Romsley & Hunnington History Society -

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Meeting Report - July 2018

On Tuesday 24th July, 45 members attended the last meeting of the season of the Romsley and Hunnington History Society. Max Keen was the speaker and his subject was, "The History of Dudley Castle, 1071 – 1933."

Max was welcomed with enthusiasm, but he found that he had a bit of a battle on his hands. Not only did he fight off all the attacks on the castle from the Normans to the Civil War, dressed in authentic armour with replica weapons, he also had to battle with the heat wave that had been with us for the last few days!

A visit to Dudley Castle will never be the same again after his vivid description of how the castle could be attacked. You needed a lot of courage and bravery to cross the moat, grapple with the drawbridge, dodge the portcullis and batter down the stout oak doors, while being bombarded with stones, rocks, boiling oil and water and arrows from crossbows. Life was not easy for a soldier in the days of old!

Over the years the castle had been owned by various wealthy families who had built on different parts, which made it one of the grandest castles in the land. In 1575 it even had a visit from the first Queen Elizabeth, when it was in the keeping of the Dudley family. Unfortunately by the time of the Civil War, Oliver Cromwell had his eye on the castle as it stood in a prime location, in the heart of the iron industry. His army fired cannons from Windmill Hill, which devastated parts of the castle and a huge fire in 1755 completed the destruction.

However the ruins that are still standing intrigue visitors and school children alike, and when Max hints that there might be ghosts, and unimaginable objects found at the bottom of a deep pit, Dudley Castle comes alive once again after centuries of neglect.

The talks Max gives are always full of historical facts, laced with amusing anecdotes, richly illustrated with excellent photographs, with an array of costumes and convincing weapons. The last talk of the season was truly local and thanks to Max, very memorable.

The next meeting will be on Tuesday, September 25th at 7.30pm in the Church Hall when John Billingham will be giving a talk on, "An Amble around Staffordshire." There will be a meeting of the Court Rolls Group on Wednesday 10th October at 2.30pm. in the Church Hall. Everyone is welcome.

Pat Evans

Meeting Report - June 2018

On Tuesday 26th June the speaker at the meeting of the Romsley and Hunnington History Society was the President, Julian Hunt. The subject of his talk was, "Mills on the Belne Brook, Belbroughton". Julian has been using Court Rolls, Wills and Inventories in his research, as well as maps and photographs which he used to illustrate his fascinating talk.

I'm sure most of us have travelled from Romsley to Chaddesley Corbett, past the picturesque pools by the side of the road, without realising what a great deal of history there was in that short journey, as all those pools, fed by the Belne Brook, had a very useful purpose as mill ponds. One of the oldest mills was Shut Mill, Romsley, which used the waterpower to grind corn.

There was a mill at Bell End and as the Belne approached Belbroughton the mills became more industrialised, as Belbroughton was the centre for scythe making from about 1564, as well as making knives and edge tools. These were sharpened at the many blade mills in the area. There were mills at Drayton and the mill at Chaddesley Corbett, was used for spinning wool for the carpet factories at Kidderminster.

Many of the mill owners such as Isaac Nash, the Waldron family, and the Galton Family, who were also gunmakers, were very wealthy and built large houses such as Bell Hall, Field House, Broome Hall, Springfield House, and Drayton House.

Although today, these villages have an air of peace and tranquillity, they were once a hive of industry in the heart of the countryside, and Julian's talk gave us a glimpse of that past life, of not so long ago, as they were still making scythes in 1970.

The next meeting of the society will be on Tuesday 24th July at 7.30pm in the Church Hall when Max Keen will give a talk on, "The History of Dudley Castle 1071-1933." Everyone is welcome.

Pat Evans

Meeting Report - May 2018

There were 45 people at the Annual General Meeting of the Romsley and Hunnington History Society on Tuesday 22nd May. Paul Share, the Chairman, reported that the Society had had a good year and had seen the book launch of, "The Court Rolls of Romsley 1279 – 1643", edited by Matthew Tomkins. The Secretary, Koviljka Riley said that member's support was good and the web site had been up graded. The Treasurer, Ruth Harper, reported that the bank balance was healthy and the subscriptions would remain at £6.00. Rob Andrews reported that we have an interesting and varied programme of talks for next year. All the committee members were willing to stand for another year.

After the formal part of the meeting we had a talk by Bob Greathead, who was influenced by his ancestor, James Henry Greathead, who built one of the first tunnels under the Thames. This followed on from the talk on, "Water from Wales", given by Paul Harrison in March. For many months we have seen a series of blue plastic pipes lying in the surrounding fields. Bob has been studying this enormous project by Severn Trent Water. This is not so much history as history in the making.

They are building a series of tunnels for a pipeline which takes water from the River Severn at Lickhill to the water treatment works at Frankley Reservoir. This can also be used as a back up water supply when needed. They are also building a Break Pressure Tank at Romsley. The whole project will cost £300 million. We could see from the stunning photographs that the engineering was awe inspiring and made full use of modern technology.

The language of engineers is rich and we heard about trenches, shafts, concrete, laser guides, hydraulic jacks, banana bolts and boring machines, which were remotely controlled by a modest looking console. The team of dedicated workers needed all of these to complete their work!

It is due to be finished in July and the scarred landscape returned to the countryside we know and love. The talk was unusual but gave us an insight into the world of engineering in our own locality.

The next meeting will be on Tuesday 26th June when our President, Julian Hunt, will give a talk on, "Mills in the Belbroughton Valley." The next meeting of the Court Rolls Group will be on Wednesday 13th June at 2.30pm, in the Church Hall. The last meeting on Tuesday 24th July, will be a talk by Max Keen on, "The History of Dudley Castle".

Everyone is welcome.

Pat Evans

Meeting Report - April 2018

There were about 60 members present at the meeting of the Romsley and Hunnington History Society on Tuesday, 24th April. The speaker was Max Keen and his subject was, "Alfred the Great, The Most Fortunate King." As usual Max entered into the spirit of his talk and the Church Hall was invaded by an awesome looking warrior complete with helmet, spear, sword and shield. As Max said, he could have been an Anglo Saxon or a Viking, but we were instantly transported back to the 800s AD.

King Alfred was born in 849, the 4th son of Aethelwulf, King of the Anglo Saxons. During his childhood he went to Rome and this experience influenced the rest of his life. Much of his time was spent defending his country against the marauding Vikings. Good fortune seemed to be with him throughout his life, with the help of storms, depleted Viking armies and the death of three of his brothers, against the odds he became King Alfred in 871.

His rule reflected his courage, his love of learning and culture, his sense of justice and his negotiating skills. He realised that the best defence was to fortify vulnerable towns and to build up the navy. In this way, he managed to save most parts of Anglo Saxon England from the Vikings. He became known as "Alfred the Great."

Max illustrated his talk with photographs and a fearsome arsenal of authentic weapons. When we were allowed to handle them we wondered how on earth the soldiers managed to fight, carrying all that weight! This all added colour to his fascinating talk. Perhaps Alfred's only bit of bad luck was when he burnt the cakes, which is what everyone remembers, but Max helped us to realise that Alfred's rule was one of the greatest of the early Kings of England.

The meeting on Tuesday 22nd of May will be the Annual General Meeting, followed by a talk by Bob Greathead about the work on the latest water pipeline now being installed in the surrounding area. There will be a meeting of the Court Rolls Group on Wednesday 13th June 2.30pm in the Church Hall. On Tuesday June 26th, Julian Hunt will give a talk on, "Mills in the Belbroughton Valley." The Annual Dinner will take place on 8th June and there will be an outing to Soho House on 5th July. On Tuesday24th July, at 7.30pm, in the Church Hall, we look forward to another visit by Max Keen who will give a talk on, "Dudley Castle. 1017 to 1933. Everyone is welcome.

Pat Evans