1000 years of Cheshire History 22nd November

The speaker this meeting was Bob Welch our treasurer. Bob gave us a whistle stop tour of the history of Cheshire between the arrival of the Romans and medieval times. The early history of Cheshire was effectively the history of Chester. And Chester's history reflected the power struggles and battles of the English crown and the Welsh princes. Bob also gave us some insight into the development of the Church and local life. 

We look forward to part 2 bringing us up to modern times.

Hawkstone Park 25th October

It is always great when you have a speaker who knows and feels passionate about their subject and is also a good communicator. Barry Fewster met all those criteria.

Barry told us about Hawkstone Park, its history, the story of the Hill family, and the Park's development into a magical garden of follies and attractions, all set in craggy countryside just south of Whitchurch. It is still open to visitors and is well worth a visit. 

See http://www.hawkstoneparkfollies.co.uk/

Tarporley High Street 27th September 2018

We started our 2018/9 season with a bit of a difference. Rather than our normal meeting and talk in Tiverton, we had a tour of Tarporley High Street. Pat Symms was our guide and on a rather dull late summer evening, with the light just starting to fade, Pat took a party of some 30 brave members on a fascinating insight into the buildings and history of the village. We started in the Market Court by the Swan, walked up to Burton Square, and finished by the Manor House. What we discovered was that, despite some new developments, many of the buildings in the High Street haven't changed. What has changed is the use of the buildings and how businesses have moved on from a variety of local trades, many associated with Tarporley's connection with horses, such as blacksmiths and saddlers, to today's shops serving 21st C needs. And even today's shops are changing from year to year.

We finished our walk with a supper in the Hunt Room, directly above the Market Court, with Pat giving us some of the history of the room and the Tarporley Hunt.

Feedback suggests that this was a very successful evening. Many thanks to Pat for organising this.  

Visit to Norton Priory, Runcorn, on 22nd June

A small band of intrepid members braved the particularly warm weather to visit this historic site. Norton Priory was founded in the 11th century and became a major monastic site until the Dissolution. It slowly fell into ruin but more recently it has become the most excavated monastic site in Europe. Norton Priory has benefited from significant funding and now has an excellent Visitor Centre and Museum. Assembling after coffee, we were given a guided tour around the site and museum. Members then had a chance to explore on their own and later to enjoy lunch. 

See http://nortonpriory.org/ for more information.

Some us then walked over to the 2.5 acre Georgian walled gardens. These excellent gardens were unfortunately suffering (like us) from some some exceptionally hot and dry weather. We need to go back in a 'normal' summer.

AGM 24th May

The Society held its AGM at Tiverton Village Hall on 24th May.

Some 18 members attended.

It was reported that we now had 48 members and finances were healthy. We had some £1894 in reserves.

The following officers were elected.

Tom Platt         Chair
Trish Welch     Vice-chair
Bob Welch      Treasurer
Paul Bujac       Secretary

Items discussed included next year's programme and the Society's Privacy Policy.

Details can be found in the draft minutes; follow Draft minutes

The meeting was followed by an open discussion on how things, particularly communications, had changed in our life times.

Hampton House School 26th April

Members were given an insight into life in an English Prep school in the late 50's and early 60's when Andrew Wheeler talked about his time as a boarder at Hampton House School. This school moved from Chester post war into Gardenhurst, a gentlemen's residence, and then closed in the 60's. The building was then demolished and site developed for housing and for the local Deeside Ramblers hockey club.
Andrew gave a personal view of being a young boarder, away from home, and, in particular, his recollections of the staff and some scandal.

Victoriana 22nd March 2018

Our speaker in March, Sally French-Greenslade, took us back over a century to a Victorian living room. Using a wide range of artefacts, Sally gave us a glimpse of life when Queen Victoria was on the throne. Chamber candlesticks showed us the way to bed before electricity appeared; Victorian face shields in front of the coal fire kept the ladies complexions pale before central heating arrived; embroidered samplers showed off the ladies' craft skills; many other decorative and practical items illustrated the domestic life of the times.

100 years of trains to Audlem 22nd February

Jeremy Nichols came to tell us about the Nantwich and Market Drayton Railway. This railway was opened in 1863 and provided part of the link between Crewe and the Midlands for the GWR. Although passenger traffic was modest, the line was an important freight route. However as part of the Beeching rationalisation plan, the line closed to passenger traffic in 1963 (just 100 years of service) and to freight traffic in 1967. 

Jeremy grew up in Nantwich within sight of this railway, and he retrieved many old documents from the derelict Audlem station before it was demolished. He used many of these documents, eg receipts for goods carried, to show how the railway was managed and, intriguingly, how the railway changed the rural life in South Cheshire. Jeremy also showed us photographs both from the railway's heyday and from the final years before closure. The talk brought back memories for many members, who wherever they were at the time, had been brought with steam travel.

History through Metal Detecting 25th January

Martin Tobbit, who is a member of the Crewe and Nantwich Metal Detecting Society, gave a very personal talk on metal detecting. He explained how he became fascinated with how metal detecting can be used to discover the past. Briefly introducing his modern detection equipment, he told us how he has been searching the local fields, and what he had unearthed. Perhaps the most memorable part of Martin's talk, was when he passed around some of his finds. It's not every evening that you handle a neolithic arrow head and a Roman coin.

Christmas Social 21st December

The run up to Christmas is always a busy time so we had decided not to invite a speaker. Instead we had an enjoyable 'homespun' meeting when members brought along and described a few historic personal items. It's amazing what people have tucked away at home. The evening finished with mince pies, stollen, and a topical quiz.