Skip to main content

News

Free event to celebrate Explore Your Archives 2015

  • 5th November 2015

Tea and Testimony:Discovering the extraordinary lives of ordinary people

Worcestershire’s historic past is made up of multiple layers of the lives of its residents – sometimes dramatic, sometimes tragic, sometimes unacknowledged and occasionally even forgotten. Many of these people, though ordinary, actually had an extraordinary impact upon the world.

Worcestershire Archive Service has a wealth of resources on hand to help uncover more about the lives of many Worcestershire people. To celebrate the Explore Your Archive 2015 event, staff have been busy uncovering the secrets of five of Worcestershire’s extraordinary residents: Joseph Blackburn, celebrated painter; Ann Osborn, midwife; Arthur Horner, one of the early Artic explorers; Joseph Garrett, the first County Surveyor for Worcestershire and Harry Martin, talented Royal Worcester Porcelain painter killed in WWI.

To celebrate the unsung talent of these Worcestershire people we are inviting you come along for tea and the chance to learn more about their lives. We will also be delivering a family history taster session, in which we can help you get started with your own research or answer any questions you might have. There will also be a chance to learn more about the Worcestershire World War 100 project and the People’s Exhibition. We will have documents and sources on display for you to browse, as well as an exhibition of items in our cabinets.

The event will take place on Thursday, 19th November, 10am to 1pm at The Hive, Level 2, Room 3. You can come along for the whole event or just pop in for one of the sessions:

10am: Discovering the extraordinary lives of 5 Worcestershire people

11am: Starting your family history taster session

12pm: Worcestershire’s World War 100 and the People’s Exhibition

The event is free and no booking is required – simply come along on the day to hear our recollections and even share recollections of your own extraordinary ancestors if you like. Free tea and biscuits will be available throughout.

We will be featuring the stories of each of the Worcestershire residents we have researched throughout the Explore Your Archive campaign, so keep an eye on this blog to find out more. 

Comments are closed.

Related news


  • 27th August 2025
The 1921 census and its insight into rural life

In our latest blog about the 1921 census, the story of Alvie’s family gives a fascinating insight into life in rural Lincolnshire. Both sides of my family have lived in rural Lincolnshire for centuries. In 1921 most of my relatives were living around the villages of Benington and Leverton in South Lincolnshire, which is about...

  • 26th August 2025
Women, War and Bankruptcy

Amongst the Magistrate Court records held with us on behalf of Worcestershire County Council as part of The Public Records Act are Bankruptcy records from the early 20th century. Whilst they detail the financial situation of individuals and businesses, individual case files which are outside the 100-year closure period can provide insight into the circumstances...

  • 21st August 2025
Newspapers online

Excellent News! Your wait is nearly over – our newspaper collections is set to return! Not only that but, thanks to our partnership with Ancestry.com, our  collection has been digitised and there is free access to it from The Hive via newspapers.com. Unless you want to, gone are the days of having to search date...