Latest news

  • 21st October 2019
Find of the Month – October 2019

Our Find of the Month is a Roman pot with a chequered past, discovered at Ruardean Hill in the Forest of Dean during a recent Foresters’ Forest community excavation. We were investigating a rectangular earthwork which had been identified using LiDAR. It’s one of 1700 potential archaeological sites being investigated over the 5 year course...

  • 20th October 2019
Market Gardening Heritage: David Tower, Pershore Plums from Pershore

This leaflet, which was recently passed to us, has revealed a fascinating story. It is an advert by David Eric Tower of The Hill, Pershore, who offers Pershore plums from Pershore. However looking into his story he doesn’t seem your typical market gardener, being an Oxbridge graduate with some private wealth behind him.   He...

  • 17th October 2019
Worcester Woods Country Park 40th Anniversary History Project

Today we are pleased to feature a guest post from Tanya Feasey, Assistant Countryside Sites Officer, who is running variety of activities including some oral history interviewing to mark 40 years of Worcester Woods Country Park. We’ve been supporting the project, giving expert advice and running a workshop for volunteers to help them. They’ve also...

  • 15th October 2019
Archaeology 50: Jan Roberts 1975-86

Jan Roberts, who was the third County Archaeologist, died in 1992. Jan Wills, who was Archaeological Field Officer at Hereford and Worcester from 1980-85 has contributed the following about his time in the county. Jan Roberts   County Archaeologist 1975 – 1986   Jan came to the then Hereford and Worcester County Museum Service from...

  • 10th October 2019
Market Garden Heritage Project – Ivy’s Family Photos

Over the summer we have been meeting lots of people at events, as part of the Market Gardening Heritage Project, who have been sharing stories, memories and photos about market gardening in the Vale of Evesham.   The project, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic England, seeks to record and research the...

  • 5th October 2019
Battle of Worcester Discoveries – Worcestershire Archaeology Day 2019

On 3rd September this year, 368 years to the day of the Battle of Worcester, we were part of a publicity day informing the media about the discoveries we’d made as part of the Southern Link Road Project with Alun Griffiths’ construction team. We showed off some of the finds, including Civil War musket shots...

  • 4th October 2019
The History of Rowing in Worcestershire

Using local newspapers Dr Frank Gilligain has discovered some fascinating facts about the history of rowing within the county. Everyone knows about the success of Worcester County Cricket Club and has enjoyed a day out at the races at Pitchcroft but did you know that Worcestershire has had a long and varied sporting history?  ...

  • 1st October 2019
Birmingham Buttons – Find of the month

We went looking for a Roman Road and all we found were buttons! In a scruffy corner of an old sports field in Perry Barr, RPS Group asked us to dig some trenches to look for remains of a Roman Road which once passed beneath the proposed location of a new school. There was little...

  • 26th September 2019
Setting up a rescue excavation unit, 1973-75

The second in our series of memories from former County Archaeologists, marking 50 years since Worcestershire’s first was appointed. Alan Hunt succeeded James Bond and was Worcestershire’s second County Archaeologist.   I joined what is now Worcestershire Archaeology as a field officer in 1973 and became County Archaeologist in 1974. My main role was to...

  • 18th September 2019
Recording a Time Capsule – Volunteer Opportunities & Training

We need your help! The Market Gardening Heritage Project is looking for volunteers to help record fascinating stories and preserve an important chapter in the Vale of Evesham’s history. Training workshops are coming up in the next few weeks, so do get in touch if you’re interested.  Archiving a Time Capsule  One day Edgar Wheeler,...