Latest news

This week our Learning and Outreach Manager, Paul Hudson, has chosen one of our more popular archive sources – the Quarter Sessions records – as his treasure. Here he tells us more about a particular story that caught his attention: In April 1802 Ann Williams, Mary Priddy and Ann Collins were brought before the Worcestershire...

This week’s Treasure has been chosen by Tom Rogers, Archaeological Project Manager. Here he explains more about Bayton Colliery and its history In the corner of a pasture field near the pretty village of Bayton, four low, concrete pillars stand, overgrown by hawthorn and used by cows for shelter. It would be easy to walk past without a glance or...

This week’s Treasure is a letter which forms part of the archives of the Bomford family of Atch Lench [Church Lench]. The Bomfords are a well-established land-owning family in Worcestershire. They are perhaps most well known for their part in the development of farming technology through Bomford & Evershed ltd. This letter illustrates another side...

July sees the annual Festival of British archaeology, and we are putting on two special events as part of this: Behind the Scenes Tour – Wed 16 July, 2:30-4:00pm We have another opportunity to take you behind the scenes to see places you don’t normally get to see here in The Hive and find out...

Due to strike action it will not be possible for customers to access original documents on Thursday, 10th July 2014.  However all other services at The Hive are open as usual, from 8.30 am to 10.00 pm, including  all archive self-service resources. If you were planning a visit on the 10th  and are not familiar...

This week’s Treasure is a roof finial which has been selected by Laura Griffin, Senior Finds Archaeologist. The item is a rare example of decoration that would have been found on high status houses hundreds of years ago. Here, Laura tells us more: These two ceramic heads were originally from a single object called a ‘roof...

This week Emily Hathaway, Historic Environment Countryside Assistant, has chosen Worcestershire’s field barns and outfarms as her Treasure: The significance of field barns and outfarms in the Yorkshire Dales and Derbyshire is well recognised; you may not, however, automatically associate Worcestershire with these often humble but highly distinctive buildings. Field barns and outfarms are farm...

This month, in order to set the documents covered by the Manorial Documents Register project in context, we will look at what a manor looked like in the landscape.  This is a really brief overview, but if you wish to find out more, lots of exciting work has been done by archaeologists and historians—please do...

This week Mike Glyde, Historic Environment Planning Officer, has chosen to highlight how Worcestershire’s crop marks can reveal the history buried beneath us: As a general rule, most archaeological remains lie buried and unseen beneath our feet.  It is hidden from view, passing away the decades, slowly fading away. But the past is not always...

Worcestershire Archive and Archaeology Service has been commissioned by English Heritage to undertake a project aimed at appraising the impact of flooding and flood mitigation on the county’s distinctive and rich historic environment and landscape character. Worcestershire is particularly vulnerable to riverine and rainwater flooding with large areas of the countryside, including numerous historic towns...