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  • 18th June 2015
Battle of Waterloo 200th Anniversary

Today is the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo and we’ve been looking for documents and sources relating to the famous battle within our collections here at Worcestershire Archives. Here is the story as it was told in the Worcester Herald of 24 June 1815. In the days before TV and radio this was...

  • 15th June 2015
Seeking Liberty and Justice in Medieval Worcestershire: the Magna Carta Connection

To commemorate the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta, and the 750th anniversary of the Simon de Montfort parliament, we have put together a display of original 13th-century documents on level 2 of The Hive.  This complements the Magna Carta and Parliament exhibition on our Touch Table, which features images from the Parliamentary Archives. For those...

  • 12th June 2015
Worcester and the Black Pear

Worcester and Worcestershire have been associated with the Black Pear for many years, and they can be seen on coats of arms for various organisations such as the County Council and the County Cricket Club. It is said that Worcestershire soldiers had them on their banner at Agincourt, and there is a story that Elizabeth...

  • 27th May 2015
Remembering the Dunkirk Evacuations

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkirk.  The operation, codenamed ‘Operation Dynamo’ which took place between 27 May and 4 June 1940, is one of the most celebrated military events in British history.  The German and Allied armies had faced each other across the Franco German border for...

  • 8th May 2015
Remembering VE Day

VE Day party held in the paddock at the rear of Landsdowne, Port Street, Evesham, 1945.  Photograph from Worcestershire Photographic Survey courtesy of Mr Perkins of Evesham. The end of World War II in Europe had been on the cards from the beginning of 1945 following a series of surrenders by the German Army.  So...

  • 5th May 2015
A hidden treat found in the Palfrey Library

One of the volumes held in the Palfrey Library has been found to have a charming painting hidden on its fore-edge. The volume, entitled ‘An Address to Persons of Quality and Estate’ by Robert Nelson, dated 1715, includes a fore-edge painting showing a view of Worcester cathedral from the river. The painting is revealed by...

  • 28th April 2015
Upcoming Exploring Archives workshop: Worcester Royal Infirmary

Worcester Royal Infirmary is the focus the last in the present series of Exploring Archives workshops on Tuesday 19th May. Like the rest of the series, we’ll be looking at original records and documents within the archives to highlight what is available, how it could be useful to you, and how to search the collections....

  • 16th April 2015
Secret Spines of the Stuart Collection

Alongside my work of conserving the Archive collections within the Worcestershire Archive and Archaeology Service, I am also responsible for conserving the Stuart Collection for the Libraries and Learning Service.  Housed within the glass cabinets on level 4 of The Hive, the Stuart Collection consists of approximately 2000 volumes relating to the Civil War and...

  • 2nd March 2015
Explore Maps workshop at The Hive

All good adventures begin with a map, or so goes the saying. Certainly lots of research here has been fuelled by maps and plans. As visual documents they draw you in, and contain lots of valuable information. For instance the other week Rob, our Community Archaeologist, came across the fields Near Piesland and Big Piesland...