Romsley & Hunnington History Society -
Bromsgrove Road, Hunnington 1975
Bromsgrove Road, Romsley
Dayhouse Bank, Romsley
Hunnington Station
Bluebird Toffee Factory, Hunnington
Romsley Sanatorium
Romsley School
St Kenelm's Church, Romsley
Vincent's Houses, Hunnington
Vincent's Toffee Factory, Hunnington
WLHF Newsletter, June 2017
Worcestershire Local History Forum, News Update, June 2017
Awards and Photographic Competitions 2017
Please can you remind your members that there is still time to send in entries for the Forum Awards and Forum Photographic competitions. The closing date for both competitions is 31 July. Details and application forms can be found on the Forum's website - www.wlhf.org.uk . The Photographic Competition's theme is 'windows'. The title is: A Window on Worcestershire, and there are plenty out there.
……………………………………………………………………………… …………………….
Day School 2017
This year the Day School is being hosted by Malvern Civic Society and takes place at the Eden Centre, Grovewood Road, off Townsend Way, Malvern WR14 1GD. Details regarding tickets and timings can be found on www.wlhf.org.uk. The theme this year is Eminent Victorians in Worcestershire. As usual, Forum member societies can book a table for display purposes free of charge. If you would like to highlight your society please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to reserve a table.
……………………………………………………………………………… …………………….
Heritage Talk at Selly Manor
The Friends Ambulance Unit
7pm, Thursday, 8 June 2017
Paul Handford’s fascinating talk focuses on the experiences of those individuals, who for conscience and other reasons, chose to serve in the non-combatant Friends’ Ambulance Unit during WW1.
The talk will explore the evolution of the Unit, its main areas of work and the impact conscription had on those involved. Paul will also reflect on Laurence Cadbury’s service with the Unit and on the members who lost their lives. This fascinating talk is supported by many original books, documents and photographs from Paul’s private collection.
Booking is strongly recommended. t: 0121 472 0199 e: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
£5 per person - includes tea and coffee as well as a private viewing of Selly Manor and its wonderful collection.
Selly Manor, Maple Road, Bournville, Birmingham, B30 2AE
Daniel Callicott
Museum Manager
Direct Dial:0121 667 1091
……………………………………………………………………………… …………………….
Publishing
The Forum has been contacted by Nick Grant of Amberley Publishing Ltd, Stroud who is looking for someone to write a book on Worcester to publish. Nick says: We have a number of popular series, some of which are based on historical photographs or postcards, including our successful ‘From Old Photographs’, ‘Postcard Collection’ and ‘At Work’ series, but others such as our ‘Secret’ or ’In 50 Buildings’ series are based on the author’s photographs. If any of these are of potential interest I’d be happy to send more information and to discuss it with you in more detail.
Nick Grant
Commissioning Editor, Local History
Amberley Publishing Ltd,The Hill, Stroud, Gloucestershire GL5 4EP
Tel: 01453 847810
Fax: 01453 847820
……………………………………………………………………………… …………………….
This Worcestershire Historical Society Prize for Worcestershire History
The Worcestershire Historical Society is to award a prize of £100 for the best essay on Worcestershire history in 2017. Any aspect of the history of the county or diocese of Worcester can be covered or places within their boundaries.
The terms of the prize are that the essay should normally be of about 10,000 to 12,000 words and should be based on research, and should not have been published. The essay might have been submitted as a dissertation as part of a degree, but might also have been written by a local historian unconnected with a university.
Queries about the choice of subject and procedure for entry can be addressed to Professor Christopher Dyer, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The essays should be submitted by 31 December 2017 in paper form to the Worcestershire Historical Society, The Hive, Sawmill Walk, The Butts, Worcester WR1 3PB and in electronic form to Mrs Sue Redding at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
……………………………………………………………………………… …………………….
Manorial Document Register
Worcestershire Archives and Archaeology Service has recently completed a project, funded by the National Archives, to update, correct and computerise the Manorial Documents Register for Worcestershire and Herefordshire.
The Manorial Documents Register is the official register of manorial documents for England and Wales, containing information about the nature and location of surviving documents. Begun in the 1920s, The National Archives now runs a long-term project to computerise it on a county-by-county basis. This means that more details and accurate information about these fascinating and underused documents will be available to a much wider audience.
Worcestershire is now available online and Herefordshire will be available later this year.
To search the database, go to The National Archives' Manorial Documents Register website: http://discovery. nationalarchives.gov.uk/manor- search. Information on the background of the Register, and how to locate and use manorial documents, is also available on the website.
……………………………………………………………………………… …………………….
Best wishes
Ruth Casemore, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Meeting Report - June 2017
At the meeting of the Romsley and Hunnington History Society on 27th June, Tim Bridges, the Conservation Advisor to the Victorian Society, gave a talk on Victorian and Edwardian Buildings in Birmingham and the Black Country. He illustrated his talk with a beautiful collection of slides, which I’m sure reminded many people of Birmingham after the war, with its wealth of impressive old buildings.
The city began as a small market town, but after the canals were introduced in the 18th century, and the railways in the 19th century, it became an industrial centre, with raw materials coming into the area and manufactured goods being distributed all over the country. Birmingham began to grow, and with new materials becoming available, architects were inspired to build grand buildings, in many different styles, which showed the skill and craftsmanship of the builders of that era. The Civic Buildings were built with pride and meant to be admired. However, after the war, much rebuilding took place, and it was felt that Birmingham should have modern shops and offices. Many of the old buildings, which were built to last and still in use, were demolished. It was only afterwards that people realised that they were part of our heritage and should have been preserved.
The old Central Library, where you studied in splendour, has been replaced twice in recent years, amid much controversy over the latest building. On the other hand, the Grand Hotel has been restored and refurbished in keeping with the period, as these old buildings were built solidly and the workmanship was second to none. Tim Bridges gave a very enlightening talk, stressing that the emphasis should be on preservation and not demolition.
Wednesday 13th September will be a very important day for the Society. Julian Hunt’s book on the Court Rolls is due to be released and to celebrate everyone is invited to the Church Hall, between 2-5pm, for tea and cakes.
The next meeting will be on Tuesday 26th September at 7.30pm, in the Church Hall, when Paul Harding and Helen Lee will give a talk on, “Medieval Medicine and Surgery.” Paul’s talks are usually vividly dramatised and are always fascinating. Why not come along and see for yourself?
Pat Evans.
Meeting Report - September 2017
On Tuesday 26th September, Paul Harding and Helen Lee gave a fascinating talk to Romsley and Hunnington History Society on Medieval Medicine and Surgery. Paul, dressed as a Medieval Surgeon, complete with a blooded apron, explained, with his tongue in cheek humour, that the dirtier the clothes and instruments the more experienced and therefore the more qualified the surgeon! Hygiene was not a priority in medieval times!
If you were ill in those days the first place you visited was the Church, where prayers and faith were put to the test. Superstition too played a part and a visit to the Wise Woman of the village, with her charms to protect you from the plague, a dead man's shirt to cure a chest infection, or a dead mouse to cure an earache might be just what you needed! However, Wise Women were becoming rare as they were being eradicated as witches! Knowing your birth sign might have helped to make a diagnosis, as ancient charts showed that each sign of the Zodiac was afflicted by a certain weakness. Paul Share, a Capricorn, confirmed that he definitely had trouble with his knees!
Perhaps a visit to the Apothecary might have helped. He could cure but not diagnose. With a selection of plants and herbs, weighed on his scales, potions were made up to cure various ailments. Willow bark was used and we still use part of the willow, in the form of asprin, as a pain killer today. The Physician was the next person who might help. He looked into the inner man, analysing urine samples and blood letting with gruesome instruments, although they had hardly any knowledge of the circulatory system! He was also good at getting rid of the Tooth Worm, which ate into your teeth, thought to be caused by eating too much sugar,
Finally, when your illness became so bad that you were beyond caring, you would visit the Barber Surgeon. Paul showed us an array of surgical knives and saws, all faithful replicas of the originals, made for him by a blacksmith. There were curved knives for amputating arms and legs, and specially made pincers for extracting arrows. The patient sat in the dreaded Barber's Chair, held down by burly men, and without anaesthetic, the surgeon would cut off the offending limb. Remarkably, many of the unfortunate recipients recovered after their awful experience.
Thank goodness our health is in safer hands now and maybe the N.H.S. is not so bad after all! Paul looked at a different aspect of history and presented it in a very in a very entertaining and enjoyable way, much appreciated by members of the Society.
The next meeting of the History Society will be on Tuesday, 24th October, when Margaret Bradley will give a talk on, "The Cradley Women Chainmakers' Strike of 1910." The Court Rolls Group will meet on Wednesday 1st November at 2.30pm in the Church Hall.
Pat Evans
© Romsley & Hunnington History Society, 2013-2022. View our Privacy Policy.
Website by Writing the Past. For technical queries contact the Webmaster.
Some contents of this website are taken from the book Romsley and Hunnington, a Millennium History,
written by Joe Hunt and Julian Hunt and published by the Parish Councils of Romsley and Hunnington, in association with the RHHS.
Please respect the copyright of our work and do not reproduce any of the information published on this website without permission.