Posts from
- 2nd August 2016
Lending an Ear is an Arts Council audio arts project looking at using sound in art in Worcestershire Libraries, inspired by the unique locality each library is in. It was been a really exciting project, and fascinating to see how each artist approached the task, and the different groups of library users who took part,...
- 29th July 2016
The 1st July was the 100th anniversary of the start of the Battle of the Somme. This significant historical event was marked in many ways across the country. Here in Worcester there was a vigil at 7:30am, the time the first soldiers went ‘over the top’, and in the afternoon there was a service at...
- 4th July 2016
Worcestershire Archive Service holds a substantial collection of records from the Bromsgrove Guild – a collective of talented craftsmen who came from all over the world. Walter Gilbert, a talented artist in design and decorative works, worked as the art master at Rugby Technical School. In 1898 he became headmaster of Bromsgrove School of Art and...
- 29th June 2016
Lavinia Talbot kept a diary from her teenage years right through to old age. The diaries provide a unique window on her daily life, thoughts and feelings from the mid 1860s through to the 1930s. In particular Lavinia recorded her observations on the conduct of the First World War. She had three sons serving in...
- 13th June 2016
Worcestershire Archive and Archaeology Service is taking part in a very exciting regional project called Strong Rooms, linking archives with arts. Inspired by the name of the rooms in which archives are stored, Strong Rooms is a collaboration in which artists, youth groups and archivists work together to produce art which will be taken on...
- 11th June 2016
People stealing acorns, roads needing repairs and families being removed from one parish to another are among the many stories contained within Quarter Sessions. The Quarter Sessions were both a court and a forerunner of the county council. Middling crimes which didn’t carry the death penalty were heard before it, and various county issues such...
- 7th June 2016
The hammer pounded down once again bringing about a satisfying crack as more of the debris collapsed into the hole. “Stand back” someone called over the crowd, maybe with fear for their safety or just a hope for a better view. With a last final hit a large piece of the floor fell away leaving...
- 1st June 2016
It is 90 years since Britain’s only General Strike, an event referred to in a number of archive collections held here at Worcestershire Archive Service and in the local newspapers. The strike began with the coal miners before spreading to other sectors, but only lasted nine days. Within the West Mercia Police archive (BA13870),...
- 27th May 2016
What are Descriptive registers? Descriptive registers give information on a police officer’s period of service. The registers can include information on previous public service such as time with another police force or in the armed services, together with pay rates and the stations in which they worked. Details of promotions, transfers and reasons for leaving...
- 3rd May 2016
A building survey of a fairly ordinary 19th century brick stable block in the west of Worcestershire uncovered a peculiar set of objects. Nailed above the lintel to the entrance way was a pair of mammalian skeletal feet above an iron horseshoe. Plate 1 Horseshoe and paws nailed above a stable doorway (©WCC 2015) A...