Killed by a lion

Yesterday I went off to the open morning at the Record Office for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland (ROLLR) in Wigston as part of the Heritage Open Weekend, when buildings that are not often open to the public, or who normally make an admission charge, open their doors for free. ROLLR is actually open for many hours a week, and I don't believe there is an admission charge, but the main reason they were open was to hold a celebratory party to celebrate their 70th birthday!

The event was very popular, and loads of people turned up for the presentation on the new Base Hospital database. This building was formerly the Leicestershire and Rutland County Lunatic Asylum (constructed of Mountsorrel white bricks), and is now the Fielding Johnson Building, an admin building at the University of Leicester. However, during WW1 the building was used as a military hospital.  

As well as the presentation of the database there were cakes and snacks modelled on the 1940s, and guided tours of the strong room and the conservation areas. Around the search rooms were dotted some cabinets with original documents in them, included the oldest document helped by ROLLR which was from the 1100s.

One of the documents on display was one I've seen and read before, and was on display because it shows the way people used to draw people's attention to something of interest that had been written - a hand drawn manicule in the border. The document also reports a strange and very sad occurrence in the town:

"Roger Sheppard, sonne in lawe to Nicholas Wollandes was sleayne by a Lyones - whiche was brought, into the towne, to be seyne of such as would gyve money to see her. He was soore wounded in sondrey places and was buried the xxi daye of august 1579." 

Of course, there are a number of clarifications and questions that arise upon reading about this dreadful event. A sonne in lawe at the time would actually have been a stepson, and at the time of the accident, poor little Roger was only 5. According to further reports he received five injuries, the mortal being the one in his left side, opposite his heart, which wound was 1 inch long, 1 inch wide and 6 inches deep. The accident happened on 20th August 1579, and Roger, who died at 11am that day, was buried the next day.

The lioness was being looked after by John Castle in a room belonging to Nicholas Wollandes, a Bailiff of the town, and it was chained to a beam. Clearly this tether was insufficient, and the lioness used its teeth and claws on the young child. I have to wonder why someone had a lioness in their house, and how they came to have it, and why they thought it was safe to be viewed at such close quarters. 

If you would like to read more stories of accidents in Tudor England, have a look at the website: Everyday life and fatal hazard in sixteenth-century England.

Such a sad story to end your Sunday evening - sorry.    

You are welcome to quote passages from any of my posts, with appropriate credit. The correct citation for this looks as follow:

Dyer, Lynne (2017). Bridges, buses, trains, balloons and runners! Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2017/09/killed-by-lion.html [Accessed 10 September 2017]

Take down policy:

I post no pictures that are not my own, unless I have express permission so to do. All text is my own, and not copied from any other information sources, printed or electronic, unless identified and credited as such. If you find I have posted something in contravention of these statements, or if there are photographs of you which you would prefer not to be here, please contact me at the address listed on the About Me page, and I will remove these.

Thank you for reading this blog. 

Lynne 

Bridges, buses, trains, balloons and runners!

Well, this last week seems to have been all about transport of one sort or another!!

Last weekend a hot air balloon was spotted flying over Loughborough, and it came so close to my house I managed to take a couple of pictures, from the front bedroom window, and then from the back.

So, the Bridge to the Future is looking like the Bridge of Today - or last night!! Apparently, around 2am contractors working for the GCR put into place a couple of beams for the reinstating of the bridge over the Midland Mainline. The event is well-covered over on the GCR website, and there are some fabulous pictures of the overnight event. Below are some of my own photos from this morning.

On the way back from the 10K race at Abbey Park in Leicester this morning, we spotted a number of old buses pulling in and out of the Park and Ride at Birstall, so having spent some time this morning down at the Midland Mainline dropping a youngster off for a train, before popping over the road to look more closely at the GCR bridge, what better thing to do than walk to Quorn and Woodhouse Station and see those buses from the Leicester Transport Heritage Trust, a bit closer up! And how exciting that was too! Especially as we bumped into an expert friend who was able to tell us if the coach bodies were Brush, or shhhh, made in Lancashire! I must admit, although I wasn't familiar with the buses we saw, the little Midland Red, did remind me very much of the Western Welsh buses from Abergavenny. Of course, Q&W is a railway station, so we also saw trains!

I wonder what next week has in store for me?

You are welcome to quote passages from any of my posts, with appropriate credit. The correct citation for this looks as follow:

Dyer, Lynne (2017). Bridges, buses, trains, balloons and runners! Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2017/09/bridges-buses-trains-balloons-and.html [Accessed 3 September 2017]

Take down policy:

I post no pictures that are not my own, unless I have express permission so to do. All text is my own, and not copied from any other information sources, printed or electronic, unless identified and credited as such. If you find I have posted something in contravention of these statements, or if there are photographs of you which you would prefer not to be here, please contact me at the address listed on the About Me page, and I will remove these.

Thank you for reading this blog. 

Lynne 

Taylors bells sent off to Ypres

Those of you who are following #100days #100wordsaboutloughborough will know that on Thursday this week I was lucky enough to be able to attend an event in Queen's Park. 

I visited Taylor's Bellfoundry a couple of weeks ago as part of a group from the local library being shown around the foundry and the small museum. It was absolutely fascinating, and I took some wonderful photographs (oh, you know me, the subjects were amazing, my capturing of them, less so!) to remind me of the visit (we were discouraged from sharing photos). Well, the bells that I saw being prepared were the very same ones that would be making the momentous journey from Loughborough to Ypres.

The bells left the bellfoundry on Thursday morning on two WW1 lorries, and made their way to Queen's Park where they were greeted by a large crowd. People were taking photos, talking to people involved in the making of the bells, or those who transported them, or to friends they may have bumped into, and all accompanied by the playing of the Carillon. The Mayor led a two-minute silence before wishing the bells "bon voyage", and she was followed by a number of other speakers, including one of the directors of Taylors. 

It was a hugely moving event, one of those once in a lifetime moments that it was a pleasure to attend. 

Excuse the amateurish video - my first attempt on my phone - but here's a flavour of the event. I'll put some photographs beneath as well.

Nothing more to say really, is there?

You are welcome to quote passages from any of my posts, with appropriate credit. The correct citation for this looks as follow:

Dyer, Lynne (2017). Taylors bells sent off to Ypres. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2017/08/taylors-bells-sent-off-to-ypres.html [Accessed 27 August 2017]

Take down policy:

I post no pictures that are not my own, unless I have express permission so to do. All text is my own, and not copied from any other information sources, printed or electronic, unless identified and credited as such. If you find I have posted something in contravention of these statements, or if there are photographs of you which you would prefer not to be here, please contact me at the address listed on the About Me page, and I will remove these.

Thank you for reading this blog. 

Lynne 

Cheltenham Harpury Malvern and Loughborough

I'm just back from a couple of days in Cheltenham visiting the daughter. Had a fabulous time at the Holst Birthplace Museum, and the Wilson Museum in Cheltenham itself, and then an equally great time looking at a church in Hartpury and walking up the hills around Little Malvern.

I am, however, a little irritated with myself for not checking the area out as much beforehand as I could have done, as I missed something really special! That said, I was so pleased to happen upon some interesting things that reminded me of Loughborough!

Inside Holst's birthplace there was some lace on display - reminded me of Heathcoat and Boden's lace manufactury on what is now Market Street, the recipient of a coveted Leicestershire County Counil green plaque award in 2017.

Then, in the Wilson Museum I was thrilled to see loads of examples of the work of Ernest Gimson and his friends and fellow arts and crafts artists the Barnselys as I'd forgotten that after having been born and brought up in Leicestershire, Ernest moved to the Cotswolds!

The town centre of Cheltenham also boasted a lovely small fountain, and a much larger, more extravagant one

The war memorials were quite poignant, and the area quite blooming.

Meanwhile, over in Hartpury, having walked around the church and churchyard, and seen the the beehive, we spotted some long-horned cattle

Longhorn calf

Travelling on to Malvern, it was a surprise to find some pink granite on the hills. 

It was a delight to happen upon the reservoir

And a real thrill to see, far in the distance, and obelisk!

What I didn't realise while I was there was that I was so close to the church where the Elgar family are buried. I do like to have a look around churchyards, just to how they differ around the country, but I didn't make it to this particular church. Edward Elgar, the composer who created a piece especially for the opening of our Carillon in 1923 is one of the Elgar's buried here. His music, Carillon Chimes is on display in the Charnwood Museum, having been found tucked away in a cupboard somewhere for many years.  

By the time we got to the little town of Great Malvern, all we had energy for was dinner. Best go back there some time and be a bit more prepared!

You are welcome to quote passages from any of my posts, with appropriate credit. The correct citation for this looks as follow:

Dyer, Lynne (2017). Bells, fountains and courtyards. Available from:  https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2017/08/cheltenham-harpury-malvern-and.html [Accessed 20 August 2017]

Take down policy:

I post no pictures that are not my own, unless I have express permission so to do. All text is my own, and not copied from any other information sources, printed or electronic, unless identified and credited as such. If you find I have posted something in contravention of these statements, or if there are photographs of you which you would prefer not to be here, please contact me at the address listed on the About Me page, and I will remove these.

Thank you for reading this blog. 

Lynne