Witley Court Society - Next meeting Thursday 6th December 2012

The Witley Court Society

 

Registered Charity no: 1001400

Founded at the Great Witley Parish Church Tearooms

on the 16^th June 2012.

 

Chairman: Mark Brown

Secretary: David Pagett

Treasurer: Angela Snow

Journal editor: Rod Sproat

Membership Secretary: Sally Ludlow

 

Quarterly Meeting to be held at the Hundred House, Great Witley on Thursday 6^th December 2012 at 20.00 hours.

Agenda

1. Apologies for absence.
2. Chairman's welcome and address.
3. Minutes from the September 2012 meeting.
4. Secretary's report
5. Treasurer's report – financial situation.
6. Distribution of the latest W.C.S. journal.
7. Committee members and society bank account.
8. Further discussion with regards to future W.C.S. activities, viz: membership matters, web site, material for future journals, archives & research, publicity, speakers, visits, Worcestershire Local History Forum, affiliations, exhibition stands, displays, logo's etc.
9. Witley church stewards gathering – Saturday 15^th December 2012 at Great Witley village hall.
10. Invitation for Mr. Simon Lees-Milne, Witley Church restoration committee, to come along to one of our meetings to talk about future proposed developments at the church.
11. A.O.B.

A reminder to all members that annual subscriptions to the society are now due, at the agreed rates. This will help to swell the depleting coffers and provide on-going finance, especially with regards to day-to-day costs such as printing and postage.

It has become a custom over recent years for a number of members to arrive early for the meeting in order to avail themselves of the excellent dining facilities offered by our hosts at the Hundred House. We usually end up with a light meal or bar snack. Please feel free to join us from around 7.00 pm onwards.

David Pagett, Secretary

Anne Leoni

I am sorry to have to tell you all that Anne Leoni died last Wednesday. As I am sure you know Anne was a very enthusiastic steward and was an active member of the restoration committee, being responsible for much of our advertising and press releases. She had been ill and had decided to move to Devon which she loved. Her funeral will be at the Kidderminster crematorium on 7th December at 1.00 p.m. If anyone wishes to attend, they will be most welcome.

Worcestershire Archaeology Services Day School

Francesca Llewellyn, Terry Chaloner & Ruth Butler, NorthWAG members manning the stand

The annual Worcestershire Archaeological Services day school was held today on the Worcester University campus, Henwick. NorthWAG members were present at this event and represented themselves with an information stand which attracted considerable interest during a very successful day.

Last day of the season for the church tearoom

Today was the last day of opening of the church tearoom in the 2012 season prior to the winter closure period. I would like to extend my personal thanks to Gill Edmunds and her team for their hard work and dedication over the past few months. Despite being incredibly busy at times, it has been "service-with-a-smile" every time, plus of course the excellent food on offer and the magnificent garden. I hope to see you all again next year - Gill plans to re-open on Wednesday 27th March 2013.

End of season stewarding

It is now the end of October and things are quietening down here at Great Witley, though there were still plenty of people about, especially this afternoon, despite it being a cold and wet day. I was covering for Ruth Butler who, at the moment, is suffering a bout of influenza, but Angela Snow popped in so that I could take a short break for lunch down at the tearoom; fellow steward Lata Taylor also paid a visit in the afternoon. Evensong was at 5 o'clock and the choir began to arrive for practice under the hand of musical director John Jenkin. The clocks have just gone back an hour as a reminder of the long dark winter nights about to descend upon us - roll on next spring !

August Bank Holiday Weekend - The Art Exhibition

Once again Great Witley played host over the Bank Holiday weekend to an exhibition featuring the work of local artists which was organised by Anne Walter and her team. The event spanned the whole weekend and on the Sunday at least, several hundred visitors flocked to the church to see the impressive display.

Part of the display of artwork in the sanctuary



Rita Phillips fom Stourport on Severn exhibited several of her works in the nave of the church

Anne Walter (centre) and her team who organised the event

Outside the church a pottery demonstration was organised

Mort Stone Archaeological Excavation

Northwag members in the churchyard prior to the dig commencing

Measuring and recording prior to the mort stone leaving the trench

Inscription on the mort stone after it was excavated

Today, members of North Worcestershire Archaeology Group, ably led by Rod Sproat, assembled in the churchyard in order to excavate the old mort stone prior to its possible relocation fairly soon. A most interesting dig then took place resulting in some fascinating discoveries of a quite unexpected nature. Needless to say a couple of new recruits were enlisted to the group.