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Last week we said goodbye to our long-term volunteer, Mary who has been assisting in Conservation for 8 years.  Her commitment has been most appreciated and she will be missed.  This blog is dedicated to Mary, to celebrate and recognise her hard work over the years. Rhonda (Conservator): As the sole Conservator for the Worcestershire...

Wood Norton Hall in Evesham has a history to rival that of a timelord regeneration. The site, established in medieval times, once the seat of French royalty, later home to the BBC, is now a Grade II listed home and now a luxury hotel with rooms inspired by its history. It was the last home...

Over the past two years Worcestershire’s Historic Environment Record has been working to identify, record and better understand the significance of 20th Century buildings and public places across the County. Many more await discovery and assessment! Funded by Historic England, this project has also aimed to strengthen the public’s awareness and appreciation of ‘everyday’ 20th...

The Archaeology Service work on through Introduction During these times of social distancing restrictions since late March 2020, what has happened to our Archaeology Services?  Are they still in the field?  What are they doing?  If they are working, what have we done to make sure they are safe? You can read how some of...

Happy Halloween from Explore the Past. We thought we would share with you a spooky document found in the archives. It is intriguingly described in the index as copies of statements of ‘supernatural’ happenings at Prior’s Court, Powick. So we took a closer look to learn more. Back in 1956, a local newspaper article featured...

Halloween – a good time for ghost stories but a chance encounter at the Hive showed that one such story was true! Generations of Bishampton children have been scared/delighted by the story of Old Buckle, the Headless Horseman, who roamed the road between Throckmorton and Bishampton.  A chance encounter at the Hive shone light onto...

Although we weren’t in The Hive for a couple of months our archives were still expanding. A new addition was a Pipe Roll, which contains a list of money collected on behalf of the Government in 1792. Pipe Rolls are dramatic documents, consisting of sheets sewn together so are very, very long, and when rolled...

The Worcestershire Historic Environment Record (HER) Public Desk will be reopening from Thursday 3rd December. To allow for social distancing measures, the desk will be operating on an appointment only basis between 10:30 and 13:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The Worcestershire HER is the County’s primary record for archaeological and historic environment information, holding over...

“The measure of any great civilisation is in its cities and a measure of a city’s greatness is to be found in the quality of its public places, its parks and squares” (John Ruskin) Over the past two years Worcestershire’s Historic Environment Record has been working to identify, record and better understand the significance of...

For several years Worcestershire Archive & Archaeology Service has been collecting references to Black people living in Worcestershire. The county today has 5% of the population who are non-white, but there has been a Black presence for at least 400 years, which can surprise people. It may be longer, and there will be far more...