Due to the on-going Coronavirus outbreak and given that the venue may be unavailable in any case, we have cancelled our March and April meetings.
Hopefully the speakers can be rescheduled for later in the year and any necessary business can be conducted by the committee in the meantime.
At our February meeting we were treated to a detailed and fascinating history of the Whitgreave family of Moseley Old Hall by a team of National Trust volunteers.
They have clearly left no stone unturned in their meticulous study of the various lines of descent, ranging from the generation who aided the future King Charles II right down to the present day. They outlined their primary sources, which give a unique glimpse into the lives of various family members, and how those sources were checked against others for discrepancies.
The talk included a brief description of the Prince's escape and how those who helped him were rewarded in very different ways. An exhibition of photographs of both the Hall and the later family home, Moseley Court accompanied portraits, coats of arms and copies of old documents to complete an interesting and enjoyable evening.
Our report covering last summer's search for the lost market hall at
Albrighton has just been published. The dig uncovered what was probably
traces of one of the market hall pillars and a cobbled surface, while
our finds included slate-markers, buttons, glass and coins. You can
download the final document from our Reports page.
Image copyright Historic England
With the prospect of learning about an Iron Age hill-fort almost on our doorstep, it's not surprising that attendance at out January meeting was very good. Better yet, the Chase Through Time project team also touched on their work in uncovering the secrets of the military training camps and ancient burnt mounds on the Chase. All in all it was an interesting and informative presentation followed by a question and answer session and the chance for members to chat informally with the group afterwards. The meeting has also served to create a bond between our groups which will surely be to our mutual benefit in the future.
We will be making a field trip to the hill-fort for a guided tour by the CTT team within the next couple of months - before the bracken takes hold in the spring! Details will appear on the events page shortly. The trip will be tailored to the needs of all members so please come along, regardless of the history and archaeology, the views are fantastic!
The following links provide greater detail of the team's various projects in conjunction with Historic England:
Chase Through Time Project Report
Chase Through Time Interactive Online Mapping
Chase Through Time Archival Research Report
Historic England Sheepwash Farm Report
Historic England Castle Ring Report
Our November meeting was taken up with summaries of projects that were either completed during the year or are still in progress. In fact, we had so much to discuss that there was insufficient time to cover some of the digs and research we'd carried out.
As well as further work on three of the projects mentioned above, we have an on-going scheme at Wrottesley and a second survey and dig planned at another site near Coven - next year promises to be at least as busy as 2019!
Wolverhampton Archives promised a bigger and better local history fair than in any previous year and they managed to make good on their pledge. The fair was ranged over two floors of the former Molineux Hotel and every room was packed with visitors despite the poor morning weather. Exhibitors included numerous local and family history groups displaying an enormous range of photographs and other material related to Wolverhampton and the surrounding areas. We welcomed many people to our stand and expect to take on several new members to help with upcoming projects.
Here's a short video showing our archaeology display at Himley Hall, near Dudley.
On Saturday 5th October we managed to exhibit at not one but two shows simultaneously! Our main display was at Perton library while a second was held at Dudley Archives.
Our stands included details of our investigations at Oak House,
Albrighton, Wrottesley, Himley and other sites, with reports,
photographs and artefacts available for people to examine. In addition
to our own stand there were exhibits from many other history related
organisations, including local museums, genealogy groups and those
representing National Trust properties
Visitors were treated to a diverse range of stands, where they could see military items, old toys, a lace-making display, a selection of locally manufactured coffee mills, details of mining history and projects looking into the distant history of Cannock Chase. To complete the picture, several exhibitors were in period costume or military attire.
Apart from giving visitors plenty to look at, the fairs enabled us to renew old acquaintances and make new friends with like-minded organisations.
Hopefully, you'll find these links to other exhibitor's websites of interest:
The Chase Through Time Project