Latest news

  • 24th January 2014
Treasures from Worcestershire’s Past: ~9~ A Roman oven or smoker

This week’s Treasure is a Roman oven or smoker, chosen by Jane Evans, Senior Finds Archaeologist  My ‘treasure’ is a group of finds. They are not shiny or precious but capture what makes archaeology interesting for me. Over the years, excavations of Roman sites have uncovered distinctive fragments of fired clay that we have struggled to interpret....

  • 22nd January 2014
Finding out about life in Roman times

In December two classes came to The Hive to discover more about the Romans. When we think of the Romans we may think of the Roman army, the Coliseum in Rome, or Hadrian’s Wall, but there are local examples too as The Hive is built on a site occupied in Roman times. So since Somers...

  • 21st January 2014
Changes to Archive and Archaeology Service opening hours

Following the announcement of savings to be made by the County Council, we have reviewed the opening hours for Worcestershire Archive and Archaeology Service.   These hours have now been confirmed, and the opening hours are given below.  Please note that these do not affect access to microfilm resources, catalogues and indexes, the Local Studies and...

  • 14th January 2014
Changes to use of lockers in the Original Archive Area

We have experienced some problems with a limited number of lockers being available for use by visitors to the Archives as locker keys have been going missing. In order to ensure the facility continues to be made available for Archive users, starting from Monday 20th January the following changes will be made to our procedures:...

  • 13th January 2014
Wyre Forest Stream-walking survey: an update on progress

There is an update of progress available on the Wyre Forest Stream-walking blog, which is available here. This update looks at the Ram pumps and boundary stones at the Lem and Tanner’s Brook. Ram pump on the Lem Brook Don’t forget you can catch up with our previous posts on this here and here.

  • 10th January 2014
Treasures from Worcestershire’s Past: ~7~ Vesta Tilley scrapbooks

This week’s Treasure is a series of scrapbooks compiled by Vesta Tilley, which are brought to us by Adrian Gregson, County Archivist: The Music Hall star, Vesta Tilley, was born Matilda Alice Powles in Worcester in 1864. She went on to be a hugely successful star of the music and variety halls at the end...

  • 9th January 2014
Important update: Change to our Historic Environment Record opening hours

Following the announcement of savings to be made by the County Council, Worcestershire Archive and Archaeology Service is currently reviewing its opening hours. The new opening hours for our Historic Environment Record have now been confirmed and are as follows: Monday – Friday: 13:00 – 16:00 Saturday: 10:30 – 13:30 (Please note the HER is open...

  • 3rd January 2014
Treasures from Worcestershire’s Past: ~6~ A map by John Ogilby

Maps and plans are a great source for a study of a local area, house history and how people lived in the past. Worcestershire Archive Service hold Ordanace Survey maps, Tithe and Enclosure plans, Estate Maps, Public Health Maps which can all be used for comparing the lives of rich and poor, landowners and tenants....