “sheds” at the foot of the allotment space behind the Robert Palmer Cottages in Pearson Road. Recent issues of bridge have carried articles on memories of growing up in Sonning Eye (Jimmy Edwards in Bridge 11, Summer 2007), prospecting for oil in Sonning Eye (John Argent in Bridge 12 Autumn 2007), and 75 years of change at the University Farm (Malcolm Stansfield in Bridge 13 Winter 2007). Diane Coulter Wargrave Local History Society Wargrave Local History Society had two very local topics for their September and October meetings. Firstly, Cameron Floate recounted his experiences of Policing the Village. He was stationed at Wargrave from 1956 until 1975. When he began, policing of the parish was on foot or cycle, without the aid of radio contact. Life at the Police House was 24 hours 7 days a week, including rest days. When Cameron was out on patrol, it was expected that his wife would answer the telephone, issue Receipts for Found Property, and be a second (unpaid) policeman! Cameron’s first motorised transport, in 1959, was a Velocette motorcycle. To the amusement of the local lads, he had to ride it around on duty displaying ‘L’ plates. He was mortified! As well as recounting many ‘incidents’ that had happened, we were treated to a display of various items from his time as our local ‘bobby’. In October, Pam Cardy give an interesting personal history of the Sheeplands Farm and Farmshop. Originally farmers at Bedfont, the family started farming as market gardeners in Wargrave in 1962, taking over Sheeplands Farm. A chance comment from the manager at Kennedy’s Garden Centre, that ‘what we need is a good farm shop’, led to Sheeplands Farmshop opening in May 1981. Pam, and her father and brother originally ran it. Pam’s son Andrew joined the business 10 years ago - with lots of ideas for change, including the famous life like cows that stand outside the shop! Sadly earlier this year, after 26 years, Wyevale suddenly terminated their lease. The farmshop then moved to the other side of the A4 -a ‘fantastic operation’, achieved literally ‘overnight’. In November, Trevor Ottlewski talked about Wokingham’s Town Halls. He explained that the present decorative town hall in Wokingham Market Place was not the first to stand on the site. Its earliest mention is in 1583, when Elizabeth I confirmed the right to hold a market ‘by the clock house in the market place’. Using contemporary pictures, he described the building and its multiple uses. The building was replaced in 1858, the new one having a court room, police station, 3 prison cells and exercise yard, a covered market area, fire fighting facilities, council offices, and a lending library. Trevor clearly has a passion for the building, and its architecture, and the audience appreciated his beautiful pictures. In December we had our traditional party, with a slide show by Geoff Briggs on the Village Festival of 20 years ago. Peter Delaney Winnersh and District Historical Society In August, we put on displays at Hurst Horticultural Show to promote the Society and its publications. The Winnersh Branch of the Royal British Legion then invited us to join them for their 70th anniversary in September. Displays included photographs of the local Home Guard, etc. during 1939-1945 and memories of wartime rationing. Brian, plus Colin Wells with his aerial photographs of Winnersh, were featured in the Wokingham Times. A slide show on Past Rural Life by Brian Eighteen, our chairman, was the subject for the September meeting –very different from life today! In October, Tony King gave us a glimpse of “Victorian Shopping” in an illustrated talk. This era changed the whole concept of shopping, both for customers and suppliers. Some current well-known names began as a market trader, and sometimes with little knowledge of English. Later, some of the items in catalogues caused some amusement. Tony also showed examples from the Wokingham area. At the beginning of November, Brian, Colin and I attended the day school at MERL. It was interesting to hear the variety of speakers on the Aspects of Berkshire’s History. We were given a slot on publishing local history, and spoke about producing our two booklets on life in the Winnersh area over 100 years. Our November meeting was a talk on the “Work of the War Graves Commission”. Slides showed how they manage the cemeteries around the world, and the effort put in to maintain them to a high standard. Their founder, Sir Fabian Ware, was in France in 1914, and realised that no organisation was responsible for marking and recording the graves of fallen soldiers. The War Office finally agreed that proper care of war graves would boost the morale of troops and comfort relatives at home, and Royal Charter established the Commission in May 1917. The computer age has helped enormously in recording information, and now available to the public. `They are based in Maidenhead and provide a very interesting evening. Stella Young Wokingham History Group In September Colin Wells showed us Winnersh and Wokingham from an unusual perspective, in "Aerial Photographs". Starting in 1944, before the M4 was built, to more recent yearly photos, the impact of increasing development was evident. These unique images are more detailed than a map, presenting accurate pictures of all visible information on a particular date. The NMR at Swindon holds a vast archive for all areas, which can be viewed at a week's notice. In October Dr Martin Parsons, researcher and author of over 20 books on evacuation, illustrated the hard facts and questioned the myths of "Evacuees in War Time Britain". The enforced migration in WW II of over 3,500,000 people, mostly children, to 'safe' areas, where it was compulsory for residents to take them in, caused the greatest family and social upheaval ever known. Much inhumane treatment traumatised these invisible victims of the war, and in retrospect did more harm than good. In November, Dr Julia Borman, chairman of the Friends of Reading Abbey, gave us a very interesting historical tour of this once nationally important institution founded by Henry I nearly 900 years ago. While the whereabouts of its famous relic, the left hand of St James the Apostle, remains a mystery, the abbey gateway, rebuilt in 1860, is in need of urgent restoration, which the Friends hope to resolve. Barbara Young
Heritage, Family History, Museums and LibrariesMuseum of English Rural Life We had a very busy start to the Autumn term at MERL. In fact, October was our busiest month since the new Museum opened two years ago. Over 300 people attended our Annual Lecture, given this year by Jonathon Porritt, a huge number of families came along to our half term and Halloween events and over 250 visitors came to our first ever Apple Day celebration, not to mention our Craft Workshops, Seminars and Lunchtime Network talks. Our new temporary exhibition – ‘A Small World’ features models, miniatures and toys from the collections, and runs until March 2nd, 2008. On Wednesday 14th November there was a Lunchtime Network talk about the Heavy Metal steam archives project which was followed by a film show and lecture by Mark Broughton of the Department of Film, Theatre and Television, featuring two rarely seen agricultural documentaries. Later in the month there were two MERL Seminars. In the first, on November 20th Dr Philip Conford of the Department of History, discussed the ‘Growth and change in the organic movement from 1946 to 2006’ and on the 27th Dr Gavin Parker, Senior Lecturer in Town and Country Planning, discussed the history and development of the Country Code. On November 21st there was the last of this term’s Lunchtime Network talks, which was given by Emma Laws, the Curator of Children’s Literature at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Finally, we entered into the Christmas spirit and rounded off the year with two family workshops on December 1st and 8th when children came along and made Calendars or Christmas decorations. Details of all MERL events can be found on the website at www.merl.org.uk/news If you would like to register or book, please call 0118 378 8660 or email merlevents@reading.acuk We hope there is something in our programme to interest everyone, but if you have any comments or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Alison Hilton, Marketing Officer CoursesThe University of Reading School of Continuing Education has various courses running. For more details see the enclosed flyers or check www.reading.ac.uk/ContEd or call 0118 3788347. The Oxford University Department of Continuing Education also have a number of other part-time courses in their 2008 prospectus. For more information on these and other courses please call 01865 270360, email pp@conted.ox.ac.uk or look at the website on www.conted.ox.ac.uk
History SocietiesArborfield Local History Society: Mrs P Steed, The Old Post House, Eversley Road, Arborfield Cross, Reading, Berks, RG2 9PG Archives, Libraries & MuseumsAbingdon Library: The Charter, Abingdon, OX14 3LY. 01235 520374 Wantage Vale & Downland Museum: Church Street, Wantage, OX12 8BL. 01235 760991 museum@wantage.com
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