Forthcoming K&DLHG events.

Our Friday November 17^th talk is: “ A Year in the Life of Avon Dassett 1914-15” by local researcher Sarah Richardson. This is her second visit to us; she previously gave us the fascinating story of the Warwickshire women who fought for women’s rights, including some very local stalwarts. Her talk this nonth is based on the work she and her group of enthusiasts have done to bring alive the impact on Avon Dassett of the first year of WWI. I hope to see you at 7.30 at the Village Hall for a fascinating talk.

Report: “The Rise and Fall of Percy Pilcher and the Art of Flying” by Roy Smart 20^th October

Roy Smart assured us that he would not need the microphone when he came to talk to us last month. For once this proved to be accurate, as was everything else he told us in a revelatory talk, which touched on Greek mythology, early theories of flight, the first woman to fly, European scientific co-operation, and ambition. Percy Pilcher, of whom none of us had heard until that evening, could have been a hero and a household name but for the weather, a broken crankshaft and the desperate need to fund his flying experiments. Perhaps a little unfairly he was compared to Icarus, the son of Daedalus who escaped from the labyrinth on wings held together with wax. His hubris led to his downfall when he flew too close to the sun and the wax melted. Roy pointed out that the myth had a moral: proceed with moderation. Percy certainly had sky-high ambitions and the technical know-how to achieve his goals, but possibly the desire to be the first to attain powered flight did lead to his downfall.

Percy Pilcher 1866-1899

He realised that to overcome the limitations and dangers of gliding (sadly illustrated by the death of Lilienthal in a glider crash in 1896) he would need to develop powered flight, so he formed a company to make engines. He made a triplane with an engine in 1899 but by then he was in debt and running out of money. Patrons were desperately needed. He put on a demonstration of his latest glider – the Hawk – at Eynstone in Kent, and then went to Stanford Hall under the keen eyes of potential financial and political supporters, including the Honourable Adrian Verney-Cave

e was clearly a gifted scientist and engineer. He joined the Royal Navy (aged 13) serving for 7 years before becoming an apprentice engineer with shipbuilders in Glasgow. By the age of 25 he was an assistant lecturer at Glasgow University. He mastered hang-gliding in the 1890s with a series of “soaring machines” inspired by bat and bird flight. Through his contact with German pioneer Otto Lilienthal he developed a flying technique which relied on shifting body weight to turn, rise and dip. In 1897 he broke the world distance record in the grounds of Stanford Hall, Leicestershire with a flight of 250m.

The Hawk glider, 1897, possibly being piloted by Miss Dorothy Rose Pilcher his cousin

Unfortunately his 4hp engine broke a crankshaft just before the planned event at Stanford Hall.

Such was Pilcher’s need for funding, patronage, and the recognition that his ideas were viable, that he did not abandon the event, but instead intended to fly the Hawk, which he had successfully flown many times. His cousin Dorothy had also been towed into the air in the Hawk, becoming the first airborne woman, ten years before the French woman Therese Peltier. Dorothy was also the first woman pilot to crash into a cine-cameraman. On the late September day of the Stanford Hall demonstration the weather was stormy, wet and windy, and it was not until 4.00pm with the threat of failing light that Percy decided the weather was suitable. He made two successful flights but on the third the tail assembly of the glider snapped with a loud crack– Roy made us all jump with a wooden spoon brought sharply onto the table – and Percy fell 15m breaking his thigh and suffering back injuries from which he died the next day.

The BBC sponsored a replica of his triplane and, with a few tweaks, it flew considerably further than the Wright brothers managed 5 years after Pilcher’s death. A tale of might- have-beens, memorably told by Roy about a man we shall now never forget. David Gill led our appreciative vote of thanks for a stimulating evening

The BBC replica Pilcher triplane constructed at Cranfield University. It flew.

Pilcher’s monument at the site of the fatal crash

Forthcoming Local History Events:

Friday 24^th November is the Village Victorian Evening starting at 6.00pm. Many shops will stay open and there will be stalls and entertainments.

The Warwickshire Local History Society has circulated the following note to us,as affiliated members:

Dear Member I have been asked to send a reminder about the Society’s next meeting at 8.00pm on Tuesday 21 November at the Quaker Meeting House, High Street, Warwick.  Rather than a one hour lecture, we are welcoming three members to speak on aspects of their own research.

We will hear several short presentations —

Alec Ross: Visualising Local History: the 1910-15 Valuation Survey in Stretton-on-Dunsmore

Stewart Fergusson: ‘The Factious Citie of Coventry’: Crisis and Change in the 17th Century

.Professor Ronnie Mulryne: The Stratford Guildhall and Shakespeare’s Schoolroom.

The presentations will start at 8.00pm, with coffee or tea served, as usual, from 7.30pm.

We do hope you are able to come to what promises to be an interesting evening.

Best wishes

Lesley Caine (Membership Secretary)

Other Societies’ Talks:

24^th November: For railway history enthusiasts the ever popular Stratford and Moreton Tramway is the subject of a talk by Jackie Checketts to the Welford and Weston Local History Society at Memorial Hall Welford, 7.30pm

27^th November. For Civil War enthusiasts Dorothy Entwistle is speaking to the Leamington History Group on “Re-enacting the Civil War with the Sealed Knot” at the Dormer Conference Centre, Dormer Place, Leamington, 7.30

27^th November. A somewhat later war is the subject of David Morse for Marton Local History Group: The Home Guard at the Marton Village Hall, 7.30pm

Kineton Camera Club Calendar. The Camera Club has produced a calendar featuring historic and corresponding modern views of the village, which they are selling at £8.50 to raise money for local First Responders.. If you are interested in having one and supporting this worthy cause, they will be on sale and taking orders at our 17^th November meeting and at the Victorian Evening Friday 24^th November..

Committee Matters

Your committee last met on the 6^th November. Our membership numbers have risen to 76, an increase over the last few years but still down on our peak of nearly 100. New members and visitors are always welcome, so please invite friends to come along to our meetings.

The 2018-19 talks programme is finalised and the Programme Card will be available as members renew or join in the New Year. We discussed the potential for members, and the wider community, to contribute talks or short presentations from their own researches or experiences. We might have more “members’ evenings” like the biennial Christmas Treats, or more full evening talks by local speakers. We will make enquiries among members, but if anyone has a topic of local historical relevance which they would like to propose, or knows a good local speaker with such a topic, please contact any member of the committee. A form will also be handed out as members renew or join for the first time.

The Village Hall has a newly installed loop system. We hope to use it at our 17^th November meeting, after learning how.

The Group has a Twitter account – @kinetonhistory – please have a look at it and tweet for updates and more.

The committee is keen to recruit new members to its ranks, and although the AGM is not until March 2018 if members want to have a say in running the Group, or know somebody who would, please start thinking about joining us!

The committee has discussed the Ashley-Smith archive with Gill, David Beaumont and Bob Bearman and identified some ways in which members could assist in making it accessible, particularly by cataloguing the boxes of material collected by Peter. In the meantime DB is answering email queries with the help of a digital copy of Peter Ashley-Smith’s researches.

The next Committee Meeting is on Monday 12^th February 2018

DF 11.11.2017

Forthcoming K&DLHG events.

Friday October 17^th our evening talk is the intriguingly titled: “ The Rise and Fall of Percy Pilcher and the Art of Flying” by Roy Smart. I hope to see you all at 7.30 at the Village Hall to find out wh Mr Pilcher’s fall was actual or metaphoric (or both) .

Report: the 15^th September evening talk on Rebuilding Kineton Railway Station by Mark Reader

Mark (behind the setup) and colleagues

Mark Reader is a member of the Leamington and Warwick Model Railway Society which has its headquarters locally at Knightcote. He came early, and mob-handed with Mike, Kevin and David, to set up the 2mm to the foot (what a wonderful confusion of metric and imperial!) scale model of Kineton’s lost railway station. Even at this minute scale the model took up most of the width of the Village Hall. The skill in representing trucks and buildings in miniature was astounding, and Mark gave credit to the dedicated craftsmen of the Model Railway Society who have spent several years creating the topography and buildings that used to be on the site near Brookhampton Lane.

To a packed Hall of members and visitors Mark gave us a brief history of the railway companies that ran the not very financially viable line through Kineton from 1871 before it was finally axed by Beeching in 1965. A poignant short video showing trains running on the line and photos of the last train at the station drew murmurs of recognition from the audience. Mark had made an appeal to our members some time ago for memories, photographs or material related to the railway to help to replicate the detail necessary for an accurate model. Hardly any physical remains of the station or track still survive, but to show that not everything had been lost Mark flourished the baton handed to the train driver to guarantee that the single track section through Kineton was clear. One member had been able to produce the lamp from the waiting room and others had unearthed photographs and reminiscences. Apparently the signal box was the scene of “hanky-panky”, though no names were offered.

Part of the display of phtographs and memorabilia. Note the waiting-room lamp at the right hand edge.

Mark meticulously detailed the historical changes he and his colleagues had identified, and how they had faithfully incorporated them into the model. The height of the platform varied, and several explanations were offered – the higher levels possibly used to aid the loading and unloading of heavy goods, or maybe to help the transport of horses, remembering that the railway was used by huntsmen travelling to attend South Warwickshire Hunt meets. Lord Willoughby de Broke even had his own mini-branch siding for a while. After passenger trains were withdrawn in 1955 the platforms were cut back to allow wider trucks to pass, transporting iron ore from the local quarries to the South Wales smelters.

The model is still under construction and any new information would be welcomed. A big problem for the modellers is colour, as most photographs at the time were black and white, so an extra appeal was made for any colour photos of the line.

The model, with members sharing memories with the modellers. Note the bridge, still there on the Warwick Road.

The Group admiring the model at the back and enjoying tea, coffee and gossip.

The question session was lively and informative with several members able to clarify aspects of the line and its history. Mary Wheilden even admitted to owning a truck left on the line at its closure. A former member of staff at the Norton Grange Approved School remembered how the removal of the sleepers gave them a better chance of running down absconders, who used the old line to get to Banbury or Stratford. No further light was thrown on the signal box hanky-panky however.

Richard Hammon gave our thanks to Mark Reader and his skilled colleagues at the Leamington and Warwick Model Railway Society, for a superbly well informed and entertaining evening. The Society’s Open House Day is 11.00am to 4.00pm on Saturday 21^st October at the Clubhouse, New House Farm, Knightcote, CV47 2EQ

The Fund Raising Dinner for the Warmington Dig

On Friday 13^th Professor Carenza Lewis, well known for her long stint on Time Team, was the guest speaker at the Warmington Heritage Group’s fund raising dinner at the Primrose Hill Barn venue in Arlescote. Several members of the Kineton Group attended, as well as representatives from other local societies. Professor Lewis gave a chilling account of the effects of the 14^th century Black Death on the population, but her main point was to show how public participation in archaeology can contribute massively to our knowledge and understanding of the past but just as importantly works for the benefit of local communities, particularly the vulnerable and disadvantaged. Her title at the University of Lincoln is Professor for the Public Understanding of Research and on Friday she demonstrated, in spades, how inspiring it can be when local communities engage with researching their own neighbourhoods, or even just digging their own back gardens. Professor Lewis generously waived her fee and John Jeffries donated the venue for the evening, to help the fund raising effort.

Warwickshire Local History Society News

The WLHS is working on raising the Society’s profile and to this end have redesigned their webpage at http://www.warwickshirehistory.org and have a Facebook page.

The WLHS 21^st November meeting will be devoted to members’ presentations with short talks on the 1910-15 Valuation Survey in Stretton on Fosse, Crisis and Change in 17^th century Coventry, and Shakespeare’s Schoolroom and the Guildhall in Stratford.

Committee Matters

There have been no meetings since the last Newsletter

The next Committee Meeting is on Monday 6^th November.

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Forthcoming K&DLHG events.

Friday September 15^th sees our first evening talk after the summer outings: “ Rebuilding Kineton Railway Station” by Mark Reader.  I hope to see you at 7.30 at the Village Hall for a fascinating talk about the reconstruction of Kineton Station as a model.

Report: the evening visit to Shipston-on-Stour  17^th August

In front of the George Inn, with our backs to the Co-op

A striking feature of the town’s buildings is the number of finely carved date-stones sprinkled around, carefully conserved for the most part, and often enhanced by recent explanatory notes.  The date-stones are from the late 17^th century to the 1730s, but mainly before the fire.  Some are on relatively modest structures, but one above a garage door, dated 1681, is certainly not in its original place.  They presumably relate to a prosperous period when this was the accepted way for the more prominent townspeople to display their status.  Sheep Street exhibited many examples, as well as 18^th century Fire Insurance plates – possibly a case of shutting stable doors too late?

Examples of local masons’ work

Near the top of Sheep Street the traffic roundabout is reputedly the burial place of a suicide, denied the consolation of consecrated ground.  The construction of the roundabout is supposed to have disturbed her ghost.

We contemplated a fine granite horse trough, a relic of the cattle market, before proceeding down Telegraph Street where we admired the 1960s development which blends so convincingly into the historic townscape.

A new use for an historical feature

The new development at the top of Telegraph Street

Distressed dragon escaped from Chinatown

Further down Telegraph Street unsympathetic modern developments again intruded, with one dreary brick lump only relieved by a surreal roof ornament.  The plaques on the walls here warned against parking, littering, and the risk of demolishing the wall to which the notice was attached.  Round the corner we admired the renovated historic toll-road milepost, while nervously noting a rainbow and the gathering clouds.  Tea and cakes provided by the Shipston U3A beckoned at St Edmunds, where.  Ed Jackson sat us down and gave us an excellent description of the church.  It is an early work of G.E. Street and is full of the gothic details he later developed in his mature style.  His original intention to demolish the 15^th century tower was thankfully not approved by the church authorities.

Our thanks to Dick Burge, who gave us a superbly well-informed introduction to the town, showing us how its history and characters were still embedded in the buildings and layout, and to Ed Jackson and the U3A who ensured that our visit was rounded off in a thoroughly civilised manner.

Other Forthcoming Local Event:

Dick Burge is giving a talk about the The Stratford to Moreton-in-Marsh Tramway  at 7.30 on Tues 13^th at the Women’s Institute Hall, New Road,  Moreton-in-Marsh.

Committee Matters

This is a new element of the Newsletter, but it seems right that the members should be kept informed of what their elected committee has been doing on their behalf, so starting with this one  the first Newsletter after a Committee Meeting will include a brief update on its deliberations.  We last met on the 4^th September.

Your committee has been working during the summer holidays to finalise the 2018-19 talks programme and Summer 2018 outings – yes! we have to get these things sorted well in advance!  We have almost completed the talks list, awaiting just one contributor to confirm.  The programme will be a mix of local and wider topics delivered by enthusiasts both from within our own community and from further afield, and we hope there will be something for everyone in the course of the year.  We will be able to release the list around Christmas or New Year, all being well.

Isobel is working on the potential venues for the 2018 outings.  The 2017 evening visits were a great success, and we hope to have similarly stimulating trips in 2018, with a possible variation to make one of them a daytime picnic.  The day trip to Stokesay Castle and Ludlow was greatly enjoyed by those who came.  The day trips have sometimes proved problematic over the years.  It’s not been the quality of the venues but the difficulty sometimes encountered in raising the numbers sufficiently to cover the considerable transport costs, without raising the price to the members to an amount which could deter some.  We are actively considering ways to make these trips work more effectively.

The sad passing of Peter Ashley-Smith, apart from leaving the committee without a knowledgeable and obliging colleague and friend, has also brought into focus a long term issue — our archives, where to put them and how to manage them?  When I became Chairman this was a matter I was concerned to address, but then there seemed to be no straightforward solution to these questions.  With Peter, Gill and the Davids Beaumont and Gill and others on hand to provide answers to most queries from their own resources the matter went on the back burner.  With the loss of Peter and with Gill and David Gill retired from the committee after decades of service the issue has become pressing.  Gill is working with David Beaumont and our President Bob Bearman to devise a plan to ensure that the copious material collected and collated over the years by Peter and other members of the Group will remain a resource for the Group in the future.

The next Committee Meeting is on Monday 6^th November.

A future event:

Friday 13th October:
Warmington Heritage Group is hosting a Dinner at Primrose Hill Barn in Arlescote to raise funds for the post-excavation work planned for the Herb Centre Excavations.
The speaker will be Professor Carenza Lewis, late of Time Team, but more recently the leader of a community scheme in East Anglia to unravel the early histories of village communities. Her topic at the dinner is “Archaeology and the Black Death: finding global history in your back garden” – a suitable theme for Friday the thirteenth!

Tickets at £40.00 can be ordered from Sue Baxter

NEWSLETTER 1^st AUGUST 2017

Evening visit to Moreton-in-Marsh Friday 21^st July

A hardy two dozen Kineton Group members gathered under a spreading tree in the rain as the Friday evening holiday traffic roared and swished past. An unlikely but colourful mascot appeared unimpressed by the weather. Tim Porter, President of Moreton-in-Marsh Local History Society was our guide, supported by Vice-president Margaret Shepard. His introductory remarks explained how the town had several centres, originally focussed on the church, then the market, then in the 19^th century the station. He took us on an extremely informative and surprising (to me anyway) tour, to show us the way these changes could still be traced in the fabric of the town.

Tim Porter (on right), introducing the group to the town.

We went backwards in time; after passing a grand ex-Post Office building, we started with the station at the north end of the town, which in 1853 replaced a 1826 horse-drawn tramway connecting Moreton to Stratford and Shipston. We huddled amidst the passengers disembarking from the London train, then sheltered under the attractive canopy while Tim explained its history.

The line of the tramway was still visible in the skewed alignment of the adjacent houses. Tim waxed lyrical about the original features of the station buildings, remodelled in the 1870s, noting especially the polychrome brick and stone detailing around the gents toilets, and the cast iron brackets of the canopy, while regretting the loss of the chimneys. He drew our attention to the finials and decorations on the small but perfectly formed signal box at the end of the platform.

Has it stopped?

We moved on through the back lane and puddles behind the market buildings, noting the Redesdale Hall market hall and the Mann Institute working men’s club, both the result of generous patronage, the former by Lord Redesdale and the latter from Miss Edith Mann in memory of her father.

Tim pointed out that neither was in the Cotswold architectural tradition, and these, with other important buildings, give a distinctive character to the town. The 17^th century Curfew Tower was covered in scaffolding.

Nineteenth century dwelling, with the group under umbrellas and the medieval corbel sheltering under the eaves

We then walked back along that very High Street, peering into the windows of the very comfortable-looking Manor House Hotel, tracing the route the Roman armies took on the Fosse Way almost 2,000 years ago. At the W.I. Hall umbrellas were left in the lobby, and while the very welcome W.I. tea and cakes provided by Pam Clarke were consumed, Margaret Shepard enlarged on the situation of Moreton, located at the boundaries of 4 counties and at the national watershed.

Despite the challenging weather conditions during the walk we all agreed that we had had an excellent introduction to a neighbouring town sharing many qualities with Kineton, not least a thriving history group.

Tysoe Archaeological Day on 23^rd July. Kevin Wyles organised a display in the Tysoe Old School Rooms of his finds made over many years in Tysoe fields. He displayed copious quantities of mainly Roman pottery, tiles and other fieldwalking material and his many metal detector finds, recorded by the Portable Antiquities Scheme. The finds were backed up with geophysical surveys carried out by local professional archaeologists David Sabin and Richard Grove.

Forthcoming K&DLHG events.

Thursday August 17^th evening visit to Shipston-on-Stour guided by Mike Ashley. Meet 6.30 at the Telegraph Street car park, Shipston, followed by tea/coffee and cakes provided by Shipston U3A. Note the evening is on a Thursday.

Friday September 15^th sees our first evening talk after the summer outings: “ Rebuilding Kineton Railway Station” by Mark Reader

Other Local Events:

Friday 13^th October: Warmington Heritage Group is hosting a Dinner at Primrose Hill Barn in Arlescote to raise funds for the post-excavation work planned for the Herb Centre Excavations. The speaker will be Professor Carenza Lewis, late of Time Team, but more recently the leader of a community scheme in East Anglia to unravel the early histories of village communities. Her topic at the dinner is “Archaeology and the Black Death: finding global history in your back garden” – a suitable theme for Friday the thirteenth! Tickets at £40.00 can be ordered from Sue Baxter on 01295 691011 or email baxtersue@btconnect.com

Chedham’s Yard has a series of summer events the last of which has a historical focus:

Sat September 9th Heritage Open Day

All open 10.00am to 4.00pm

Hornton History Group

Sat 26^th – Mon 28^th August (Bank Holiday Weekend) 12.00 – 500pm: “Step back in Time: The Way We Were.” The Hornton History Group are presenting an exhibition, a guided village trail, live demonstrations of country crafts, an “oldie worldie cinema”, and a wealth of objects and documents from Hornton’s past.

Committee Members: a reminder that the next committee meeting is Monday 4^th September

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NEWSLETTER 6^th JULY 2017

Peter Ashley-Smith.

The Group and the community have lost a gentleman and an encyclopaedic source of local history information. As you are all aware Peter Ashley-Smith died unexpectedly on 12^th June. St Peters church was full for his memorial service on Friday 30^th when the Rev Barry Jackson and many friends and colleagues paid tribute to the contribution that Peter, with Gill, has made to the life of Kineton, and to the History Group in particular. Our President Bob Bearman described Peter’s exemplary local history principles and practice, with reference to Hoskins’ handsome tribute to local studies. Peter’s brother Jonathon gave a humane, witty and moving address describing their relationship with reminiscences of their childhood and careers. For myself I will miss his immediate responses to even casual queries, his reminders about events and his generous self-deprecating contributions to discussions, committee meetings and talks. His legacy is assured, and I am still working with his transcription of the Burial Register, completed while Gill managed the churchyard survey – a project which exemplified the PASGAS teamwork. He will be missed, and our condolences go to Gill for her loss.

Trip to Stokesay Castle and Ludlow Sat 24^th June.

Stokesay Castle. After a short delay (!) the Johnson’s coach to Stokesay passed without incident through the increasingly attractive West Midlands landscape, and we had our first insight into the skill of our driver Tracy as she negotiated the very tight entrance to the Stokesay car park. As we arrived early at the medieval castle – really a 13^th century fortified house – we had it virtually to ourselves for the hour and a half we spent there, and our numbers did not overwhelm the essential but tiny café. Stokesay Castle is a remarkable place. Now owned by English heritage it is uninhabited and in parts stripped back to the stones. The sumptuously carved 17^th century panelled solar chamber is in contrast to the massive medieval hall with its exposed roof timbers, cantilevered stairs, and uneven floor.

The Hall, with Joy and David Gill, and Pam Redgrave posing as scales to show its size

Visitors climbing the defensible stairs to the impressive south tower rooms were subject to the squeaking swallows swooping through the glassless windows, and the rare bats roosting in the roof. The 17^th century gatehouse has fine wood carvings depicting Adam and Eve, dragons, and contemporary figures. All this was excellently described by the (free) audio tour devices. The adjacent mainly 17^th century parish church of St John the Baptist was a bonus. It has a West Gallery originally for choir and musicians (see Hardy’s “Under the Greenwood Tree”), a wonderful canopied double pew and a two-decker pulpit. The wall paintings have religious texts including the Lord’s prayer, and some interior funerary monuments have trompe l’oeil painted surrounds with prayer texts, presumably to enhance their effectiveness.

Ludlow. Tracy then threaded her coach through the congested streets of Ludlow, earning our applause, noticed, we discovered later, by the nearby Saturday Market stallholders.

As we disembarked we found ourselves watching a skilled Morris dance troop, with an all female group, followed by a lively male stick dance team in outlandish costumes, followed yet again by several clog dancers who danced with extraordinary speed and precision, all the dancers accompanied by live music – accordions, a tuba, tambourines, violins and a surely inauthentic saxaphone.

The town is stuffed full of historic buildings – 500 of them are listed. The most elaborate had carvings similar to those at Stokesay. It was striking that the historic town centre is not disfigured by chain stores and high street familiar names, which tend to make so many British town centres indistinguishable from one another. The Ludlow council’s positive strategy to refuse permission to such planning applications has resulted in a charming and idiosyncratic centre at a human scale.

We saw an ironmongers the like of which we thought had become extinct (remember Hoods in Banbury?), and a haberdashers (do young people even know what such a thing is?), as well as any number of small specialist shops, some no doubt dependent on the tourist trade but none the worse for that.

The imposing church of St Lawrence was hosting a conference of the Church Monument Society, so at lunchtime there was the spectacle of the chancel and north aisle occupied by tables of earnest academics and experts eating and debating the qualities of the rather wonderful sculptured monuments around them. Dame Mary Eure (d. 1612) lies, stiff as a board, propped on her elbow “expecting a joyefull resvrection”.

It was worth scrambling round the lunching conference delegates to examine the fabulous series of misericords in the choir stalls. One shows a woman still clutching the false measure that got her into trouble, being carted off to hell, hoisted over the shoulder of a devil, accompanied musically (?) by a bagpipe-playing demon. Another demon reads a scroll listing her sins and her bottom can be seen disappearing into hells mouth.

After a last cup of tea at a table overlooking the passing street scene, it was back on the coach for some more heroic coach driving to get out of the town, then smoothly back to Kineton.

The day was a great success and our thanks are due to Isobel Gill who organised it so efficiently.

Forthcoming K&DLHG events.

Friday July 21^st K&DLHG evening visit to Moreton-in-Marsh, guided by Tim Porter. Meet at the War Memorial in the High Street in Moreton at 6.30.

Thursday August 17^th K&DLHG evening visit to Shipston-on-Stour guided by Mike Ashley. Meet 6.30 at the Telegraph Street car park, Shipston

Friday September 15^th sees our first evening talk after the summer outings: “ Rebuilding Kineton Railway Station” by Mike Reader

Other Local Events:

Chedham’s Yard has a series of summer events some of which have a historical focus:

Sat July 8^th Blacksmiths tales and customs

Sat August 5^th Family history with Michael Dane

Sat September 9th Heritage Open Day

All open 10.00am to 4.00pm

Sun 23^rd July: The Archaeology of Tysoe, The Old School Room, Tysoe 10.00am – 4.00pm.

An exhibition of finds and research in the Tysoe area.

Committee Members: a reminder that the next committee meeting is Monday 4^th September

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Peter Ashley – Smith

It is with great sadness and sorrow that we learned of Peter, although in hospital, suddenly passing away on Monday 12 June 2017 aged 77.

Peter was one of the stalwarts of the Kineton and District History Group having served on the committtee and was our Secretary for some seventeen years until he stepped down last year. He was also a member of several other local groups/societies and also well known throughout Warwickshire in local history circles.

Our sympathy and condolences go to his wife, Gill, on this very sad occasion.

A memorial service will be held at St Peters Church on Friday 30 June 2017 at 1.30pm following a private family cremation.

RWG 22.06.2017

The last evening talk on March 17^th was “Spade Husbandry” by Judith Ellis (not Ruth Ellis as I mistakenly announced her previously!)  This was not a gardening talk. She described the political development of the allotment movement in Campden, from her own research, showing how in Campden and elsewhere it was an important social force in the 19^th century.  This was particularly relevant to Kineton and district, as several major figures in rural social reform at that time came from Tysoe (Joseph Ashby), Chadshunt (Bolton King) and Barford (Joseph Arch).  Judith’s talk was fascinating, well presented, clearly illustrated and delivered with a personal touch, possibly fired by the fact that her own house was closely associated with Campden’s allotments.

Next talk:

Long Compton at Domesday       by Bill Cook

SUMMER OUTINGS

SATURDAY JUNE 24^th  COACH TRIP

STOKESAY CASTLE and LUDLOW TOWN

£22.00

(Ludlow Castle £5.00 entrance fee not included)

Stokesay Castle, England’s finest medieval fortified house (entrance fee included). Ludow historic market town, medieval castle and St Laurence’s Church the “Cathdral of the Marches” as well as the Ludlow Spring Festival-in full swing.  Coach leaves St Peter’s Bus Stop 8.00am, return by 6.30pm

FRIDAY JULY 21^st

Evening tour of Moreton- in-Marsh plus WI provided refreshments

£5.00

Meet 6.30pm at the war memorial in Moreton-in Marsh.
Guided by local historian Tim Porter

THURSDAY AUGUST 17^th

Evening tour of Shipston-on-Stour plus U3A provided refreshments

£5.00

Meet 6.30pm in Telegraph Street car park Shipston-on Stour
Tour guided by Mike Ashley

Information and tickets for all outings from Isobel Gill 01926 640426 or Ilona Sekacz 01295 670675 or at 19^th May meeting

Other News

Sadly our member Peggy Hill has died since our last meeting.  She came regularly to our meetings and outings until her recent illness limited her mobility. Her presence in the village will be missed.

As well as our web site (www.kinetonhistory.co.uk), our Vice Chairman Roger Gaunt and his daughter Lucie, with David Beaumont, have organised a Twitter account: @KinetonHistory where you can post comments etc., and remember our email address:  kinetonhistory@yahoo.co.uk for queries and contacts.

Correction and apology.   By some oversight, despite proof reading and scrutiny, Peter Waters’ name was omitted from the list of committee members on the 2017-8 Programme Card. His phone number is 01789 740823.    My apologies to Peter.

Committee Meetings

Just to remind the committee that we have arranged an extra meeting for the 3^rd July at 7.30 at the Library, specifically to discuss next year’s talks programme. The regular autumn committee meeting will be on 10^th September.

Other events

Thursday 19^th May 7.30 Warmington Heritage Group talk by Professor John Hunter: “Memories of a Forensic Archaeologist” Warmington Village Hall.

Saturday 20^th May 10.00am – 4.00pm Southam Heritage Collection Local History Fayre and Valuation Day at St James’ Church, Southam.   Entry free, valuations £1.00

Friday 14^th July 10.am – 2.30pm Portcullis History study day led by Dr John Hunt “Warriors, Warlords and Saints: some themes in Mercian history” Hatton Village Hall fee £30.00 inc lunch  (www.portcullis history.com)

Friday – Monday 25-28^th August (August Bank Holiday) Hornton History Group event “Looking Back on Life in Hornton” Hornton Pavilion and village trail,

Newsletter FEBRUARY 2017

Hello – Here is a short update on our next three events – hope to see you there.

This is a reminder that our next meeting is on Friday 17th February 2017 in Kineton Village Hall at 7.30pm, when Anne Langley will be giving a talk about “Joseph Ashby’s Victorian Warwickshire”.

Anne is secretary of the Stretton History Society. She has published booklets on ‘Victorian Village Life’, ‘Brandon Silk Mill’ and ‘Warwick County Asylum’ and edited a collection of Joseph Ashby’s writing.

Our Annual General Meeting and Supper will be held on Friday 17th March 2017 in Kineton Village Hall at 7.00pm – please note the 7.00pm start.

Julie and Robert Neale will be providing our annual entertainment, singing a variety of folk songs old and new, with guitar accompaniment. 

Isobel will be providing an excellent supper and tickets for the AGM and supper (priced £12.50) will be on sale at the meeting on February 17^th, or you can reserve tickets by telephoning Ilona on 01295 670675 or emailing i.sekacz@btinternet.com

The April meeting on Friday 21^st at 7.30pm is “Spade Husbandry – a History of Campden’s Allotments, presented by Judith Ellis.

Ilona Seckacz

12 February 2017

Sylvia
We heard the very sad news that Sylvia Henman died between Christmas and New Year. Sylvia was a very familiar face at our meetings, and an active and valued member for well over twenty years.
In 2012 she gave us a very interesting illustrated talk about her life as a farmer and she also worked on the Kineton Churchyard Survey. She will be remembered by many of us for her wide ranging knowledge of wildlife, habitats, and botany. She lived close to nature, loved her garden, and all the birds that visited it.
On Tuesday 12th January at 10.30am Sylvia will be cremated at Oakley Wood, and afterwards, at 11.30, there will be a gathering at the Methodist Chapel in Kineton.

Next Meeting
A reminder that our next meeting is on Friday 15th January 2016 in Kineton Village Hall at 7.30pm, when our President, Dr. Robert Bearman will be talking about “Stratford upon Avon’s Historic Spine”

Future Meetings
Our February meeting is on Friday 19th February 2016 when Richard Buckley will give
a talk on “Richard III and his Rediscovery in Leicester” .

AGM
An early notice that the AGM will be held on Friday, 11th March 2016. After the meeting there will be a supper, and seasonal entertainment will be provided by the energetic and enthusiastic Stephen Wass.

New Year, New Brain?
What is a MOOC?
1. MOOC stands for a Massive Open Online Course.
2. It is an online course aimed at large-scale participation and open (free) access via the internet.
3. It’s similar to a university course, but does not offer academic credits.
4. A number of web-based courses are supported by top universities and colleges and offer MOOCs in a wide range of subjects.
(In an effort to improve my newsletter writing skills I’ve just signed up for the MOOC Open University Creative Writing course – watch this space.)
www.mooc-list.com

For those who missed the December meeting.
Here is an extract from our Chairman’s write-up in the local press…….

At their Christmas meeting members of the Kineton and District Local History Group were hugely entertained by Richard and Elizabeth York, singing, story telling and playing a spectacular variety of ancient musical instruments designed to “Drive the Cold Winter Away”. Richard and Elizabeth turned up an hour early in order to unpack about a score of instruments and tune some 200 strings. Their versatility was impressive, with 4 harps ranging from two large sit-­‐down-­‐to-­‐play ones to an exquisite gem made in the Isle of Skye using only three pieces of wood and no nails or glue. We also heard a Spanish guitar no bigger than a ukelele, bagpipes with drones as tall as a man, drums, pipes with only three holes, an early type of bassoon that could sound vaguely rude, two hurdy-­‐gurdys and a concertina. The Yorks touched on the Islamic background to some medieval music, particularly the suggestion that the hurdy gurdy developed from experiments investigating the music of the spheres. The tunes ranged from the 13th to the 18th century, from England and Europe, including some familiar ones.
We learned that it wasn’t until the 16th century that Christmas carols were actually sung in church; the first was “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks”. Elizabeth sang a gentle lullaby in early English about Mary retelling the story of the Annunciation to Jesus, but other songs were lively dance tunes and carols.

Richard gave us several medieval tales embroidering the Christmas story, usually with a clear moral message. The escape into Egypt was the setting for a cautionary tale to show how the rose bush got its thorns, the clove bush its smell and the sage bush its culinary and medicinal properties.

The evening was a delight; the rapport between Richard and Elizabeth and their enthusiasm for their subject was communicated to an appreciative audience, who even hummed along to some of the more well known tunes.

Kineton’s Soldiers from Bridge Street during and after the First World War
When David Fisher gave us his superbly researched talk in November, it was so full of detailed local information that he has kindly sent us his notes so that we can put them on our website. I’m sure there will be many of us who would like to look up the families and properties in Bridge Street at the beginning of the 20th century, so we are very grateful to him indeed.

Stop Press!
We have just sold our first digitised copy of “Kineton, A Village History” through the Website.
Ilona Sekacz 6 January 2016

St Mary the Virgin and the Holy Rood, Little Chart, Kent.
A picturesque ruin today – see Death & Destruction below.

Surveying the ‘Fabrick’ – the story of some survey equipment at St Paul’s Cathedral, LondonThe Dome of St Paul’s from St Martins Le Grand

R A Piercy’s plan of the Whispering gallery, 1920s Reproduced by permission of St Paul’s Cathedral

Death and destruction 70 years ago in Kent’s ‘bomb alley’ St Mary the Virgin and the Holy Rood, Little Chart: a picturesque ruin today, hit by a Doodlebug on August 16 1944.

Seventy years ago next month (June), only a few days after rejoicing that the D-Day invasion had succeeded in capturing the Normandy beaches, the people of Kent faced the first of an unexpected series of air raids inflicted by Germany’s secret ‘revenge weapon’, the V1 flying bomb or ‘Doodlebug’ (the world’s first cruise missile).Once again the county was ‘bomb alley’ while enemy aircraft – pilotless and jet-propelled this time, unlike the bombers of earlier blitzes – caused death and destruction between the Kent coast and London. The first V1 was detected over Dymchurch soon after midnight on June 13 1944 and crashed harmlessly near Swanscombe. It was the first of 1,444 that struck Kent between then and March 23 1945, causing 200 deaths and many injuries. Most people who were children in Kent in 1944 remember hearing the sinister growl and throb of V1s approaching at a height of 2,000 – 3,000 feet and speeds of up to 400 miles an hour, and hoping they would keep flying until out of sight! They were aimed at London and designed to crash after they had flown a predetermined distance from their launch ramps. Then, the engine would suddenly stop and there would be several heart-in-mouth moments as the Doodlebug dived, followed by an enormous explosion when it hit the ground. Some V1s fell short of the capital; others were shot down over Kent by ‘ack-ack’ guns or intercepted by RAF fighters before reaching their target. All of them were liable to explode almost anywhere, killing civilians and service personnel alike and destroying or damaging many properties, including historic buildings. One of the most cherished of these was Little Chart parish church – ‘St Mary the Virgin and the Holy Rood’ ‑ seven miles west of Ashford, described by journalist and writer Arthur Mee (remember his ‘The Children’s Encyclopædia’?) as being ‘exceedingly rich in sculptures’ in his volume on Kent, published in 1936 in Hodder & Stoughton’s ‘The King’s England’ series of county guides. In his preface to the 1951 edition Mee wrote: ‘It has not been thought desirable to note the changes which the war brought about in some churches and other buildings’. ‘St Mary the Virgin and the Holy Rood’ is Kent’s best surviving example of such changes. A V1 hit the Norman church’s tower and exploded after being shot down by a fighter at about 8 pm on August 16 1944, demolishing most of the building. There were no casualties. Today just its ivy-clad walls remain. The ruin was preserved to remind parishioners and visitors of Kent’s wartime ordeal and is open to the public. One of Little Chart’s parishioners in WW2 was H E Bates (author of ‘Fair Stood the Wind for France’, ‘The Purple Plain’, ‘The Darling Buds of May’ and many other novels). Having witnessed close to home the damage a single ‘Doodlebug’ could do he wrote a book about the V1 and its successor, the V2 ballistic missile, but the government banned it for 30 years. It was finally published in 1994 as ‘Flying Bombs over England’ by Bog Ogley of Froglets Publications. Whilst in the RAF, Bates wrote short stories about service life under the pseudonym ‘Flying Officer X’. A new St Mary’s, consecrated in 1956, was built in Swan Lane, closer to the centre of the village, but all was not lost of the old church. Its six bells were salvaged from the rubble and the metal from five of them was used to cast six new bells. The family memorials within the church that survived the blast were reinstated in the new building. The parish’s most distinguished family in Tudor and Stuart times were the Darells. Sir John Darell of Calehill Park was King Henry VII’s personal attendant; another member of the family was chaplain to Queen Elizabeth I. The Darell memorial was originally removed to the new church but is now at St James, Egerton. Few pre-war photographs of ‘St Mary the Virgin and the Holy Rood’ survive but one came to light earlier this year during the conservation of a collection of more than 200 glass plate negatives and photographic prints donated to the Kent Archaeological Society by Witham Matthew Bywater, a member of the society from 1877 until he died in 1911.

St Mary the Virgin and the Holy Rood, Little Chart, pictured during a Kent Archaeological Society excursion in August 1883, 61 years before the church was damaged beyond repair by a Doodlebug.

Bywater, a London saddler and pattenmaker, was among up to 400 members of the KAS who from 1876 until shortly before the First World War made annual excursions around Kent, travelling in hired trains in order to visit churches and other historic buildings. Some of these were so remote that the members – the ladies no doubt wearing the voluminous and fashionable dresses of the day – had to walk several miles from the nearest railway stations, unless met by horse-drawn carriages.Other Kent parish churches damaged by V1s in 1944 but subsequently repaired were East Peckham (early July, 18 windows destroyed); Eltham (August 29, V1 collided with steeple then exploded beyond church, killing two people); Hawkhurst (September 7, church damaged and tombstones shattered); and Lynsted (July 9, following damage by bombing on August 15 1940). There is a V1 at the Royal Engineers’ Museum at Brompton, Gillingham. Two replica V1s can be seen at the Battle of Britain Museum, Hawkinge, one of which was built for the 1965 British spy film Operation Crossbow. Old St Mary’s churchyard St Mary the Virgin and the Holy Rood’s churchyard, now disused, was restored after the war. Many of the inscriptions on the headstones have become illegible, due to damage and years of erosion, but fortunately they and those on memorials within the church were recorded in 1920 by KAS member Leland L Duncan and have been posted on the Research pages of the society’s website : http://www.kentarchaeology.org.uk/Research/Libr/MIs/MIsLittleChart/01.htm  . Duncan’s record contains hundreds of names, dating back to the 17th century, on more than 100 memorials, and is a unique and invaluable family and local history resource. One of Britain’s oldest ‘rank-and file ‘ soldiers (and probably Kent’s very oldest) of the First World War lies buried close to the church, beneath a Commonwealth War Grave headstone. He was William James Matcham of the 330th Road Construction Company, Royal Pioneer Corps, who died on February 25 1917 aged 60. Before he enlisted he was a newsagent at Sandpit, Charing Heath, and before that a grocer at Leaveland, near Faversham. His story is told on the Charing pages of the Kent Fallen website, www.kentfallen.com The churchyard’s most prominent monument, surmounted by a stone urn, marks the burial vault of James Haydock Haydock [sic], who died in Canterbury in 1855 and his wife Mary Maria Haydock, who died in Brighton in 1875. Only a few letters on the monument are now legible but thanks to Duncan we know that it also commemorates James’s father, Colonel Joseph Haydock Boardman, of the Royal Scots Greys, who died in 1803 and was buried in the chancel. His wife was Barbara (née Darell) of Surrenden Dering Manor, Pluckley. Also damaged by enemy action … Among Kent’s churches bombed or shelled by enemy action before 1944 were: 1940 St James, Dover. Badly damaged by shelling on October 20. Landlord of nearby Ancient Druid pub killed. Further shell damage on April 5 1943. Church subsequently collapsed and was not restored. Its roof had been damaged by a bomb in March 1916. St Andrew’s, Paddock Wood (which had to be demolished after being severely damaged on the night of November 4). St Margaret of Antioch, St Margaret’s-at-Cliffe. Extensive shell damage on November 28. All Saints, Lydd. Chancel destroyed October 15 (clock stopped at 4.07pm). Further bomb damage in 1944.  1941 St Joseph’s, St Mary Cray. Severely damaged by bombing; rebuilt in 1959. St Peter & St Paul, Bromley. The entire church, except the tower, demolished by a bomb on the night of April 16. The church was rebuilt in the 1950s. 1942 St George’s, Canterbury. Bombed June 1, 1942 during the ‘Canterbury Blitz’. Fifteenth century tower and walls survived but only the tower was restored. St Mary Bredin, Canterbury, also destroyed on June 1 1942. New church built in Old Dover Road in 1950s. 1943 Holy Trinity Old Church, Margate. Bombed June 1 and reduced to a shell. The tower survived. Ten people killed, four seriously injured, 46 slightly injured. Church rebuilt in the 1950s. It is an enlarged version of Little Chart parish church by the same architect, Harold Anderson. Tower of old church, a landmark since 1825, demolished 1958. With acknowledgments to Bob Ogley, who comprehensively documented Kent’s V1 ordeal in his books ‘Doodlebugs and Rockets: the Battle of the Flying Bombs’ (Froglets Publications 1992) and ‘Kent at War’ (Froglets Publications/KM Group 1994). Paul Tritton, Hon. Press Officer Kent Archaeology Society

Books Title: A History of Shropshire, volume VI part 1: Shrewsbury, General History and Topography Editor: W.A. Champion and A.T.T. Thacker ISBN/Date published:  9781904356424 15 May 2014 Blurb:  This volume examines the county town of Shrewsbury, which boasts a largely unaltered medieval street plan, and over 600 listed buildings, including some of the finest timber-framed buildings in England, Ditheringon flax mill (the first iron-framed building in the world), a Norman castle, Shrewsbury abbey and the remains of the medieval town walls. It recounts the history of the town from the early medieval period until the twenty-first century in a series of chapters written by experts. They include the archaeologist Dr Nigel Baker and Professor Richard Holt on Shrewsbury before 1200; Alan Thacker, Robert and the late Dorothy Cromarty on the town between 1200 and 1350, when Shrewsbury was of national importance; W.A. Champion on developments between 1350 and 1780 when the town within the walls achieved its current physical shape and character; and Barrie Trinder on modern Shrewsbury, its industrial development and suburban spread. There are also sections on individual religious congregations and their buildings, institutions and their continuity, and topics particular to Shrewsbury such as the common lands, its county institutions, the town walls and castle, and the liberties and municipal boundaries.

Magazines We have been asked to put this advert into the newsletter: Discover Your Ancestors – FREE TRIAL for your society members, and donations to your society for every new subscriber! Are your society members looking for a fresh approach to researching their family history? Whether your members are longstanding or just starting out, whether they are advanced in their research or have reached early brick walls, Discover Your Ancestors magazine can help them along. Discover Your Ancestors is packed full of family histories, case studies, UK and overseas features and advice on identifying those hard to find forebears. We also write on particular regions of the UK and if we haven’t featured your region in our published issues to date, our editor will certainly be in touch before too long. To liaise with our editor please email in the first instance Andrew Chapman on editor@discoveryourancestors.co.uk. Discover Your Ancestors magazine is now on its third annual edition in print, and is available at WHSmith stores around the UK or selected overseas premium newsagents or direct from the publisher here. The magazine has also been running a monthly digital edition, to rave reviews. Priced at just £12 per annum, our loyal and engaged subscribers enjoy this digital magazine which is archived by issue in their very own members section of our website. But please don’t just take our word for it, or those testimonials that are found on our websit   We are inviting each and every one of your society members to enjoy a FREE OF CHARGE 3 ISSUE TRIAL so they can find out for themselves what a good read it is. We would be most grateful if you would extend this no obligation offer to your members via your newsletters, at your meetings and events and in your circulars. Also, for every 12 month (£12 total) subscription sign up we receive from those 3 month free trialists we will be happy to donate £2 back to you, the society that has introduced us a new subscriber. All you will need is to ask your member to quote the code DYAFHS (followed by the name of your Family History Society). Once a year, we will count up any subscribers that have used the offer code and send your society a cheque for the total sum. The following wording can be used or adapted for any communications you may elect to send to your members: Subscribe to Discover Your Ancestors for just £1 per issue and they will make a donation to our Family History Society. Discover Your Ancestors monthly digital magazine is packed full of family histories, case studies, UK and overseas features and advice on identifying those hard to find forebears. The publishers are offering a FREE 3 MONTH TRIAL to members of our Society. To register for your FREE 3 month trial please email subs@discoveryourancestors.co.uk with the subject line DYAFHS (then the name of your society). Alternatively you can subscribe for a full year (12 issues) for just £12 (£1 per month) by clicking here. It only takes a couple of minutes  to register and your details will never be shared – ever. For every new 12 month subscriber that enters the promo code DYAFHS (then the name of your society) the publishers will donate £2 back to our Society. Thank you for taking the time to explore Discover Your Ancestors on behalf of your members. We appreciate any coverage or recommendation you may decide to put forward to your members, and to enriching their family history research experience.

Cover photo: contact Paul Tritton, Hon. Press Officer, Kent Archaeological Society.