Clare Pye and the Civil War in Cheshire

It's always a treat to hear a talk from someone who both knows their subject and is excited about it. So it was when Clare Pye came to talk to us on 28th November. Clare stressed the importance of Cheshire in the Civil War. Who ever held Cheshire controlled the movement of armies down the West side of England and, via Chester, troops from Ireland. Clare described the military encounters in Cheshire from the early battle in Middlewich, the role of Beeston Castle, the decisive battle at Nantwich, the siege of Chester and the King's defeat at Rowton Moor. This military perspective was enhanced by stories of the people involved, of the military commanders, of the great families who had some choice in the side they supported, and of the ordinary folk who had little say.

Christmas lunch Peckforton Castle 12th December

The Society will be holding its Christmas outing at Peckforton Castle. Di Carr has arranged for a tour of the Castle followed by lunch in the 2010 Brasserie.
It would be very helpful to the Castle staff if we could pre-order our meals.
Please click on Menu to see the Brasserie menu. 
Could members please email Di (dianarcarr@btinternet.com) by 6th December to let her know you are coming and what you would like to eat.
Detailed timings will be published shortly. 

The Civil War in Cheshire 28th November

Our next talk will be given by Clare Pye from Manchester Musuem. Clare will be looking at the progress of the Civil War, mostly from 1642-46, emphasising the county's strategic importance in the national struggle, but with a summary of 1646-59 looking ahead to Booth's rebellion in 1659 in order to put that event in context. 

Tiverton Village Hall, 7:30. All welcome.

Cheshire Archives and Local Studies

I have just received the Autumn CALS newsletter. This covers a wide range of local topics from the early history of cycling, 18th century medicine in Chester, school records and information on the First World War among other items. A worthwile read which you can see by clicking on CALS newsletter

The CALs website http://archives.cheshire.gov.uk/default.aspx gives information on this service and on their resources.

Cheshire History

This Society is a member of the Cheshire Local History Association. The Association has just published its annual journal. We have two copies which I will bring to our next meeting in November. In the meantime please contact me (paul.bujac@virgin.net) if you would like to borrow a copy.

Peter Styles and the Geology of Cheshire

The second of this season's talks was given by Professor Peter Styles from Keele University and a local Bunbury resident. Peter took a packed hall on a fascinating whistle stop tour of the last few million years from the influence of plate tectonics, through erosion and glaciations, to the latest thoughts of exploiting geothermal energy.

We were delighted to see both returning and new members and to welcome visitors. Currently we have 47 paid up members.

We were also pleased to see the refurbishments in the Village Hall. These were funded by

WREN (Waste Recycling Environmental Limited).

Geology and Geomorphology of Cheshire 24th October

This month's talk will be given by Professor Peter Styles of Keele University. He notes:

'The United Kingdom has a complicated Geological History with records of almost all parts of the geological record for such a small country as it has been the site of much more dramatic tectonic episodes than we might suspect now from its tranquil repose.

It may not be surprising that Wales and Scotland did not originally form part of what we Geologist call Avalonia but have been forcibly cemented onto the main central block with associated Volcanoes, earthquakes and faulting in the relatively recent past of 500 Million years!

The Cheshire Basin is a consequence of one of those periods of faulting as it sits in a lopsided basin which deepens south-east from the Chester area toward the south and east where the basin may be more than 7 kilometres deep against the Wem-Bridgmere-Red Rock Fault which bounds the basin. A fringe of coal again surrounds this in the Macclesfield area.

Most of the geology of Cheshire has been controlled by this subsiding basin where thick Coal deposits are followed by Red Sandstones and thick Salt deposits , the basis of the Cheshire Chemical Industry, formed as the basin progressively subsided. Later rocks were mostly scraped away by the Ice Age ice sheets which have sculpted the surface leaving the Cheshire plain with occasional interruptions such as the Peckfortons and Alderley Edge where Copper deposits have been exploited along faults.

This lecture will show how the British Isles have formed and specifically how the Geology and Landscape of Cheshire has been superimposed on the framework that Plate Tectonics left us.'

Usual time 7:30 in Tiverton village hall. Visitors welcome.

Roger Wickson and the Anglo-Norman realm

Helen Kerr, one of our members, notes that Roger Wickson, ex headmaster of the King's School Chester, who gave a fascinating talk to the History Society on the Fourth Crusade earlier this year, will be giving a series of twelve lectures on The Anglo Norman Realm 1042 to 1154 at Nantwich museum beginning on Monday 4th November this year.

The lectures will take place from 10a.m. to 12noon each Monday for six weeks before Christmas and a further six weeks in the New Year. They will be held under the aegis of the School of Humanities at Keele University.

For further information, see the course leaflet and application form (link to page 1 and page 2) or contact Roger at: wickson@audlem2.freeserve.co.uk

White Mischief and the Vale Royal Legacy

Our new season opened with a talk by local historian Mark Bevan. Mark told us an intriguing tale that ranged from the history and demise of Vale Royal Abbey to the high life of British ex-pats in Kenya. This was a well polished talk with the added ingredient of a detective murder story.

2013/2014 Programme

Di Carr has now confirmed the dates of the Christmas and June outings.

We visit Peckforton Castle for a tour and lunch on Thursday 12th December.

We visit Port Sunlight and the Lady Lever Art Gallery on Friday 27th June.

See the programme page. More details will be given nearer the dates.

Goodbye Summer - Welcome the new season

The Society's 2013/2014 season starts on Thursday 26th September with a talk by Mark Bevan titled 'White Mischief and the Vale Royal Legacy'. Mark is a regular speaker at our meetings. Members should recall his talks on the histories of Oulton Park and of Tarporley Races. In 'White Mischief', Mark will give us a tale of intrigue set in colonial Africa but with local connections.

'From the riverbanks of the Weaver to the heart of Africa, this talk follows the incredible story of Lord Delamere, of Vale Royal, possibly the last great white explorer; the man who almost single-handedly rocked the cradle of Kenya… and the impact, thousands of miles away in Cheshire, is still being felt today! And who hasn’t heard of White Mischief, the book and the film based upon murder and the indolent aristocrats of Kenya’s Happy Valley? Now, over sixty years later, Lord Delamere’s great grandson has become embroiled in a life and death drama of the 21st century'

As usual we meet in Tiverton Village Hall at 7.30 pm. All or welcome - returning members and guests.

Next year's events

Di Carr, our programme secretary, has been busy putting together the Society's programme for the new season starting in September. We now have the confirmed list of speakers and events. Please see the 2013/14 Programme page.

Visit to Dorfold Hall

On the 27th June, 29 members of the Society enjoyed a private visit to Dorfold Hall, the lovely Jacobean house on the edge of Nantwich. The house was built in 1616 and members were delighted by the wonderful plaster ceilings, particularly in the first floor Drawing Room which has a rare barrel vaulted ceiling. The house is a much loved home and has been in the ownership of the same family for 400 years. The large number of family portraits reflects this.
Members then explored the extensive gardens covering 18 acres. They enjoyed the woodland gardens, colourful herbaceous borders with a wonderful display of roses and the lily pond which was covered in water lilies.
The visit was followed by an excellent lunch at The Farmer's Arms at Ravensmoor. Altogether a very pleasant day out, enjoyed by all.
Ann Wall

Arley Hall Archives

Gill Clough has noted an article in the May Family Tree introducing a new website http://www.arleyhallarchives.co.uk/index.htm.  Arley Hall, near Warrington, is the family home of the Warburtons. This website provides detailed information of Arley Hall estate documents during 1750 - 1790. Well worth visiting.

AGM 23 May

The Society held its AGM on 23 May. Click on Minutes for details about finances, elections and the new committee.
For the record see 2012 AGM minutes for last year's minutes.
Di Carr introduced the 2013/14 programme. Details of this will soon be available on this weblog.

Dorfold Hall Visit

Please note the visit to Dorfold Hall on Thursday 27 June will commence at 10:50 at the Hall. The cost will be £7 per head, payable directly to the Hall. Dorfold Hall is a member of the Historic House Association; Friends of the HHA may be entitled to free entry.

The group will then be going to The Farmer's Arms in Ravensmoor at 13.15 for lunch. See their website http://www.farmersarmsravensmoor.co.uk/ for menu and map.

If you haven't already signed Di Carr's form, then please let her (dianarcarr@btinternet.com) know if you are coming.

AGM & Summer outing to Dorfold Hall

Just a reminder that the AGM will be held on 23 May. Members have had details either by email or post.
At the meeting Di Carr will give more information on the Society's trip to Dorfold Hall, Acton near Nantwich on Thursday 27 June.
Check out HHA or Wikipedia for more details of the Hall.

An on target talk

At the meeting of the Society held on 25th April, 32 members and guests heard Bernard Dennis give a talk entitled " The History of the Longbow." Bernard began by explaining the origins of the bow as a weapon of war, hunting and sport from the very earliest times of mankind.

 

With the aid of pictures and examples he described the development of bows through to the Longbow made famous by English and Welsh (Cheshire & Flintshire) archers throughout the mediaeval period. He described how these archers used the weapon so effectively throughout this period that it became as a weapon of war more or less unstoppable. He explained that the archers spent hours of practice from the age of 7 years to achieve their superb proficiency.

Bernard described how these weapons were made and the various different skills that went into their construction. These different skills are still to be found in surnames that we find today, like "Bowman, Fletcher or Stringer" and phrases like "highly strung" or "having more than one string to one's bow".

The audience really enjoyed the talk and judging by the large number of questions afterwards it had been thought provoking as well.

 

Bob Welch

History of the Longbow Thursday 25 April

The last talk of the season will be 'History of the Longbow' by Bernard Dennis.

Tiverton Village Hall 7:30. All welcome.

A scholarly account

Roger Wickson captivated the Society last Thursday with a scholarly account of the Fourth Crusade. Roger told a tale of human endeavour and failings, commercial rivalry, religious fervour, intrigue and bad luck. This was a tale of how crusader knights started out to recover the Holy Land for Christianity and ended up sacking Christian Constantinople.

Roger produced a handout giving more details and references; see Handout
For those wishing to find out more, see  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Crusade

The fall of Constantinople and the link to modern times Thursday 28 March

This week's talk will be given by Roger Wickson.
Usual place: Tiverton Village Hall. Usual time 7:30 pm.
All welcome. Let's hope the snow doesn't return.

An Olympic Journey

On Thursday, David Cummings shared his enthusiasm for sport and the Olympics. Backed by a kaleidoscope of slides, David traced the history of the Olympic movement from ancient Greece, through the Victorian initiatives in Much Wenlock, through the modern revival in Athens in 1896, to London 2012. David's talk contrasted the ruins of the original site in Olympia with the spectacle of London's Olympics and Paralympics.

For those wishing to learn more about the Olympics, follow the link to Wikipedia.

The Olympics Ancient to Modern via Much Wenlock Thursday 28 February.

David Cummings Chairman of Christleton Local History Group explores the history of the Olympic Movement from the first games at Olympia & Delphi in Ancient Greece, to the modern Olympic Games inspired by the work of Dr William Penny Brookes a G.P. at Much Wenlock, Shropshire in the 1850's. The modern International Olympic Movement was formed by Baron Pierre de Coubertain after a visit to Wenlock in 1890, and during his talk we visit Athens and the site of the first modern Games in 1896. He then brings the story up to date with pictures and accounts of many of the sports and venues from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, including the main Olympic Park at Stratford.

Usual time and place - 7:30 pm at the Tiverton Village Hall. All are welcome.

A story well told

Those of us who braved the ice on Thursday had a rare treat. We were entertained by a story teller, Idris Evans. Shunning the modern trappings of laptop, projector and software, the only artefacts Idris used to illustrate his talk were a 1787 Anglesey penny and a pair of cow shoes. But what a picture he painted of the art of droving cattle from North Wales to London; an art that developed from about 800 AD to the arrival of the railways in the mid 1800s.

Idris took us from Anglesey, on a journey across the Menai Straits, through the Vale of Clwyd and on to the outskirts of London, in the company of cattle, pigs and geese. This was a journey peppered with stories of armed riders, highwaymen, cock-fighting, promissory notes, Welsh émigrés and much more beside.

The interest in the talk was high-lighted by the brisk sale of Idris' book 'Hard Road to London'. For those who missed the talk, borrow a copy from another member. For a brief glimpse of Idris follow the link to a BBC programme clip http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p010frsp

The Drovers' Road Thursday 24 January

The next talk is by Welsh author Idris Evans. 

His talk is based on his book 'Hard Road To London'. This is a story of the cattle drovers who walked their animals over three hundred miles to the markets in London. A trade that had gone on for over one thousand years but it was through discovering coins with a metal detector that he discovered a world that had been forgotten.
This led to a feature on Country File with Adam Henson and a series on BBC 2 called 'British Foods'




Usual time and place - 7:30 pm at the Tiverton Village Hall. All are welcome.