Jubilee local history weekend

Prior to huddling under a rain-soaked gazebo at our street party yesterday, the extra-long jubilee weekend gave me a little free time to check out a couple of local history events.

Withington Weekend

On Sunday I went back to the village where I grew up to visit a local history exhibition at St. Peter’s Church.

Here had been collected a number of artefacts, photos and newspaper cuttings reflecting life in the village over the past couple of centuries. The exhibition included various themes, some of which this blog has also touched upon and others which will no doubt appear in this humble work in the future. These included hop picking and cider making, home life, the village’s military past, the tile works, the school and railway and canal heritage.

It was great to amble back down memory lane and stumble across a number of old photos of my grandparents, my dad and also one of yours truly! Here are a few snaps from my visit:-

Of course, it was only right and proper to say hello to Nan and Granddad while I was there…

Berrington Hall WWII weekend

On Monday my family and I popped up to Berrington Hall (then realised we’d forgotten our National Trust cards, so popped home and then popped back again) to see how the jubilee was being celebrated there.

Time was short, so after doing the Marvellous Monarchs trail with the little ‘un, I snuck off to see the WWII stuff. During the war, Berrington Hall acted as a hospital, whilst also playing host to an American army camp – both of these facets were reflected at the event.

Exhibitions and re-enactors included the SOE Intelligence Gathering Office, the Historic Caravan Club and MVT and the Victorian Westerners in 1940’s period costume. Sadly by the time I arrived many re-enactors were packing up, so hopefully next year I’ll have more time to chat.

Some photos of the afternoon:-

Oh, and as for the street party – soggy, but fun!