Newsletter: April 2019
As usual at this time of the year our Newsletter gives details of our July coach trip. This year we are going to Erddig, near Wrexham. If any of you are Antique Roadshow followers this large stately home featured as the venue for one of the January programmes.
Today, run by the National Trust, it looks magnificent, surrounded by beautiful formal gardens and woodland which overlooks the River Clywedog. It didn’t always look like this. Over the last forty years the National Trust has painstakingly transformed it from the sad, almost derelict, building that it had become.
A visitor to the house in the 1960s wrote this about the conditions she saw:
“Philip, the owner, led the way to the master bedroom. The only electricity happened when he cranked the handle of the generator in the servants kitchen so in the dimness of the upstairs corridor we passed hip baths and chamber pots laid out to catch the water where the roof was leaking like a colander. Philip said that it was a little better since he had put hose pipes into the guttering to take the water out through a bedroom window. The main bedroom was a sorry sight. The damask curtains round the bed hung in tatters and the chinese wallpaper was curling off the damp walls.”
Luckily the National Trust rescued the building and all its contents. For generations the Yorke family had added to their possessions but had never thrown anything away so the contents of the house are the original pieces. They have merely been restored and put on display.
We have booked an introductory talk before we go round the house but not a guided tour. However, there are knowledgeable volunteers in all of the rooms who are only too happy to share their knowledge. Outside, the large walled garden with its water features and orchard, with over 180 species of apple trees, is a quiet area to relax in. Whilst for the more energetic the parkland of over 1000 acres is there to be enjoyed. A restaurant and a café are available to cater for people’s appetites.
For keen gardeners, as an added extra, there is a tour of the gardens with a member of the gardening staff available. This costs an additional £8 and only takes place if the weather is suitable. If you are interested please fill in the appropriate line on the booking form.
'Beating the Bounds Walk'
This annual event around the parish boundary will be on Saturday, starting from St Nicholas Church at 9.30am going from there to Codsall Wood, Kingswood, Bradshaw’s Estate, Perton, Dam Mill, Gunstone and then back to Codsall, all taking place in a very gentle fashion. If you wish to join in later email: stephenskinner@telecomplus.org.uk to arrange times.
The walk normally finishes at St Nicholas Church at about 3 o'clock.
Staffordshire History Day – Saturday 11th May 2019 10am- 5pm
The Riverway Centre Stafford ST16 3TH
The day consists of 5 main talks on various aspects of Staffordshire history plus 4 presentations of Research Activity papers. Refreshments, lunch and free parking are provided . The total cost for the day is £25. If you are interested and would like more details please contact Judy, preferably by email so she could email information back to you.
Website – Please use codsallhistory.com to access the site.
Update: Iron Working at Coven
If you came to last year’s Local History Exhibition on the Sunday you may remember Paul Robinson showing objects he had found around Coven whilst out with his metal detector. It was during the afternoon that Paul had a conversation with a visitor which have led him to discover hitherto unknown iron workings around Coven. At first Paul thought they were Medieval but it now looks as though they are very much older than that.
Here are Paul’s own words on the latest developments:
There were three iron works around Coven in the late Medieval era and finds from a field near the village last year suggested yet another bloomery or forge had been discovered. However, analysis of two very large pieces of slag shows that the furnace (or more likely furnaces) date from a much earlier period. These waste products have features which correspond precisely with material excavated from Iron Age and Romano-British metal-working sites. In addition, intensely burnt clay, stone with splashes of molten iron and waste from at least two smith's hearths have been discovered.
A 'Time Team' style geophysical survey was carried out a few weeks ago in association with Wolverhampton Archaeology Group and this has revealed a number of interesting features. When the crop is harvested later in the year, a number of 'test pits' will be excavated and hopefully more evidence of early iron smelting will come to light. More details can be obtained from Paul Robinson via email - paulderekrobinson@gmail.com.
Visit the Staffordshire Past track site for photographs from around the County
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Saturday 13th July 2019 Trip to Erddig, Wrexham
The coach will leave Codsall Village Hall at 9.30am, travel to Erddig to arrive at 11am approx. Refreshments are available in the restaurant and there will be free time to wander around the house and grounds before we board the coach at 4.30pm for the return journey. We hope to arrive back in Codsall at about 6.0pm. Erddig is a National Trust property so members, with their cards, have free entry. For non National Trust visitors there is an £11.50 entrance fee.
Besides a free introductory talk on arrival there is the option of a Garden Tour if the weather is suitable. This would cost an additional £8 for anyone interested.