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
Meeting Report - February 2019
There were over 60 members present at the meeting of the Romsley and Hunnington History Society on Tuesday 26th February. The speaker was a swashbuckling Cavalier (alias Max Keen), who gave a talk on, "Prince Rupert of the Rhine, King Charles First's Pirate Prince." Max admitted that Prince Rupert was his favourite hero of all time and he gave a very enthusiastic talk, complete with dog, on a person, few of those present knew anything about.
Prince Rupert, nephew of King Charles the First, was born in Prague in 1619. His ambition was to be a soldier and from a young age he fought in Europe after spending his boyhood in Holland. He was a very self-willed, determined youth and when he came to England, proved himself to be a loyal Royalist and fought for his uncle, King Charles First, in the Civil War. However, although he was war wise his military tactics were questionable and he had mixed success in his battles.
One of his chief victories was in Worcestershire at Powick Bridge, where he defeated the Parliamentary Army. He knew the area well, visiting Stourbridge and Lye. He even took part in the burning to the ground of Birmingham, which was just beginning to evolve as an industrial centre.
He made a clever, dashing figure, and although he had mistresses, he never married but did have illegitimate children. He also had a deep affection for his large white poodle, Boy, who used to join him on the battle fields and eventually got shot.
In later years he became the Lord High Admiral to the King, sailing to Ireland, the West Indies and South Africa where he earned the nick name, King Charles's Pirate Prince. He became Governor of the Hudson Bay Company and had Rupert's Land named after him.
He also had many interests in Science and Art, and was said to have a charismatic personality. He died from pleurisy in 1682 and was buried in Westminster Abbey. His life was amazing and high powered. It was not difficult to see why this fascinating Stuart was Max's favourite hero and as ever, Max's performance and slides enthralled us throughout the evening.
The Annual Dinner will be held on June 7th and the next meeting of the Society will be on Tuesday 26th March at 7.30pm in the Church Hall, when Richard Simpson will give a talk on Edward Burne-Jones - His Life and Works. The meeting on Tuesday, 23rd of April is a talk by Mary Bodfish, Early Years in Soho. Everyone is welcome.
Pat Evans
Meeting Report - March 2019
There were 48 members present at the meeting of the Romsley and Hunnington History Society held on Tuesday 26th March. The speaker for the evening was Richard Simpson who gave a talk on, The Life and Works of Edward Burne-Jones.
Edward was born in Birmingham in 1833. His father was a mirror maker but sadly his mother died a few days after his birth. He went to King Edward's School, Birmingham. He loved reading and art but generally hated the rest of his school life. He went to Exeter College Oxford where he met William Morris and became involved with the Arts and Crafts movement known as the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Dante Gabriel Rossetti, another member, had a great influence on Burne-Jones, who became an artist whose romantic pictures were full of imaginative detail.
He married Georgiana MacDonald in 1860 but he also had a mistress, his model, Marcia Zambaco. He became an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1855. He designed tapestry and became well known as a designer of stained glass windows, many of which can be seen in St. Philip's Cathedral, Birmingham. There is also a window in St. Kenelm's Church, said to be of the style of Burne–Jones.
He was one of the most well-known artists of the 19th century and many of his works are proudly displayed in the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. He was made a Baronet in 1894, due to the influence of William Gladstone. He died in 1898. Richard Simpson illustrated his interesting talk with slides.
The Society's Annual Dinner will be held at Blakedown Golf Club on Friday June 7th. The next meeting of the History Society will be on Tuesday 23rd April at 7.30pm, in the Church Hall, when Mary Bodfish will give a talk on, "The Early Years of Soho." Everyone is welcome.
Pat Evans
Meeting Report - April 2019
There were 36 members present at the meeting of the Romsley and Hunnington History Society on Tuesday 23rd April. Mary Bodfish gave a talk on The Early Years of the Soho Foundry.
Last year we visited Soho House, the home of Matthew Boulton. Mary's talk was interesting as she told us the history of his factory and its production of steam engines and the partnership of the three great engineers, Matthew Boulton, James Watt and William Murdock.
In 1795 Matthew Boulton chose the site of the factory, on his land, near the mill at Hockley Brook, Handsworth. At first he made small metal goods and silverware but when he met James Watt and later William Murdock, the factory expanded making steam engines to pump water out of mines. The sons of Boulton and Watt worked at the foundry too, and it became world renowned, using the canals around Birmingham to transport the goods.
The employees were well cared for. Apprentices from Charity Schools were trained at the works and the workers were provided with homes, gardens and pig sties! The Foundry was eventually bought in 1895 by the Avery Company, and parts of the factory can still be seen today. Mary illustrated her talk with many fascinating photographs.
The History Society's Annual Outing on 11th September will be a guided tour of Historic Bromsgrove. There will be meetings of the Court Rolls Group on Wednesday 18th September and Wednesday 9th October. The Annual General Meeting will be held on Tuesday 28th May followed by Slides of Stourbridge, a talk by Julian Hunt. The meeting on the 25th June will be Remembering the Swinging 60's by Ray Sturdy. Everyone is welcome.
Pat Evans
Meeting Report - May 2019
There were 37 members present at the Annual General Meeting of the Romsley and Hunnington History Society on Tuesday 28th May. Paul Share, the Chairman, reported that the Society had had a good year and now had 60 members. Work on the Court Rolls, by members of the society, had continued throughout the year. The History Society had also held a very interesting exhibition celebrating 100 years Remembrance of the First World War.
There were now 60 members of the Society and the Financial Report was good. The annual subscription will remain at £6.00, with members paying £1.00 per meeting and visitors now paying £3.00. All the Committee Members were re-elected.
After the formal part of the meeting our President, Julian Hunt, gave a very enlightening talk on, "Stourbridge." Today Stourbridge is a very unremarkable town but Julian gave us a glimpse of Stourbridge in the 19th Century and beyond, when it was a very different place. Because of the natural resources it was the site of several industries, glass, iron, leather, linen and bricks as well as foundries and mines.
The owners became very wealthy and built grand houses for themselves as well as schools, hospitals and churches. In the High Street they built many expensive houses, inns, banks and a Town Hall and these can still be seen today, behind the facades of the present day shops. Stourbridge was a prosperous town, the focus of roads, canals, railways, from Dudley, Wolverhampton, Halesowen, Birmingham and the surrounding area.
Julian's photographs showed a thriving town with buildings and factories on a grand scale, which can hardly be imagined today. It was a very impressive talk. The next meeting of the Society will be on Tuesday 25th June at 7.30pm. in the Church Hall, when Ray Sturdy will be, "Remembering the Swinging 60's." The Annual Outing, "A Walking Tour of Bromsgrove." will be on Wednesday 11th September. The next Court Rolls Group will be on Wednesday 18th September.
Everyone is welcome
Pat Evans
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Some contents of this website are taken from the book Romsley and Hunnington, a Millennium History,
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