Recent talk on Spinning

It's always rewarding when you listen to a speaker who is passionate about their subject. Val Bryant told us about her interest in spinning wheels. Born into a family with a long connection to the textile industry, Val has been spinning since a young child.  After retiring from the NT Styal Mill, she and her husband have been researching the history of spinning wheels and searching out wheels from all over the country. Val described the development of domestic spinning technology from Roman times to the early part of the 20th century. Her researches have taken from the Scottish  Islands through stately homes to Royal residences, from crofters' wheels to those owned by Queen Victoria. Her particular interest is in the different designs from different makers. Val demonstrated how to use  a wheel to turn carded wool into yarn. A craft which she made looked deceptively simple.

Val's husband David repairs and makes spinning wheels. See his website.

For those wanting to know more about this subject follow link.

Val also alerted us to events at her local Knutsford Heritage Centre. For example there is an display on the History of Booth's supermarket. Follow link for more details.

Next Meeting 22 March: Spinning through time

Valerie Bryant will be coming to talk to us about her fascination with the history of spinning and spinning wheels.Val has worked in textiles for over 30 years. She retired recently from the NT Quarry Bank Mill where she was textile co-ordinator. Val now runs 'Textile Twists'. She researches early spinning wheels and their makers, and has developed a database with information from country houses, museums and private individuals.

As usual 7:30 pm at Tiverton Village Hall. Non-members welcome.

Next year's programme

As Doug Haynes announced on Thursday, the Society committee is starting to prepare next year's programme. The committee would like to hear your views. Please let us know your ideas, whether for good speakers or whether for topics you would like to learn more about. You can add a comment to this post, or contact Doug or any other committee member (email or phone). Our contact details can be found on the 'Committee' page.

Sandstone Ridge Trust

Andrew Needham reminds that as well as the archeological studies being carried out on the hillforts, a charitable trust has been set up to protect and enhance the wildlife habitats and historic heritage on and around Cheshire's Sandstone Ridge. The Trust is looking for volunteers and Andrew notes the following from Councillor Eleanor Johnson, one of the trustees:

“The Trustees of the Sandstone Ridge Trust are keen to build on the work that the Habitats and Hillforts programme has delivered so successfully by protecting and enhancing the natural and historic environment; improving public understanding and knowledge of the area and improving access to the beautiful Sandstone Ridge landscape.
“The Trustees are also keen to encourage volunteers from the local area who are interested in nature conservation and / or heritage in Cheshire to come forward with ideas for activities, to get involved with what's on or to be kept informed of future opportunities.”
 
The Sandstone Ridge Trust is proud to announce that it has recently been approved for charitable status by the Charity Commission. The new charitable organisation has been set up to protect and enhance the wildlife habitats and historic heritage on and around Cheshire's Sandstone Ridge. The Ridge stretches from Frodsham and Helsby in the north part of Cheshire West and Chester right down to Bickerton Village in the south of the Borough.
A group of six voluntary Trustees have worked together with the support of officers from Cheshire West and Chester Council over the last 18 months to build on the work of the Heritage Lottery Funded Habitats and Hillforts Programme. The landscape partnership scheme delivered by a number of organisations enabled a wide range of activities to take place over the last three years.

More details of the Trust's activities can be found on their website and they have just published a 'captured memories' book.

Recent talk on Hillforts

One of the measures of a good talk is the extent to which the speaker opens up new worlds to the audience.  Danny Garner, archaeology project leader with CW&C and a local resident, gave a fascinating insight into modern archaeology. Danny described the work being carried out to better understand the six hillforts that dot the 'sandstone ridge' from Frodsham south to Bickerton.  Surprisingly little is known about these ancient constructions. Field studies, using modern techniques such as LiDAR, have extended the knowledge from earlier 20th century excavations.  This  research has provided evidence that some of these sites were constructed and occupied from the Neolithic, through the Bronze and Iron Ages, and to medieval times. The sites are all found on high points and make use of natural escarpments which were then protected by stone and earth ramparts. The sites have not fared well over the years. The construction of Beeston Castle, farming, removal of stone for building, and even World War 2 training have caused much damage. Field studies have disappointingly found few artefacts and our understanding of the life and culture of the earlier occupants is still very limited. However Danny noted a recent discovery from Eddisbury. This site has been the most studied; it is close to a Roman road and several Roman items were found. The most relevant find has been a Roman Christian Chi-Rho copper 'coin'. This is the first example of Roman Christianity in Cheshire.

A well attended and illuminating talk. 

For those like me who were intrigued to learn of the different geophysical research techniques, the English Heritage site has some excellent articles.

Next meeting 23 February: Habitats and Hillforts

Our next talk will be given by Danny Garner who is the Archaeology Project Officer for CW&C's 'Hillforts and Habitats' initiative. These hillforts are iron age communities which are found along the sandstone ridge from Helsby to Maiden Castle. Danny will introduce us to the work that is being carried out both to understand the history and to enhance the natural habitats.

To whet the appetite please have a look at CW&C's excellent site 

Meeting as usual 7:30 pm in the Tiverton Village Hall. Non-members welcome.

The aims of this weblog

This weblog has been set up to:

• Act as a noticeboard  to publicise meetings and share news, and to be a point of contact for both members and visitors
• Allow feedback so members can comment (constructively) on events or add suggestions for Society activities
• Share information eg Society's publications, photographs, memories, references, links etc
• Support any projects eg research or education 

It will only be useful if people view and contribute. So comments please.