Romsley & Hunnington History Society -

Meeting Report - June 2014

Our Annual Dinner took place on Friday 13th June at Blakedown Golf Club. It was a lovely warm evening and after an enjoyable meal the speaker, Michael Hall, gave a very interesting talk. He pointed out that history is full of instances of one event leading to another and that facts and making connections go hand in hand. Julian Hunt, our President, responded and said that much of the work on the Wills and Court Rolls was concerned with uncovering facts and connecting them, to bring together a picture of Romsley and Hunnington in times gone by.

At the meeting on Tuesday 24th June, the proposed speaker, Max Keen, had to postpone his talk until January 27. We were very grateful to John Billingham who agreed to give a talk instead. His subject was "The Edwardian Age".

When Queen Victoria died in 1901 her son, Albert Edward, who was born in 1841, succeeded to the throne as Edward VII. The Edwardian era had begun. Edward was a playboy prince. He loved horse racing, shooting, the theatre and generally having a good time. Although he was married to Queen Alexandra at the age of 21, he also had a string of mistresses throughout his life. There were many changes to the country in Edwardian times, which is usually thought of as the period before the First World War. It was a time of great social divide, with poverty for the poor and a life of luxury for the rich. In the large country houses you either belonged to upstairs or downstairs. The wealthy landowners had many servants who all knew their place.

Life was hard for the working class. Wages were low and the men had to work long hours in agriculture, industry, the mines, or the mills. There were reforms in education and the school leaving age was raised from 10 to 12 years and secondary schools were introduced. Women began to realise that they could play a more important role in the country and the suffragette movement, campaigning for votes for women, was formed.

There were many inventions in transport, instead of horse drawn vehicles, motor cars became popular, but only for the rich! The first flights over the English Channel and the Atlantic Ocean were made by aeroplanes. There was also the disastrous sinking of the Titanic and the failure of Scott's expedition to the South Pole.

King Edward VII was related to many of the rulers and royalty of Europe and he tried to keep the peace between them. He died in 1910 and his morals were reflected in the fact that both his wife, the Queen, and his last mistress were present at his death bed! For good or bad the Edwardian era had ended.

Pat Evans

Meeting Report - Sept 2014

On Tuesday 23rd September, our Chairman, Paul Share, welcomed everyone to the 2014-2015 season of the Society and said that the outing to Wightwick Manor in July was enjoyed by all.

2014 is the 300th anniversary of the birth of William Shenstone. Julian Hunt, our President, and Andrew Maund of King's School, Worcester, gave a very interesting account of the life and works of our local poet.

In 1714 William was born at 'The Leasowes', Halesowen, on the slopes of Mucklow's Hill, the son of Thomas Shenstone and Ann Penn, daughter of William Penn of Harborough Hall. He grew up surrounded by woods, fields, hills and lakes and this environment had a great influence on his life. He was well educated and went to Oxford where he met many poets and the sons of rich and important people. He is known to have visited his friends and been impressed by their large houses and fine gardens.

Although not the richest of men, if you were a poet with an eye for landscape gardening, you were set to become a success in 18th century society! His first poems were published for his friends and reflected his love of nature and the beauty of the countryside. The language of his poems was descriptive and flowery, but many had a melancholy air. 'The Schoolmistress' and 'The Judgement of Hercules' received praise from other poets.

He wrote poems about his lady friends and he wrote many letters to Lady Luxborough, but he never married, perhaps because his greatest love was landscaping the gardens and grounds of The Leasowes, with walks, pools and cascades. It was thought to be one of the most beautiful gardens in England. William died in 1763 but the grounds of the Leasowes are still open to the public, even though their glory is rather faded.

The next meeting of the Society is on Tuesday 28th October at 7.30 p.m. in the Church Hall, when Andy Shepherd will be giving a talk on 'Guiding and Scouting in Romsley and Hunnington'. The Court Rolls group will be meeting on Wednesday 12th November and Wednesday 10th December at 2.30 p.m. in the Church Hall.

Pat Evans

Meeting Report - Oct 2014

On 28th October the Society had a well attended talk by Andy Shepherd, one of our members, on 'Scouting in Romsley and Hunnington'. It is always interesting to hear about local history and Andy, who has been Group Scout Leader for many years, didn't disappoint with his talk.

The worldwide Scout Movement was begun by Robert Baden Powell in 1907 when he published 'Aids to Scouting' and 'Scouting for Boys' setting out his ideas on 'Instruction in Good Citizenship'. In 1910 the Guides were formed and in 1916 the Wolf Cubs.

Scouting came to Romsley and Hunnington when the St. Kenelm's Scout Group was registered in 1937. They met in the Church Hall and later in the School. The group was led by Stanley Shaw and we were privileged to have May Wridgway, nee Shaw, one of the first Akelas, at our meeting. Her husband, John, ran the scouts both before and after the war and he encouraged them to go camping, even if it was only in a field at Shut Mill.

Unfortunately the group had to close in 1954 and was only started again in 1966 at the instigation of the Rev. David Copley. Twelve cubs and 14 scouts met for the first time in the school hall. One of those boys was Andy Shepherd and little did he realise what an important influence that meeting would have on the rest of his life!

By the 1970s there was a growing need for the scouts to have their own Headquarters. In 1976 a second hand hut was purchased and sited on the playing fields. In 1984 the first Beaver group was formed but by the 1990s the hut was looking tired and it was decided to try to raise £170,000 to build a new Scout Centre. After a lot of fund raising events in the village by the Group Scout Committee and a lot of hard work by Richard Taylor to secure a National Lottery Grant of £98,000, work began on the new Scout Centre, not a Scout Hut anymore! It was opened in September 1999 with facilities for the whole community.

The Scouts have always taken an active part in village events. In 1951 they had even planned a whole week of activities for the 'Festival of Britain'. In 2014 the Scout Group is still a flourishing village organization with 74 members still striving to be good citizens!

As with all history it is only when you look back that you appreciate what has been achieved. The youths of the villages of Romsley and Hunnington are indebted to Andy Shepherd and all the Scout Leaders, past and present, for their dedication to Scouting and for the important roll they have played in influencing their young lives for the better.

Pat Evans