Romsley & Hunnington History Society -

Meeting Report - March 2014

Georgian Lifestyle, March 2014

About 50 people attended our meeting on Tuesday 25th March. Paul Harding and Helen Lee of "Discover History" are no strangers to the Society, as on previous visits Paul has taken us time travelling back to Roman times and to the First World War. This time he introduced us to the Georgian Lifestyle.

The 18th Century was a time of new ideas and enlightenment in many areas of English life.  It was relatively peaceful apart from a few skirmishes on the Scottish border. This gave people the time to think about other aspects of life and they became interested in building elegant houses with classic lines, fashion and new foods.

Dressed in a typical Georgian outfit with a waistcoat and buckled shoes, which were interchangeable and were swapped around every day for even wear, Paul explained that people no longer needed to dress for warmth or modesty but were beginning to decorate their clothes and were becoming fashion conscious.  Wigs were the order of the day both for men and women. The men even had their heads shaved to eliminate head lice!  Washing became fashionable with soap made from lard. In Worcester in 1751 Dr. John Wall began to produce bone china and more attention was paid to fine dining and the use of knives, forks and spoons.

Tea, coffee and chocolate were the new liquid refreshments, although they were very expensive. People were becoming socially aware and if you wanted to be a cut above the rest, you would hire a pineapple, not to eat but to decorate your table!

The introduction of sugar began to cause problems with cavities in teeth. The Georgians believed that sugar contained the eggs of worms which lodged in teeth. When the worms hatched out they began to eat the tooth causing holes to appear. The remedy was to insert a red hot needle in the cavity to kill the worm, which makes the thought of the dentist's drill almost acceptable.

Paul certainly presented us with an interesting and entertaining evening as well as educating
us on the Georgian Lifestyle.

Pat Evans

The Archaeology of Redditch New Town

Our meeting on 22nd April was well attended. Emma Hancox who works for the Worcestershire Archive and Archaeology Service, gave a talk on 'The Archaeology of Redditch New Town'.

It is hard to believe that Redditch New Town celebrated its 50th Anniversary in April 2014. Many of the new towns of that era were based on the idea of "Garden Cities". Over 100,000 trees were planted around the new town and views were very important, with houses fitted into the landscape but hidden from view. It was thought to be a very healthy place to live.

However, in 1964, Redditch was designated as a car-orientated town with a high regard for transport, hence the many roundabouts and highways surrounding the town. Today the archaeology of the area is always taken into consideration when new planning proposals are put forward. Fifty years ago careful records were made of what was to be destroyed and what was to be kept but many old buildings were lost.

Since 1629 Redditch has always been associated with the needle trade. In the mid-19th Century it produced ninety percent of the world's needles but in 1980 cheap imports from East Asia overtook the Redditch output. Old ponds, mills and forges needed for the industry have been discovered by the introduction of LIDAR or Light Detecting and Ranging, which uses laser beams in aerial surveys producing images similar to contour maps. Many old archaeological features including ridge and furrow fields and old river courses have been discovered using this system.

Emma's interesting talk revealed that although Redditch New Town is only 50 years old, these surveys show that the area was always partly an agricultural community in the past.

Pat Evans

Meeting Report - May 2014

Annual General Meeting 2014

The Annual General Meeting was held on Tuesday 26th May. Paul Share, the Chairman, welcomed everyone and reported that the membership had continued to flourish and some meetings had almost reached capacity attendance, such was the quality of speakers and topics.

Julian Hunt, our President, has worked tirelessly in his quest to research the history of the villages of Romsley and Hunnington. The work of indexing the Court Rolls has been progressing thanks to a team of dedicated members and the website is updated on a regular basis.

Paul thanked June Humphreys for her work as secretary for the past twenty two years. She is now reducing her workload but she has still booked a very impressive list of speakers for the 2014/2015 season. Jean Cockin was also thanked for her work on recording the memories of the residents of both villages.

Ruth Harper, the treasurer, reported that there were now 51 members and the balance sheet showed that the society was financially healthy. All offices and members of the committee were re-elected. Julian Hunt presented a series of photographs of Halesowen and the surrounding area, taken in the 1960s by Brian and John Tromans. The brothers had the foresight to photograph Halesowen before it was modernized. They used to cycle around taking photographs in both black and white and colour, with their cycle in the picture as their trademark!

The lack of traffic on the roads was very noticeable and the men in the audience took great pleasure in identifying the cars. Do you remember the Morris Minor, Triumph Herald, Cortina, Ford Popular, Consul and the A35 van? They were all there, evoking youthful memories for many members.

There were some beautiful photographs of the old library and the railway station, all sadly demolished now. However, not all the demolition was intentional, as the photograph of the lorry which had crashed into a house at the bottom of Mucklow's Hill proved. In subsequent photographs the house is shown being rebuilt by Harpers, only to be demolished by the council shortly afterwards! This was only one of several amusing insights into Halesowen's development, captured in these superb photographs. Probably the most stunning of which were the photographs of the old railway viaduct and the views of the surrounding countryside. Everyone agreed that it had been a delightful evening and our thanks must go to the Troman brothers for their "snapshots" of old Halesowen.

Pat Evans