BAALHS EVENTS PAGE

Wednesday 9th May: Guided Walk Around Bletsoe.
Car trip leaving St Peter's Church at 6.30pm.
David Baker OBE will lead a walk around Bletsoe village.

Sunday 17th June: Walk Around Milton Ernest.
Car trip leaving St Peter's Church at 1pm.
A self-guided walk around Milton Ernest village.

Sunday 1st July: Godmanchester and Living History Event.
Car trip leaving St. Peter’s Church at 10.00am.
A walk around historic Godmanchester, followed by a Living History event to celebrate
the town’s Royal Charter – Romans, Vikings and WW2 displays, and much more.

Sunday 15th July: Buckinghamshire Railway Centre, Quainton.
Car trip leaving St. Peter’s Church at 10.30am.
To Buckinghamshire Railway Centre: trains and displays,
– the story of the Great Train Robbery.

Sunday 5th August: Stockwood Museum.
Car trip leaving St. Peter’s Church at 10.30am.
To Stockwood Museum, near Luton – Mossman collection, gardens & displays.

Wednesday 12th September: The Society's Annual General Meeting & Film Show.
Putnoe Heights Church Centre at 7.30pm.
Following the AGM Peter Tipping will be showing a collection of comedy films.

Sunday 30th September: Southwell Minster & Southwell Workhouse
Coach trip leaving St. Peter’s Church at 9.00am.
Cost Ł10 per head (accompanied school age children free); price includes a guided tour of Southwell Minster.
Pre-booking essential.

----------------------FOR MORE DETAILS OF THE ABOVE EVENTS SEE BELOW----------------------

Wednesday 9th May: Guided Walk Around Bletsoe.
Car trip leaving St Peter's Church at 6.30pm.
Guided walk around Bletsoe village, led by David Baker OBE

Bletsoe Castle stands on the site of a medieval moated manor house with an associated 16th-17th century garden enclosure and landscape earthworks.The moated area is almost square in plan, surrounded by a ditch measuring up to 25 metres wide by 3.5 metres deep with an outer bank 2 metres high and 5 metres wide. The western arm of the moat has been partly filled in and landscaped into modern gardens but is still 2 metres deep and 10-15 metres wide; there is no outer bank on this side. The southern corner of the moat lies beneath a group of farm buildings which includes a 17th-18th century barn. The interior of the moated area measures at least 70 metres across. Crossing the moat in front of the house is a Grade II listed, 16th century stone bridge, the line of the track leading to the bridge is visible as an earthwork in the field to the south-west.

Sunday 17th June: A Walk around Milton Ernest.
Car trip, leaving from St. Peter’s Church at 1pm.
A self-guided walk around Milton Ernest. Park on street or at Milton Ernest Garden Centre (where there is also a café serving light meals, or Sunday lunch is available at the nearby Queen’s Head public house). If you park at the Garden Centre please note that it closes at 4.30pm, after which the gate to the car park is locked. Copies of a walking guide (‘Heritage Trail’) to historic Milton Ernest will be provided at St. Peter’s Church to those taking part.
Milton Ernest has a wealth of attractive old stone buildings. The trail starts with the Queen’s Head public house (originally two 17th century cottages), with an adjoining threshing barn (datestone 1666). Then follows Home Farm, a late 16th/ear/y 17th century building, largely rebuilt in 1859 by the architect William Butterfield. The Strawberry Tree, originally three 17th century cottages – members may remember it as the Strawberry Tree Tea Shop (opened in 1982). The trail takes in 42 buildings or sites, and includes a very pleasant river walk. The full trail can take up to two hours, but you can do as much or little of it as you want!
All Saints Church, previously known as Allhallows, dates back to the 11th century. The 13th century tower has six bells, three of which are dated 1611; 15th century font. The church was restored by William Butterfield between 1858-1865.
If you own, or can borrow, a copy, it would be worth reading before the trip The Importance of Milton Ernest, by David Newman, a well-researched and readable history of the village (published by the author, 2006).

Sunday 1st July: Godmanchester & Living History Event.
Car trip, leaving from St. Peter’s Church at 10.00am.
A walk around historic Godmanchester, followed by a living history event celebrating the town’s Royal Charter.
Godmanchester, chartered in 1212, had a rare form of self-government not amounting to borough status and its inhabitants were known as “free tenants”. This gave them the right to manage their own affairs without the intervention of the Sheriff. It became a borough in 1604. The town’s layout is unusual, with neither high street nor market place. It was principally a town of yeoman farmers. A large number of timber-framed houses (many originally farms) survive, chiefly 17th century. There are three fine examples in Earning Street, and Looker’s Farm in London Road.
The church, allegedly the largest in Huntingdonshire, probably grew out of a central-towered cruciform 12th century building. The tower was rebuilt at the western end in the 13th century. The present striking tower and spire was erected in 1625, funded from a tax on the inhabitants. On the south buttress of the chancel is probably the finest mass dial in England, a large 13th century carved wheel with a gnomon in the centre for throwing the shadow. It apparently tells time by Saxon “tides” not by hours – tides being 90 minutes each.
One of the best-known sights is the Chinese Bridge which connects Godmanchester with a water meadow. Local legend has it that the bridge was built without the use of nails or any other fixings. An architect later applied to the council for permission to deconstruct the bridge to discover how exactly this had been accomplished. This being done, they tried to reconstruct it, but found that they could not get it to support itself under its own weight. Cambridge has the same legend. More likely is that the original nails eroded away, giving the appearance of no nails.
The town was sited on a crossroads on Ermine Street (Durovigutum). There is evidence of a mansio (a Roman Inn for Travellers) and associated bath house. The living history event will include displays of Roman, Viking and WW2 living history and military demonstrations. Soldiers from each age will recreate their training and battle tactics, while civilian encampments demonstrate cooking, craft skills, medicine and life on the Home Front., with an enthralling mix of gladiator fights, story telling, Viking boats and German bombs on the recreation ground!

Sunday 15th July: Buckinghamshire Railway Centre, Quainton.
Car trip leaving from St. Peter’s Church at 10.30am.
Visit to the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre. This is a working steam museum displayed on a 25 acre site. Exhibits range from express passenger locomotives to shunting engines. Carriages include a dining car from the royal train of 1901 as well as another reputedly used by General Eisenhower and Winston Churchill amongst others for wartime planning meetings, and two Travelling Post Office carriages. There is a visitor centre with displays – including the story of the Great Train Robbery. Price Ł10 (OAP Ł9).

Sunday 5th August: Stockwood Museum.
Car trip leaving from St. Peter’s Church at 10.30am.
Stockwood Museum. The Mossman Collection of horse-drawn vehicles. George Mossman of Caddington collected, drove, restored and constructed horse-drawn vehicles for over 50 years. He began work in Panter's butchers shop in Park Street, St Albans, working with horse-drawn vans delivering meat to customers. It left him with a lifelong interest in horse-drawn transport, which he pursued in parallel with his farming and other business activities. His collection of vehicles was donated to the museum and is the largest collection of its kind on display in the UK. Many have been used in television productions and films including Ben Hur and Carry on Dick.
The Gardens. In the classical Improvement Garden the sculptures of acclaimed artist Ian Hamilton Finlay are on permanent display as an integral part of the landscape. The Period Gardens include the intricate patterns of the Elizabethan Knot Garden and the formality of the Italian Garden.
Roman & Anglo-Saxon heritage: a reconstructed Roman villa from Totternhoe and the Shillington coin hoard, the largest collections of Roman gold coins. Luton was founded in the Saxon period and a gallery tells the story of its growth from small farmstead to Royal Manor. It illustrates the life of the first Saxons who lived in Luton. You can also see a reconstructed house based on the excavations at Puddlehill, in Houghton Regis.
The Wenlock Jug: a rare example of metalwork that can be associated with royalty from the 1400s and is decorated with coats of arms, badges and inscribed with the words “MY LORD WENLOK”. The English royal arms, as used between 1340 and 1405, appear on the body of the jug. The Royal coat of arms is used to identify the head of state or the sovereign. There were a number of changes to the design of the coat of arms in this period and several monarchs reused the design of previous kings. The Jug bears a maker’s or merchant’s mark on its neck.
The inscription ‘MY LORD WENLOK’ relates to either John, the first Lord Wenlock, or his great-uncle William. John, 1st Lord Wenlock (c.1400-1471) was made a Lord in 1460. His main estates were in Bedfordshire, centred around Luton. He managed estates in Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Middlesex and the Duchy of Cornwall. He started building a large house in Luton, called ‘Someries’, - it was never finished, but its substantial ruin remains one of the earliest brick buildings in Bedfordshire. He rebuilt and extended the ‘Wenlock’ chapel in St. Mary’s Church, Luton c.1461. MP for Bedfordshire in the 1430s to 1440s; in 1455-56 he was elected Speaker of the House of Commons. Sheriff of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire in 1444-45. In July 1461 he became Chief Butler of England. He died at the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471 fighting for the Lancastrians.
William Wenlock born at Wenlock in Shropshire. In 1373 he managed one third of the manor of Luton and the Hundred of Flitte. Master of Farley Hospital in Luton from at least 1377, holding the Lordships of Farley and Whipperley. Canon of St. Paul’s Cathedral from 1362, Archdeacon of Rochester from 1376 and recorded in 1381 as Canon of King’s Chapel. He died in 1391 and is buried in St Mary’s Church, Luton.
The restaurant (open from 12.00-15.00) offers a wide range of cooked meals, including a carvery – pre-book for the carvery (please book on 01582 548600 or email dave.durbridge@lutonculture.com ). Entry to Stockwood is free.

Wednesday 12th September: The Society's Annual General Meeting & Film Show.
Putnoe Heights Church Centre at 7.30pm.
Following the AGM Peter Tipping will be showing a collection of comedy films.

Sunday 30th September: Southwell Minster & Workhouse.
Coach trip leaving St. Peter’s Church at 9.00am. Cost Ł10 per head (accompanied school age children free); the price includes a guided tour of Southwell Minster. Pre-booking is essential – please use the booking form enclosed with the Newsletter.

Southwell Minster is a minster and cathedral, seat of the Bishop of Southwell. It is an outstanding example of Norman and Early English architecture. The distinctive pyramidal spires of lead (or Rhenish caps) are the only example of their kind in England. The earliest church on the site is believed to have been founded in 627 by Paulinus, the first Archbishop of York. In 956 King Eadwig gave a gift of land in Southwell to the Archbishop of York, on which a Minster church was established.

The Norman reconstruction of Southwell Minster began in 1108, starting (as was usual) at the East end so that the high altar could come into use as soon as possible, the Saxon building being dismantled as work progressed. Many of the stones of the Saxon church were reused in the construction of the Norman one. The tessellated floor and late11th century tympanum in the North Transept are the only parts of the Saxon building remaining intact. Work on the nave began after 1120 and the building was completed by c. 1150.The Minster was built partly as an attached church of the Archbishop of York's Palace (which stood next door and is now ruined). It served the Archbishop as a place of worship and was also a collegiate body of theological learning, hence its designation as a minster. The minster still draws its choir from the nearby school with which it is associated. The Norman quire was replaced with an Early English building in 1234 because it was too small. The octagonal chapter house, built in 1286 complete with vault in Decorated Gothic style and naturalistic carving of foliage (including several Green Men), completed the cathedral.

Southwell Workhouse (known also as Greet House) was built in 1824. It was cited by the Royal Commission on the Poor law as the best example among the existing workhouses. The building remained in use until the early 1990s, when it was used to provide temporary accommodation for mothers and children. It was then acquired by the National Trust and restored. Many rooms have been redecorated as they would have looked in the 19th century and buildings, walls and privies, which had been demolished in the 20th century, have been reinstated. An audio tour is provided. ‘Workhouse Storytellers’ tell about aspects of everyday life in the Workhouse. Each story is inspired by Workhouse records – Census records, punishment and medical records and correspondence with the Poor Law Commissioners in London.

The Southwell Workhouse site is roughly square in design, with a three-storey accommodation block cutting through the centre and courtyards either side, and the whole enclosed within walls. One half of the building was used by women, the other by men. The central core of the building housed the staff and children, ensuring that all classes of inmate were kept separate. Men would maintain the vegetable garden, carry out decorating and maintenance on the workhouse, break stones for road laying and other physical tasks. Women were set to work in the laundry or the kitchen, or perhaps given knitting and sewing duties. Meanwhile, the children's day was split between a basic education in the classroom, and industrial training.
Through the nineteenth century the emphasis began to shift from the able-bodied inmates to those infirm and unable to work. As the type and number of inmates decreased, more staff joined the workhouse to undertake the tasks once performed by the able-bodied. There were nurses, cooks, laundry maids and gardeners in the early twentieth century, looking after the workhouse and the sick or elderly. In 1913 workhouses became known as 'institutions', and Southwell was renamed 'Greet House'. During the 1920s a new hospital was established for the care of terminally ill patients, and a mortuary was added.

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Royal Wedding

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