Newsletter 1

 

The Bull from the stocks 1908

 

Insurance Document - Dyers Cottage

LIVING HISTORY

The Newsletter of the Bottesford ‘Living History’ Community Heritage Project.
October 2006

September 22nd saw the launch of our two-year Community Heritage Project, with enthusiastic volunteers coming forward, aged from 5 to 85. There were representatives from a range of local groups and organizations, including the Horticultural Society, the Angling Club, the Bell Ringers, St Mary’s Primary School and Belvoir High School , the Scouts and Guides and W.I., St Mary’s Church, Melton Borough Council and the East Midlands Oral History Archive.
The village hall was buzzing with ideas. In addition to the planned Oral History part of the project and the Picture Archive, there have been suggestions for a Video Group, a World War 2 Group, a Family History Group, a Farming Group, a Bell Ringers History Group and a Graveyard Survey Group. The plan is for people with shared interests to get together to organize their research and present their findings. The House History Group is already in action.
The project has taken off even faster than we hoped, with contributions of maps, documents and photographs flooding in. Many local people have come forward to contribute information and memories. If you know of anyone who missed the launch but would like to get involved, or who attended but forgot to leave their name, please encourage them to get in touch.

Oral History
Nineteen people attended the two workshops in oral history that were given by Colin Hyde of the East Midlands Oral History Archive ( Leicester University ). Packed with advice and information, these workshops included videos of how to interview people, and how not to! Colin’s recordings archive includes everything from Florence Nightingale to Leicester children’s skipping rhymes. There is already some material from Bottesford, but we plan to add a great deal more. The modern recorders are tiny and easy to use. They capture exactly what people say and how they say it, much more effectively than memory alone or an overworked biro!
Bottesford’s newly trained Oral Historians are making plans to capture the memories and knowledge of a range of local residents. People who are interviewed will be asked to give copyright permission so that extracts can be used in Project publications and on the websites, but will of course have the final say on which parts of the material can be used.

Mapping Bottesford’s Past
Thanks are due to Peter Topps, who has lent a copy of the Enclosure Map of 1771 and the catalogue and maps for the Duke’s sale in 1920, along with copies of documents which show the development of Bottesford in the 20th Century. These, together with the  1884 “6-inch” maps lent to us by Mike Saunders, should allow us to present a picture of changing Bottesford from the 18th Century to the present.

Discovery at the Deli
Like so much in Local History, it all started with a chat, in this case over the cheese counter in the Malthouse Deli (lovely Manchego ).  Nicky and Andy Wendler were able to tell us that the Malthouse Deli really was a Malthouse and was once much bigger than it is today. You can see the traces of the old building where the wall has been rendered in The Bull car park. Then we got on to talking about old buildings in general and to our delight Nicky and Andy offered to lend the Heritage Project the deeds to their house.
The deeds, which date back to 1744, are beautiful documents, exquisitely written on parchment with seals, starting with sonorous phrases, ‘ This indenture made the eleventh day of May in the seventeenth year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord George the Second by the Grace of God King of Great Britain and Ireland King Defender of the Faith….
Amongst the papers we were particularly interested to find references to the sale by the Vestry ( the precursor of the Parish Council) of the Bottesford Workhouse. We had never come across any reference to Bottesford having its own Workhouse before and hope to discover more about Bottesford’s poor in the 18th and 19th Centuries. Could anyone with any information on this topic please get in touch.

The Bottesford Friendly Society  ‘God working ever on a social plan /By various ties attaches man to man.’
Mike Saunders got the Heritage Project off to a flying start with the loan of numerous fascinating maps, documents and photographs. Amongst them were some of the Bottesford Friendly Society’s records from 1822 to 1973.
Its rules were sometimes severe: ‘if any member fall sick or lame, he shall receive six shillings per week during his illness, except it be occasioned by wrestling, quarrelling, or the venereal distemper, which, if proved upon him, he shall not only be denied the benefit of the box, but be for ever expelled the society.’
Since the Friendly Society, founded in 1744,  survived into the 1970s, older Bottesford residents may well remember it and we would be very pleased to hear any recollections and would very much like to see any other surviving documents or photographs.

Beginning with The Bull
Bottesford has 32 listed buildings and many more designated as being of local interest. The House History Group which plans to investigate Bottesford’s old buildings and their past has made a start by delving into the history of The Bull Inn. The present building dates back to the early 18th Century, but there was almost certainly an older building on the site, perhaps as early as 1526.In modern times The Bull has been famous for its connections with Laurel and Hardy, but using the census and other material we have been able to trace the occupants of The Bull back to 1822. Linda and Geoff Morris have lent the project their collection of newspaper reports and photographs, including the sad account of the tragic deaths of four children in the yard of The Bull in 1831. We are keen to hear from anyone with information, documents or photographs relating to any of Bottesford’s old buildings.

Drama Event
A drama event based on life at the village school in the 1950s is planned as part of the project. Anyone who attended Bottesford school around that time who is willing to share their knowledge and memories should contact Julia Tobin,  01949 8844 323.

The Cross and Stocks
Amongst the many documents lent to the project by Mike Saunders was a copy of The Cross and Stocks Vol. 1 No. 5 for May 1968. The Cross and Stocks was the village magazine of the 1960s, edited by Ted Shipman.  Does anyone know of copies for other months which we could borrow for the project? Ask around.

Photograph Archive
People who have old photographs of Bottesford and its inhabitants are understandably reluctant to part with them. If you know anyone with old photographs, please stress that the project only intends to borrow and copy them. If anyone you know would prefer their photographs never to leave their possession it is possible to arrange for them to watch while they are being copied so that they can have them back immediately.

IT Training
All this talk about scanning and digitizing and power point presentations can be discouraging for those of us who have little or no computer skills. Part of the Heritage Lottery Grant has been allocated for I.T. training and we have had discussions with the Community Centre about setting up a course. Training will be free, so if you are interested contact Neil Fortey on 01949843320 as soon as possible.

Plans for the Project Website
Plans are afoot to create a website that will be an internet shop window for local history in Bottesford and Muston. In addition to sending it around the world, reaching past residents in Australia and other countries, it will also be interactive. This means that anyone (with an internet connection) will be able to add their information about past times, places and people, or add to (or correct) information already on the site.

Support from Melton Museum
Jenny Dancy of Melton Museum has provided invaluable advice and encouragement,  giving us access to the Museum’s files on Bottesford, supplying guidance on conservation and conservation materials, lending equipment and most of all inspiring us with her infectious enthusiasm for Local History.

Assistance from the Geological Survey
The British Geological Survey, based at Keyworth, has agreed to allow the use of their facilities to digitize large documents, copyright permitting. This will be an enormous help in recording maps and fragile documents which cannot be copied on ordinary A4 scanners.

Thanks
Thanks also to all those not already mentioned  who have recently lent or donated material to the project:  Reg Boyce, Viv Finch, Sue Middleton, Kathy Sparham 

CONTACT THE PROJECT

Neil Fortey             Project Coordinator      01949 843 320                    neilfortey@metronet.co.uk

Barbara Pizzey     Project Secretary          01949 844 026                    albapizzey@btopenworld.com

Dorothy Baines     Project Treasurer          01949 8430 44                    ChrisbainesSPPc@aol.com