RAFFLE: our first raffle at the February meeting was a great success, raising £60.91 for the group, the
first prize was a wonderful crochet throw made by Pam. Please come prepared with cash on Friday if
you want to take this opportunity to win a prize while supporting the group.
Before out talk on Friday 15th we hold our 36th AGM. The
papers for the business part of the meeting have been
circulated, please have a look at them.
The talk on Friday will be Local Rogues and Villains of the 19th
Century by Vanessa Morgan, a professional genealogist and
local historian. She has been researching local history for thirty
years and has written many articles for family history journals.
While researching for a book on local family history she
inevitably came across contemporary accounts of historic crimes
and misdemeanours. These became a new line of investigation,
culminating in a book focussing on Warwick – Warwick Murder
and Crime – well as giving her an intimate knowledge of the
shadier side of Warwickshire’s past. We will hear true crime
stories about robberies and murders in the Victorian county from
an expert investigator.
Report on our talk on Friday 16th February: The Battle of Edgehill 1642, delivered by Stephen Barker. Stephen is
familiar with Kineton, and the Village Hall, as he was intimately involved in the Battlefield Trust research project on the
Battle of Edgehill, being its principal fund raiser. He greeted several members who had been involved with the battlefield survey. Gill Ashley-Smith recalled that at the time she had pleaded for “no more Civil War”, while allowing that a sufficient lapse of time, and new research, made this evening’s topic more than timely. David Beaumont also looked back to his contribution to the project in his vote of thanks.
As well as describing the new insights revealed by the Battlefield Trust project Stephen emphasised the effects which the battle and the subsequent civil wars had on the local population. This evidence was supported by another recent project to which group members have contributed – the Civil War Loss Accounts transcriptions project run by Maureen Harris.
Other local sources quoted by Stephen were: parish registers, the unique headstone to Captain Gourdain in Warmington cemetery, and the monument to Captain Kingsmill in Radway parish church. My own trawls through parish registers have turned up 38 records of burials related to the Civil War in the villages around Edgehill, 12 of which are connected to the Battle of Edgehill, and another 17 to the battle of Cropredy Bridge in 1644. Many more fatal casualties who were cared for locally were not recorded, because in the chaos of the war record-keeping broke down in many parishes, including Kineton. Stephen gave us the startling fact that a far higher proportion of the country’s population died in the 17th century Civil Wars than were killed in the 20th century World Wars.
The packed Hall was highly appreciative of Stephen’s wide ranging but clear and well-illustrated presentation, as David
Beaumont thanked him on behalf of the Group.
.
The Community Archive Room. The Archive Room at The Mill in Mill Street, Kineton, is now being furnished and
archives moved in. We are pleased that among the nominees for the new committee are individuals with experience of
archives and digital management, so we hope that in the coming months we can enable access to the documents,
photographs, and tapes that the group has accumulated throughout its 36 year history, and make The Mill a centre for the collection of further material and for research.
Forthcoming K&DLHG talks at the Village Hall and Summer Outings.
| Date | Speaker | Title |
| 15 March AGM | Vanessa Morgan | Local Rogues & Villains of the 19th century |
| 19 April | Emma Bromley | The Black Book of Warwick |
| 17 May | Anthony Hitchcox | Radford Semele: a History in Photos |
| 21 June (eve) | Outing | Walk round Lighthorne village |
| 19 July (afternoon) | Outing | Visit to Stanway House |
| ?? August | Outing | tbc |
| 20 September | Maggie Wood | Mr Gaydon of Brailes, stories told through a collection of smocks |
| 18 October | David Morse | A Dive into Leamington’s Photographic Archive |
| 15 November | Roger Butler | William James – Stratford’s Pioneering Railway Engineer |
| 13 December | Paul Thompson | Io Saturnalia |
| 17 Jan. 2025 | Alex Harvey | Immersive Tech to Explore Medieval Tunnels in Warwick and Elsewhere |
| 21 Feb. 2025 | William Deakin | History of the Hunt in Kineton |
| 21 Mar. 2025 | AGM & Martin Sinot-Smith | 37th AGM followed by Daily Life in Tudor Times |
Other Organisations’ Events
19 March Warwickshire Local History Society. Members’ Evening: Harvey Bloom: antiquarian and
author, by Robert Howe. Around 1910-12 the Rev Harvey Bloom made the first systematic surveys of village
churchyard memorials, including Kineton’s, and we owe much to his recording of inscriptions which are now
illegible. Lidar Surveys at Wappenbury fort by Colin Clay.
Primary School Hall, Aylesford School, Tapping Way, Warwick, CV34 6XR, at 7.30. As an Affiliated
Organisation entry is free for K&DLHG members.
19 March Harbury Society. AGM and talk on Harbury Windmill- Past, Present and Future by Bill
Timson. Tom Hauley Room, All Saints Parish Church, Harbury. 7.30 guests £2.00.
21 March. Warmington Heritage Jackie West, Group. Alice and the Adventurer: the life and times of Alice
and Robert Dudley by Jackie West. Village Hall, 7.30. Visitors £2.00
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. If you attend
5 or more of the 9 meetings we hold every year then Membership is the best option!
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.
Members note that if you pay by cheque make it payable to:
Kineton and District Local History Group, and send or delivered to:
Alec Hitchman,
The Hills Farm,
Pillerton Hersey,
WARKS, CV35 0QQ
Cash payments can be made at any meeting.
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