© CAHS & contributors 2016-9
Registered Charity 287289
Reports of our lectures held
during 2016-7
We have reported our lectures in the Wilts and
Gloucestershire Standard for many years. Each
year for some years we
have gathered these
together at the end of
each season and
published them in late
summer as one of our
newsletters. If you
should look through our
past Lectures page or
our publications pages,
you can find which
Newsletters have reports in them. Back copies
of some of our Newsletters may be available on
request from our editor. A copying charge may
be made. Since 2014 we now only publish these
reports online. We will keep paper copies solely
for archive purposes. In general reports will
appear online about a month after they have
appeared in the Wilts & Glos Standard.
If you would like to write up a report on a
particular talk, contact a committee member as
early in the season as possible, as we arrange a
rota to ensure that every talk is reported.
September 2017
Living on the Hill - Simon Sworn
The Society’s first talk of the 2017/18 season began with a
fascinating overview of discoveries made prior to the
development of Spire View and Swinford Close, off
Siddington Road. Simon Sworn of Cotswold Archaeology
reported on excavations in 2015 which revealed that what
might at first have seemed a ‘green field’ site has, in fact,
been inhabited for at least 5000 years.
The earliest inhabitants lived in the Mesolithic period, around
4000 BC. They were hunter-gatherers who would have taken
advantage of the gently sloping ground overlooking the River
Churn to watch for passing game. They left behind multiple
circular pits, one of which contained flints.
By the Neolithic period (4000-2,400 BC) people were living
permanently on the site. Rubbish pits left behind contained
flints, pottery and animal bones that showed signs of
butchery. A bell-shaped storage pit was discovered that
would have contained grain or other foodstuffs. This had
been back-filled with rubbish including debris from hearths.
By the Bronze Age (2400-AD 43) inhabitants of the field had
built roundhouses. There was evidence of at least two,
possibly three, all roughly 16metres in diameter. Entrances to
these roundhouses faced east, down the slope, giving a view
over the river and catching the early morning sun.
There was also evidence of a ditch around the site and a
quern stone (used for grinding grain) was found.
Interestingly, there is no evidence that the site was occupied
during the Roman period. Did the earlier inhabitants move
towards Cirencester or further afield?
Saxons re-occupied the site some 400 years later (410-1066)
with evidence of at least six sunken floor or ‘grub-houses’.
They left behind plenty of artefacts including: worked bone
pins, hair pins, pottery, a copper alloy ring and tweezers.
They also collected Roman ‘knick-knacks’ – a habit found on
other Saxon sites- as shown by the discovery of two Roman
coins in the context of one of the buildings.
All the artefacts are currently being analysed and will
eventually be offered to the Corinium Museum.
This report by Alison Wagstaff was published in the Wilts &
Gloucestershire Standard on 19th October 2017
October 2017
A Spencer Love Affair - scandal in the
1790s - Alan Ledger
The Society’s October lecture ‘A Spencer Love Affair’ was
given by Alan Ledger, a retired school master and guide at
Blenheim Palace who has extensively researched the 18th
century history of the theatrical performances and social life
of the Palace.
Private theatres were very popular in the 18th century, first
on the Continent and then with the English aristocracy. A
private theatre was created at Blenheim in 1787 when the
Orangery in the Kitchen Court was converted to provide
space for theatrical productions which were performed for
invited audiences.
Lady Charlotte Spencer favourite daughter of the 4th Duke of
Marlborough, performed in these theatricals and fell in love
with another performer, the Revd Edward Nares an Oxford
vicar.
The daughter of the Duke and Lady Caroline Spencer was
expected to marry into one of England’s noblest families to
maintain family status, rather than marry for love. Edward
Nares was therefore considered an unsuitable match for
Lady Charlotte.
Despite fierce opposition to the relationship, twenty eight
year-old Lady Charlotte and Edward Nares were married in
1797 at Henley, but not one of her family was present. Lady
Caroline was furious and Charlotte was banished from
Blenheim Palace. The whole episode became a society
scandal.
Lady Charlotte and Edward Nares moved to Biddenden in
Kent where Edward was rector for many years. They had
three children and sadly Charlotte died in 1802, never having
returned to Blenheim Palace.
This report by Alan Strickland was published in the Wilts &
Gloucestershire Standard on 16th November 2017
November 2017
400 years of Stroud Textiles - Ian
Mackintosh
Although it was a miserable, windy late November night, this
didn’t deter members and friends from attending Ian
Mackintosh’s lecture on 400 years of Stroudwater Textiles.
A founder member of Stroud Preservation Trust and Stroud
Textile Trust, Ian gave a fascinating introduction to the history
of the cloth industry, important in the Stroud and Cirencester
areas for over 700 years and explained the different
processes involved in cloth production.
At its height, there were over 170 fulling mills in the Stroud
area alone, and early pictures show the famous Scarlet cloth
drying out on tenter-hooks in the fields.
Interest to the talk was added by slides showing the cloth-
making process, especially the early machinery, largely hand
or water-driven. Samples of cloth and teazles to card the
cloth were passed round the audience.
Cloth from Stroud was exported around the world and by
1770, the East India Company was even selling it to the North
American Indians. For the talk, Ian wore a waistcoat made of
Stroud Scarlet; the cloth used for officers in the British army
during the Crimean War. Indigo –dyed cloth was produced
for the Royal Navy.
As machinery grew larger, the mills needed to be larger than
the steep-sided Stroud valleys could accommodate and by
the 1830s, more cloth was being produced in Yorkshire, so
many of Stroud’s mills moved over to dyeing finished cloth
instead.
However, some mills such as Marling’s Ebley Mill the largest
cloth manufacturer in the south-west, did continue into the
20th century, only ceasing production in the 1980s.
This report was by Aileen Anderson
January 2018
Tudor Medicine - Cherry Hubbard
What makes us ill? - was the question at the January lecture
meeting when Cherry Hubbard, local social historian spoke
on Tudor Medicine.
In the 16th century illness was considered to be caused by
bad smells, amongst other things and the audience was given
many insights into the history of medicine, the Tudor
perception of health and the way people thought the human
body worked.
At a time when books were extremely costly and rare, and
educated physicians only for the rich, barber/surgeons and
apothecaries had important roles along with religious faith
and astrology.
So the practical knowledge of plants and remedies was at the
heart of survival for ordinary folk. This had to be passed
through the generations from one household to the next.
Cherry provided many examples of remedies, some more
fanciful than others, and brought with her a very interesting
display of herbs and artefacts which she encouraged the
audience to handle.
There are many differences between modern attitudes to
health and those of the Tudors, not least in terms of personal
hygiene and the need to wash. However, by the end of
Cherry’s fascinating talk it was clear that not all of these early
customs and ideas have disappeared from our culture. Some,
indeed, are making a welcome return, though maybe not in a
form a Tudor person would recognise.
This report was by Kathleen Lindesay
February 2018
Annual Croome Lecture - Joint Meeting with Cirencester Civic
Society
Cirencester: The Development and
buildings of a Cotswold town. British
Archaeological Report 12
Dr. Richard Reece FSA and Christopher
Catling MA FSA
Cirencester: The development and buildings of a Cotswold town
is a subject with great relevance to local residents today.
Christopher, now head of the Royal Commission on Ancient
and Historic Buildings of Wales, described how his childhood
experiences in Cirencester guided him towards his career. He
assisted Richard Reece, now pre-eminent In Roman studies
and numismatics, to write the ground-breaking report during
his gap-year in 1975.
Their example of innovative practice and efficient approach
went on to guide a generation of people involved in
appraising and assessing the newly formed Conservation
Areas nationwide.
Since then Dr Reece’s studies have added a wealth of new
information, not least concerning the waterways and historic
mills of Cirencester. Whether or not modern building has
provided classic examples with future historic value is up for
debate.
A copy of this British Archaeology Report 12, with street by
street description and analysis, can be found in the Local
History section of the Bingham Library. Perhaps your house
is recorded and described within!
This was a free, annual lecture organised by Cirencester
Archaeological & Historical Society and Cirencester Civic
Society and sponsored by the Friends of Cirencester Parish
Church.
March 2018
The “Family Names of Britain and Ireland”
Project - Dr Simon Draper
Our March meeting saw Dr Simon Draper tell us about the
Family Names of Britain and Ireland Project at the University
of the West of England, run with the aid of a large grant from
the Arts and Humanities Research Council. The 1881 Census
was searched for all family names with more than 20
occurrences. This resulted in 45,000 names, many with large
numbers of variations. Experts were needed to deal with the
regional varieties, Irish and Welsh in particular, not being
familiar to English scholars. The resulting work, showing
variations through time, was published in 4 volumes in 2016
as a book and online as an e-book. It is not widely available
as it costs £400. The online version includes data from the
2001 census, and contains many maps showing the regional
occurrence of names. Simon used his surname as an
example, showing may variations. Using our Programme
secretary’s name, it was shown to originate in Westmoreland.
Many names seem to cluster around Liverpool, showing this
as an important port of immigration, especially from Ireland.
Simon’s part in this project was as historian, delving back into
the variations. Pre-1066 there were no surnames, nicknames
being used if needed, such Ethelred the Unready, so they
were appended by others, not the person! The Normans
brought hereditary names with them, listed in the Domesday
books. By 1200 most knights had hereditary names. Between
1250-1350 surnames spread mostly in the south. The 1381
Poll Tax Lists give many surname examples.
Most surnames are locative, occupation, relationship or
derived from nicknames. It is not easy to follow family names
in medieval times, as written examples, often in legal
documents show a person to have many aliases, even if not a
criminal mastermind. Church registers started in late Tudor
times, and while these are the first time that all married and
baptismal names are recorded, there are often variations
recorded, perhaps due to little literacy. Welsh surnames only
get common in the 17th century, initially mainly patronyms.
It will be interesting to see how surnames develop in our
modern fast-moving world
April 2018
Rolls Royce Aero - Chris Bigg
Chris Bigg gave a lecture to a joint meeting of the Cirencester
Archaeological and Historical Society and the Cirencester
Science and Technology Society on 11th April. An audience of
more than a hundred heard a fascinating, fast paced talk
about the history primarily of the Rolls Royce Bristol aero-
engine site.
Chris is a retired Rolls Royce manufacturing engineer, with a
real love of his subject: aircraft and their engines. Although
the well-illustrated talk covered the whole of Rolls Royce’s
history, it concentrated on the Bristol site, covering the early
development of engines by successive companies such as
Brazil, Straker & Co, Cosmos Engineering, then the Bristol
Aircraft Company.
During the period when piston engines powered aircraft,
Rolls Royce Derby developed the water cooled in-line
engines, like the famous Merlin that powered Spitfires and
Lancasters. However Bristol developed radial air cooled
engines, mostly successors to the Jupiter engine, one of the
most successful aircraft engines between the wars. The
Hercules, its successor powered many Second World War
British military aircraft, including the Bristol Beaufighter.
Bristol were slow to start developing jet engines, but by the
time of their merger with Armstrong Siddeley to form Bristol
Siddeley in 1950, had prototypes flying. The topic of whether
the joining of Rolls Royce and Bristol Siddeley in 1966 was a
merger or take-over was briefly mentioned, the lecturer
favouring a take-over.
Although the RB211 jet engine was mainly a Rolls Royce
Derby design, the Olympus engine was predominantly a
Bristol design. It famously powered the Vulcan and was the
core of the Concorde engine.
This was a meeting enjoyed by both historians and scientists.
Report by Lynton Mogridge
May 2018
A Cotswold Garland - Martin Graebe
In the final talk of the 2017-18 season, Martin Graebe, an
authority on the West Country folk song collector Rev Sabine
Baring-Gould, charmed his audience with songs collected
within a ten-mile radius of Cirencester, and with stories of the
people who documented and preserved musical, dance and
other traditions in the area.
Many early twentieth century folk song and dance
enthusiasts were members of the middle classes who learnt
and in some cases revived, the traditions of working class
people.
Thanks to the efforts of women such as Mrs Bruce Swanwick
of Coates (Commandant of the VAD hospital at the Bingham
Hall during WW1), Cirencester was the first town to start a
branch of the English Folk Dance Society. Mrs Swanwick
helped to form a Morris dancing team in Coates, and her
friend, the well-known folk song collector Cecil Sharp, noted
down details of the local mumming play, together with
several songs and dance tunes, from Daglingworth postman
Charles Smith.
However not all collectors were from the privileged classes.
Alfred Williams of South Marston, who was born and died in
poverty, cycled 13,000 miles to collect the words of over 500
traditional songs from the Upper Thames valley (not
musically trained, he couldn’t take down the tunes).
American collector J M Carpenter noted down wassail
customs, mummers’ plays and ballads and had the
advantage of a motor car, in which he sometimes slept!
In earlier times Cirencester had printers, such as William Clift,
whose printed ballads (often with inappropriate illustrations)
would later enter the repertoires of the local singers, to be
collected by Sharp and others.
Report by Karen Mogridge
Nov 2017 - Ian Mackintosh
Jan 2018 - Cherry Hubbard
Mar 2018 - CA Lecture -
Jun 2018 - Summer Meet
Page last updated 20 August 2018