News

'Our Warwickshire' announced as the Community Archive and Heritage Group’s winner of Group of the Year 2025 

At the Community Archive and Heritage Group (CAHG)’s conference in Huddersfield on 19th June 2025, the winner of their Group of the Year award was announced as 'Our Warwickshire'. 

This year groups were invited to self-submit to be ‘Group of the Month’. The public was invited to vote on which of the ‘Group of the Month’ should be named 'Group of the Year'.  Over two hundred and fifty votes were cast and 'Our Warwickshire' was the stand out winner with 58% of the vote.

About 'Our Warwickshire'  

The 'Our Warwickshire Community History' website is run by Heritage & Culture Warwickshire, but at arm’s length – its focus is community involvement and engagement. The website is both an online archive (hosting a number of images from the County Record Office and museum, along with images submitted by the Warwickshire Community) but is also an online portal to connect people with similar interests and has worked in the community to improve peoples’ digital skills and sense of wellbeing.  

Dr John William Bland (1935-2024)

Shortly before Christmas 2024, we heard the sad news of the death of our former Chairman, Dr John Bland. He had a peaceful passing at home, surrounded by his family. His role in the Warwickshire Local History Society extended over many years, notably including four terms as chairman. Our society owes a great debt to John’s energy and commitment, which, combined with efforts from other Bland family members, did much to revive its activity from a near-moribund state. Many will remember John’s trademark colourful waistcoats, as well as the typical humour and charm of his talks on different topics, ranging from Warwickshire mining to the history of local hospitals. John’s involvement in various aspects of Warwickshire life was wide-ranging, which included county council membership (and eventually its chairmanship).

John studied medicine at Birmingham University.  Shortly after qualifying in 1960, he settled in Arley in North Warwickshire, an agricultural and mining community. In his early years, prevailing poor health meant long hours and hard medical work.  John collaborated with people of varying backgrounds to develop a modern medical centre with a skilled health care team.  To improve conditions for disadvantaged local people, he sought election to the County Council as an independent. He went on to serve many years as a councillor, eventually becoming the council’s chairman. After retirement from full-time practice, John continued varied medical work, in family planning, emergency medicine, and other fields. His varied professional achievements were recognised by election as a Fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners (FRCGP).

Contributions from varied local people in and around Arley enabled John Bland to develop a huge personal archive of historic photographs and other memorabilia. Wishing to develop his historical expertise, he studied part-time at the University of Leicester’s Centre for Local History. His MA dissertation in 2012 considered ‘The impact of a coal mine on a small Warwickshire agricultural community’. This transcends the drily academic account and reads as a highly personal document. More widely, John was committed to the online database and archive known as ‘Our Warwickshire’.  In committee discussions and in other forums, John was always keen that the special character of North Warwickshire communities should be recognised. In his late years he was dogged by ill-health including blindness. However, his various disabilities did not prevent him from gamely attending most of the Society’s lectures and visits, usually supported by his daughter Stephanie.

Christine Hodgetts (1946-2024)

Christine died at home on September 11 with John, her husband, and children beside her, following a struggle with cancer.

She was a member of WLHS for many years. She was our Treasurer 1979-2004 and served on our Executive Committee thereafter until her death.

Christine gained a PhD in Byzantine studies at Royal Holloway College, London University in 1974: ‘The colonies of Coron and Modon under Venetian administration, 1204-1400’. She had moved to Warwick with her husband John in 1972 and began to use Warwickshire County Record Office shortly thereafter, initially as a record searcher, and later as a tutor in local history in association with the Adult Education Department of the University of Warwick, teaching classes jointly with Nat Alcock. A group of their students went on to found the Friends of the Warwickshire County Record Office. The local knowledge she gained was put to use in leading WLHS visits and socials held in lesser-known houses in the county. She also gave us lectures on many aspects of her research. Our cumulative bibliography gives some idea of her published work.

In later years, she specialised in garden history and became a driving force in the foundation of Warwickshire Gardens Trust in 1991 with the aim of recording and preserving the county’s significant parks and gardens. She was frequently commissioned to undertake research on parks and gardens, both locally and nationally. Christine also served as the Gardens Trust’s representative on the Warwickshire Conservation Action Forum. She was an active member of several other local groups including the Warwick Society, and the Friends of Warwickshire Record Office.

Christine’s interest in safe−guarding local historical sites led to her becoming active in local politics: she was a Warwick Town Councillor and then Warwick Mayor 1995-6, and a Warwick District Councillor. She was a leader in the campaign to build a bridge over the river Avon (Millennium Bridge) to create a safe walking and cycle way through St Nicholas’s Park from Emscote to Myton Road. This also led to the development of the Kingfisher Pools. She was also involved in saving Hill Close Gardens from housing development, and making it into the unique visitor attraction it now is.

LHS has a new Programme Secretary (Lectures)

Following Jim Ranahan's successful tenure of this post, we are pleased to announce that we have a new Programmes Secretary (Lectures).  Dr Ruth Barbour will be building on her existing experience as our very capable secretary to plan our programme of evening lectures into the 2023/24 season.  We are excited to sample her new programme, further details of which can be found on our events page, together with information on when and where we meet.

Northampton Record Society have redesigned their website

This includes a growing portfolio of online resources with over 200 items in the collection https://www.northamptonshirerecordsociety.org.uk/signposts

This may be of interest as it relates to an adjoining county where some of Warwickshire material may overlap.

Master’s House and St Michael’s Chapel, Saltisford, Warwick

A project to restore some of Warwick’s most important historic buildings is now underway with contractors undertaking ground clearance work and archaeological surveys on site. Led and part funded by Warwick District Council in partnership with the West Midlands Historic Buildings Trust, the St Michael’s Place development plans will see the Grade II* listed Master’s House and St Michael’s Chapel in Saltisford sensitively and sympathetically converted for residential use.

In the past few weeks stone and waste soil has been removed and carefully analysed. This will now make way for geophysical examinations and the installation of test trenches to allow for services to come on site at this historic location.

The St Michael’s Place project was awarded a £40,000 contribution from Historic England earmarked to facilitate the specialist archaeological investigations on the site, with further funding of £138,838 from players of the National Lottery to support the development of detailed designs and a historic interpretation programme.

The project team would love to hear from anyone who knows about the history of the site or would like to assist in researching the project earlier.  Please email: projectadmin@wbpt.org.uk

For more information visit the website: https://wmhbt.org.uk/blog/masters-house-and-st-michaels-chapel-saltisford-warwick/  Follow the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558624284977

The Beauchamp Chapel at St Mary’s Warwick by Tim Clark - a new booklet for sale

From Prisoner to Preacher; Julius Saunders and the Dissenters of Bedworth By David Paterson - How a man imprisoned for Nonconformity in 1783 survived to establish a long-lasting Independent Congregation in Bedworth now known as the Old Meeting. For copies please contact David Paterson.

Top Secret Warwickshire, by Michael Layton, focuses on the key role that Warwickshire played during World War Two and the so-called Cold War period that followed (purchase from www.brewinbooks.com or www.amazon.co.uk).

Useful links

• The West Midlands Historic Buildings Trust are looking for people to help research St Michael’s Place. If you would like to be involved in researching or have information about the site, email poppy@wmhbt.org.uk

• Global Leamington, published by the Leamington History Group, contains a varied collection of articles reflecting different periods of the town’s history. Read more about it in this article from Warwickshire World

• British Newspaper Archives Warwickshire residents can now access over 3 million pages of historical newspaper articles online for free at a selection of Warwickshire Libraries or at the County Record Office. For the full story go to the Warwickshire County Council Press Release

• Near Belonging is a project funded by Arts Council England by leading contemporary artist Faye Claridge,inspired by an extraordinary collection of historic photographs found by chance by builders in a Leamington cellar. Find out more by visiting the Our Warwickshire.

• The Birmingham Allotment Project is an exciting new project by General Public exploring the heritage of allotments in Birmingham from the 1960s to the present day.  To find out more visit Birmingham Allotment Project.

• Conservation work completed on the beacon tower at Burton Dassett Hills Country Park  To find out more about the beacon tower restoration. Click here for the website.

• On 24 March 1922, four Great Western Railway track workers were killed by a steam engine near Wilmcote station in Warwickshire. Railway Work, Life & Death

• A History of English Places app. Joe Chick, who works in the history department at Warwick University, has designed a new app for exploring local history called A History of English Places. Getting Started with 'A History of English Places'.

• Shakespeare Birthplace Trust has launched a limited copy order service, all details can be found by visiting the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.   

• The University of Lincoln and Council for British Archaeology have developed Dig School, a new online programme of lively extra-curricular in-school and home-school based workshops themed around archaeology suitable for secondary school students Dig School. 

• HS2 archaeologists in Birmingham unearth one of UK's best preserved 16th century gardens  Historians have been left stunned by the discovery near Coleshill on the outskirts of Birmingham - which has been dubbed "Warwickshire's answer to Hampton Court".  To find out more read this Birmingham Live article

• Holy Trinity Parish Church in Sutton Coldfield have published a new history of the church and you can read all about it on the Holy Trinity Parish Church. 

• The Editors of the Enclyopaedia Britannica write on many varied subjects.  For example, The Ten Days that Vanished looks at the implementation of the Gregorian Calendar in 1582.  

• Our Warwickshire History, heritage and natural environment of Warwickshire, contains thousands of photos, stories, memories and maps, uploaded by local people, museums and archives Our Warwickshire.

• The History West Midlands provides free access to a variety of programmes and different media focussing on the history of the people of the West Midlands. Click here for their site.

• English Heritage has made available a collection of varied articles and films to do with the many historic sites and buildings. Click here for their site.

• Oxford Continuing Education enables you to visit the world’s museums, libraries, language centres and more. Compiled by academics and staff of Oxford Continuing Education. Click here for their site.  

• Film Archives can also be a great source of entertainment; Media Archive of Central England (MACE) allows you to carry out county specific and theme based searches and view free films. The Britain on Film (BFI) offers the chance to click on a UK map to see what films exist where.

• The Social Historian by Dr Jonathan Healey of Oxford – incidents from history’s byways. Click here.

• British Newspaper Archive Blog – notorious crimes and other incidents from the historic newspapers of Britain and Ireland. Click here. 

• The British Museum Blog: Collections, objects and their stories –also virtual tours. Click here. 

• History Today: from the popular historical magazine. Click here