The Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society · The Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society Newsletter 82 March 2018 Established 21 April 1876 Registered Charity

The Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society

Newsletter 82 March 2018

Established 21 April 1876

www.bgas.org.uk

Registered Charity No. 202014

The path to hell is said to be paved with good intentions, and as Newsletter Editor I had better buy some thick-soled shoes. In last autumn’s issue I expressed the hope that a new format would be in place for this issue. Unfortunately, I was being over-optimistic. For the moment it will remain little changed. However, content is still more important than presentation, as you will see from the excellent items in this issue.

The Society may appear to be something of a swan, gliding effortlessly along the archaeological river dispensing books and arranging meetings for its members. However, like a swan, much effort must be expended beneath the surface by its officers to ensure the delivery of the volumes in the record series and the Transactions for which it is renowned. I’m sure that members will be interested to gain insight into these activities and therefore I intend to have a series of articles which reveal how the committees and officers perform their roles. As a first step, James Hodsdon, General Editor of the Record Series, has written an account of the tasks required over several years to produce the latest volume of the series.

Universities have been reducing the number of MA courses for graduate archaeologists wishing to advance their skills and thus their careers. A new institute is being established by the University of Wales in Swindon to fill this gap. Geraint Coles and Mark Horton describe the background to the institute and plans for the new facility.

I must highlight the Treasurer’s request to change members’ subscription standing orders. It is disappointing that Barclays Bank cannot organise its operations without requiring the Society’s members to perform this task, a task which results in no obvious benefit for members or the Society itself.

Finally, do please attend the Annual General Meeting on Saturday 6th April for which the papers are included with this newsletter. Apart from hearing a fascinating Presidential Address and socialising with other members, the meeting needs to be quorate for resolutions to be passed and officers elected. And as I have indicated above, without officers the Society stops ‘paddling’.

Jim Pimpernell

Please send any articles for the next newsletter to [email protected] by 1st August 2018

Editorial

Notices 2/3

Library Update 4/5

Book Review 6

The New Berkeley Archivist

7

Record Series Book Launch

8/9

The Gestation of Geast 10/11

The Presidents Meeting 12/13

The Heritage Hub 14/15

Future Events 16

Inside this issue:

Why is the General Editor of the Record Series looking so happy?

See pages 8-10.

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The Bristol & Gloucestershire Archaeological Society No. 82 March 2018

Past Presidents

Members may be aware of the recent deaths of two past presidents of the Society: Canon David Walker and Mr John Berkeley. Full obituaries will appear in the forthcoming volume of the Society’s Transactions.

Standing Order Subscriptions

Barclays Bank has changed the sort code for the Society’s main accounts. Instead of 20-13-42, it is now 20-13-67. Barclays says it will continue to recognise the old sort code until September 2018, but after that, the new code must be used. So Council would be grateful if members who pay by standing order would please amend their standing order to the new code.

If you bank online or by telephone, you may wish to amend your standing order by that method. If you prefer paper, a revised standing order form is enclosed with this Newsletter. Could you please either complete the form, send it to your bank, and tell the Society’s membership secretary that you have done so; or else complete the form and send it to her, and she will forward it to your bank.

Members who pay their subscriptions by bank standing order save the Society a considerable amount of money, and save the membership secretary and the treasurer a lot of time and work. About 80% of subscriptions are paid by bank standing order, vital to the Society’s income.

If you do not already pay by standing order but would like to do so, could you please use the standing order form enclosed with this Newsletter.

Email Alerts

The Newsletter provides details of future events of interest to its members. However, it is inevitable that some events occur following the production of one Newsletter and before the production of the next. The Society therefore provides an E-alert service to notify members of events and news of local historical and archaeological interest.

Latest alerts have covered The Gloucestershire Local History Day on 28th April, the latest newsletter from VCH Gloucestershire and SWFed Spring Forum: Together for Archaeology on 29th March 2018, at Bath Guildhall and The Roman Baths. To receive occasional emails about events and news go to the Society's website www.bgas.org.uk and on the home page click on Join our email list and then enter your name and email address on the form

Notices

Reviews Editor

Dr Alan Tyler has been the Society’s excellent reviews editor for several years. Now that he has moved to Shropshire, he feels that it is time to pass the baton on. This is an important role, as the reviews published in our newsletters and Transactions enable members to keep abreast of the latest publications. Reviews also provide authors and editors with useful, direct feedback on their efforts, while bringing their books to the attention of potential purchasers.

If you would be interested in finding out more about what is involved in being the reviews editor, please contact the General Secretary ([email protected]).

about:blank

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Retiring officers

Jan Broadway (Hon. General Secretary)

Jan grew up near High Wycombe and studied Medieval and Modern History at Birmingham University, graduating in 1983. The following year she trained as a software engineer at the University of Kent and spent a decade working on various real-time engineering projects, moving to Gloucestershire in 1985. She returned to Birmingham for her PhD on the development of local and family history writing in the Elizabethan and early Stuart period, which she completed in 1996. Jan has worked in research and ICT related roles at the universities of Glasgow, Wolverhampton and Birmingham. From 2002 to 2010 she was technical director of the Centre for Editing Lives and Letters at Queen Mary, University of London, working with the much-missed Professor Lisa Jardine.

Jan has published an expanded version of her thesis and a biography of the Warwickshire historian William Dugdale, as well as various articles and book chapters. Recently she has developed a particular interest in horticultural history. Jan has been involved with VCH Gloucestershire for several years, initially providing database support and latterly as co-ordinator. She is now engaged on the history of Cheltenham post-1945. Jan has been a member of B&GAS for many years and Honorary general secretary for the past three years.

John Stevens (Chairman of Council)

John comes from Dorchester, Dorset. He read Law at Downing College, Cambridge and served articles in private practice before qualifying as a Solicitor and working for thirty years in public service, administering Legal Aid under the aegis of firstly the Law Society, then the Legal Aid Board and latterly the Ministry of Justice. He now lectures part time in British and European history at Stoke Lodge Adult Education Centre.

He reviews regularly for the Transactions and contributed an article on the Catholic Crisis of1820-29 to the Society’s volume presented to Gerard Leighton in 2010. He is the author of Bristol Politics in the Age of Peel, 1832-47, published by Avon Local History and Archaeology, and is currently researching the Bristol Poll Books. He has been a member of BGAS for a number of years and has served as Chairman of Council for the past three years.

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Library Update

The library has now re-opened in the new Special Collections and Archives area at Delta Place, 27 Bath Road, Cheltenham, GL53 7TH. We have had a really positive response to the new space, which has ample room for researchers along with PC and photocopying facilities.

Although there is no parking on-site, there is a public car park (Bath Parade) opposite Delta Place and the building itself is located a short walk from local bus routes. The library is open to both B&GAS members and the public and appointments can be booked during our opening hours via:

[email protected] or 01242 714851

Monday 10am – 6pm

Tuesday 10am – 6pm

Wednesday – Closed

Thursday 10am – 6pm

Friday 10am – 6pm

The University has installed a new library catalogue, including B&GAS Library holdings, which is available to search via:

https://glos.on.worldcat.org/discovery

mailto:[email protected]

https://glos.on.worldcat.org/discovery

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Recent Acquisitions: Books

Beaver, D. C. (ed.), 'The Account Book of the Giles Geast Charity, Tewkesbury 1558 - 1891', Gloucestershire Record Series Vol. 31 (2017)

Bonfield, L. (ed.), 'Reports of Sir Peter King, Chief Justice of The Common Pleas 1714 - 1722', The Publications of The Selden Society Vol. 130 (2017 for 2013)

Bourke, R., Empire & Revolution: The Political Life of Edmund Burke (Princeton, 2015)

Daniell, D., William Tyndale: A Biography (London, 1994)

Hollingsbee, I. M. C., Inside the Wire: The Prisoner of War Camps and Hostels of Gloucestershire 1939 - 1948 (Stroud, 2014)

Morey, A. & Brooke, C. N. L. (eds.), The Letters and Charters of Gilbert Foliot (London, 1967)

Patterson, R. B. (ed.), Earldom of Gloucester Charters: The Charters and Scribes of The Earls and Countesses of Gloucester to A.D. 1217 (Oxford, 1973)

Probert, R., Double Trouble: the Rise and Fall of the Crime of Bigamy (London, Selden Society, 2015)

Smith, P. & Rowbotham, S., Commemorative Plaques of Cheltenham: Celebrating People, Places and Events (Cheltenham, 2009)

Tompkins, M. (ed.), 'Court Rolls of Romsley 1279 - 1643', Worcestershire Historical Society Vol. 27 (2017)

Williamson, B. (ed.), 'The Account Books and Papers of Everard and Ann Arundell of Ashcombe and Salisbury 1745 - 1798', Wiltshire Record Society Vol. 70 (2017)

Recent Acquisitions: Journals

Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol. 166 (2017)

Family & Community History: Journal of the Family and Community History Research Society Vol. 20 No. 1 (April 2017), Vol. 20 No. 2 (July 2017)

Glevensis Annual Review No. 49 (2016)

Medieval Archaeology: Journal of the Society for Medieval Archaeology Vol. 61/2 (2017)

Northamptonshire Past and Present No. 70 (2017)

Oxoniensia: Oxfordshire History, Architecture and Archaeology Vol. 82 (2017)

Proceedings of the Cambridge Antiquarian Society Vol. 106 (2017)

Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society Vol. 138 (2017)

Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society Vol. 83 (2017)

Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Vol. 146 (2016)

Somerset Archaeology and Natural History Vol. 160 (2017)

Stonehouse History Group Journal No. 1 (May 2012) – No. 6 (July 2016)

Surrey Archaeological Collections Vol. 100 (2017)

Sussex Archaeological Collections Vol. 155 (2017)

Tewkesbury Historical Society Bulletin No. 25 (2016)

The Friends of Tewkesbury Abbey Annual Report 2017

The History of Tetbury Society Journal No. 129 (November 2017)

The Local Historian: Journal of the British Association for Local History Vol. 47 No. 4 (October 2017)

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Sean Campbell, Hill-Forts of the Cotswolds (Stroud, Amberley Publishing 2016). 96pp, b/w & col illus. Cardcovers, £15.00 [ISBN: 9781445660028]. Reviewed 09.2017

In recent decades, the study of later prehistoric Britain has increasingly moved outside of the traditional Wessex heartlands. Hill-Forts of the Cotswolds represents a recent, and welcome, addition to this trend. This book is composed of a brief overview detailing architectural variations within the author’s dataset, with most of the rest of the book dedicated to specific topographical and archaeological discussions of the hill-forts within the Cotswolds region. Throughout this book, the author’s enthusiasm for the subject matter is apparent, with accounts of the Cotswold hill-forts imbued with phrases such as “I really enjoyed” and “I was impressed by”.

That this work was undertaken by first-hand examination also enables the author to comment on the landscape context of the sites, something often overlooked by desk-based studies. Indeed, in many instances the author offers his own insight as to what advantages the location of different sites could have afforded; an approach which has much to offer when attempting to consider these sites within their broader environment. What follows is an informative gazetteer, complete with site-specific literature and all important grid coordinates of the hill-forts of this region. Lavishly illustrated with photographs and simplified diagrams, it provides an accessible and engaging account of these sites. Additionally, the author notes the existence of hitherto unknown hill-forts.

Where critique can be justifiably made is within the first section of this work, ‘Overview: a background to hill-forts’, with none of the sources cited having been published within the last 30 years. Indeed, all bar one are works published in the 1960s

Book Review

and 70s. Likewise, although the author notes that hill-forts likely had multiple functions, he discusses them in primarily defensive terms. That said, this book does not pretend to be an exhaustive study of hill-forts, for which a plethora of academic and non-academic publications already exists. Furthermore, at six pages long, the author can be forgiven for the brevity of this overview. Continental readers may likewise struggle with this book, as all measurements contained within are in imperial units, whilst the chronology stated for the Late Bronze Age to Iron Age (700–100 BC) has been revised considerably.

These critiques aside, this publication offers an engaging, personal study, and useful gazetteer for fieldwalking, surveying or as an aide to those studying this region. In a period when there are increased calls for a less Wessex-centric view of later prehistoric Britain, and greater emphasis on other regions, Hill-forts of the Cotswolds offers a welcome addition to the literature available for the west of the country. ANDY LAMB University of Leicester

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After many years in the role, David Smith has retired as Berkeley Castle Archivist. His successor is Karen Davidson, whom some of you may know from Gloucestershire Archives. Karen qualified as an archivist in 1999, having completed a year’s traineeship at the then Gloucestershire Record Office in 1997-1998. She then returned to Gloucester in 2000, initially to oversee the conversion of the Record Office’s typescript catalogues into database format and make them available via the internet. Karen has worked on various externally-funded cataloguing projects, including the Virtual Waterways project to catalogue the records of British Waterways in the mid-2000s, and the catalogue of the Hicks Beach family, Earls St Aldwyn, in 2010-2011. She continues to work three days a week as a member of the Collections Management team at Gloucestershire Archives, and has recently completed a project to catalogue the records of the county council’s education department relating to the safeguarding of children. Karen has been working part-time as David’s assistant since January 2014 with a view to succeeding him in due course. This succession took place at the beginning of January 2018 and Karen is looking forward to getting to grips with her new role as Estate Archivist. David is continuing to work at the Castle on his own projects for the time being, and Karen is very pleased to be able to continue to benefit from his wealth of knowledge and experience. Karen works two days a week for the Berkeley and Spetchley Estates, and can be contacted on [email protected].

The New Berkeley Archivist

Karen in her new role getting to grips with 19th

century letters in the Muniment Room at

Berkeley Castle

A recent aerial image of the castle and church at Berkeley - Mark Horton

mailto:[email protected]

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Volume 31 – an edition of the Giles Geast charity account book – was successfully launched at Tewkesbury on 17 October last. Dan Beaver, an associate professor at Penn State university, has been transcribing and editing the book for the past seven years, and was able to come over and be present in Tewkesbury, the town where the book was created, for the occasion. Dan’s interest in Tewkesbury goes back to a post-doctoral residence in the UK, during which he met Christopher Elrington at the Institute of Historical Research, when the idea of a full edition had first started to germinate. (Christopher had drawn on the manuscript when writing the Tewkesbury entry in Volume VIII of VCH Gloucestershire.)

The event was held in suitably historic premises next to the Abbey, and within yards of many of the premises once owned by the Geast charity, the rents from which provided funds for poor relief. Heather Forbes, County Archivist, very kindly brought the MS back to Tewkesbury for the afternoon – probably its first trip home since being deposited at the Archives in 1971 – which meant many local guests were able to see it for the first time.

The customary launch formalities were duly observed: our President Neil Holbrook presented copies of the book to both the Tewkesbury Town Mayor, Cllr Peggy Clatworthy, and the Borough Mayor, Cllr Harry Turbyfield, and to the editor himself. The company then repaired to the adjacent Abbey tearoom for the equally customary tea and cakes – all excellent, and worth sampling again if you are ever in Tewkesbury.

Then, as a joint venture with the Tewkesbury Historical Society, Dan gave a more extended version of his earlier remarks to a public audience, using illustrations from the

Record Series Book Launch

edition. This was followed by unexpectedly lively discussion, when it emerged that three of the audience were trustees and officers of the linear descendant of the original Geast charity. Your General Editor was mightily relieved that none of what they had to say disturbed any of the conclusions in the book, but it does seem that a little coda might be written at some point, perhaps as a Note in the Transactions.

A gratifying number of copies of the book were sold at the launch, and we are hopeful of continued local interest in the volume.

James Hodsdon

The President and book editor Dan Beaver in the

Abbey grounds

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Dan Beaver receiving his copy from the President Neil Holbrook with a happy Record Series editor looking on

The Tewkesbury Town Mayor, Cllr Peggy Clatworthy, and the Borough Mayor, Cllr Harry

Turbyfield, inspect the original

The President presenting a copy to Cllr Turbyfield

Pages from the Original Account Book

An excellent afternoon tea with an abundance of irresistible cakes followed the presentation.

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The Gestation of Geast

Before the memory of preparing Volume 31

fades, and this year’s ‘Blue Book’ works its way to the top of the in-tray, I offer these

notes as an illustration of the process by

which a Gloucestershire Record Series volume comes into being.

As I write this, it’s almost exactly eight years since I first focused on the account book of

the Tewkesbury charity founded by Giles

Geast (d. 1558). Christopher Elrington, my predecessor as General Editor, had left a

very useful list of possible projects. The

Geast book was one of these, with a potential editor named only as Dan Beaver,

with a US university address. An email duly

went off, and I was pleased to get a reply almost straightaway. Dan had been

introduced to the manuscript by Christopher,

and he was willing to tackle an edition. As he said, “it's a unique document and does seem

like the type of record that would see

intensive use from local historians as well as having a broader appeal”, though we were

both nervous about how big it might turn out

to be – justifiably, as it turned out.

Dan already had a microfilm copy of the MS,

so was able to commit to producing a transcript as the first step, as and when other

projects permitted. The target for the edition

was ‘about’ 2015.

One technical challenge was how to

reproduce the appearance of the MS, much of which consisted of accounts in columns,

prepared by different clerks, who over the

course of three centuries used many different styles. We agreed early on that Word tables

would be the solution, and though they can

be quirky beasts, tables served the need quite well. And so, by degrees, the MS was

transcribed.

Dan and I kept in touch every few months,

and eventually the transcript arrived by email.

It was done to a very high standard – no problems there – but the page count was

way above what would fit between two

covers. The answer was to reduce the font size throughout, and adopt many other

wheezes to cut the amount of idle white

space on each page. Suffice to say this worked, and there was still enough room for

what had yet to come – introductory essay,

index, etc.

Dan supplied the essay in August 2016, and

the pace began to pick up. I checked doubtful readings against the original in the

Archives, and checked a number of related

deeds for extra details. I also prepared the physical description of the book and its

binding – with an interesting excursion down

the byways of 16th century watermarks. In December 2016, Dan and I agreed on a

more consistent protocol for handling old

spellings. The ISBN was obtained, and inserted in the draft.

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Because the charity was funded by the rents

of 22 properties in Tewkesbury, we wanted to show the houses on a map, but this wasn’t

straightforward as neither of us knew exactly

where they were. In March 2017 there were renewed contacts with the Tewkesbury

Historical Society (Dan had already done an

article for their journal), and through these – and by exploiting the Lloyd George 1909 tax

material - we made the happy discovery that

almost all the properties were still standing, and therefore easily mapped. (This was done

by using an open-source graphics program

to trace an 18th century map of Tewkesbury, and adding in the necessary details – no

copyright problems, and no fees.)

Once the buildings were identified, they

became the obvious subjects to embellish

the volume with some colour photos – an excuse for a couple of outings to

Tewkesbury on sunny days. With the overall

page count now relatively stable, the printer was contacted for a quotation for the

customary 330 copies, and I was able to

make final decisions on where to insert the black-and-white images of extracts from the

MS, which we had agreed were needed to

break up the otherwise relentless annual march of the charity accounts. Much editorial

fine-tuning and double-checking then

followed – and the important job of indexing was completed in June 2017.

Earlier in the year, a suitable Tewkesbury venue for the launch had been booked. The

date initially chosen was adjusted to fit better

with Tewkesbury Historical Society, and in the summer, publicity leaflets were run off

and distributed round the town. Dan

meanwhile had booked his flights to the UK, and had kindly agreed to offer a public

lecture after the launch ceremony itself.

In July, I pressed Save on the files (one for

the book, the other for the jacket) for what I hoped was the last time, and emailed the

pdfs to the printer. The first proof came back

as a page print early in August, and was quickly scanned for any blemishes –

fortunately not many, and easily fixed. The

second proof, delivered as a pdf, was then OK’d, which meant the rest of August was

‘free’ – apart from drafting the invitation to the

launch, making sure we’d invited the necessary ‘special guests’ (including both the

Borough Mayor and the Town Mayor of

Tewkesbury) and buttering up local booksellers.

Our printers did their usual sterling job. My advance copy looked very handsome, and I

knew we’d have no worries when the main

delivery came up from Bristol in September. As is reported earlier, all the launch

arrangements worked out well, with

(thankfully) hardly any books going back into the boot of the car at the end of the day. Dan

and I reckoned we’d earned our dram that

evening.

This then was in many ways typical of the

annual Record Series cycle. As may be obvious from the preceding account, a good

rapport with the volume editor is vital. Dan

and I may have had only a couple of phone conversations over the eight years, but they

were crucial in letting each of us get the

measure of the person at the other end of the email. The satisfaction of seeing the finished

product on the shelf is enormous – but I’m

not so selfish as to want to deny someone else that pleasure one day!

James Hodsdon

General Editor Record Series

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Twenty-seven members were treated to a very interesting guided tour of the Old City of Bristol, expertly led by Bob Jones, former Senior Archaeological Officer for Bristol City Council. We met in glorious autumn sunshine at the curious obelisk on High Street, within sight of Bristol Bridge. This marks the entry to a complex of fifteenth-century decorated cellars (currently inaccessible to the public) which were used for the storage and selling of wine. Immediately we were transported back to medieval Bristol. Our walk took us past St Mary-le-Port Church (of which only the tower remains intact), and along one of Bristol's oldest streets, Mary-le-Port Street, which is of pre-Conquest date. Having arrived at the junction of High Street and Wine Street, Bob pointed out some of the main features of High Street which would have been, with Broad Street, a principal route through the town, connecting Bristol Bridge, probably the original bridge that gave the town its name, with Frome Bridge, possibly also a bridge with an early origin. At the northern end of the street was 'Cook's Row' (Cokerewe by 1370), a place where you could buy hot food to take away (the medieval equivalent of today's fast-food outlets!) The High Cross situated at the junction of High Street, Wine Street, Broad Street and Corn Street marked the spiritual and administrative centre of the medieval town. It was erected in 1373 when the town was elevated to County status, and removed in 1733 after a public petition which considered it an example of 'popery' and as a 'ruinous and superstitious relick'. Today it can be seen at the entrance to the gardens at Stourhead where it is cared for by the National Trust.

We were welcomed into Christ Church, on the corner of Broad Street and Wine Street, now only one of two churches (the other being St Stephens) used for services in the

Old City. The original building was founded before 1147, but this was demolished in the late-eighteenth-century and rebuilt to a design by William Paty. Its distinctive quarter jacks are currently undergoing conservation. Today the congregation still enjoys traditional 1662 Book of Common Prayer services sung by a choir of boys and men. As we headed down Broad Street, Bob took us into the cobbled Tailor's Court, an historic courtyard in which a number of important buildings survive. Notable among these are the most complete surviving example of an early-fifteenth-century building in Bristol

President's Meeting, October 2017

Bristol in 1479 showing the High Cross Robert Ricart, ed. by Lucy Toulmin Smith, The Maire of Bristowe Is Kalendar (Lndon: Camden Society, 1872),

13


(originally a shop house), the former Fountain Tavern with its fine shell hood (1692) and Tailor's Hall, built in 1740-1 by the Company of Merchant Tailors. Beside St John's churchyard (granted to the church in 1390, and occupying the corner of Tailor's Court) is the site of an important Norman stone house, excavated in 1979.

Our tour continued down narrow lanes which formerly ran along the inside of the original town wall. Tower Lane took us beside St John's Church, the only surviving medieval church on the town wall, where we were able to explore the interior of the building and its crypt. Neighbouring St Lawrence Church, also on the wall, was demolished virtually without record in 1963. We briefly left the line of the town wall to admire the Art Nouveau façade of Edward Everard's printing works in Broad Street, designed in 1900, before resuming our tour along Bell Lane. This led us to Small Street where we learned of the recent unfortunate loss of an important early 17th century plaster ceiling in number 15. The building had been scheduled for listing, but developers (working within their rights) had destroyed it while that process was underway. Next door is the fine late-fifteenth-century town house of John Foster. The front part of the house was rebuilt by John Butcher in the late 16th century, with five floors including cellars, three main storeys and attics. It included an open hall which by now was used as a means of display. Next door again is the building most recently comprising the Assize Court of 1868. This was the site of a major twelfth-century hall house, extensively remodelled by John Smythe of Ashton Court during the sixteenth century, work which included the re-roofing of the open hall.

Retracing our steps to the bottom of Small Street, we entered the narrow confines of Leonard Lane, which also defines the line of the old town wall. We paused half way along, beside a short flight of steep steps, where Bob reminded us that we were on a cliff which once overlooked Bristol Quay. Emerging into the hustle and bustle of Corn Street, with its colourful street market, the scene evoked thoughts of the past when the very heart of the Old City was full of open-air traders plying their wares, and merchants striking their bargains. Our tour ended with a delicious piece of cake and a cup of tea at St Stephen's Café where we reflected on Bob's encyclopaedic knowledge of the old buildings, whether they remain standing or not, and his ability to take us beyond the incongruous concrete and graffiti which now obscures significant parts of the history and archaeology of the Old City.

Rose Hewlett

The High Cross today at Stourhead

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Members may be interested in the new developments at the former British Rail Carriage Works in Swindon. In a partnership between Swindon Council and the University of Wales, Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) parts of the sheds are being converted into a state-of-the-art Higher Education Facility to provide training in archaeology, heritage and museums. The Cultural Heritage Institute @ Swindon, will be offering MA and post graduate courses, CPD (Continuing Professional Development), short courses, summer schools and day schools, to fill an emerging gap in heritage education. The present plans are for the Institute to open in early 2019.

The historic carriage works lie on the south side of the Great Western Railway and were a major expansion of the works under the Works Superintendent Joseph Armstrong

(1864-77) to improve the quality of the GWR carriages. Completed in 1878, several acres of well-built sheds were erected on reclaimed land to accommodate the entire process of carriage assembly from the sawmills at one end, to the fine upholstery at the other. Carriage construction continued until 1986, with the closure of the works leaving a large area of sound and listed grade 2 buildings redundant. While some have been lost, most of the complex remains, with a variety of light industrial tenants. However, this key site is now being earmarked for sympathetic redevelopment by Swindon Council and its regeneration arm, Forward Swindon Ltd.

The plan is for the Cultural Heritage Institute to occupy Shed 11, located next to the tunnel that runs below the railway line to Historic England, National Trust and STEAM museum – all around a five-minute walk away. The new

A Heritage Hub for Swindon

Image thanks to Forward Swindon

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building will be a steel and glass module set freestanding within the shed, with seminar and study rooms, a library and a lecture theatre to accommodate up to 100, for conferences and weekend courses. The historic fabric is being cleaned and conserved, so it will provide a heritage environment within an ultramodern building.

The idea of linking heritage education and training with Swindon is a simple one. Swindon is the location of several heritage agencies – Historic England, National Trust, and also the local authority-run STEAM museum, and the Science Museum facilities at Wroughton. There is also a current bid for a new Swindon Museum and Art Gallery nearby with the Heritage Lottery Fund. The town is also the natural centre of some of the most compelling landscapes and buildings in Britain – the Cotswolds, Salisbury Plain and the Marlborough Downs as well as the Industrial Archaeology of the GWR itself.

But the concept has also been developed from the idea that there is a basic lack of heritage education facilities in the UK. With an acknowledged shortage of trained archaeologists for major projects such as HS2 together with the closure many of the University MA courses and lifelong learning opportunities, and with patchy provision of CPD, we have seen that a new kind of institution might fill this gap, with new learning methods and more open accessibility. We are very lucky that Swindon is so well connected by rail to both London and the West (with electrification, only 45 mins from Paddington), and we will be located a few minutes’ walk from the station.

The exact structure and form of the courses are currently being validated by UWTSD, but we hope will include Landscape, Historical and Industrial Archaeology, Garden History, Conflict Archaeology, as well as professional practice in Archaeology, Heritage and Museums. The first intake is planned for January 2019.

This is an exciting opportunity for the region, and we are very enthusiastic about delivering a major investment in heritage higher education. Please come along and visit when we are completed, and even better, sign up for our courses!

Mark Horton & Geraint Coles

Further enquires:

[email protected]

[email protected]

Inside the Carriage Works sometime in the early 1930s

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Deerhurst Lecture

The 2018 Annual Deerhurst Lecture will take place at 7.30 pm on Saturday 15th September 2018 in St Mary's Church, Deerhurst and will be given by Dr Richard Mortimer (former archivist to Westminster Abbey) on the subject of 'Deerhurst, Pershore, and Westminster Abbey'. Tickets at the door, price £5 (students £3). Further details available at:

<https://deerhurstfriends.co.uk>.

Future Events

President's Meeting

The Pittville Estate, Cheltenham

Saturday 20 October 2018 - 10.30 am

Our new President, Steven Blake, will lead a walk around the Pittville Estate, Cheltenham, focussing on the area's building and architectural history. We shall also visit the Holst Birthplace Museum, and there will be an opportunity to explore Pittville's history on a more informal basis with members of 'Pittville History Works', a project of the Friends of Pittville. There will, of course, be refreshments too.

Full details in our Autumn newsletter, but please email Rose if you want to receive advance information or check the B&GAS website.

Rose Hewlett: [email protected]

Spring Meeting

Walk at New Passage & Northwick Warth

Saturday 9 June 2018 - 10.30 am

Rose Hewlett will lead a guided walk around New Passage and Northwick Warth, close to the Second Severn Crossing in South Gloucestershire. The area has a long and varied history, and its topography, flora and fauna are all interesting. Learn about land reclamation, sea defences and flooding, settlement and farming, traditional fishing methods, migrating birds, the original passenger ferry and railway line, and the former hotel and tearooms.

The walk, which involves climbing stiles and is over uneven ground in some places, lasts two hours. It will be approximately 5km, beginning and ending in Redwick. Some footpaths may be muddy, so please wear appropriate footwear. A ploughman's lunch and dessert (plus tea or coffee etc) will follow in Pilning. Cost £8 per person. Full details will be sent on receipt of booking.

Contact Rose on 01452 740894

or [email protected]

https://deerhurstfriends.co.uk/

Documents

The Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society · The Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society Newsletter 82 March 2018 Established 21 April 1876 Registered Charity