New arrivals in our strongrooms (2)

May 2017

It’s been another busy time for new arrivals. We’re really grateful for all these new donations and deposits, many of which have been hidden away in homes and offices for years. If you’re planning on bringing items to offer to the Archives, please get in touch before you visit so that we can make an appointment for you.

We were delighted that the Friends of Gloucestershire Archives helped us to purchase a small but significant group of architectural plans relating to Gloucestershire’s early mental hospitals (then called ‘lunatic asylums’). These iconic buildings at Coney Hill and Horton Road in Gloucester survive in very changed forms today.

 Architects plans (elevation shows Coney Hill)

 

The remains of Coney Hill today      (www.countyasylums.co.uk/coney-hill-gloucester)

We were also pleased that an old minute book for the Bibury turnpike trust found its way home to Gloucestershire after being discovered in Devon.

We don’t just collect ‘traditional’ paper and parchments documents, of course. More and more we’re handling digital material and we’ve been developing ways of preserving these records safely too. Oral history is a popular activity for local community heritage projects and we’re seeing the results of this in our growing digital archive. Newcomers in May include records of Clapham Court residents’ reminiscences project in Gloucester, 2015 (GA reference D14414); ‘Gloucestershire Remembers World War 1’ project, 2013-2015 (D14421); Dowty Heritage community archive project, 2017 (D14045, Accession 14426); and, as a legacy of the Hidden Lives Project in Barton and Tredworth, more reminiscences of this area of Gloucester gathered by the St James & Christchurch community heritage project, 2014-2015 (D14419) and from lifelong resident Norman White, now in his 90s, 2016 (D14416).

Our trained GA volunteers also interviewed Rev Noel Baker of Stonehouse. In an exceptionally detailed interview, recorded over 7 sessions, retired minister Noel reflected on his life history (D14415). We also captured memories of County Councillors retiring in May after many years’ service in Gloucestershire (D14418).

The rest of this bumper crop of accessions are listed below. If you’d like more details, please click on the link in the left hand column which takes you to the online catalogue. No link means there’s no more description ready as yet.

The online catalogue will also tell you whether you can access the records now or whether they are closed for any reason. If this is the case you may be able to arrange to see them by appointment.

Reference	Title	Description
D3418, D7028 Accessions 14395.1, 14395.2	Tewkesbury and Cheltenham Methodist Circuit	Records of various chapels in the circuit including Bethesda, St. Matthe’s, St Mark’s and Cheltenham Wesley, and Alderton, Bishops Cleeve, and Winchcombe
D3187 Accession 14395.3	Stroud Primitive Methodist Circuit	Cashes Green Chapel deeds, 1901-1945, and registration of title, 2009; appointments of  trustees, 1930-1961; other papers, 1940-1950 (1 bundle)
D14397	Gloucestershire Royal British Legion, Women’s Section	County Committee and Conference minutes, address and accounts book, 1937-2010; records of now closed sections throughout Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire, c.1937-2010 (12 boxes)
D1340 Accession 14398	Society of Friends (Quakers)	Minutes of Nailsworth preparative meetings, 1914-1977  (5 volumes)
D9447 Accession 14401	Cheltenham & District Orchid Society	Records relating to membership and shows, 1976-2000, including show committee minutes, 1994-2000 and photograph album of the 25th anniversary dinner, with attendees identified, 2000 (2 volumes, several bundles)
D14403	Capella Singers of Stroud	Minutes, 1976-1992, 2000-2010 (1 bundle)
D14404	Lumb’s Educational Foundation, Cheltenham	Records of Richard Kershaw Lumb’s Foundation of the Cheltenham Industrial School: include deeds, 1866-1955; minutes of trustees, 1866-1983; register of boys, 1866-1947; pamphlets, 1887-1914; correspondence, 1889-1962; financial records, 1901-1980; researchers’ notes and other work, undated (1 large box)
D14405	County Amateur Swimming Association (Gloucester and Bristol)	Minutes of Gloucester County Amateur Swimming Association, 1914-1960, and of Bristol Amateur Swimming Association, 1936-1957; letter asking for a designated bathing area in Bristol, 1894; photograph of a club dinner function [1940] (5 volumes, 2 documents)
D14406	Bibury Turnpike Trust	Minutes and accounts of the Burford to Preston Turnpike Trustees, also known as Bibury Turnpike Trustees, , 1801-1867  (1 volume)
D14407	Deeds for Bitton, Cheltenham and Leckhampton	Deeds of property in Westover, Bitton, 1779-1876; deeds of properties in Columbia Street, Victoria Street and York Street, Cheltenham, 1853-1904; St Paul’s Street, Cheltenham, 1835; Townsend Street, Cheltenham, 1834-1841; and Upper Norwood Street, Leckhampton, 1835-1837, all in the manor of Cheltenham (1 bundle)
D14408	Deeds for Winterbourne	Deeds and related papers of property known as “The Stores”, 2 High Street, Winterbourne, 1837-1974          (1 bundle)
D14409	Local historian Mr P A T Griffiths’ collection of farm and brewery records	Auction sale poster for livestock, etc on Brockhampton and Prestbury Hill farms in Bishops Cleeve, 1879; articles of association of the Coombe Valley Brewery Company Ltd, Wotton-under-Edge, 1905; sale particulars for the Sawyers Arms Inn, Avening, 1907-1908; exchange of letters between brewery companies on the illegal practice of the “long pull” in some public houses, 1928 (6 documents)
D12789 Accession 14410	Fielding and Platt Community Archive	Records of former Fieldings’ employee Clarence Hack: include a drawing of a Tweddell System crane, 1895; foundation plan of a forging machine, n.d.; drawings of various extrusion presses, 1916-1970; photos of staff and overseas business trips, with individuals named, 1958-1976; flyers for sales missions to New Zealand, 1968, and to South America, 1976 (1 box)
D14411	Deeds for Cranham	Woodside Farm and Mill, 1843-1867 (1 bundle)
D14413	County Lunatic Asylums at Horton Road and Coney Hill, Gloucester	Horton Road First Gloucestershire County Lunatic Asylum: site plan signed by the clerk of works, 1889 Coney Hill (2nd) County Lunatic Asylum: four drawings including elevations by London architects Giles and Gough, 1880-1906
D14417 and D14420	Gloucester History Festival 2016	Audio recording of local historian Phil Moss’s talk on Gloucester at the time of Henry III; and events to launch the publication of Victoria County History volume  13, including audio recordings and photos     (2 digital folders)
S331 Accession 14423	Thrupp Primary School	Governor’s meeting minutes, 1997-2008; finance committee minutes, 1997-2005; staffing committee minutes, 1998-2005  (1.5 boxes)
D14133 Accession 14424	North Nibley Congregational Chapel	Records include appointment of new trustees, 1854; bills and receipts, 1875-1925; Renovation Appeal Fund collections, 1933; correspondence, 1951-1952 (10 small volumes and loose items)
GCC Accession 14425	Gloucestershire County Council	Minutes of County Council meetings and of various Boards, Committees and Panels, 2015 (19 volumes) Note that open minutes can also be accessed online
D14427	Bingham Library Trustees, Cirencester	Records of the trustees including files relating to the new Bingham Library, 1960-1990; Lait Gallery, 1968-2005; Purley Road allotments and properties, 1968-1989; Richard Matthews’ charity, 1997; finance, insurance and investment, 1974-1999; Bingham House, 1971-2000; Dyer Street House, 1951-2002; Bingham Trust Grants, 1974-1998 (some items damp damaged) (18 boxes)
D13572 Accession 14428	Holst Museum, Cheltenham	Sound rushes for a programme about Holst, commissioned by Cheltenham Borough Council and made by Demeter Films in the 1970s; DVDs made by Tony Palmer, the maker of the original film, in preparation for his 2011 film “In the Bleak Midwinter”  (12 small boxes, 8 DVDs)