16 May 2017

The May meeting was a talk about, and a demonstration of, church bells. Brenda Hooper (Hon President of the Society) told us the history of church bells, and Peter Hunt (Captain of Bellringers) described the bells in All Saints' church. At the beginning of the meeting we listened to the church bells ringing and the evening concluded with two tunes played on the hand-bells.

The sounds of bells have been heard through the ages in many aspects of our lives: calling us to prayer; warning of danger; waking us up; or telling us the time of day. The first account of a bell can be found in the Bible when Moses ordered bells to be placed on the hem of the High Priest’s robe[1]. Bells were first used in Christian churches around the 5^th century and the Venerable Bede mentions a bell in Whitby for waking and calling the nuns to prayer[2]. The first mention of a bell in Thurcaston appears in the will of John de Mershden in 1425. He wrote, “if the parishioners of Thurcaston wish to make a large bell out of the medium-sized one they shall have £6.”[3]

Peter Hunt talked more about the bells in All Saints' Church, of which there are eight. The oldest and largest is the tenor bell, number 8, which weighs about the same as a small car. This is a very special bell known as a “Royal Heads Bell” decorated with the heads of King Edward III and Queen Philippa. The next largest, number 7, dates from 1614. Bells 3,4,5 and 6 were cast at Taylors Bell foundry in Loughborough in 1898, numbers 1 and 2 by Alfred Bowell of Ipswich in 1919. Peter went on to explain a little about ringing changes: a system using permutations which mean the bells never sound twice in the same order. If there are six bells this means 720 changes without repetition, if there are eight this increases to 40,320. One such has been rung at the Loughborough bell foundry and took 18 1/2 hours. A “peal’ consists of at least 5,000 changes lasting about 3 hours, a quarter peal is rung on special occasions taking approximately 45 minutes.

Brenda told us a little of the history of bell ringing: by the early 1800’s some belfries had become places for smoking, drinking and other unsociable activities. Thurnby Church saw disagreements between the vicar and the ringers when the vicar tried to stop them ringing the bells to signal the start of the hunt meeting. This dispute went to the Ecclesiastical court where the Judge concluded that the vicar’s permission must be obtained before church bells could be rung[4]. This law still stands.

Finally we heard a little about the hand-bells. Twelve bells were purchased in 2008 and a further thirteen in 2015, providing for changes of key and enabling a larger repertoire. We heard two tunes played: Bach’s “Sheep May Safely Graze” and “The Happy Wanderer”.

The hand-bell ringers rehearse in the Harrison Room on Thursday mornings and welcome new members.

[1] Exodus 28 v 31-35

[2] The Ven. Bede, Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum. Ed A. Holder, 1895, Bk 4 Chap 23, p 207

[3] S.L. Ollard. Fasti Wyndesoriensis. The Deans and Canons of Windsor. Windsor 1950

[4] Rev. W.H. Pinnorck LLD. Cambridge. Church Key, Belfry Key & Organ Key. J.Hall & Son, 1870.

21 March 2017

Herself a former Rector of Swithland, Anne became interested in the artist Otto Murray Dixon and her talk was punctuated with personal reminiscences and photographs from the family, and his pictures throughout. 

Henry Edward Otto Murray Dixon (known as Harry as a child) was born in 1885 a year after his father, James, became rector of Swithland. His earliest years were spent at the old 18th century rectory before the new one was built in 1891. His mother, Etheldreda, came from a wealthy family, the Trevelyan’s from Nettlecombe Court in Somerset, her grandfather a baronet and her father a rector. On his father’s side, Harry’s great grandfather was the landlord of the Red Lion in Henley upon Thames, a public house that George III is known to have visited.

Along with his two sisters Harry started school at Swithland in 1894. His earliest known picture is of a heron, labelled “for dear John” which was painted in 1897 when he was 12.   On it, he signed his name as Otto Murray Dixon.  He used one of the top rooms in the rectory as a studio.  From 1903 to 1908 he wrote Nature Notes about the birds he’d shot, the eggs he'd taken and the wildlife he’d encountered around Swithland.

His artistic education included Leicester School of Art, Calderon's School of Animal Painting in Baker Street, London and the Royal Academy Schools. He was also taught by Archibald Thorburn the noted wildlife artist.  JG Millais’s book British Diving Ducks published in 1913 contains his works, and many were published in the London Sporting and Dramatic Magazine and The Field.

Murray Dixon volunteered with the Seaforth Highlanders in World War I. He was commissioned in 1915.   In his memoir ‘Last Man Standing’  Norman Collins remembers him as a charming man, but that he was unable to remember to lead off on the left foot on parade. He painted throughout the war and included sketches in his letters home, focusing on the wildlife rather than the horrors of war.  His last known picture was ‘Rats in the Trenches’ (1917).  

He was fatally injured at Vimy Ridge on Easter Monday 1917 at the age of 31.  The first day of the Battle of Arras which was fought from 9 April-16 May and cost 165,000 British lives.   He is buried in Aubigney Communal Cemetery Extension . His father wrote “by someone, somewhere in France, a man of peace he fell in war, giving his life for others.”  He is remembered on Swithland War Memorial along with other young men who died in World War I.

21 February 2017

February’s meeting of the Thurcaston and Cropston Local History Society heard Peter Liddle (former County Archaeologist) talk about The Vikings - in and around Leicestershire. 

Peter started by setting the scene in Britain before the arrival of the Vikings, when England, as we know it now, was divided into Anglo Saxon Kingdoms. Leicestershire was part of Mercia, and other kingdoms included Wessex, East Anglia and Northumbria.  At that time Leicester was one of the important cities of the Mercian kingdom.  Unfortunately very little documentation from the period remains as it all disappeared with the Vikings. 

The first notable Viking raid was on Lindisfarne in Northumbria in 793 AD where the great Abbey was destroyed, the monks killed and its treasures looted and taken back to the Vikings’ homelands. For the next 60-70 years they made frequent coastal raids taking back treasure, goods and people - either as hostages or slaves.  In 865 AD the “great army” landed, this time not just to raid and loot, but to conquer the Anglo Saxon kingdoms.  In the next ten years the whole structure of Mercia changed as the Viking army rampaged through the country, taking lands and pillaging the countryside .

Although there is no written documentation of the Vikings takeover of Mercia, artefacts are sometimes found which give an idea of their life.  We know that they played board games such as Nine Mens Morris and Hnefatafl as playing pieces have been found.  Metal detectorists have been instrumental in adding to the knowledge of the times by discovering items such as broaches, horse fittings and coins.  One such, the Thurcaston Hoard, is a total of 12 Viking, Saxon and Arabic coins found in the parish by Brian Kimberley, this is now in the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge .

The East Midlands formed part of the Danelaw, as place names with the ending ‘by’ show.  Many are nearby such as Frisby, Brooksby and Rearsby.   Leicester was one of the “Five Boroughs” of the Danelaw together with Nottingham, Derby, Lincoln and Stamford (the main towns of Danish Mercia).  Danish rule of the Five Boroughs was lost following the English reconquests under Aethelflaed (King Alfred’s daughter) during 916 and 917.  The area was then ruled by Earls of Mercia, until it was briefly reoccupied by the Danes in 941, but it was soon recovered by King Edmund in 942.