- 24th February 2022
The Worcestershire Absent Voter lists have now been transcribed by our wonderful team of volunteers. Hazel, Hazel, Jennifer, and Luke have worked for many years to complete this task for us, including from home during lockdown. Part of the electoral registers, these lists are an invaluable research tool, and can now be made more widely...
- 21st February 2022
Worcestershire has a long tradition of newspapers, with arguably the world oldest newspaper in current and continuous production – Berrow’s Worcester Journal. The British Library has a new exhibition, Breaking The News, which is being currently shown in The Hive, and will tour around Libraries. To go alongside this we have created a display highlighting...
- 19th February 2022
The Railway Viaduct is a prominent landmark in Worcester, with 65 arches going from Foregate Street Station to the bridge which crosses the River Severn. With the transformation of these into cultural and arts venues we were asked by the Worcester News to look as the the history of them last year using the archives....
- 14th February 2022
A Valentines letter written to ‘Miss Dance’ found in the archives reveals a glimpse of a love story in the nineteenth century. A ‘bright’, ‘fair’, ‘kind’ young lady, with ‘hazel’ hair and eyes, Miss Dance apparently attended Mrs Dunn’s party where she sat beside her Valentine at supper. While others played card games, Miss...
- 13th February 2022
Local radio has had a big role in Worcestershire the past 40 years, and on World Radio Day we look at some of our connections. It also coincides with ‘The Breaking the News’ exhibition in The Hive’s Atrium featuring a national exhibition from the British Library, with a local display we’ve produced which includes local...
- 2nd February 2022
Have you ever wondered what archivists have to do when they come across a locked record? We share our experience of opening one of these locks.
- 28th January 2022
Prehistoric wood is archaeological gold dust. So, what do you call Worcestershire’s first Iron Age wooden trackway and a whole wetland landscape? Exceptional. This is not an archaeologist’s dream, but a site excavated for Worcester Six Business Park. Despite the unassuming location (alongside Junction 6 of the M5), in 2019 we uncovered human activity around...
- 21st January 2022
Temple Laugherne Knight Jug Perhaps one of the most unusual finds from the past two years was this medieval jug which was found during excavations at Temple Laugherne. Anyone at Worcestershire Archaeology Day 2021 will have seen great talks on a variety of subjects. This jug featured in the Fascinating Finds talk. Sometimes we have...
- 19th January 2022
A newspaper transcription recalling horse buses was among items being catalogued in our Library Pamphlets (which came from Worcestershire History Centre before the service moved to The Hive in 2012). It refers to a Mr. Harry Birchley of London Road who was an old cabby of 90+ years who remembered very well cab-stands and horse...
- 30th December 2021
Frost fairs are more commonly known to have been held on the River Thames, the most recent example being in London in 1814. Examples of provincial frost fairs include one held in Shrewsbury in 1739. A printed souvenir held within the archives from 1855 has led us to investigate whether there is any evidence of...