Fairford History Society Meetings
Bruce Hall, of the Cotswold Canals Trust took the audience on a 36-mile journey from the Severn to the Thames through the industrial area of the Stroudwater Navigation to the rural Thames and Severn Canal. The most important cargo was coal especially from the Forest of Dean which was needed to supply power to the mills of the Stroud Valley.
For more see: The Topics Page.
FHS’s first experiment of a morning meeting in February attracted a bumper turnout of over 80 members and visitors. This was an opportunity for the whole community to investigate the history of retail in Fairford.
Firstly, local postcard and photograph collector Edwin Cuss gave a presentation of images of former Fairford shops, which stimulated memories for many audience members. The images showed the High Street, London Street, Bridge Street and Milton Street at various times during the mid-20th century and this was also the route we would later take on our walk.
During the coffee break the room was abuzz with discussion. The interval also gave us a chance to look at the display of pictures, and town and carnival guides (containing adverts for local shops) from the Society’s archives. The Society’s Vice-President, David Perry, presented a large display of invoices for former businesses. Gloucester Archives also loaned a display of images relating to Herbert Hayes saddler’s shop in Back Lane.
After the interval we split into two groups respectively led by Edwin Cuss and knowledgeable volunteer Syd Flatman and went out for a walk around the town. We were favoured with good weather and the fact that the resurfacing works closed the road to traffic. The walk enabled us to see the locations of former shops and whilst the images in the earlier presentation had stimulated memories, the relaxed walk caused the memories to flood back.
With the evidence and memories recorded at this event we hope to be able to produce an archive of information on retail in Fairford by the community of the present for the community of the future.
Dave Walton, a volunteer at Cheltenham Museum and Art Gallery and a committed Arts and Craft enthusiast, entertained over fifty members and visitors at the meeting on November 18th with a highly informative and interesting talk about the life and work of Ernest Gimson, a
nd Ernest and Sidney Barnsley in the Cotswolds. They came to this area of Gloucestershire to escape from the industrial conurbatio
The War Memorial was designed by Ernest Gimsonns with which they were familiar and the rural Cotswolds were hugely influential on their designs.
The three men were all architects as well as craftsmen and designed their own houses in Sapperton as well as many other
buildings in the area. They employed many craftsmen and were able to use local expertise to aid them. Gimson carried out some decorative plasterwork at Upper Dorval House in Sapperton for Ernest Barnsley which was inspired by the C16 ceilings at Daneway house.
Eventually the partnership broke down, but they all continued to work in the area and there are many small local buildings which s
how examples of their influence.
Dave showed many pictures of their work, several examples of which are on show in Cheltenham Museum and Art Gallery. Unfortunately the Arts and Crafts Gallery has just closed for refurbishment, but FHS is planning a visit to Rodmarton Manor in the Spring for members. Ernest Barnsley designed the manor house which took over twenty years to complete Barnsley. The work at Rodmarton was continued after Ernest Barnsleys death in 1926 by his brother Sidney who died later the same year, and the project was then completed by Norman Jewson who was Ernest’s son-in -law. See Plan and signature below.
In 1919 Ernest Gimson designed Fairford’s War Memorial originally intended for the Market Place, he died suddenly a few weeks later. The work was supervised by Norman Jewson and the cross made in Fairford by Farmer Bros, stonemasons. It was dedicated in 1920.
Peter Waals, who worked closelyy with Ernest Gimson and carried on the workshops at Daneway after Gimson’s death and subsequently Hallidays Mill at Chalford, married a Fairford girl, Ruby Dora Bryan daughter of a Fairford draper in Fairford Church in 1903.
If you would like to learn more about the Arts and Crafts Movement in the Cotwolds, please see below:
http://gimson.leicester.gov.uk/
http://www.owlpen.com/gimson.shtml
http://www.barnsley-furniture.co.uk/superbasket/
Gimson and the Barnsleys by Mary Comino. Evans Bros. 1980
By chance I did rove by Norman Jewson.. Privately published. 3rd ed 1973
Cotswolds arts and craft architecture by Catherine Gordon. Phillimore 2009
The arts and crafts movement in the Cotswolds by Mary Greensted. Alan Sutton. 1996
On November 26th 1830 over one hundred agricultural workers stormed through Fairford with the intent to destroy ‘thrashing machines’. At workshops of John Savory and Richard Rose they caused about £85 worth of damage each and a chaff-cutting machine worth £3 was destroyed at the home of Joseph Jenkyns. Seventeen men were arrested and four of them were later sentenced to transportation to Australia. Similar events had been happening throughout neighbouring counties and on up to Norfolk. The government, after initially ignoring the events, decided to act quickly and rioters were tried and convicted all within the space of six months. The events were called the ‘Swing Riots’ as threatening letters signed by a fictitious ‘Captain Swing’ had been sent to the owners of thrashing machines. At this time most southern English agricultural workers were suffering from serious hardship; they were poorly paid, the cost of bread and rents were high, there had been two poor harvests, and increasing mechanisation reduced the amount of paid work available, particularly threshing which was the main task during the winter. This drove the men to this action.
Those that could be identified during the riot in Fairford were arrested and charged. Three men from Fairford were sentenced to seven years transportation: John Mitchell, Robert Cowley and Christopher Ponting, a fourth, Isaac Boulton, was also convicted but his sentence commuted.
Jill Chambers, the author of a series of county-based books who has been studying the subject for 25 years, gave an extremely interesting and informative account of the wider picture and the specific events in Fairford – see her website www.swingriotsriotersblacksheepsearch.com for further details and her book Gloucestershire Machine Breakers, a new edition of which is coming out soon.
FHS were very pleased to welcome two great-great-grandchildren of Christopher Ponting who made a special visit from Sussex to attend this meeting and afterwards presented FHS with a copy of the Ponting Family Tree.
At the AGM on June 17th the Committee was elected as previously. Doug Newton gave an interesting talk. He was part of the Concorde Flight Testing team at RAF Fairford and is now the mainstay of the Concorde Association. Members enjoyed information from ‘behind the scenes’ and nostalgic photographs of a triumph of British engineering. The short film at the end of the talk was especially enjoyable as a reminiscence of the world’s most aesthetic aircraft.
At the February meeting Jude Barrett, an Education Officer from Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, talked to the society about their £61 million redevelopment project. The presentation covered a brief history of the museum and details of the refurbishment and also illuminated some of the highlights of their collections and the new ways in which they are presented.
The museum was first opened in 1683 to house the collection of Elias Ashmole, which consisted of his own original acquisitions and those of John Tradescant and son of the same name. The collection grew with additions from many sources until it was split in the late-19th Century with art and antiquities remaining in the Ashmolean on its present site.
Historically, the fabric of the museum and the things in it was shaped by Ashmole’s bequest and subsequent donations. However, the refurbishment has allowed the museum to be reshaped to fit the new display strategy of ‘Crossing Cultures, Crossing Time’. To achieve this, exhibits on the lower ground floor illustrate objects and activities common to different cultures. Following this the ground floor represents the Ancient World of Europe, China and North Africa. The first floor illustrates Asian Crossroads: Eastern Art, artifacts from India, the Islamic Middle East and the Mediterranean area. The second floor explores the topic West meets East, including European ceramics, Renaissance and Baroque art, more items from Japan and China and the ‘England 400–1600’ room where some of the items excavated from Fairford’s Anglo-Saxon Cemetery are displayed. The third floor houses modern art.
The museum’s frontispiece, the Cockerell Building built in 1845, and which also houses the University’s Modern Languages Faculty (the Taylorian), has not been replaced. A new building designed by architect Rick Mather has replaced other buildings added piecemeal over the museum’s long history. Excavation of the site allowed the basement level area to expand and, with the new building works completed, the floor space of the museum has greatly increased.
The redevelopment provided an opportunity for the site to be examined by Oxford Archaeology who uncovered some medieval pottery and waste pits. The refurbishment began in 2004 with museum items being placed in storage, which has provided an opportunity for conservation work to take place. Internal and external demolition followed from 2006 leading to the Museum’s ten-month closure before reopening in November 2009. Jude’s presentation highlighted the difficulties of construction and access in a city centre site. She also spoke about the new state-of-the-art environmentally controlled display cabinets designed to aid the conservation of exhibits.
The speaker’s highlights of the museum included:
the clay pithos with octopus design excavated from Knossos, Crete;
Powhatan’s Mantle, a deerskin decorated with shells that belonged to the father of Pocahontas; an early Cycladic figurine thought to be a votive offering;
Paolo Uccello’s Hunt in the forest an early renaissance painting demonstrating the use of perspective.
The speaker also brought replicas of Anglo-Saxon items the Alfred Jewel and the Cuddesdon Bowl which were passed around the room. The Museum anticipates the opening of study rooms with accessible storage of items, such as those from Fairford, that are not on general display.
The presentation was very informative and whetted the appetite of those in the audience for a trip to Oxford.
Further information
Ashmolean
Ashmolean – wikipedia
During a fascinating talk Anna Morris explained the role and work of Gloucestershire Archaeology’s Sites and Monuments Record which seeks to create and develop a comprehensive record of all archaeology within the County, including sites of finds.
The SMR currently consists of a large and very sophisticated database of about 30,000 individual records of sites and artefacts dating from the Palaeolithic period right up until World War Two. This information can be searched and presented in a variety of ways including plotting on large and small scale maps. In this way all archaeological finds in a specific area or all examples of a specific type of monument found throughout the entire county can be displayed.
Gloucestershire Archaeology has close links with other organisations and is currently working with the English Heritage Aerial Survey Team on several National Mapping Programme (NMP) projects, mapping and recording archaeological features shown on aerial photographs and also two major surveys: the Severn Estuary Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment and a survey of the Forest of Dean. The latter survey is being conducted using the newly-developed LiDAR technology which enables accurate aerial images of the ground surfaces to be produced despite dense vegetation that would normally preclude such a result.
Anna gave examples of the ways in which Gloucestershire Archaeology can assist individuals and local societies and it is expected that FHS will take advantage of this offer.
About 60 members and visitors gathered to hear Alicja Swiatek Christofides talk about the Polish Hostel in Fairford. Alicja was born in the camp and lived there until 1955. Alicja explained how and why the Polish exiles had come to this country after the Second World War and had been housed in the former
US Army Hospital at Fairford Park north of the town. Alicja feels very strongly that this part of Polish and Fairford history should be recorded and was instrumental in getting the plaque to commemorate the Hostel placed at the Pitham Path entrance on Leafield Road. About 200 people attended this event in May and because of the contacts made before and during the event much information has been gleaned about what life was like in the camp. Alicja showed a selection of photographs, the chapel with its ornate frontage, the ‘baraki’ and their gardens, and how the Polish people adapted to their life in their new surroundings. This was a safe, welcoming place compared with their terrible experiences previously. Eventually the lease on the land at Fairford Park expired and many of the Community moved to Swindon or to other parts of the country and even abroad.
To find out more about Fairford Hostel and the other seven camps in Gloucestershire visit www.polishresettlementcampsintheuk.co.uk.
About 40 members attended the 5th AGM of the Society. The Chair, Geoff Hawkes reported that it had been an interesting and successful year, the topics covered have been:- Fairford, Manitoba; The Retreat, with a small group visiting Coln House School as a follow up; Son et Lumière Reminiscence evening was an extra meeting and was enjoyed by everyone; a speaker from the Corinium Museum with a follow up visit to the Northleach Reserve collection which was fascinating; and another extra event, the Polish plaque unveiling which over 200 people attended.
In the coming year, Alicja Christofides is talking about the Polish Hostel; Gloucestershire Archaeology will be talking about the historic sites and monuments of the county, and in February a speaker from the Ashmolean Museum which is having a grand refurbishment and re-opening in the Autumn of 2009 – finds from the Fairford Anglo-Saxon graves were deposited in the Ashmolean during the 19th century.
There has been a lot of work on oral history recordings, Geoff Bishop spoke at the AGM last year and interviewed people who took part in the Son et Lumière and his project at the moment is the 2007 floods.
A high standard of publications has been produced, the most recent ones being the Oldisworths, Richard Green and the St Mary’s Tomb Trail. Further topics will include the Tracys of Fairford and the 1830 Swing Riots.
Several artefacts have been deposited in the Archive Room including the Fairford Silver Band big bass drum and paperwork and photographs. Thanks to Rob Winney who has contributed several items.
Last year it was predicted that subscriptions would have to rise. There is a service charge for running the Archive Room and various other financial commitments, so it was put to the meeting that the subscription should be raised to £5. The Treasurer’s report was approved.
The Chair then thanked all the Committee for their hard work and especially Brian Routledge as outgoing vice-chair who was a given a token of appreciation; Gill Compton for her first year as treasurer and Chris Hobson for his work on publications and the rest of the Committee. Ian Westlake has agreed to be vice-chair and Rob Winney has offered to be on the Committee. The Committee members were duly elected as follows:-
Geoff Hawkes as Chairman, Ian Westlake Vice-Chair, Alison Hobson Secretary, Gill Compton treasurer, Margaret Bishop FCC representative, Maurice Jones FTC, John Read, Chris Hobson and Rob Winney.
After the business meeting Edwin Cuss gave an illustrated talk titled ‘Along the main road through Fairford’. He started off from Waiten Hill showing rare pictures of Fairford Brick and Tile works and on eastwards towards Lechlade. Old shops no longer in existence were shown including Mr Cuss’ tea room which was a stopping off point for cyclists, the garages, the Infant School and the Vicarage before it became Hyperion House. Edwin’s knowledgeable commentary kept everyone absorbed in this wonderful collection of pictures.
Read about The Edwin Cuss Collection.
At the February meeting Emma Stuart, Outreach Officer of the Corinium Museum, gave an illustrated talk on the artefacts found at the Thornhill Farm and Claydon Pike archaeological digs in the 1980s. Most of the finds shown were made of copper alloy, Emma explained that metal artefacts were the first ones to be stabilised and conserved and there were still 123 boxes of pottery and shards from the digs awaiting attention at the Museum’s Reserve Collection at Northleach. Although the finds from Thornhill Farm appear to have been of lesser quality it was because they had been less well conserved.
Thornhill Farm predated – Middle Iron Age to Early Roman – but was also concurrent with Claydon Pike, both settlements seemed to have been worked as cattle ranches. The Farm items displayed ranged from tiny silver Dobunnic coins (the Dobunni were one of the few Iron Age people to use coins) to hair pins and brooches.
The items from Claydon Pike – Late Iron Age to 5th Century ranged from brooches, rings, coins, belt fastenings, and a Roman key and votive offering showing that there must have been a shrine there. Some of the jewellery was beautifully enamelled. There was some interesting jet jewellery which only comes from the north of England showing that there must have been travel and trade across the country.
The different types of tile classified also gave an overall impression of what the buildings may have looked like.
Emma also bought some items from the collection which fascinated members, including a tiny silver coin and a knife or shears.
Taken with Butler’s Field and the recently excavated Horcott Quarry site it is possible to build up a picture of what life like may have been like in this area from the Iron Age to Anglo Saxon era. Each excavation gives more valuable information to the archaeologists.
Roman coin depicting Emperor Valentinian (364-375AD)- Claydon Pike
