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Author: ashelley

The Company of Merchants of the Staple of England

The Company of Merchants of the Staple of England

The Company of Merchants of the Staple of England is one of the oldest mercantile corporations in England. It is rare (possibly unique), in being ‘of England’ and not bounded by any city or municipality.  It dates back as far as 1282 or even further, when it appears a group of 26 wool merchants founded The Company.  The Dukes of Burgundy and Counts of Flanders granted it charters. The Merchants were in Bruges in 1282, Dordrecht in 1285, Antwerp in 1296 and…

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Sutton Hoo

Sutton Hoo

The archaeological discovery of a Scandinavian ship burial at Sutton Hoo was probably the most spectacular ever made in Britain. On the eve of the Second World War, in the summer of 1939, Basil Brown, an archaeologist employed by the Suffolk landowner, Mrs Pretty, uncovered an early English/Anglo Saxon ship burial. Inside the chamber were exquisite items, such as a golden belt buckle, jewellery in garnet, millefiori glass and gold filigree items as well as an impressively decorated helmet. Similar…

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NEWS BULLETIN

NEWS BULLETIN

‘Cirencester Park Estate’ A visit is being planned for the BBBF & Plumpton ‘Old Boys’ with Lord Bathurst at his wonderful Park and Farmland Estate. Subject to prevailing conditions, we may also visit the Royal Agricultural University. Subjects of interest for discussion: Agroecology, and the new methods of cultivation Future Farming, in the new Global Economy Actions in the light of shortages caused by the War in Ukraine Dealing with the outcome of Ash Dieback and other persistent blights Water…

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Tewksbury

Tewksbury

The Lords of Tewkesbury by Cynthia Brown Part 1 It is known from the Register that the noble Dukes Oddo and Doddo founded a monastery in 715 on their lands near the Severn, seven miles from Gloucester. They were said to live in the time of the Kings Ethelred and Ethelbald, and they were buried in Pershore in 725. Their brother, Almeric, was buried in ‘a little chapel at Deerhurst’. In the seventeenth century a stone was dug up at Deerhurst,…

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Freemen of the City of Gloucester

Freemen of the City of Gloucester

Extracted from “The History and Antiquities of Gloucester” From the Earliest Period By Thomas Rudge. Publ. Jan 1811 Freemen – The general qualifications of voters arise from the birth or Servitude; every son of a freeman, and every person who has been legally apprenticed to a freeman, and served the whole of his time, has, upon attaining the age of twenty one years, a right to claim the privileges of a burgess, though not resident in the city; Mayor and…

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Albion

Albion

This rather Romantic name Albion or Alban in Welsh or Cornish was so called when the mystic white cliffs of our island was viewed from the Gallic shores of the old Roman Empire. Brutus – there lies beyond the Gallic bounds An island which the western sea surrounds, By giants once possessed, now few remain To bar thy entrance, or obstruct thy reign. To reach that happy shore thy sails employ There fate decrees to raise a second Troy And…

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NEWS BULLETIN

NEWS BULLETIN

Vice President’s Report to the FEW Court 19 March 2022 at Leicester Fraternal Greetings to All. In the light of friendship and courtesy, I trust we can all look forward to a more harmonious year ahead. May I begin by reporting with great sadness, the passing of our good friend and colleague, Nick Johnson, Warden, and former Hon Secretary of FEW. Nick had been bravely battling with severe illness for some time, although this never prevented his interest in the…

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NEWS BULLETIN

NEWS BULLETIN

Tribute to Nick Nicholas Rutherford Sowerby Johnson 14th November 1949 – 17th February 2022 Ever amiable and popular with all, Nick was a proficient Hon Secretary of FEW and an excellent Area Warden covering both the East and Southeast of England. He had been bravely battling with severe illness for some time. Throughout which, he maintained an interest in FEW and retained his typical good humour. Nick, a retired police officer and freeman of Hale was accomplished in many ways….

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NEWS BULLETIN

NEWS BULLETIN

The Very Reverend Stephen Lake, retiring Dean of Gloucester, was made an Honorary Freeman of the City of Gloucester at a Civic Service in the Cathedral, on Sunday 6th March, 2022. The very popular Dean Lake is leaving Gloucester after 11 years to become the Bishop of Salisbury.