2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | January 2007

September 2007 Newsletter

Annual General Meeting
Meetings
Review of Past Activities

Annual General Meeting

At the Annual General Meeting held on Thursday 26 April, the officers and the following members, Mrs. Barbara Jones, Miss Cathy Kearns, and Mrs. Esmé Salt were re-elected for a further year. Judith Vernier resigned and we welcome Mrs. Pat Mooney who was elected in her place. Mrs. Aimée Green has very kindly volunteered to take over the production of the Newsletter and this offer of assistance is greatly appreciated. Any other offers of help to the committee are always very welcome.

Meetings

The winter season of talks will commence on Thursday 27 September when Cliff Lea will speak on A History of Oil and an interesting Dronfield connection. November's meeting on Thursday 22nd has Harry Barnes, recently retired after many years as Member of Parliament for this constituency, with a talk entitled From the Cavendishes to Coal Miners, Dronfield MPs 1832 - 1950. The Christmas meeting takes place on Thursday 13 December when Nicola Wright will speak about her historic home, Eyam Hall, and members may enjoy a festive drink and mince pie. The first meeting of 2008 on 24 January sees the return (by popular request!) of David Templeman to tell us more about Sheffield Manor Lodge and particularly, 'Mary Queen of Scots in Captivity'.

All meetings take place at 7.30 p.m. in the Edward Lucas Hall of the Peel Centre which is accessible by stair lift via the fire escape stairs to the left of the main entrance. Please ask a committee member for access either before or at the meeting. If you require transport to attend the meetings, please contact a committee member too.

Review of Past Activities

Following the Annual General Meeting, Nick Wheat, ODS member and History and Archives Coordinator of the Holmesfield Village Society, took us on a tour of Bygone Holmesfield. He stylishly presented a selection of pictures, some acquired recently, of views, past and present, of the Holmesfield area and brought back many memories of childhood walks and outings for some members of his audience. He also recounted how the area had been the scene of two air crashes, in one of which, in 1955, the 19-year old trainee pilot, Pilot Officer Robert Tritton was the only fatality. A plaque was erected by the residents of Millthorpe and Holmesfield in May 2005 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of this tragic 'plane crash.

May's meeting had Professor Gordon Bell speaking about the Carter family of artists headed by Henry Barlow Carter who became an influential water colour painter when that medium was in its infancy in the first half of the 19th century. The connection with Dronfield was through his younger son, Joseph Newington Carter, who was educated at the Hillside Academy in Dronfield between 1845 and 1847 when the Headmaster was the Reverend John Cockerton whose origins are thought to have been in Bermondsey, London, where H.B. Carter was born and where the two families may have come to know each other. The Carters settled in North Yorkshire and both sons inherited their father's artistic talent, though the elder trained as a doctor and became a pioneer in tropical medicine. However, he is remembered most for the illustrations he did for the first edition of Gray's Anatomy in 1858, which remains a standard text today. The younger son, Joseph, trained as the Royal Academy and then worked with his father as a professional painter but sadly died at the young age of 36 in 1871. Professor Bell has traced some of his letters written to his sister when at school in Dronfield telling of such incidents as how he walked to Sheffield to get a haircut! Altogether he presented a fascinating record of an unusual family illustrated by examples of their distinguished works.

The next Society event was over the weekend of June 9/10 when this year's exhibition on Shops and Shopkeepers in Dronfield was the best attended ever, if the donation box was anything to go by! Our thanks to all those who contributed. Throughout both Saturday and Sunday (allowing for the usual lunchtime lull), a steady stream of visitors examined the many photographs of businesses and their proprietors and employees, both past and present, and enjoyed reminiscing, discussing (and sometimes arguing!) over who was who and how things were. A fine display of artefacts contributed by Society members and from the Sheffield Heritage Museum provided further reminders of past purchases and household essentials before the dominance of 'white goods' and gadgets.

The evening of 21st June saw a somewhat grey and ominous sky for the Society walk around Hope but fortune smiled upon us as the rain miraculously held off while two groups set off, led by guides from the Hope Local History Group around the village. As usual the superficial impression gained by driving through was demolished as we learnt of the village's ancient history from prehistoric times through to the present day and discovered several interesting old buildings including one of the last 'houses' relocated from Tin Town, the settlement for the builders of the Derwent Dams. The evening concluded with a feast of home-made delicacies in the beautiful setting of the church.

The Society's all day outing on 7 July to Weston Park Museum and Sheffield Manor Lodge was barely supported by the membership which was disappointing in the extreme, particularly when requests had been made for a visit to Manor Lodge following David Templeman's talk about it. However, those who did go enjoyed either a first visit or return to the excitingly refurbished Museum where it was encouraging to see so many children as well as older visitors enjoying the many 'hands on' activities. A slightly longer drive than anticipated caused by road closures because of the Lord Mayor's parade, took us up the hill to Manor Lodge where an excellent sandwich lunch was enjoyed sitting outside in the sun, all too rare an experience this year! Once fortified, our informative guide, Anna, conducted a tour of the site, including the almost too memorable Tudor toilet, and ending on the top floor of the Turret House with its magnificent plasterwork ceiling with its enigmatic motifs and mouldings. So, for all those who did not come - you missed a good day!

Enjoying the sunshine outside Manor Lodge

A view of Manor Lodge

The committee will be giving consideration to any future arrangements for an all day outing due to the lack of support over recent years which has made it difficult to fill even the 24-seater community bus, hence the decision not to provide transport this year particularly as the venues were so local.

If anyone would like to know the new programme of lectures from October for the HUNTER ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY please contact Barbara Jones who will be very pleased to advise you of the forthcoming events.

Don't forget this is your newsletter. If you would like a short article, photos, etc. of interest to the Society included in the newsletter, please let any committee member have the details in time for the next issue in January.