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  • 25th December 2016
Christmas in the Trenches in WWI

Letters home give an insight into the experiences of soldiers on the front line during WWI, including reflections on Christmas in the trenches. Some such letters were written by Rev John MacRae, Rector of All Saints Worcester, who volunteered as a chaplain and wrote back to his congregation to tell them about Christmas 1915 out...

  • 23rd December 2016
1870s Christmas Decorations

In the 1870s local newspaper used to have a write up of the Christmas decorations put up locally, including the local churches. Sadly we don’t have any photos of these decorations in the archives from this period, but the descriptions help us to image them. Christmas decorations had only recently come back into fashion, along...

  • 16th December 2016
Update on Clara Bauerle and the Bella in the wych elm story

Earlier in the year we posted a blog ‘Who put Bella in the wych elm‘ as part of our Monthly Mysteries series.  In it we hinted that the link with Clara Bauerle, the German singer and actress, was one which was still being actively explored.  We can now reveal that the researcher who was following...

  • 9th December 2016
Embroidering the Archives – more than books and paper

In September 1963, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London opened an exhibition entitled Opus Anglicanum which celebrated the international reputation that England had developed for during the 13th century for luxury handmade embroideries that were sought by Kings and Queens, Popes, Cardinals and Bishops across Europe. Included within the V&A exhibition was the Salwarpe...

  • 2nd December 2016
River Severn Frozen at Bewdley 1895

Wow. You loved this image of the River Severn frozen at Bewdley in 1895 (we’d misread it at first as 1898). It has been viewed over 35,000 times on Facebook, liked over 1500 times, shared over 300 times and received lots of comments. We’ve had a look to see what the newspapers said about this...

  • 25th November 2016
Explore Your Archive: An 1850 Stourbridge Circus

Philip Astley was credited with being the ‘father’ of the modern circus when he opened the first circus in 1768 in England . Early circuses were almost exclusively demonstrations of equestrian skills with a few other types of acts to link the horsemanship performances. Circus performances today are still held in a ring usually 13 m...

  • 25th November 2016
Charles R Davies, hairdresser – an update

On Twitter on Tuesday we showed an advert from 1869 for Charles R Davies at 80 High Street, Worcester. A few people asked whether we knew any more about him so we had a look. We have found very little. Checking the census the only match appears to be a Charles Rowland Davies born in...

  • 24th November 2016
Explore Your Archive: First Vehicle Registered in Worcestershire

After the 1903 Act, it became mandatory to register motor vehicles with the County Council or Borough in which the driver was resident. Each City and County, and some Boroughs were allocated registrations that consisted of one or two letters to which a number could be added. The first registration issued in Worcestershire was AB...

  • 24th November 2016
Thanksgiving Day

Happy Thanksgiving Day to all our American friends! The first Thanksgiving is said to have taken place in 1621, when 90 Native Americans and 53 Pilgrims, including two Worcestershire men, ate together at Plymouth Colony to celebrate a successful harvest. The event was described by Edward Winslow, one of the men who travelled on the...

  • 23rd November 2016
Explore Your Archive: A Day at the Archives

Our Learning and Outreach team have been busy giving a behind the scenes tour as part of Explore Your Archive week. For those not able to undertake the tour, here is an idea of some of the things that happen on a day at the archives Our Conservator has been working on some 1853 Quarter...