NEWSLETTER, 13th February 2022
The Coventry and Midland Photographic Society 1883. Photo: Coventry Photographic Society website Feb.2022
Our forthcoming meeting on Friday 18th February features James Ranahan, whose his talk The Photographer’s Gaze: viewing Warwickshire since 1839 will take us back into the Warwickshire of the last century and a half. This is a period of Warwickshire’s boomtime, for some, and then bust, for some, and change, for all. In the 19thcentury the industrial towns benefitted from new canal and railway transport links, with the north Warwickshire coalfield fuelling huge urban population growth. In the late twentieth century de-industrialisation forced radical changes on these communities.Agricultural fortunes grew until the middle of the 19th century, then dipped to desperate straits for landowners and agricultural workers at the end of the century. In the twentieth century the two World Wars impacted on Warwickshire in ways which left permanent changes in the landscape and society. Our own member Roger Butler has shown us historic images of local canals thriving with commercial traffic, becoming abandoned and lost in derelict wastelands and then reviving as amenities at the centre of leisure and retail activities (think Banbury).
View of Warwick Castle by Francis Bedford 1869. Pub. The Art Journal 1870
Increasingly we use photographs to chart change – our own “snapshot” of Kineton 10 years ago is already, inevitably, an historic record. Photographs have increasingly documented these changes, and by the 21st century photography has changed from its original elite specialist pursuit to a ubiquitous reflex available to anybody with a smart phone. James’ title “The photographer’s gaze …” suggests that he will consider what subjects photographers have chosen to focus on and how they have presented them – which of the infinity of possible views have they selected and frozen for posterity? And how have these choices themselves changed over time? James’ work is looking after these records. He is an archivist with the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, specialising in the photographic records, and was previously for many years the Photographic Archivist at the Birmingham Library.. We are eager to hear his presentation.
At present there are no mandatory covid-related restrictions on the use of the village hall, so we expect to present a normal evening, with refreshments. However, we advise that masks be worn when moving around, unless taking refreshments, and that the hand washing facilities be used. Seats will be spaced, although not at the previous 2m distance.
Report on our Friday 21st January’s informativetalk by George Derbyshire, whose topic was the Arts and Crafts movement in the Cotswolds. He called his talk “Cockneys in Arcadia”, and he described the effect on Chipping Campden in 1902 caused by the influx 150 people from London – 50 craftspeople and their families – led by Charles Ashbee. They were seeking to exchange “Babylon” (London) for “arcadia” (rural life), idealised as a simpler, more “authentic” aesthetic and lifestyle. It was undeniably also a cheaper one.
Handled Bowl by Charles Phillip Ashbee 1901
For a while Chipping Campden became an artistic avante garde outpost. Ashbee set up workshops in the old silk mill, and established a guild school for training local carvers, cabinetmakers, enamellers, printers, jewellers, goldsmiths and silversmiths (but, oddly, not stonemasons). At its height 300 students were enrolled. The surprisingly unfit country trainees were given disciplined physical workouts to improve mind and body. The use of the term “guild” indicates their adoption of the medievalising social ideals of Ruskin and Morris.
Like Morris, the guild found that handcrafted items were often too expensive for all but the rich to acquire. Their proposed edition of the Bible was to retail between £60 – £150 depending on the degree of illumination (about £8,000 – £20,000 in today’s money). Unsurprisingly the project had to be shelved as it was not financially viable. The economic isolation of the town led to financial problems and the guild returned to London in 1907, but Ashbee and a dozen craftsmen remained to continue the transformation of the town and its cultural life.
Although he trained as an architect Ashbee built no new buildings in Chipping Campden, but he was personally responsible for the maintenance and survival of many of the jewels in Campden’s High Street, and the ethos of the Arts and Craft Movement has ensured the conservation of the town’s charm.
Our thanks to George Derbyshire for his succinct and expert presentation, not least the revelation that Charles Ashbee’s father’s bequest of 50,000 books to the British Library had to go straight into their restricted catalogue!
Membership. Given the way the problems and restrictions of the last 2 years have affected our activities we hope that you still value what the Group has to offer. If you are, or would like to become, a Member of the group, your 2022 subscription is due (still £10pa!). Our Treasurer Alec Hitchman awaits! You can pay by cheque made payable to Kineton and District Local History Group, sent or delivered to Alec Hitchman, The Hills Farm, Pillerton Hersey, WARKS, CV35 0QQ, or by BACS to our bank business account:
name: Kineton and District Local History Group,
sort code: 40-43-19;
acc. no. 71281992. Please include your full name so we can correctly attribute your payment.
Or you can join at any talk.
K&DLHG 2022-3 Programme:
| Feb 18 : | James Ranahan | The Photographer’s Gaze: Viewing Warwickshire Since 1839 |
| Mar 18 | AGM | |
| 22 April | Alan Benjamin | ‘The History and Music of Morris Dancing’ with instrumental accompaniment. |
| 20 May | Anne Langley | ‘Early allotments in Warwickshire’ a major institution of Victorian village life |
| June/July | tbc | Walk around Ilmington (date and time tbc) Visit to Brailes (date and time tbc) |
| Fri. 12 August | 2.30 pm | Walk around Chipping Norton with Blue Badge guide |
| 16 September | Norman Hyde | ‘Tennis the Leamington Way.’ the oldest tennis club in the world and its importance to Leamington over 170 years. |
| 21 October | Roy Smart | ‘David Beatty – The Last Naval Hero’ fame and celebrity following the Battle of Jutland, the greatest naval battle in history. |
| 18 November | Rosemary Collier | The History of the Royal Horticultural Research Institute, Wellesbourne |
| 9 December | Richard Churchley | ‘Christmas Songs Through the Ages’ the Middle Ages to the 1940s |
| 20 Jan 2023 | Beat Kumin | ‘For a Good Cause – Church Ales and Early Modern Drinking Culture.’ |
| 17 Feb 2023 | David Fry | The Silk Ribbon Industry of Coventry’ |
| 17 March 2023 | AGM |
Official covid advice and regulations may change for better or worse in the coming months, so we will be assessing the programme one meeting at a time and we will confirm each event when we are reasonably confident that we can run it.
The Community Archive Project: an appeal for Ideas. At our last meeting I reported that our Heritage Lottery Fund bid for money to help construct a Community Archive room in the Village Hall was rejected, with the helpful suggestion that involving more community activities would make a more viable bid. I asked if members could suggest ways we could incorporate such ideas in a new approach to HLF. I am very grateful that some members have responded with suggestions which we will develop and take forward. If anybody has a light-bulb moment please email me at frekedj@globalnet.co.uk or talk to a committee member at our meetings.
Other Society Events
Warmington Heritage Group.
Thursday 17th February 7.30pm Local Postcard Collection by Stuart Martin, at Warmington Village Hall
Warwickshire Local History Society
K&DLHG is affiliated to WLHS and our members are entitled to join their meetings.
The next WLHG talk is:
Tuesday 15th March, 7.30pm. , Members Meeting
WLHS are intending to run outings again this summer. Although full details are not available yet you might want to put the following dates in your diaries:
Saturday 7th May: Edgehill Battlefield Walk, A morning outing followed by optional lunch, led by Martin Russell, the Vice President of Shipston and District Local History Society.
Thursday 26th May: Trip to Birmingham Guinea Gardens and Birmingham Botanical Gardens, all day, led by members of Birmingham Guinea Gardens and the Botanical Gardens tour guides (lunch at the Botanical Gardens: members can bring packed lunch or eat in the cafe).
Saturday 2nd July: Compton Verney Archaeology: An afternoon tour of the grounds led by Compton Verney archaeologist Hilary Calow followed by a cream tea at Compton Verney.
Wednesday 7th September: Middleton Hall, Tamworth. A morning tour of the hall followed by members’ choice of packed lunch or lunch in the restaurant, with access to the hall and gardens for the rest of the day.
Full details and prices will be available a few weeks before each event, together with details on how to book a place.
Check the Warwickshire Local History Society website for updates: https://www.warwickshirehistory.org.uk
British Association for Local History. The Kineton Group is also a Member of BALH and they run lectures and talks which are open to our members.
Their next, talk available virtually is:
Wednesday 16th February 7.00pm – 8.00pm Effective Social Media for Local History
Thursday 24th February 7.00 – 8.00pm. Front Parlour to Funeral Parlour: looking after the dead in England 1850 – 1950
Booking through the BALH website: www.balh.org.uk
Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society
Tuesday 1st March 7.00pm Cheddar Man and the Genetic prehistory of Britain by Dr Thomas Booth. Venue Edgbaston Park Hotel, Birmingham. Book through website: www.bwas-online.co.uk
Tuesday 5th April 7.00pm Medieval Grafitti of South Warwickshire Churches by David Freke
Venue St John’s House Museum Warwick. For tickets see website www.bwas-online.co.uk
HS2
Friday 18th and Saturday 19th there will be an open event in Chipping Warden village hall showcasing the archaeological discoveries on the HS2 site nearby https://www.woodford-halse-villagesignpost.co.uk/2022/02/07/meet-the-diggers/
Council for British Archaeology West Midlands
Saturday March 5 10.00am – 4.00pm News from the Past at Carrs Lane Church Centre Birmingham https://cbawm.archaeologyuk.org/
Warwickshire in WWII
The link below takes you to a fascinating article about WWII in the locality, keep going to the end to read about PoW Camp 31 at Ettington.
Don’t forget to check our own website at:
Kineton and District Local History Group (kinetonhistory.co.uk)
KDLHG Committee
President: Robert Bearman MBE
Chairman: David Freke
Vice-Chairman: Roger Gaunt
Secretary: Ilona Sekacz
Treasurer: Alec Hitchman
Outings Secretary: Isobel Gill
Programme Secretary: Claire Roberts
Other committee members:
Rosemary Collier
George Lokuciejewski
Catherine Petrie
Pamela Redgrave
Peter Waters
Committee News. The committee last met via Zoom on 17th January and a summary was included in the January Newsletter.
Date of next Committee meeting: 14th March via Zoom (tbc) 7.00pm,
DF 13.02. 22
Contact: David Freke tel: 07876 290044
Email frekedj@globalnet.co.uk