16 January 2024

What would you discover if you could take a slice through 1500 years of Leicester’s history?  “Leicester Cathedral Revealed” is a project to refurbish the building and accommodate the 10-fold increase in visitors since Richard III was re-interred there.  To create the basement rooms of the new interpretation centre, a hole was cut 6 metres deep in the north-east corner of the graveyard – but not before Mathew Morris and his team from the University of Leicester had seized this rare opportunity to investigate a continuous sequence of archaeology in the heart of the city.  At the Society’s first meeting of the New Year, our members and visitors heard an excellent presentation by Mathew, explaining what the excavation had uncovered.

The uppermost burials date from just before the graveyard was closed in 1856.  In some of them, name plates from the coffins can still be read so we can match the individuals to their historical records.  For example, Edward Wilkinson was a surgeon at the Infirmary – where he bought Leicester’s first ambulance – and subsequently the first house officer at the new Lunatic Asylum.  In 1846 he died of typhus, which was so prevalent in the city that is was nick-named the “Leicester disease”.  Like many of the individuals who have been identified, Edward lived within the parish of St. Martin, close to the church.

Lower levels take us further back in time and reveal changing burial practices.  In the medieval period, bodies were usually buried in simple shrouds, of which the fastening pins can sometimes be found.  In Georgian times, those “at rest” wore sleeping attire but the Victorians preferred to dress them in their Sunday best.  The use of coffins became gradually more prevalent, at first being built by local furniture makers and decorated with upholstery studs; later using mass-produced fittings that can be matched with examples in catalogues from the period.

Towards the end of the excavation, the team discovered a deep pit containing a mass burial.  Radio carbon techniques date it to around 1100AD and this probably represents a previously unknown outbreak of disease in the city.  This date is also earlier than the first written record of St. Martin’s, making it highly likely that it was one of the six Leicester churches mentioned in the Domesday Book.

A final surprise was a chamber of Roman date, which had painted walls and contained the base of an altar.  It was probably a private shrine belonging to one of several cults that worshipped in underground spaces – but not the full-blown Roman temple that legend tells us lies beneath the Cathedral!

Altogether, the excavation found more than 19,000 artefacts and 1237 skeletons.  They are being treated with respect and will be re-buried at Gilroes Cemetery, close to other remains that have been recovered from medieval churchyards.  Meanwhile, analysis of the findings will continue, with researchers in many fields showing interest in the resulting data about the residents of one place over such a long period.  You can follow progress on the monthly blog at:

https://ulasnews.com/leicester-cathedral-revealed/

20 February 2024

In the medieval period, this country had numerous abbeys and priories, which were widely believed to make a vital contribution to society.  The prayers and contemp­lation by the monks and nuns supported the spiritual wellbeing of the whole population.  They also provided services such as education, accom­modation for travellers and charity for the poor or sick.  So why did these institutions disappear and how did some end up as grand stately homes like those at Newstead, Woburn or even Downton Abbey?  At our February meeting, our old friend Peter Liddle explained how the Dissolution of the Monasteries played out in our local area.

The Dissolution happened because of a combination of factors.  Henry VIII was desperate to divorce Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn.  The pope would not give permission so in 1534 Henry took matters into his own hands and declared himself Supreme Head of the Church in England.  This gave his chief minister Thomas Cromwell (of Wolf Hall fame) an opportunity to exercise his strongly Protestant views and start dismantling the system of Catholic monasteries.  Cromwell moved quickly: by the following year he had carried out a valuation of the assets of the Church and the first wave of suppression of the smaller religious houses took place in 1536.

The process usually began with a visit to look for examples of misconduct that would provide an excuse for closure.  Then commissioners would arrive with a document for members of the religious community to sign, which surrendered the property.  They were usually offered generous pensions to make it easy to comply, with a threat of violence for those who would not.  The commissioners would then sell off the contents, including any building materials of value.  The lead from the roof was often the most valuable asset: at Leicester Abbey it contri­buted £1000 to the total valuation of £1500.  Removing the roof had the further advantage of making the church unusable.  The land, including any wider estates, was also sold and the proceeds went to the Crown, largely to fund Henry’s wars against France.  Corruption was rife: there are several local examples where the commissioner who was responsible for closing the monastery ended up acquiring the land, while Thomas Cromwell kept Launde Abbey for himself.

There were 15 abbeys and priories in Leicestershire and Peter took us through what is known about each of them.  Leicester Abbey was by far the largest, owning a deer park and estate that extended almost out to Thurcaston.  It was probably considered for conver­sion into a cathedral to split up the enormous diocese of Lincoln.  Instead, that honour went to Peterborough; Leicester Abbey itself was demolished but its grand gatehouse was extended first by the Hastings then by the Cavendish family.  Ulverscroft Priory is the best local example that survives, though its ruins are now at risk.  At Breedon and Owston part of the original church was preserved to serve the parish, while other sites have disappeared completely.  In most cases, the church was destroyed but other buildings such as the dormitory or abbot’s lodging were incorporated into a new country house, which could take advantage of a site with a good water supply, drainage, firm foundations and available materials.  Such houses often have a tell-tale arrangement that follows the plan of the original cloister.  At Launde, Charley and Langley Priory, parts of the medieval fabric can still be found and the same was probably true at Garendon Hall until it was sadly demolished in the 1960s.  The rubble was used to provide hardcore for the building of the M1 motorway so you might be driving over it whenever you pass Junction 23!

19 September 2023

The Carillon is surely Loughborough’s most notable landmark and also a proud memorial to those who died in the First World War and subsequent conflicts.  But how did a small town pay for such a large monument?  The project was first proposed in 1919 and money and donations were secured towards the projected cost of up to £18,000.  However, as building continued, it was necessary to raise further sums from the public to ensure that it could be completed.  For our first indoor meeting of the autumn season, we welcomed Deborah Moxom to tell us about one of those fund-raising schemes: the so-called “Alexandra Bedspread”.

The Bedspread, measuring 8¾ x 7½ feet, has an embroidered picture of the Carillon at its centre, surrounded by hundreds of 4-inch-square panels, machine-stitched together.  Subscribers paid a shilling to sign their name on one of the panels, which was then embroidered over before adding it to the Bedspread.  The finished Bedspread was used to raise further funds at a Grand Bazaar held in June 1923, by offering it as the prize in a “Guess the weight of the Carillon” competition!  The winner was James Collins, landlord of the Volunteer Inn, who proudly added his own signature, along with the word “owner”.  Through the Bedspread, the Grand Bazaar and other measures, there were sufficient funds not only to pay for the Carillon itself but also a surplus to add the marble pavement that now surrounds it.

The Bedspread passed from James to his daughter Ivy, who gave it to Charnwood Borough Council.  Unfortunately, they have not been able to find anywhere suitable to display it, except during temporary exhibitions, so it has remained in storage for many years.  Prompted by one of those exhibitions, our speaker began to research the people who had signed their names and this became something of an obsession for her during lockdown!  The signatures range from royalty – Queen Alexandra and Princess Helena, whose names are outlined with boxes – and Winston Churchill, to family, friends and neighbours of the organizer.  Based on the latter, Deborah has been able to work out that this must have been Frances Bond, whose husband managed the Prudential Insurance office in the town.  Deborah has so far been able to identify the people behind 420 of the 510 signatures and she relayed interesting stories of some of the local men and women involved, as well as speculating about the colourful characters who might have pulled strings to obtain the more prestigious contributions.

16 August 2023

There have been many touring theatre companies in the UK but probably only one actual touring theatre.  The Century Theatre has now come to rest in Coalville, where members of the Society went to visit it in August.  We were given a warm welcome by knowledgeable and enthusiastic volunteers, who provided a talk, historic film, backstage tour and refreshments.

Shortly after the Second World War, two men from Hinckley hit on the madcap idea of creating a mobile theatre, which could visit provincial towns that lacked a theatre of their own.  It took four years to work out the design, raise funds and complete construction but in 1952 the Century Theatre hit the road.  The main stage and auditorium were carried on four wagons, accompanied by 19 support vehicles that provided a booking office, workshops, kitchen, dining room, bathroom etc.  In each town the local council would provide a venue, which might be anything from an elegant park to a slum clearance site, and on arrival the whole travelling company would be involved in assembling the building – a complex operation for which actors were not necessarily the ideal workforce!  The four wagons had to be carefully spaced, jacked up to the right height and aligned using in-built spirit levels and cross-hairs.  Then roof and floor sections were hinged outwards to close the gaps, end panels were fitted and the seating was ingeniously unfolded into place.  The theatre would put on shows for ten days then spend four days packing up and moving on to the next venue.  The wagons had a maximum speed of 15 mph and photos show the tricky task of manoeuvring them through town streets.

The theatre presented a wide range of plays, from Shakespeare to farces.  “Coronation Street” actor Eileen Derbyshire was among those who began her career in the company.  In 1975, changes in road safety regulations made it impractical for the wagons to keep touring so the Century Theatre took up residence in Keswick, where Tom Courtenay, Derek Fowlds, Helen Mirren and Judi Dench all appeared on its stage.  When Keswick acquired a permanent theatre in 1996, the Century Theatre was in danger of being scarapped but Leicester­shire County Council stepped in to buy it as a feature of Snibston Discovery Park.  It was threatened again when the Discovery Park closed but in the subsequent redevelopment of the site the theatre has not only been preserved but a smart new foyer and bar has been added.  It now presents a variety of films, music nights, comedy shows and other entertainments and is known for its good atmosphere and friendly welcome.

www.centurytheatre.co.uk

16 May 2023

Have you ever painted the town red?  At our May meeting, Mick Rawle took us back to the source of the expression, with a potted history of Melton Mowbray.

Though the area was inhabited in prehistoric and Roman times, the origin of the town itself was in the Anglo-Saxon period.  It was centrally located between the “Five Boroughs” of the Danelaw (Leicester, Derby, Nottingham, Lincoln and Stamford) and is first recorded as Middleton, which later became Melton.  The suffix Mowbray comes from Bishop Geoffrey de Montbray, who was granted the manor – among many others – after the Norman conquest.  (Geoffrey was also given the manor of Thurcaston but returned it to the king in exchange for Stanton under Bardon and East Norton.)

Melton was the only place in Leicestershire that the Domesday Book recorded as having a market so its history as a centre of agricultural trade is a long one.  Cheese fairs were held regularly and of course the town became famous for pork pies.  They probably began as a convenient snack that could be taken out hunting but by 1900 the firm of Tebbutt & Co was shipping Melton Mowbray pork pies all around the British Empire.

Melton stands on the River Eye, which becomes the Wreake further downstream.  Though a canal was built along its course during the 1700s and two railways arrived in the 1800s, it was fox hunting that really brought prosperity to the town.  Its location at the junction between the territories of the Quorn, Belvoir and Cottesmore Hunts attracted regular visits from aristocracy and royalty.  Mick has identified at least 17 “hunting boxes” or lodges that they built for use during the hunting season, though not all of them survive today.  In 1890 a famous Midnight Steeplechase was held, with the participants wearing nightclothes, but unfortunately the moon was hidden by clouds and the borrowed railway lamps were barely adequate to light the fences.  Sometimes the revelry got out of hand, as on 6^th April 1837, when a group of drunken “gentlemen” amused themselves by painting several doors, the sign of the White Swan pub and the town constables with red paint!  The offenders were later fined the considerable sum of £100 each at the Derby assizes but their exploits entered the English language.

St Mary’s church was described by Pevsner as the stateliest and most impressive in Leicestershire.  Before Sir Malcolm Sargent went on to national fame as the principal conductor of the Proms, his first job was as organist there from 1914 to 1924.  Nearby is Anne of Cleves’ House, which was built as a chantry house for priests but then given to Thomas Cromwell at the Dissolution of the Monasteries.  Cromwell promoted the marriage of Henry VIII to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, but a divorce soon followed, Cromwell was executed and the house passed to Anne as part of the settlement.  In 1550, some townsfolk purchased land to provide income for supporting a schoolmaster, lighting the streets and other good works, and the Town Estate that they created continues to run the Melton’s market and public parks to this day.

20 June 2023

For our first outing of the year, members of the Society ventured across the city to the Wigston Framework Knitters Museum, where we received a warm welcome from their team of friendly volunteers.

The stocking frame was invented near Nottingham in 1589 and by the 18^th century many agricultural workers in the East Midlands had a frame at home to supplement their income.  Nottingham came to specialize in knitting cotton, Derby in silk and Leicestershire in wool.  To produce each row of knitting on a frame required a sequence of eight operations using both hands and feet.  The frames would typically be operated by men, with women making up the knitted panels into garments such as stockings or gloves, while children were put to work winding wool onto bobbins.  Their products were taken to be sold at the Globe Inn in Leicester – so called because framework knitters used a glass globe filled with water to direct light to where they were working.

During the 19^th century, and despite the protests of the Luddites, wider frames were developed.  They could not be accommodated at home so they were housed in frame shops or larger factories.  Few of these frame shops have survived, though you can sometimes spot where they were by a row of windows just below the eaves of a building.  The Wigston Museum is a rare “time capsule” showing what they would have been like.  It comprises a master hosier’s house, with a separate building behind containing eight frames and a long bobbin-winding machine.  There is also a stove, which not only provided heat but was also used to melt lead for setting replacement needles in the machines.  Although Edgar Carter had closed his knitting business during the Great Depression, the government requested him to resume producing gloves for soldiers during the Second World War.  He continued alone until his death in 1951, followed soon afterwards by his wife, and the frame shop has hardly changed since then.  Our guide gave a brief demonstration on one of the frames that has been restored to working order.

Mr & Mrs Carter’s two daughters carried on living in the family home and they took the opportunity to make a few “modern” improvements, like replacing the tin bath in the kitchen with a fully plumbed-in bath – still in the kitchen!  But for the most part the house is lovingly preserved as it would have been in Victorian times, from the slightly oppressive Parlour – used only on special occasions – to the gadgets in the kitchen and the brass bedsteads upstairs.  The Museum is open to visitors on Sunday afternoons.  It also includes a small exhibition and delightful secret garden.

18 July 2023

You probably pass Abbey Park whenever you travel into Leicester but when did you last take time to explore it and how much do you know about its fascinating history?  On a showery evening in July, members of the Society resisted the temptations of the visiting funfair and we were treated to an excellent tour of the park by Blue Badge guide, Steve Bruce.

In the hundred years to 1880, the population of Leicester had grown six-fold and the town (not yet a city) was wealthy from the hosiery trade.  Spinney Hill Park and Victoria Park already existed but the Corporation proposed a prestigious new “people’s park” that would enhance the town and provide green space for residents of the densely terraced housing.  The chosen site was on a marshy island between two branches of the River Soar, which one critic described as “dank, damp and diptherious”.  Nevertheless, the Corporation bought 97 acres of land from the Earl of Dysart and ran a competition to design the new park.  It was won by William Barron, who created a layout full of sinuous curves to make the most of the available space.  He successfully drained the land by forming a boating lake in the centre, with water levels balanced between the higher canal on the east and the lower river on the west.  Barron was famed for his ability to move mature trees and many of those in the new park were brought from the grounds of the Corporation’s water works at Cropston.

The main entrance of the park was via a grand gateway on the newly constructed Abbey Park Road.  It was here that the Prince and Princess of Wales – the future King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra – performed the grand opening ceremony in 1882 and enormous crowds turned out to see them on the processional route from the town centre.  Alexandra also planted an oak sapling, which is now an impressive tree.  The main paths around the park were made wide enough for the wealthy to drive along in their carriages but there was something for everyone to enjoy, including locations for archery, fishing and swimming in the river.  The Victorians had a craze for all things Japanese – which also brought us The Mikado – and the Japanese garden still exists in an altered form.  However, the American garden has disappeared; I wonder what it would have contained?  Later additions to the park include a bowling green, a miniature railway and a sensory garden.  The formal bedding scheme is still beautifully maintained and its design is said to be based on the necklaces favoured by Princess Alexandra.

In the 1920s, the Earl of Dysart offered the Corporation another plot of land, this time on the west side of the river, which was the site of the old Leicester Abbey.  A new bridge was built and the extension to the park was opened in 1932, exactly 50 years after the original opening.  It accommodated a new café, tennis courts and a cricket oval, which later became the site for the fondly remembered Abbey Park Show.  Nothing now remains of Leicester Abbey itself but low walls have been built to mark its outline.  Founded in 1150, at one time the abbey was said to be the most impressive in the country after Westminster.  It was favoured as a place for clergy to stop between York and London – the most famous of them being Cardinal Wolsey, who died here in 1530 while returning to London to be tried for treason.  A memorial shows the likely position of his grave.  After the dissolution of the monasteries, the abbey’s gatehouse was converted into a dower house for the Cavendish family.  It was in turn burned down during the Civil War but partially survives as a ruin.  The walls of the abbey precinct are remarkably intact and it is worth admiring the decorative Tudor brickwork next time you are stuck in traffic along St. Margaret’s Way – or turning off to discover more of this fine example of Victorian civic pride.

21 February 2023

As expected, this talk attracted a large audience.  They were not disappointed!  Peter Smith, the Society’s secretary, brought to the evening, not only his knowledge of Roman history and legend, but also his personal experience of working as a volunteer, on the excavation of the Roman Villa in the summer of 2022.

Many of the audience might have forgotten much of what they learned about the Siege of Troy. and the intrigues which led up to it.  So, in the first part of his talk, Peter reminded us of Eris, the goddess of discord who, in a peevish moment, set up a beauty contest among three contestants.  This resulted in the judge, Paris, a young prince of the city of Troy, selecting Aphrodite.  All three contestants had set out to tempt Paris but Aphrodite had offered him the best gift of all - ‘the love of any woman he desired’.

Peter reminded his audience that the most beautiful woman in the world was Helen, so Paris travelled to Sparta in Greece, took Helen away from her husband, the King, and returned to Troy!  As a result, the Greeks launched a massive fleet of ships to retrieve her.  Thus began the 10-year Siege of Troy.

Hector, the son of King Priam, was the Trojan hero.  Achilles was the Greek hero.  Achilles (apart from his heel!) was invincible and, finally, he killed Hector.  Priam, wanting to give his son a hero’s funeral, offered a ransom for his body, as was the normal custom.   But Achilles refused to accept it and drove round and round the city walls, dragging the increasingly maimed body of Hector behind his chariot.  After the gods intervened, the corpse was handed back to King Priam in return for an ‘enormous treasure’. The days were numbered for the City of Troy and the siege was finally ended by a trick involving a wooden horse filled with Greek soldiers!!  One survivor was Aeneas, who, with a few followers, wandered the Mediterranean for many years.  It is claimed that his descendants later founded Rome.

By the 4th Century AD, that small settlement of Rome had grown into a massive prosperous empire.  Part of that empire was Britannia, which had been under Roman rule for almost 300 years.  This is where the Villa in Rutland enters the story.  The Romans had built a great road, an important road, between London and the north.  Just off the road was built a beautiful villa, probably by a wealthy Roman or a rich, British, nobleman and the owner decided to decorate the huge floor of his dining room with a beautiful mosaic.  This would impress his visitors and friends.  The Siege of Troy had taken place 1600 years earlier but the battle between Achilles and Hector was obviously still well known.

Peter moved on and reminded us that in the year 2020, another 1600 years later, “The Villa has now disappeared, and the land where it once stood is part of an arable farm in the small county of Rutland”. Covid has swept through the world, and many people’s places of employment are closed.  Jim Irvine, the son of a farmer moves back to his family farm to help his father, and, whilst wandering the fields, finds pieces of pottery.  On the internet, he finds aerial views of the farm and notices what appear to be the outlines of buildings.  After Jim and his dad dig a hole, they find part of a mosaic!  Fortunately, Jim’s interest in archaeology prompts him to seek expert help at this point and, after advice from the County’s Senior Archaeologist, Historic England commission an excavation led by the University of Leicester Archaeological Services.

After identifying the subject matter of the Mosaic as the battle between Achilles and Hector, the dig team then covered it to protect it over the winter.  Alongside this, towards the end of 2020, a couple of geophysical surveys of the area were carried out.  These revealed amazing results in terms of possible walls, columns, and posts underground.  Another survey revealed a circuit of ditches and walls and buildings in a central area.  This caused great excitement, as finding such a well-preserved villa was very rare.

In 2021, the excavation continued when students from the University worked there on a field study and the site was identified as having been in use late in the Roman occupation at a date between the third and fourth centuries A.D.  It appeared to have been in a large room with an apse at the north end.  On very informative photographs and plans, Peter identified columns and posts which might have supported a vaulted roof.  There was also evidence of underfloor heating from the hypocaust system, and a highly decorated mosaic was found in the main area.  Sadly, there were signs of damage to the mosaic from later burning by occupants who used the room for other purposes.  It appears that the mosaic was rectangular and divided into four panels.  Three panels depicted the Hector/ Achilles battle whilst the fourth one was undecorated.

Peter interpreted the panels and showed photographs of each one in detail.  One panel shows the battle on chariots between Achilles and Hector.  Achilles is naked; Hector is wearing a tunic.  The horses pulling the chariot are surprisingly detailed.

Panel Two is extensively damaged but it shows Achilles driving his chariot and pulling Hector’s body behind it, around the walls of Troy.  A dejected figure to the side of this scene shows King Priam, Hector‘s father, pleading for the return of his son’s body.

The final panel is very badly burnt on one side, but it shows Achilles triumphantly surrounded by the armour he has taken from Hector.  King Priam stands to one side with a figure carrying a huge pair of scales.  In one pan is Hector’s body; the other pan is empty, waiting for Priam to fill it with Hector’s body weight in gold.  There are other versions of this legend but the Villa owner obviously had his own ideas!

In British terms the standard of the mosaic is high and it was recorded as being the “most important mosaic to be discovered in Britain in the last 100 years”.  The find made international news after a press release in 25th November 2021.  Up until then it had been guarded and kept secret to preserve it from ‘visitors’ and others.  It also featured on television in “Digging for Britain”.

When a call went out for volunteers in 2022, Peter Smith responded and, over a one-week period in August, joined professional and volunteer archaeologists at the site near Ketton in Rutland.  His ‘homework’ beforehand included familiarising himself with 11 substantial documents and a lengthy ‘Recording Manual’, advising on what to look for, how to record one’s finds and, very importantly, where any object was found, using site coordinates.  Personal photography was discouraged but we were shown some excellent, official photographs of the site, of the site’s layout, the “well” area on which Peter had worked, and, of course, the wonderful mosaics. The finds were impressive with pottery, artefacts, roof tiles, cooking vessels, animal bones, oyster shells(!), jewellery, (probably) a well, the walls of innumerable other buildings, and even a Roman stylus for writing in wax tablets.  All the finds were carefully tabulated, preserved and are now being examined.

Our speaker’s enthusiasm and deep knowledge were apparent throughout his talk.  He described how the site and the excavation were managed and stressed the great support and camaraderie within the team.  He summed up his colleagues as a diverse group, some talkative, some quite reserved.  He had joined in interesting personal and archaeological debates and urged his audience to take up such an opportunity if it ever came their way.  He had been present at a moment in history and, for one hour, we, as the audience, felt part of it as well!!  Thank you, Peter.

17 January 2023

Fans of TV’s Grand Designs would have enjoyed our January meeting, which was approximately the 15^th century equivalent!  Taking the Kevin McCloud role was our old friend Peter Liddle, who used a rare set of surviving accounts to lead us through the process of building of Kirby Muxloe Castle.  Though Kevin has reported on plenty of setbacks over the years, they have never included the execution of the building’s owner…

After tracing the history of castles and brick buildings in Leicestershire, Peter explained the rise of the Hastings family, who acquired land at Kirby through marriage in the early 14^th century.  William Hastings supported the Yorkist cause during the Wars of the Roses.  He was knighted, married well and became a great friend and ally of Edward IV, who appointed him as Lord Chamberlain and gave him many estates and positions of power in the Midlands.  By 1474, the Lancastrian threat seemed to be over and Hastings was granted a licence to “crenellate and empark” at three places in Leicestershire.  He began with the large stone castle at Ashby that survives in ruined form today.  We don’t know whether he ever built anything at Baggrave but by 1480 work was under way at Kirby Muxloe.  Roger Bowlott from New Parks was appointed to oversee the project.

The 1480 accounts begin with making carts and buying oxen to pull them.  (Nothing came “off the shelf” in those days!)  Wood was purchased to fuel the kilns, which would eventually produce over 1.3 million bricks.  A team of “ditchers”, nearly all with Welsh names, spent a year digging the moat.  Meanwhile, slaters were repairing the existing manor house on the site – which might have been William Hastings’ birthplace – so presumably he planned to incorporate it in the new castle.

In 1481, foundations were dug and work began on the gatehouse and flanking towers.  A master mason oversaw the stonework around the windows and doors, while a team of Flemish bricklayers and “hewers” were employed for the main walls – building in brick having been practised for much longer in the Low Countries than in England.  The hewers’ brick-cutting skills can be seen in the curving vaults of the spiral staircases.  The accounts reveal the names of many of the other workers, which quite often relate to their trades, such as Smyth, Turner and Plummer.  We also learn where all the raw materials came from and, of course, their cost. 

At the end of the first year, the incomplete walls were protected with straw over the winter.  Work continued through 1482, by which time the structure was high enough for a “jenne” or hoist to be needed.  However, 1483 brought the unexpected death of Edward IV while his son Edward V was still a child.  This led to a power struggle between the family of Edward’s queen (Elizabeth Woodville of Groby) and his brother (the future Richard III).  William Hastings supported Richard until the latter seized the throne for himself, whereupon Richard had William summarily executed.  As you might expect, this caused the building at Kirby Muxloe to be stopped for a time.  However, William was given an honourable burial at Windsor and his lands were not confiscated so, after a delay, his widow resumed work on the project.

The final year of the accounts is 1484.  Masons, carpenters and plumbers were still on site and we are told that the gatehouse was thatched – an unconventional material for a castle!  Peter’s conclusion is that, contrary to the traditional view that the building was never finished, in fact the plans were scaled back to create a functional manor house, which members of the Hastings family were able to occupy until about the year 1700.  I wonder whether they were able to move in before Christmas!

15 November 2022

After the formal business of the AGM we needed some light relief.  This was amply provided by David Bell, a local author and born storyteller, who led us “Down the Garden Path” to discover the hidden world of the privy!

Outdoor lavatories were a common feature of rural life until comparatively recently: several of our members recalled the disused buildings from their childhood and when David wrote his book on the subject in 1999, he found examples that were still in use near Southwell (Nottinghamshire).  He put out appeals on local radio and in newspapers, which led him to photograph surviving privies and collect a fund of stories about them.  There were tales of visiting “townies” unable to find their way to and from the privy on a dark night, as well as alarming encounters with bats, wasps and nesting chickens.

Privies would originally have been built above a pit, which would need to be dug out once or twice a year by night-soil men, also known as “dilly men”.   In settings such as farms there could be up to four seats side-by-side.  Later it became more usual to place a bucket below the seat, which would be emptied each week – often through a small door at the back of the privy.  That could lead to embarrassment if the night-soil men arrived unexpectedly while you were seated there.  David also heard of pranks involving mischievous children, the back door and a stinging nettle…

The unpleasant job of emptying the buckets was sometimes given to children (hopefully the same ones!)  A more common task for them was to cut up last week’s newspaper into squares and thread it onto a string for use in the privy.  Rolls of toilet paper would only be purchased if guests were expected.

David was delighted to find a rare example of a privy with a handle that could be used to “flush” it with ash from a hopper.  However, indoor water-closets had been common for many decades and they eventually replaced privies completely.  This was despite opposition from a few traditionalists who considered it unhealthy to carry on such business indoors – but on a cold, wet, November evening, I think we all felt glad that the privy has been consigned to history!

18 October 2022

In October we welcomed professional historian Janet Spavold to introduce us to the intriguing subject of “How to Read a House”.  You can discover lots of clues to the history of a building just by looking at it – if you know what to look for!

The medieval domestic buildings that we now see were almost all built by the wealthier classes.  Poorer people would have used cheaper construction methods such as mud walls, which have not survived.  Even the more substantial houses were created from whatever stone, brick or wood was available locally because it was so expensive to transport stone over long distances.  These local materials and the styles of building associated with them are what give many historic villages and towns their individual character.  It was only after the rail network developed in the 1850s that we see more widespread use of uniform materials, such as red brick from the Peterborough clay pits and slate from Welsh quarries.

In areas without good stone, half-timbered buildings were common.  Early on, the main roof beam was supported by crucks – curved tree trunks halved and used in pairs.  A later development was box frames, which could be constructed using shorter lengths of timber.  It was a demonstration of wealth to decorate your façade with more timber than structurally necessary – though this is rarely seen in Leicestershire, which has long suffered from a shortage of woodland.

The oldest houses consisted of simple halls, open to the roof, with a central hearth and small holes or “wind-eyes” above for the smoke to escape.  The front door might lead into a cross-passage, which separated the main hall from a buttery and pantry.  After 1480 it became fashionable to add a cross-wing and to insert an upper floor.  Then from about the 1570s there was a “great rebuilding”, when wattle-and-daub was replaced by brick infill, chimneys were added and the “wind-eyes” made way for glazed windows.  It was risky to cut through the main roof beam so a tell-tale sign is that inserted chimneys are offset from the ridge of roof.  It was also common for the new fireplace to back onto the cross-passage so look out for chimneys that are aligned with one edge of the door.

Janet took us through further innovations up to the Georgian period, including sash windows and the first terraced housing, in what was a fascinating and accomplished presentation.  As a final note, she warned us not always to trust dates on buildings, which might mark a renovation, not the original construction, and have sometimes been moved from somewhere entirely different!