HLHS LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETIES Events, news, reviews January - March 2017 No.12 Editor: Margot Miller – Fownhope [email protected] “Old apple tree we wassail thee, and hope that thou wilt bear hatfuls, capfuls, three bushel bagfuls and a little heap under the stair.” 18th century wassail song Closing day for news & events for May-Aug HLHS emailing - Friday 28 April In this emailing: Dates and details of events January to March 2017; In Memoriam: 100th anniversary of WWI, Battle of the Somme; suggestions for local talks; reports & books, Transactions of the Woolhope Club; medieval events 2017; WEA courses & workshops at , Kindle Centre, HARC, the Hereford Museum Resource & Learning Centre, Friars Street, Hereford HR4 OAS and - new venue - Hereford Cathedral Library. JANUARY 2017 Saturday 7 January, 2.15pm Committee Room No.1, Shirehall, Hereford: Woolhope Club David Lovelace & David Whitehead on The Herefordshire Water Meadows Project . Non-members welcome Saturday 14 January, 5.00-6.30pm Wassailing the Apple Trees at HARC, Fir Tree Lane, HR2 6LA [email protected] 01432.260750. To help us wake up and bless the apple trees in our young orchard in this ancient ceremony, with the Morris and traditional songs around the fire. Free event – donations welcome. From Pete Brown’s Book “The Apple Orchard – the story of our most English fruit” “I love Wassail more than any other festival in the apple year because it celebrates the tree itself. The apple year is marked by festivities at every significant point – blossoming, fruiting, ripening, harvesting. At other times we admire the blossom or give thanks for the fruit, and of course that’s what we’re hoping for again as we gather in the orchard in winter. But right now we’re praising the tree as it stands naked and frozen.” Through the seasons in England’s apple-growing heartlands of Herefordshire and Somerset, Pete Brown uncovers the magic, folklore , modern science, growing and marketing of our most familiar fruit, listening and learning from apple people including those at Dragon Orchard and Once Upon a Tree at Putley. The Apple Orchard, the story of our most English Fruit, by Pete Brown, published by Particular Books/Penguin ISBN 978-1-846-14883-5, 2016, £16.99 hardback.

HARC COURSES - JANUARY TO JUNE 2017 HARC, Fir Tree Lane, HR2 6 LA, [email protected], 01432.260750. Booking: to reserve a place, all booking in advance by email, phone or post. Unless stated – full payment in advance. House History: 4 sessions, 10 – 11.30am: Mon 30 Jan, Mon 6 Feb, Mon 20 Feb, Fri 24 Feb. £30 - £10 required at time of booking. Main sources at HARC – maps, manorial court rolls to 20th century planning applications. Digital Methods for Studying your local countryside and its history: 10.30 - 12.30 Monday 22 May, £8 Getting Started with ‘Ancestry’ Library Edition website. 10.30 - 12.30 Monday 6 March, £8 Investigating Family & Local History through parish records 10.30 - 12.30 Monday 10 April, £8 Researching Criminal Ancestors & Policemen in the Victorian Period: 10.30 - 12.30 Monday 12 June, £8 Protect your books: a workshop making dust jackets, book covers and lightweight book cartons. 10.30am – 3pm Tuesday 4 April, £30, minimum deposit £10 at booking; materials supplied. An Introduction to the Archive Service & HARC Collections: 7.30-9pm Wed 10 May £8 Behind the Scenes Tour: 2-3.30pm Thurs 9 Feb, Thurs 27 April, Fri 30 June, £5. Or by arrangement

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MORTIMER HISTORY SOCIETY AT CHURCH Tuesday 17 January: coffee at 11am followed by Tour of St Laurence’s Church, Ludlow with Mortimer History Society, led by Hugh Wood – details on website mortimerhistorysociety.org.uk St Laurence’s is famous for its architecture, medieval glass, wood carving and there is much to see for anyone interested in the Marcher Mortimer lords. £4 to cover expenses, payable on the day, but let MHS know if you are coming.

Monday 16 January 10.30-12.30: WEA Hereford at Kindle Centre (Asda) 1st of 7 sessions on Mondays. with Allen Fisher, British Landscape Painting 18th-20th Century. Booking see WEA Hereford on p.7 Monday 16 January 7-9pm: at Kindle Centre (Asda) 1st of 7 sessions on Monday evenings.£49 Herefordshire in the with David Whitehead. Booking see WEA Hereford on p.7 £49 Tuesday 17 January, 7.30pm: Garway Heritage Group, Garway Village Hall Talk by archivist Philip Bouchier on Herefordshire Archive Services (HARC). £4 non-members. Website garwayheritagegroup.co.uk email: [email protected] Tuesday 17 January & Friday 7 February 10-12.30: WEA/HARC study/workshop at HARC 2 mornings - £20 With Gill Powell Turn Memories into Memoir – turning your life story, people, dates and places into a record for your family. Booking: see WEA Hereford on p.7 Wednesday 18 January 10.30-12.30: WEA Hereford at Kindle Centre (Asda) lst of 7 sessions on Wednesdays. Virgil’s Aeniad (Books 1-6) with Thomas Roderick. Booking see WEA Hereford on p.7 £49 Wednesday 18 January, 7pm: Llantony & District History Society at Cwmyoy Village Hall. Talk by Grant Muter on Farm Buildings in the Border Landscape. Details from website llantonyhistory.wales/events.html Thursday 19 January 10.30-12.30: WEA Hereford at Kindle Centre (Asda) 1st of 6 meetings on Thursdays. Churches of the Welsh Borders – Saxon & Celtic to 21st century – with Tim Bridges £45.50 See p.7 Thursday 19 January, 7.30pm Eaton Bishop Village Hall, HR2 9QN Talk by Penny Platts on Half-Timbered Herefordshire. £4 including refreshments. Contact: Tim Coleman 01981.250111 Thursday 19 January 7.30pm Hereford Civic Society, Kindle Centre, Asda, HR2 7JE. Talk by David Whitehead on Victorian Hereford. Contact: [email protected] Tuesday 24 January 10-12 noon: WEA/HARC Study/Workshop at HARC with Rhys Griffiths. £8 Pathways to the Past – using the HARC records. Booking see WEA Hereford p.7 Tuesday 24 January 7.30pm: Dindedor Heritage Group, Dinedor Village Hall HR2 6LQ. Talk by Angela Williams, former Holme Lacy history officer and Rotherwas Ordinance Factory project Leader – on the history of Holme Lacy House, plus an update of the Rotherwas munitions factory project (ROP). Members £3, non-members £5. Details: [email protected] Wednesday 25 January: & District Local History Society at Weobley Village Hall, Gadbridge Rd. Talk by Margot Miller, Mortimer History Society on Edmund Mortimer’s ‘Gap Year’ 1413-1414. Contact: [email protected] Saturday 28 January 2.15pm: Woolhope Club, Committee Room 1, Shirehall, Hereford A Heckelphone for Hereford – when Delius visited Shirehall, talk by Stephen Williams with music and images. Non-members welcome. Contact: [email protected] Tuesday 31 January 10-12 noon: WEA/HARC study/workshop at HARC with Liz Bowerman. £8 Looking after your Historic Family Records: how to preserve family letters, cuttings, books, bills, accounts and photos for the future. Booking – see WEA Hereford on p.7

SPRING COURSE - & DISTRICT LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY Farmers, fields & forests: a brief history of Herefordshire agriculture from pre-history to the 20th century, with Bromyard examples In a series of lectures by Kate Lack: our agriculture in its social and national context explaining changing roles and diversity of those who work the land, with examples of local families and their land-holdings. At the Bromyard History Centre, 2-4pm Wednesdays - 8, 15, 22 February, 1,8,15 March. £35 payable on or before first lecture 8 February, please book asap as places are limited. Proposed outing Saturday 11 March – cost and details to be confirmed. Contact: Sue Cooper 01885.488694 or [email protected] -2-

“Hampton Court in the time of the Coningsbys” Talk by Rhys Griffiths Wednesday 1st February

FEBRUARY 2017 Wednesday 1 February 7.30pm: Sutton St Nicholas Environment & History Group at Sutton Village Hall Talk by Rhys Griffiths, HARC, on A Noble Estate: Hampton Court in the time of the Coningsbys Sir Humphrey Coningsby purchased Hampton Court in 1510 and the estate remained in the family until the early 19th century. Coningsbys were a prominent noble Herefordshire family, including Sir Thomas who died in 1625; he was an English soldier and MP, notable for his diary of military action in France in 1591. Contact: Judy Stevenson 01432.886748 [email protected] Friday 7 February 10-12.30 WEA Hereford/HARC at HARC, 2nd session with Gill Powell on making a memoir. See p.7 Monday 6 February 7.30pm: Longton & District Historical Society, at Longtown Village Hall. Talk by Tim Hoverd on Longtown & Ponthendre Castles Excavations. Contact: [email protected] Wednesday 8 February 7.30pm start: Ross & District Civic Society, Larruperz Centre, Ross-on-Wye Talk by Mark Barry on Sustainable Building Design. Contact: [email protected] Wednesday 15 February7.00: Llanthony & District History Society at Cwmyoy Village Hall. Talk by Derri Edge on A Black Mountains War Story. Website llanthonyhistory.wales/events Friday 17 February 7.30pm: Fownhope Local History Society at New Memorial Hall, Fownhope. Talk by Chris Over (Dinedor Heritage Group) on Rotherwas House and Park. Contact: [email protected] Saturday 25 February, 2.15pm: Woolhope Club, Committee Room No.1, Shirehall, Hereford. Talk by Steven Edwards on The Man who drowned the meadows – Rowland Vaughan 1558-1627. Non-members welcome. Contact: [email protected] MARCH 2017 Thursday 2 March 10-12 noon: MRLC/WEA workshop at Museum Resource & Learning Centre, Friars St. HR4 OAS with Dr Henry Connor on Henry Bull, physician, antiquarian & collection of plants. Booking see p.7 £8 Saturday 4 March 10an-4pm: WEA Hereford Branch Study Day at Saxon Hall, Hereford HR2 4HE with David Law The History & Culture of China, £20 For booking - see WEA Hereford on page 7 Monday 6 March 10-12.30: WEA/Hereford Cathedral workshop at Cathedral Library,Palace Yark, HR1 2NG with Rosemary Firman on The Medieval Book – introduction to medieval books and their decoration, using examples the cathedral library. £8 Booking see p.7 and WEA Hereford City Branch Monday 6 March 7.30pm: Longtown & District Historical Society, at Longtown Village Hall. Talk by Miriam Griffiths on The Women’s Land Army during WW1. Contact: [email protected] Tuesday 7 March, 7.30pm: Dinedor Heritage Group, at Dinedor Village Hall Talk on the History of Cider, plus tasting. £5 including cider. Contact: [email protected] Wednesday 8 March, 7.30pm: Ross & District Civic Society, Larruperz Centre, Ross-on-Wye. Talk by Gil McHattie on The Knights Templars. Contact: [email protected] Thursday 9 March, 10-12 noon: MRLC/WEA workshop at Museum Resource & Learning Centre, Hereford Friars ST, HR4 OAS, with Ginn Downes Women’s Clothing: style in the face of adversity – with examples from the museum collection. Booking – see p7 for WEA Hereford City Branch Friday 10 March, 7.30pm: Fownhope Local History Group, at New Memorial Hall, Fownhope Talk by David Clark on The Making of the 2nd vol. of Fownhope history: Fownhope Beyond Memory 1832-1919 Saturday 11 March, 10.am: Mortimer History Society AGM at HARC + tour & talk by Barbara Wright on her 30-year research into the Mortimer Cartularies including The Black Book of Wigmore Details MHS website: mortimerhistorysociety.org.uk Monday 13 March 10-12.30: WEA/Hereford Cathedral workshop at Cathedral Library, Palace Yard, HR1 2NG With Charlotte Berry Reading the Past: An introduction to Palaeography – the study of old handwriting & scripts using examples from Cathedral library & archives. Booking – see p.7 WEA Hereford City Branch. £8 Wednesday 15 March 7pm: Llantony & District History Society, Cwmyoy Village Hall. Talk by Frank Olding, FSA, Heritage Officer, Blaenau Gwent Council on Aspects of Border Archeology Website: llanthonyhistory.wales. April 13 – also at Cwmyoy, Hugh Allen on his new book Father Ignatius & the Community at Capel y Ffin. -3-

Thursday 16 March 10-12 noon: WAE/MRLC workshop at Museum Resource & Learning Centre, Friars Street Hereford HR4 OAS with Carolyn Mace A Woman’s Work is Never Done: ancient textiles, techniques & trade, using demos and objects from the Museum’s collection. £8 Booking – see WEA Hereford City Branch p.7 Saturday 18 March 2.15pm: Woolhope Club Spring Annual Meeting at Committee Room No.1 Shirehall, Hereford with Annual Presidential Address. www.woolhopeclub.org.uk Saturday 18 March 10am-4pm: Leominster Medieval Day of events, Leominster Priory Church (see below) Thursday 23 March 10-12 noon: WEA/MRLC workshop at Museum Resource & Learning Centre, Friars Street Hereford HR4 OAS with Peter Reavill on Herefordshire’s Hoards: a look at recent treasure finds, starting in the Bronze Age through later periods, why people deliberately buried their wealth, looking at examples of precious metalwork discovered in the Marches. £8 Booking WEA Hereford City Branch on p.7 Wednesday 29 March 10-12 noon: WEA/HARC workshop at HARC, Fir Tree Lane, Rotherwas HR2 6LA £8 With Liz Bowerman Decorative papers in Library and Archive Book bindings – the art of book decoration with examples from HARC archives. Booking see p.7 WEA Hereford City Branch

….. FOR WEA APRIL DATES - SEE PAGE 7

MORE SUGGESTIONS FOR TOPICS, SPEAKERS AND OUTINGS FOR YOUR GROUP If you would like to have a long list of ideas for talk topics and places to visit, please contact [email protected] for a copy. Here are three suggestions:

MEDIEVAL GRAFFITI Will Pridie (Leominster History Group) has been researching & photographing medieval graffiti, and the iconography found in wall paintings and carvings in our local churches in Herefordshire & Worcestershire; exploring the way local parishioners have ‘added to’ the medieval churches. Will Pridie offers local groups an interesting presentation about an hour long. No charge – with a contribution towards travelling expenses. Contact: [email protected]

Hellens Manor, Much Marcle, HR8 2LY Email Ruth: [email protected]

Main barn for larger parties, lunches, concerts etc. or small barn suitable for lectures, discussions and workshops, plus tour of the historic house, meals and refreshments by arrangement. Day outings could also include visit to St Bartholomews Church close by in Much Marcle, to see the beautiful Blanche Mortimer Lady Grandison’s restored tomb (picture above), the wooden effigy of Walter de Halyon steward to the Grandison’s , the Kyrle side chapel effigies and the ancient yew tree.

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Light in the Dark Ages of Herefordshire - St Dubricius, 6th century saint of the early Herefordshire Christian church The striking paintings by local artist Ed Kelly (Hoarwithy) can be seen at the huge Madley Church, the traditional birthplace of St Dubricius [aka Dyfrig in Welsh, Devereux in Norman French]. Ed’s pictures are inspired by the myths and legends surrounding the birth of Dyfrig – where it is said that Dyfrig’s grandfather, King of Erging, tried to kill the saint whilst still in his mother’s womb. Unsuccessfully, the king tried to burn and then drown his daughter – perhaps at this place on the at Canons Bridge close to Madley. For many years, Margot Miller has been researching the stories and small pieces of evidence surrounding St Dyfrig and his disciples in this ‘dark’ period of 6th century Herefordshire. These pictures are now part of a Power Point presentation available to local history groups – with a small charge towards expenses. Contact: [email protected] (Right: Victorian window in Hentland Church)

In Memoriam 1916 Centenary Year of World War I, Battle of the Somme Royal Ordnance Project, munitions factories at Rotherwas, Hereford: researching, informing, remembering, honouring those killed whilst making weapons; 11 November exhibitions and events at HARC; wreath-laying at Rotherwas Chapel; collection of names and details from local families. A campaign to get recognition for those killed in the weapons industry was launched on 3 January 2017 with a feature about Rotherwas factories on BBC Herefordshire & Worcestershire – introduced by Bill Laws. Herefordshire’s Home Front in World War I by Bill Laws, pubd. by Logaston 2016 ISBN: 978-1-910839-065. Requiem Mass was held at Rotherwas Chapel on 17 September in memory of Henry Lubienski Bodenham, one of the last of the Bodenham’s, one of the 42,000 casualties of the 141 days of the terrible Somme battle. Friends of Rotherwas Chapel are now planning the programme for 2017, and hope to include an event at Rotherwas Chapel shared with the local Polish community. Email: [email protected]

Ross-on-Wye & District Civic Society - November 2016 Meeting included readings of personal, family experiences from ‘the Great War’ – from Heather Hurley’s grandfathers, from Garway Heritage Group’s collection of local WW1 memories, and an excerpt from “Harewood End Agricultural Society – celebrating 125 years of farming in South Herefordshire” describing the changes brought to farming, farmers and farmworkers and the memories of Robert Bellamy from a Kings Caple farm, who served in Egypt and returned home after 3 years away, crossing Italy in the back of a crowded lorry. Mary Sinclair Powell presented the great work she has done for the Ross British Legion compiling a Roll of Honour of all the men from Ross and district parishes who gave their lives in the conflicts of 1916. Mary has prepared lists of the casualties from local war memorials and military records, itemising their regiments, where and when they died. For example, 9 men of all the Ross parishes died “going over the top” on the first day of the Battle of the Somme in September 1916. The average age of the 71 Ross and district men who died during the Somme battle was 22 years; 125 more local men (so far recorded) died from effects of the 1916 war.

Ross-on-Wye was decorated throughout November with large red poppies all around the town, and held several Remembering ceremonies organised by Ross British Legion. Mary can supply copies of any of the Rolls of Honour, contact [email protected] She continues the next stage of her research and preparation of Rolls of Honour during 2017 – the centenary of the Battle of Passchendaele.

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BOOKS … The Little Book of Herefordshire by David J. Vaughan, The History Press, 2016978-0-7509-6628-3 Nearly 200 pages of all kinds of information – a reference book and a ‘quirky’ guide. £9.99 hardback

Fownhope Beyond Memory – Change in a Herefordshire Village 1832-1919 – 2nd book on Fownhope history by David Clark. A well illustrated publication with many photos of property and personalities, exploring the impact on the village of economic and social change 1832-1919. The book is reliant for its content on contemporary newspaper reports, and will be of particular interest to people familiar with the village and its history. Published in November 2016 by Fownhope Local History Group, ISBN 978-0-9557867-1-6 £12 available from HARC, Rossiter Bookshop, West End Stores Fownhope, or FLHG (inc p&P £12) contact Ann Corby 01432.860677.

Transactions of the Woolhope Naturalists’ Field Club Volume 63 2015, published December 2016 www.woolhopeclub.org.uk Hon.Editor: Dr Jane Adams Contents include:

Presidential Address 2015 by Jean O’Donnell – Local government in Hereford from the Great Charter of 1215. The development of Hereford as an independent from 1215 until 2000.

The apparent dearth of surviving medieval domestic property in parts of Herefordshire: a reappraisal of the influence of Owain Glyndwr’s rebellion, by C. J. Boylett. There are very few examples of houses built before c.1420 in the Kington, Huntington and area.

The Hereford Freehold Land Society: its role in the expansion of Hereford in the 19th and early 20th century, by John C. Eisel This article argues that the Hereford Freehold Land Society played an important role providing building sites for the ‘industrious working man’. The hidden past of Chase Wood in the parishes of Ross and Walford, by Heather Hurley – outlining the history of Chase Woods which overlooks Ross-on-Wye, rising to 660ft above the Wye. Thomas Blashill senior: land agent at Hampton Court and Garnons, c.1825-1860, by David Whitehead. Thomas Blashill worked as an assistant to his uncle also Thomas. This article explores his antiquarian interests which informed his work as an architect, surveyor and land agent. An archeological evaluation of the Old Priory buildings, Leominster: Saxon, medieval and later discoveries, by Bruce Watson. Excavations of the Old Priory in 2005 uncovered a wealth of evidence from the early Saxon period to the 19th century. The cloisters were demolished in the 16th century and the site quarried for building stone. Ten years of change at Whitman’s Hill Quarry and Woodland, by Janet Parry; a report of the Hereford and Worcester Earth Heritage Trust’s project to save this abandoned quarry and convert it into place of special interest to the public and researchers. The Woolhope Club have recorded the wildlife here and monitored change over ten years in the quarry and the woodland. 2015: the year of two eclipses, by Paul Olver. During 2015 astronomers were able to observe – a partial eclipse of the Sun on 20 March and a total eclipse of the moon on the night of 27-28 September. Book Reviews - by Beryl Harding, Jean O’Donnell, Rosamund Skelton, and David Whitehead: The Archeology of Herefordshire: an exploration by Keith Ray Death in the Close: a medieval mystery by Andy Boucher, Luke Craddock-Bennett, Tegan Daly A Dictionary of Herefordshire Biography by Philip Weaver James Atlay, Hereford’s forgotten bishop: a private study, 1868-1894 by Karl Showler , North Herefordshire: excavations 1996 and 1998 by Stephanie Ratkai Wildlife in the Marches: a history of nature in the by Mark Lawley

Reports on archeology, botany, buildings, geology, natural history, ornithology and weather.

-6- MEDIEVAL EVENTS 2017 – 800th anniversary Hereford Magna Carta LEOMINSTER MEDIEVAL SOCIETY A Day of Medieval Entertainment to celebrate the Anglo-Saxon Festival of Edward King & Martyr at Leominster Priory Church Saturday 18 March 10am-4pm Demonstrations, displays, dance & music, archery, weapons & armour talks, cookery skills, craft and other stalls www.facebook.com/LMS.pageant 01568.620000

MORTIMER HISTORY SOCIETY - SPRING CONFERENCE Saturday 17 May - All day at the Auditorium, Ludlow Assembly Rooms The Medieval Marcher Lordships, including lectures on: development 1066-1282, their power, some case studies, a Welsh perspective and the late medieval period. www.mortimerhistorysociety.org.uk

SPRING 2017 PROGRAMME OF WEA COURSES IN HEREFORD Booking for: WEA Hereford Branch – Rosemary Athay, 17 Worcester Road, Ledbury HR8 1PL 01531 634460 [email protected] For: Day School 4 March – History & Culture of China at Saxon Hall, Hereford Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays - WEA courses January onwards at the Kindle Centre, Asda WEA/HARC study sessions at HARC : Gill Powell/Memoirs - 17 Jan & 7 Feb Rhys Griffiths/Pathways – 24 Jan, Liz Bowerman/Family Records – 31 Jan Hereford City WEA - Mrs Hilary Gow, WEA Workshops, Enrolment, Green Bank, Sutton St.Nicholas, Hereford HR1 3AX 01432.880545 [email protected] For: WEA/MRLC morning workshops at Friars St Museum Centre, Hereford - £8 Thursday 2 March - Dr Henry Connor on Henry Bull, physician Thursday 9 March - Ginn Downes on Women’s Clothing Thursday 16 March - Carolyn Mace on A Woman’s Work is Never Done – textiles Thursday 23 March - Peter Reavill on Herefordshire Hoards WEA/HARC morning workshops, at HARC £8: Wednesday 29 March - Liz Bowerman on Decorative papers in book bindings Wednesday 5 April - David Whitehead on Researching the history of country houses and their landscapes Tuesday 11 April - Rhys Griffiths on A Graceful Retribution: Hereford’s Shirehall – looking at the archival evidence of the history of this imposing civic building Monday 24 April - Sylvia Pinches on “My best gown and petticoat”: clothing and household linen from probate records. Comparing records from Herefordshire and Oxfordshire, looking at records of 16th and 17th century clothing and linen, with documents, paintings and monuments. WEA/Hereford Cathedral Library morning workshops at the Cathedral Library £8 Monday 6 March - Rosemary Firman on The Medieval Book Monday 13 March - Charlotte Berry on Reading the Past: An introduction to Palaeography. A full palaeography course is being considered for 2017. The Hereford Cathedral archives consist of the records of the Dean & Chapter from the early Middle Ages until the present day. Parking on-site available for disabled visitors only , so please let us know if you need this facility 01432.374225/6. Public car parks are available near by at Greyfriars or the Military Club. -7- - Margot Miller, Editor, Fownhope [email protected] January 2017