Latest news

  • 2nd September 2016
Monthly Mystery: Who put ‘Bella’ in the wych elm?

‘Finish your articles re the Wych elm crime by all means. They are interesting to your readers, but you will never solve the mystery. The one person who could give the answer is now beyond the jurisdiction of the earthly courts.’ In 1953 ‘Anna’ of Claverley wrote those intriguing words in a letter to journalist...

  • 2nd September 2016
Guest Post: A work experience placement

Worcestershire Archive and Archaeology Service recently had the pleasure of hosting a work experience placement for Charlotte Hall. During her time here Charlotte had the chance to get an insight into the wide range of roles that take place behind-the-scenes in our service. Here, Charlotte gives us her thoughts about her experiences here: Inside the Archive:...

  • 26th August 2016
‘A Month in the Archives’ – an account of a work experience placement

Recently we have put up two great posts (here and here) that were written and researched by Chris Rouse, a work experience student who joined us for a hundred-hour placement this summer. Before he departed, Chris also wrote us an account of his time here, which gives an insight into the wide variety of work an archive service...

  • 24th August 2016
Crime, punishment and mystery in Edwardian Worcestershire: Part 2

Here is the second instalment of a piece researched by our recent work experience placement, Chris Rouse. You can find the first post here.  In an earlier piece, I wrote about research I’d been doing into the habitual offenders of Edwardian Worcestershire. Most cases seemed simple: a crime was committed and the perpetrator was easily...

  • 20th August 2016
Crime, punishment and mystery in Edwardian Worcestershire: Part 1

This summer Worcestershire Archive Service was lucky enough to host the talented and enthusiastic Chris Rouse on one of the hundred-hour work experience placements we offer. During his time with us he had the opportunity get involved with a wide variety of the sort of jobs one might encounter in the archive profession, including some...

  • 18th August 2016
A mammoth discovery

Just before Easter, our archaeologists were called out to investigate the discovery of a mammoth tusk at Tarmac’s Clifton Quarry, just south of Worcester. The tusk was spotted by a sharp-eyed excavator driver at the site: realising the importance of what he had uncovered, he reported it to the quarry management. Tarmac immediately suspended operations...

  • 10th August 2016
Holding History – Monday 15 August

Come along to The Hive this August and experience history first hand with us. On Monday 15 August from 11am-2pm, you will have the opportunity to hold items from the archives collections. History is not just about reading documents, these are real items with fascinating stories, and holding these helps connect people to the past....

  • 2nd August 2016
Lending An Ear

Lending an Ear is an Arts Council audio arts project looking at using sound in art in Worcestershire Libraries, inspired by the unique locality each library is in. It was been a really exciting project, and fascinating to see how each artist approached the task, and the different groups of library users who took part,...

  • 29th July 2016
‘Hopefully’ – a poem to commemorate the soldiers at The Somme

The 1st July was the 100th anniversary of the start of the Battle of the Somme.  This significant historical event was marked in many ways across the country. Here in Worcester there was a vigil at 7:30am, the time the first soldiers went ‘over the top’, and in the afternoon there was a service at...

  • 4th July 2016
Work begins to list the records of the Bromsgrove Guild

Worcestershire Archive Service holds a substantial collection of records from the Bromsgrove Guild – a collective of talented craftsmen who came from all over the world.  Walter Gilbert, a talented artist in design and decorative works, worked as the art master at Rugby Technical School. In 1898 he became headmaster of Bromsgrove School of Art and...