Open Garden event
The Kingsholm “Open Gardens” event on Saturday 25 June, organised by the Kingsholm &Wotton Neighbourhood Partnership, was a perfect opportunity to show off the Heritage Hub garden. Thankfully, despite a couple of heavy downpours, the weather was fine, and we were delighted to welcome over 30 people to the garden.
Photos by Phil King
Diana White, who designed the garden while a student at the Cotswold School of Gardening, joined us for the day, and brought along her original designs.
We offered refreshments in the Dunrossil Centre, along with a digital display of some royal themed documents in our collections.
Here are some lovely comments from visitors on the day:
'Stunning impact as you walk into it. Always very well kept.'
'Very welcoming and charming. Wonderful impressions.'
'Enjoyable and entertaining.'
'A nice relaxing space, not just to spend time but to meet people too.'
'Informative, well designed, re-telling Gloucestershire story in pictures and plants. Raised beds are the future of the Hub: going out from this community to the wider community! Lovely, well done x'
This got our new monthly Saturday programme off to a flying start. Read about July’s “Make & Mend” themed event that took place on Saturday 2 July here.
If you’ve missed out so far, be sure to catch “Flora & Fauna” on 6 August. HIighlights include talks on Kip prints by Anthea Jones and Wheeler’s nursery in Alvin Street by Jan Broadway, and honey tasting courtesy of the Heritage Hub bees!
More details on the Flora and Fauna events page and Heritage Hub website
Kate Maisey, Archive Development Manager
Cotswold Life
Each month the team at Gloucestershire Archives delve into our diverse collections and put together a piece that appears in Cotswold Life magazine. Articles often include - Photograph of the Month, Spotlight on Maps, Documents of the Month and Gloucestershire Character.
This Document of the Month article was written by John Putley and appeared in the May 2022 issue.
Gloucestershire Archives D45/F15
This page from the household accounts of the Whitmore Family of Lower Slaughter records restocking fish (eels, tench and carp) into the Manor House ponds for 1762 to 1764. Since medieval times, the keeping and eating of freshwater fish was the realm of the aristocracy or the monasteries as they were luxury items requiring land and ample water – although most villages had a pond, these were for watering stock animals.
Fish played an important role in the diet of the upper classes because church rules frequently forbade meat consumption (not only in lent, but also on Fridays, Saturdays, and the vigils of many religious festivals). This didn’t affect the lower classes (who rarely ate meat or fish as these foods were too expensive) but in aristocratic households, plentiful amounts of fish were deemed a necessity on non-meat days. The bulk of these were marine species, but freshwater fish made up about one-third of the total.
Although fish consumption dwindled after the renaissance, private fishponds remained a mark of social status and helped reinforce class differences well into the 20th century. The fish in these accounts were probably intended both for sport and the plate, as by this date, the pastime of angling was very popular in the upper classes.
Gloucestershire Archives accessions
This blog was posted by Rhianna Watson and gives details of accessions made in April - June 2022.
It is time for our second quarterly blog looking at accessions we have recently received at Gloucestershire Archives. These can be from any place, person or organisation in Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire.
This quarter we have added 94 new accessions onto our online catalogue. This includes material relating to both Gloucestershire County Council and South Gloucestershire Councils response to Covid-19, hundreds of Magistrate Court registers, material from the former Chair of Stroud Local History Society Philip Walmsley and much more!
Find a full list of accessions for this quarter in the downloadable PDF on the blog page Gloucestershire Archives accessions, April-June 2022 | Gloucestershire Archives (wordpress.com).
Some items within these collections may be closed in accordance with the Data Protection Act and/or if they contain sensitive information. However you can find details of all the accessions, and further information if they have been catalogued, by visiting our website Online Catalogue – Gloucestershire Archives.
For accessions made in the previous quarter visit Gloucestershire Archives accessions, January-March 2022 | Gloucestershire Archives (wordpress.com)
Make and Mend
The “Make & Mend” themed event took place on Saturday 2 July and was the first of the Heritage Hub themed events taking place the first Saturday of each month. The next Saturday event is Flora and Fauna on Saturday 6 August.
David and Will Hart, Freemen of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, gave a fascinating talk on the Hart Silversmiths. David and Will brought along examples of their work and explained the processes involved when making silverware. Alongside the talk there was a display of documents from the archives.
The day included a pop up repair shop, local artists demonstrating their work and archives staff getting crafty.
The Women's Institute had a stall showing their history and Gloucestershire Family History Centre was open and included a book stall.
A good day was had by all.
To find out more about the Saturday events visit Saturday events 2022 - Heritage Hub
Heritage Hub defibrillator
We read in the news this week that all schools will be supplied with potentially life-saving defibrillators.
Did you know that we already have one at the Heritage Hub? It is based in the goldfish bowl between reception and the research room.
Although we hope never to need to use it, it is good to know it is there if required.