Romsley & Hunnington History Society -

Meetings Programme 2013-14

• Our meeting season for 2013/14 starts on 24th September when Mark Clifford, Project Officer at Avoncroft Museum, will talk to us on 'The Development of a Nailor's Cottage from the 1840s to 2013'.
• On 22nd October, Michael Hall has kindly agreed to update us on the Court Rolls project undertaken by Matt Tompkins, in 'What the Court Rolls Tell Us - A Progress Report'.
• On November 26, Julian Hunt will be giving us the Romsley story - 'The Newcomers - Moving to Romsley 1920-1975'. 
• There will be no meeting in January 2014 and a meeting has been added at the end of June instead.
• On 25th February Chris Upton is going to tell us about 'The Birmingham Priestley Riots of 1791'. In the 18th century Birmingham became notorious for rioting, apparently.  NEW: Read the Meeting Report
• Paul Harding and Helen Lee are coming back to see us on 25th March. This time their subject is what a Georgian Lifestyle was like. Helen tells me the talk will cover how they lived, lighting, cooking, new discoveries, newspapers and hot chocolate. NEW: Read the Meeting Report
• Emma Hancox, Archivist and Archaeologist from Worcester, will be giving us a talk on The Archaeology of Redditch New Town on 22nd April. Emma is the Historic Environment Policy and Advisory Manager for Worcestershire County Council and her main interest lies in the archaeology and history of north west Worcestershire. NEW: Read the Meeting Report
• Our AGM will be on the 27th May 2014 followed by Photographs of Halesowen in the 1960s by John and Brian Tromans. NEW: Read the Meeting Report
• The final talk of the season will be on 24th June: The English Civil War in Bewdley, Kidderminster & Worcester by Max Keen, dressed as a Civil War officer.  Meeting was postponed. Read the replacement meeting report on The Edwardian Age

Full details of our programme here.

Romsley St. Kenelm's School Centenary

The meeting of the Romsley and Hunnington History Society on Tuesday 23rd June was rather special. St. Kenelm's School, Romsley, has been on the same site for 100 years this year and of course the RHHS was delighted to celebrate such an important event. Thanks must go to Ruth Harper for all her hard work. She had asked former pupils, past and present members of staff and anyone who had worked at the school to contribute to the evening's entertainment, which was illustrated by a display of photographs, shown by Julian Hunt.

Mrs. Shackleton and her staff welcomed everyone to look around the school. The children acted as charming guides for the visitors, including many former head teachers and Mrs. Ruddick, the widow of Mr. Ruddick. The meeting took place in the school hall, which was as full as it could be. It was hard to realise that this hall was the entire school a 100 years ago, when it was built in 1915, and even harder to imagine that three classes worked in such a small area, although the pupils did go to the Church Hall for their dinners.

There were so many memories and reminiscences going back to the 1940s and beyond, read by the people who had actually attended the school. Gradually a picture of the development of the school evolved. As the school changed over the years it expanded to cope with the growing population of the village. Several extensions were added including inside toilets, and the ages of the children ranged from 5 years to 11 years. It even incorporated the pre-school playgroup in one of its classrooms, so children were coming into the school environment from the age of 3 years.

In the early days discipline was strict and the answer to all the problems seemed to be the cane! However, that didn't deter some mischievous children from getting into trouble. Even the Vicar's daughter, Ruth, in her revelations, revealed that she was no angel as a little girl and there was much laughter at the antics of the pupils and some of the teachers!

Now in 2015, there are over 200 pupils with 8 full-time teachers. Over the years there have been many changes and new challenges, especially in technology, but the school has maintained a wonderful atmosphere and is a really happy place to learn, in the heart of the village, in a caring community. Let us hope that the next 100 years will be equally successful!

The next meeting of the History Society will be on Tuesday, September 22nd. Everyone is welcome.

Pat Evans

Meeting Report - February 2017

There were 42 members present at the meeting of the Romsley and Hunnington History Society on Tuesday 28th February. This was the first meeting of 2017 and we welcomed the speaker, Derek Clarke, RIBA, AABC, a retired conservation architect. This was Derek's 4th visit to the Society and the subject of his talk was, "Repair Work at the Old Naval College in Greenwich.

For many years the Royal Navy had occupied the huge buildings at Greenwich, on the banks of the River Thames. They were designed by Christopher Wren and were built between 1701 and 1751. Over the years the wind and weather had taken their toll on the Portland Stone buildings and they were in a sorry state of repair. In 2002, Derek was commissioned to inspect, supervise and advise on the work needed to conserve and repair these ancient, Grade 1 Listed Buildings.

This was no easy task and as his stunning photographs show, he didn't always manage to keep his feet on the ground, as much of the work was high on the roof, replacing the lead and the rotting wood. Derek used a hoist, which took him up to inspect the dome and weathervane on the Queen Mary building, which was 120 to130 feet high. His breathtaking photographs showed a tiny River Thames, far, far below. He also had to climb up 14 vertical ladders to inspect the work which was needed. He always kept one vital tool in his pocket, a piece of chalk which he used to mark any part of the building which was the worse for wear.

The buildings were designed to use only Portland Stone but the cost proved to be too high so bricks were used in parts, bricks made in Birmingham! A composite material, instead of stone, was used for the statues on the Nelson Pediment. These had to be restored and in order to see the original drawings Derek was taken on a cloak and dagger rendezvous to a secret place in London, where they were stored!

Inside the beautiful Painted Hall, full of naval paintings, which was open to the public, work was needed on the rain water pipes. Scaffolding was erected but the powers that be deemed it unsightly, so the ever resourceful Derek purchased some material and made a huge curtain to hide it.

After 5 years, 3 building contractors and over 11 million pounds, the work was completed and the buildings at Greenwich were restored for future generations to admire.

Derek's photographs were spectacular and once again we had a most fascinating and interesting talk but we were left wondering how those builders of long ago managed to build the original buildings and face the many hazards involved, without the use of modern equipment.

The next meeting of the Society will be on Tuesday 28th March at 7.00pm in the Church Hall when the speaker will be Mike Pearson. He will give a talk on, "The Black Country in the Great War." And the meeting on the 25th April will be, "Richard III." by Max Keen. Everyone is welcome.

Pat Evans.