- 29th June 2016
Lavinia Talbot kept a diary from her teenage years right through to old age. The diaries provide a unique window on her daily life, thoughts and feelings from the mid 1860s through to the 1930s. In particular Lavinia recorded her observations on the conduct of the First World War. She had three sons serving in...
- 13th June 2016
Worcestershire Archive and Archaeology Service is taking part in a very exciting regional project called Strong Rooms, linking archives with arts. Inspired by the name of the rooms in which archives are stored, Strong Rooms is a collaboration in which artists, youth groups and archivists work together to produce art which will be taken on...
- 11th June 2016
People stealing acorns, roads needing repairs and families being removed from one parish to another are among the many stories contained within Quarter Sessions. The Quarter Sessions were both a court and a forerunner of the county council. Middling crimes which didn’t carry the death penalty were heard before it, and various county issues such...
- 7th June 2016
The hammer pounded down once again bringing about a satisfying crack as more of the debris collapsed into the hole. “Stand back” someone called over the crowd, maybe with fear for their safety or just a hope for a better view. With a last final hit a large piece of the floor fell away leaving...
- 1st June 2016
It is 90 years since Britain’s only General Strike, an event referred to in a number of archive collections held here at Worcestershire Archive Service and in the local newspapers. The strike began with the coal miners before spreading to other sectors, but only lasted nine days. Within the West Mercia Police archive (BA13870),...
- 27th May 2016
What are Descriptive registers? Descriptive registers give information on a police officer’s period of service. The registers can include information on previous public service such as time with another police force or in the armed services, together with pay rates and the stations in which they worked. Details of promotions, transfers and reasons for leaving...
- 3rd May 2016
A building survey of a fairly ordinary 19th century brick stable block in the west of Worcestershire uncovered a peculiar set of objects. Nailed above the lintel to the entrance way was a pair of mammalian skeletal feet above an iron horseshoe. Plate 1 Horseshoe and paws nailed above a stable doorway (©WCC 2015) A...
- 22nd April 2016
Trooper Hal Wardale King, 2577, was the son of Mr. And Mrs. J. Wardale King, of Oldswinford House, Stourbridge, Worcs. He was killed in action on 23rd April 1916, aged 21. Hal and his friend John (Jack) Preece joined Queen’s Own Worcestershire Hussars (Worcester Yeomanry) in September 1914. During his service with the Yeomanry Jack...
- 15th April 2016
Guided tour of archive strong rooms, which gave the project its title, and areas usually off limits We are working with Archives West Midlands and Arts Connect to deliver a revolutionary new project which fuses archives and installation art. The project is called Strong Rooms, and the contribution of WAAS has been instrumental from the...
- 13th April 2016
Lost Landscapes; Palaeolithic Life and Environment in Worcestershire. Herds of Mammoths walking across the M5 at Strensham, Lions stalking through the Bredon Hills, the ice and tundra spreading across the landscape…..which part of our Ice Age past are you most interested in? Worcestershire Archive and Archaeology Service and Museums Worcestershire are currently running a short...