For our next 2 meetings, on April 19th and May17th, we are trialling a new format. In order to enhance the important social aspect our meetings we will open the evening at 7.00pm when members and visitors can enjoy a glass of wine (£3.00) or tea/coffee (£1.00) and obtain raffle tickets before the talk begins at the usual time of 7.30pm. We hope you will come early and enjoy a relaxed and chatty prelude to the evening. The raffle has raised £100.00 so far, please continue to support it.
Our talk this Friday will be delivered by Emma Bromley who will be discussing The Black Book of Warwick: a Tudor Town Clerk’s Diary. The minute book of the Corporation of Warwick was compiled by the Town Clerk John Fisher from 1563 to 1590. It became his personal diary.
The Black Book of Warwick. Photo Warwick County Record Office
I have a certain sympathy with his description of the Corporation’s predicament in trying to elect a new bailiff in September 1572. Their first choice, William Hall, was elected in his absence but refused the office, pleading his lack of ability, the problems of looking after his house as he had no wife(!) and the heavy responsibilities of a large family.
Three other burgesses, John Dicke, Thomas Barrett, and John Nason were approached in turn, and each refused in turn and were promptly sacked from the Corporation. Finally following the appointment of new members Richard Fisher was elected as the new bailiff, and the new corporation was sworn in on October 6 th after a delay of nearly a month. ‘Twas ever thus!
Report on March meeting. On the Ides of March (the 15th) we held our 36th AGM, followed by Vanessa Morgan’s talk “Local Rogues and Vilains of the 19th Century”. The papers for the business part of the meeting had been circulated, so the AGM, conducted by our President Bob Bearman, was brief. Rosemary Collier was elected as our new chairperson, and while Isobel Gill and Catherine Petrie left the committee, with our appreciation for their long service, we welcomed Colin Such, Gill Stewart and Carol Clark onto the new committee. The remaining members of the 2023-4 committee were re-elected. Dr Robert Bearman agreed to continue as our President, and Peter Waters agreed to review our present year accounts.
Vanessa Morgan then regaled us with a catalogue of local 19th -century miscreants, many of whom came to sticky end. Our own Kineton constable (those were the days!) was involved in the detection and apprehension of one local criminal. The accounts read out by Vanessa, culled from contemporary newspapers and pamphlets, gave an insight into the assumptions and expectations of the period. In the time before photographs the descriptions of the accused were necessary to give an impression of the sort of people capable of doing the deeds they were accused of. The theories of the period held that character could be revealed in facial features, so a coarse and ugly appearance was a clue to criminality. Sometimes in the newspaper accounts there were hints of surprise that well dressed and civilized looking individuals were capable of the crimes they had committed. Public hangings or transportation to Australia were the harsh penalties for many crimes. We can find it hard to understand the brutality of the judicial system then, and the culture which led crowds of 10,000 to watch a public hanging. I wonder what part of our behaviour, which we accept as normal, if examined in a hundred years’ time, would be found to be as arbitrary and unacceptable. Our President led the vote of thanks to close the meeting.
The Community Archive Room. The Archive Room at The Mill in Mill Street, Kineton, has now received all the material previously stored at The Ark in Pillerton Hersey. Thank you to Alec and Ilona for help in the move. Carol Clark and Colin Such have started the job of cataloguing. The Newsletter will feature interesting items as they come to light. The completed catalogue and index will be uploaded onto our website, in order that the community can see what the collection holds and to encourage its use.
Our 2024 Summer Outings:
Rosemary has arranged a fine series of outings for this summer. We will be selling tickets for these at our April and May meetings or you can contact our Treasurer directly (see contact details below)
Forthcoming K&DLHG talks at the Village Hall and Summer Outings.
| Date | Speaker | Title |
| 19 April | Emma Bromley | The Black Book of Warwick |
| 17 May | Anthony Hitchcox | Radford Semele: a History in Photos |
| 21 June (eve) | Colin Such 6pm | Guided tour of Lighthorne village |
| 19 July (afternoon) | Outing 2pm | Visit to Stanway House |
| 16 August | Outing 2pm | Guided tour of Guild Chapel, Stratford |
| 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
30 April. The Sibford History Society is organising a coach trip to Hardwick Hall on 4 th September 2024, and they are looking for people to join them to make the trip viable. The coach booking needs to be confirmed and paid for by 30 April. The coach cost is £25 per person, Hardwick Hall is free to National Trust members and £18.05 for non-NT members. If you are interested please contact K&DLHG Treasurer Alec before 30th April, and he will collect the £25.00 coach cost (see below for his contact details)
Shipston History Society
The Museum in Shipston will be opening Saturdays ,Sundays, and Bank Holiday Mondays 12.00 – 4.00pm. Admission free. https://shipstonmuseum.co.uk/ They are also open to do town tours on weekdays by appointment. For more details about the Museum and History Society contact bekkyhillman@shipstonmuseum.co.uk. or rebeccajashley@googlemail.com.
24 April Wellesbourne Local History Group . Shops of Leamington Spa by Peter Coulls. Wellesbourne Village Hall. 7.30 guests £3.00.
18 April. Warmington Heritage Group. Writing Women Back into the Political History of Warwickshire by Professor Sarah Richardson. Village Hall, 7.30. Visitors £2.00
8 May Alcester & District Local History Society The Palaeolithic and Ice Age Environments of the West Midlands by Nick Daffern. 7.30pm, 6 th Form Centre, St Benedicts RC High School, Kinwarton Road, Alcester, B49 6PX
8 May Packington Hall Tour. Guided tour of the ground floor of the house and gardens by owner George Guernsey. £25.00 includes refreshments. Visit: www.historichouses.org to book
10 May Lighthorne History Group. From the Pillory to the Prison Cell by Ginny Davis, 7.30pm Village Hall
11 May. Berkswell Windmill Open Day. 12.00- 4.00
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 | Rosemary Collier |
| Vice-Chairman | Roger Gaunt |
| Secretary | Gill Stewart |
| Treasurer | Alec Hitchman |
| Outings Secretary | David Freke |
| Programme Secretary | Claire Roberts |
| Membership & PR | Pamela Redgrave Carol Clarke Colin Such Ilona Sekacz |
The new committee met on 2nd April in the Archive Room. We welcomed our new Chairperson and committee members, and Gill agreed to take on the role of Secretary. After receiving the Treasurer’s report, the main business was discussing the archive. Colin presented proposals for managing the archive and Carol undertook to establish the digital records. Carol and Colin agreed to start sorting and cataloguing. The committee discussed ways of raising funds to maintain the archive without draining the Group’s capital, while also fulfilling the Group’s constitution to involve the community. The next committee meeting will be on June 11th in the Archive Room at 7.00pm
Newsletter Contact: David Freke tel. 01295 670516 mob. 07876 290044 email: djfreke@gmail.com