- 20th January 2018
Looking at starting or restarting family history the new year? In January we often get people coming to us asking how to begin. For some they are looking at starting or restarting now that Christmas is over, whilst others may have been inspired by conversations and reflection over Christmas. We can see this here in The Hive...
- 17th January 2018
This month we are taking a look at an exciting new project to catalogue and make available the records or practice archive of the Worcester firm of architects and timber-frame building specialists FWB and Mary Charles. F.W.B. “Freddie” Charles (1912-2002) was an architect and expert on the conservation and repair of timber-framed buildings. Freddie...
- 10th January 2018
Justin Hughes, our Community Project Office, is giving two talks this coming Friday and Saturday. He is speaking to Worcestershire Industrial Archaeology and Local History Society and to South Worcestershire Archaeology Group. Both are on the Lowesmoor dig we carried out in 2010, the site of the new Asda, although they are looking at two...
- 2nd January 2018
Have you seen our fabulous new guide to researching your ancestors? Developed by an expert Archive team, it’s a 70-page guide specifically designed to take you through the most commonly used collections for family history research. Each collection is clearly explained, demonstrating how useful they are for research. The guide covers: Census Probate records Church...
- 29th December 2017
‘An archaeological Christmas present and thrilling to find!’ This is how lucky archaeologists Tim and Jesse describe our December find of the month – a well preserved medieval oven. Cooking Christmas dinner probably conjures up images of gas hobs and electric ovens. Cooking dinner in this medieval stone built oven would definitely have required a...
- 26th December 2017
Christmas is often a time when people think about family stories and the past, as it’s a time when many of us meet up with or speak to family. This can inspire us to research our family history beyond what is known, and to check out the family stories we’ve heard. In January we often...
- 22nd December 2017
Mince pies are a popular part of Christmas and we expect most of you have had quite a few already. In the past we’ve shared this recipe for Mince Pyes from 1790, taken from a book in the Lechmere archives. Other recipes include gingerbread, roasting lobsters and stewing cucumber the Hanley way. We’ve always thought...
- 21st December 2017
Hopefully you’ve sent your Christmas cards by now? The very first Christmas card was sent in 1843. Whilst we don’t have any that old in the archives we do have a number of cards from the late 19th and early 20th century. We thought we’d share a few with you, although some of them don’t...
- 21st December 2017
Father Christmas visiting an Iron Age settlement, a mammoth sleigh ride and festivities at a ruined medieval church – Christmas cards with a difference. Some years ago, our illustrators used archaeological sites we’d worked on as inspiration for festive card illustrations. Below are several we’ve recently rediscovered. Here, Millicent mammoth is pulling Father Christmas’...
- 19th December 2017
Did you ever go through Kays catalogue, looking at toys and gifts to put on your Christmas list? Or did you work at Kays and can remember people sending in their Christmas orders? Many people have vivid memories of Kays catalogues, especially in the run up to Christmas when hours could be spent going...