Our first talk of the New Year on Friday 19th is much anticipated since it was postponed from September last year. John Miles will discuss Charlecote and the Lucys. Many members enjoyed our visit to Hampton Lucy arranged by Rosemary last summer, when we clearly saw the influence of the Lucy family on the whole village. The hint is in its name.
The buildings and institutions still operating in Hampton Lucy can be traced to the actions of successive generations of the Lucy family, who shaped the community.
As a bonus on Tuesday 16th January Kineton Camera Club is hosting our member David Beaumont, who is reprising his popular presentation of old photographs of the village, with additional images of our surrounding villages.
Report on our Christmas meeting We enjoyed two contributions from members, the first delivered by Roger Butler entitled “Birmingham – More Canals Than Venice!”, which revealed the unsuspected magic of Birmingham’s waterways. His comparison of Birmingham’s canals with those of Venice was illustrated with the vivid photographs we have come to expect from Roger. We learnt some fascinating facts eg Birmingham’s own Bridge of Sighs, while not as picturesque as Venice’s had a similar function – they both led directly to jails! In the competition for which city had “more canals” it was a score draw, with Birmingham have more kilometres of canals, but Venice having more named canals. On the way to this conclusion Roger brought out the history and function of Birmingham’s canal network in his usual relaxed and informative fashion.
Your Chairman presented the second item -Friday Evenings in 135 Introductions – an indulgent review of fifteen years of chairing our meetings. It was good to realise how diverse our topics have been, with a good mix of local history and historical events in the wider world. These have been brought to us thanks to the work of the committee and by our Programme Secretary, Claire, and our Outings Secretary, Isobel.
Your chair was able to announce that we have at last achieved our long-term ambition to establish a home in the village for our growing archive, where it will be accessible for consultation. Watch this space for details.
Following the presentations the committee revived members with the traditional mulled wine and mince pies to start our Christmas season.
Forthcoming K&DLHG talks at the Village Hall.
| Date | Speaker | Title |
| 19 January 2024 | John Miles | Charlecote & the Lucy Family |
| 16 February | Stephen Barker | The Battle of Edgehill 1642 |
| 15 March AGM | Vanessa Morgan | Local Rogues & Villains of the 19th century |
| 19 April | Emma Bromley | The Black Book of Warwick |
Other Organisations’ Events
British Association for Local History. The Kineton Group is a Member of BALH and they run lectures and talks which are open to our members. www.balh.org.uk for upcoming talks available virtually.
Don’t forget to check our own website at: Kineton and District Local History Group
Membership.
The committee has reluctantly raised the price of Membership for 2024 to £15pa. This is the first rise in 8 years, and is required to meet the rising costs of speaker fees, hall hire, and speakers’ travel expenses, which has become a significant amount. Visitor entrance remains at £3.00 per meeting.
If you would like to become a Member of the group, our 2024 membership year starts in January.
Members renewing note that 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,
With our bank now charging for payments by cheque or cash, we would urge those who can to please pay 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.
For queries contact Alec on alec.hitchman@btinternet.com
2023-24 KDLHG Committee
President: Dr Robert Bearman MBE
Chairman David Freke
Vice-Chairman Roger Gaunt
Secretary Vacant
Treasurer Alec Hitchman
Outings Secretary Rosemary Collier
Programme Secretary Claire Roberts
Other committee members:
Isobel Gill
Ilona Sekacz
Catherine Petrie (PR)
Pamela Redgrave (Membership)
Contact: David Freke tel. 01295 670516 mob. 07876 290044 email: djfreke@gmail.com DF 14.01.24