Himley Hall - Wolverhampton Archaeology Group

W.A.G. are currently undertaking an archaeological survey of a site very close to Himley Hall which is believed to be that of where the old parish church of Himley once stood. In the eighteenth century the whole area was completely reconfigured by Capability Brown on behalf of Viscount Dudley & Ward, who had the old village swept away and relocated nearby. It is early days in this project but a number of important discoveries have been found during excavations which indicate that the location is almost certainly correct. I am grateful to Martin and Jan Holland and the team for allowing me personal access to the dig-site and for my initiation into the world of field archaeology, albeit by way of a modest contribution in assisting with sifting through the material with a sieve ! We all have to start somewhere.

Himley Hall

A brief visit to Himley Hall today in order to meet up with the Wolverhampton Archaeology Group who are investigating a site which they believe is possibly that of the original parish church of Himley. Then down to Witley to see Ruth Butler and a spot of lunch at the tearoom.

Spring is here at Witley

A glorious early spring day at the church and all is going very well indeed, daffodils are out, plenty of visitors, a good run of sales from the trolley and Gill & George and family (not forgetting Mary Holland and the staff) rushed off their feet in the tearoom - long may it continue.

Cigarette packet card from John Player & Sons, Nottingham

This is a cigarette packet card - number 31 out of a series of  50 - depicting the seats of famous peers-of-the-realm, which were issued by John Player & Sons of Nottingham in the early twentieth century. The brief description on the reverse side is almost 100% spot-on.

Witley Church publicity - Worcester Evening News, 13th March 2012

JIGSAWS: Angela Snow, publicity officer for Great Witley Church

Visitors to the beautiful Baroque Church at Great Witley can now take home a very special souvenir.
To raise funds for the church’s restoration and repairs, three jigsaws have been produced each focusing on a different aspect of the church itself.
There are two 500-piece jigsaws – one is a view of the interior of the church looking towards the gold mosaic altar and one is of its painted ceiling and there is also a 1,000-piece jigsaw which has several stunning views of the interior on it including some of the unique painted windows.

Steward Angela Snow said: “Visitors to the church cannot believe their eyes when they see such elaborate gilded decorations in a country church.
"In fact the windows, ceiling and organ were brought here nearly 300 years ago from a palace near London.
“In the 19th century beautiful wooden carved pews and pulpit were added.
"Being in the church in like being encased in a beautiful shining work of art. We thought it would be lovely for our visitors to be able to take a bit of it home with them.”

Although the church is attached to English Heritage’s Witley Court, it is still the parish church and it is only by the efforts of volunteers who love the church that it has been prevented from falling into disrepair.
The volunteers are now hoping that the jigsaws will help bring in some much needed funds to continue their work.
The church is now almost fully restored and its splendour is unique amongst country churches in Britain.
The interior features exquisite gilded decorations, numerous paintings by Antonio Bellucci, 10 painted glass windows depicting scenes from the Bible, highly decorative carving and a large monument by Rysbrack.
The case of its organ is from the instrument on which Handel played and many musicians consider its acoustics for music to be as fine as any building of its size outside London.
The church is open every day from 10am to 5pm and a steward is usually on hand to tell guests about
the history and restoration of the church.

Wightwick Manor, Wolverhampton

An early spring visit to Wightwick Manor, home of the Mander family, famous for paints and varnishes, whose business premises were located in nearby Wolverhampton. A late nineteenth/early twentieth- century manor house, deliberately built in a style that was in existence several hundred years before its time. Both the house and the garden are a riot of the "arts & crafts" style, pioneered by William Morris and his contemporaries. The interior contains much of Morris's craftsmanship in its furniture, fabrics and wall coverings etc. and a wealth of artwork by the Pre-Raphaelite dynasty such as Burne-Jones, Rossetti and Millais. A must-see, but avoid the 26th July this year as the Antiques Roadshow will be paying a call. This is Wightwick, where even the drain-pipes are interesting.

Witley Church Stewarding

This afternoon I deputised for Janet Hodgson and following a brief visit to the English Heritage staff (sadly minus Spencer Trickett) I took over from the morning steward Angela Snow up at the church. It was a busy afternoon for the time of year with around 70 visitors between 1.30 and 4.15pm. which, together with Angela's tally of 40, took the number to well over one hundred for the day; a fair few items were also sold from the trolley. We were visited by local historian and archaeologist Rod Sproat and also by fellow steward Eleanor Baber who gave me the sad news of the recent death of her husband Herbert whose funeral took place here last week.

Spencer Trickett's farewell bash, The Running Horse, Long Bank, Bewdley, Friday 9th March 2012.

Spencer Trickett is leaving English Heritage after many years at Witley Court as site manager. To mark the event his friends and colleagues organised a get-together at the Running Horse to say thank-you for all that Spencer did for us all over the years and to wish him all the very best for life in the future. Several members of the Poseidon Fountain Restoration Society and Great Witley church came along to show their appreciation and support.

The Poseidon Fountain Restoration Society - the end of an era.

The meeting of the Poseidon Fountain Restoration Society last night at the Hundred House, Great Witley, was the final one; the end of an era. At the June A.G.M. we will be reconstituted as the Witley Court Society. Watch this space for further announcements and developments.