Romsley & Hunnington History Society -

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 - 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

Meeting Report - February 2014

The Birmingham Priestley Riots of 1791

RHHS Meeting February 2014

The Society's first speaker for 2014 was Dr. Chris Upton. Dr. Upton is Reader in Public History at Newman University, Birmingham, specialising in the history of the West Midlands region. St. Kenelm's Church Hall was full to hear his talk on The Birmingham Priestley Riots of 1791. In recent years Birmingham has been no stranger to riots but the circumstances of the riots at the end of the 18th century were rather unusual.

In 1789 the French Revolution had taken place and the citizens of this country were very worried for the well being of the Church of England and the Monarchy. There had been many changes in religion and politics at that time and Birmingham, a growing industrial town with its fair share of wealthy elite intellectuals with their new ideas, was as vulnerable as most.

Joseph Priestley, a Dissenter, scientist and philosopher came to Birmingham as a minister of the New Meeting House. He was a member of the Lunar Society along with Matthew Boulton and James Watt. Among other things Priestley was credited with discovering oxygen, however, it was his books and pamphlets advocating toleration and equal rights for religious dissenters that made him very unpopular with the down to earth Birmingham folk.

On 14th July 1791, the second anniversary of the storming of the Bastille, several supporters of the French Revolution decided to hold a dinner at a hotel in the centre of Birmingham. Word of this event soon spread and an angry mob attacked the hotel thinking that Joseph Priestley was inside. Priestley was elsewhere, so the rioters moved on to burn down the New Meeting House and then they attacked his house in Sparkbrook but not before they had consumed the contents of his cellar. During the next four days they then went on to burn down the homes of other Dissenters and very little was done to stop them. 

Joseph Priestley, wisely, decided to leave Birmingham and take his new ideas to America where he died in 1804. Birmingham recovered and in later years even erected a statue to him as founder of Unitarianism.

Chris Upton's talk was informative and entertaining, illustrated with many photographs which gave us an unusual glimpse of Birmingham's past.

Pat Evans

Romsley Court Rolls

Over the last few years, work has been underway to transcribe the rolls of the Manor Court, which existed in Romsley from medieval to modern times. The rolls from the 18th and 19th centuries are now complete and can be searched here. 

The rolls are in two parts, 1716-1811 and 1817-1872.

New Articles

We are continually expanding our resources on the history of the Romsley and Hunnington area. Our latest articles are:

• A History of Romsley's Schools, updated from an original article by Joe Hunt
• A History of Haleowen Gas Company, from an original paper by Eric Jackson
• A History of Halesowen Abbey, based on research by several Society members.

We have also added new photos to our Photo Gallery.