Archive

This week’s online resource is Heritage Gateway, which provides access to some of the data in the Historic Environment Record, and is a great website to have a search and browse about the county’s archaeological past. The Historic Environment Record database is the County of Worcestershire’s primary resource for archaeological and historic environment information. Although...

From Police Stations and Local Government Offices to Civic Centres and Post Offices – Public Architecture is generally designed to embody institutional values and responsibilities as well as pride in public services and more recently a greater sense of community and cohesion. From the grandiose to the more modest, this group of buildings reflects who...

Allotments are an everyday sight, but their story is worth a second look. Having expanded during the two world wars, their tale reflects the history of the county. As part of the 20th Century Heritage Project we dug deeper into the history of allotments, their development and current status.   Over the past two years...

Over the past two years Worcestershire’s Historic Environment Record has been working to identify, record and better understand the significance of 20th Century buildings and public places across the County. Many more await discovery and assessment! Funded by Historic England, this project has also aimed to strengthen the public’s awareness and appreciation of ‘everyday’ 20th...

Maps are always popular, partly because of how they look, but also the information they contain. Modern technology makes it easier to use that information, including being able to show it in pictorial form. This week’s online resource is the Worcestershire Maps website, which features Tithe maps from across the county digitised and put into...

The life and work of internationally acclaimed artist and sculptor Eduardo Paolozzi was celebrated on 7th March, on what would have been his 96th birthday. Born in Leith, Scotland to Italian parents, Paolozzi moved to England in the 1950s. Widely considered a pioneer of pop art, he was influenced by the principles of Surrealism and...

If you’ve driven in Kidderminster, you’re sure to have noticed the extensive concrete relief decorating the retaining wall from Worcester Cross to Worcester Road Ring Road. Kidderminster’s inner ring road was commissioned as a solution to relieve traffic congestion through the town centre. The project comprised five stages, or sections, of which four were eventually...

Thanks to grant funding from Historic England and the Vernacular Architecture Group (VAG) over 2000 slides and photographic negatives from the Charles Archive collection, have now been digitised. Like much of the original archive, recently catalogued and digitised by Worcestershire Archive & Archaeology Service, these slides will be deposited with the Archaeology Data Service (ADS), to...

We are very lucky in Worcestershire to have a diverse range of ‘Community Halls’ of different dates and character. Studying these small and rather unassuming buildings can better our understanding of communities and how they have changed. The majority of ‘Community Halls’ date from the mid-19th century onwards. Many early examples were constructed as reading...

The Charles Archive, held by Worcestershire Archive & Archaeology Service, contains thousands of individual sketches, drawings, photographs, plans, surveys and reports that relate to the c. 250 buildings, in Worcestershire, that Freddie, Mary and their team of architects, conserved and restored whilst they were in practice.   Thanks to grant funding from Historic England, the...