From the Archives - June 26, 2008

12:33pm Thursday 26th June 2008

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100 Years Ago June 27, 1908 THERE was quite a flutter of excitement among the members of the Carador Field Club who visited Evesham on Wednesday. They had arranged to travel to Pershore by river in the "Lilybird" and they were asked to hurry up "because the King and Queen were also going down" at about the same time. "The King and Queen," said they, "shall we have a chance of seeing them?" No doubt, was the reply. "What brings them to Evesham?" the visitors next asked. The answer they got was that the King and Queen always came to Evesham in the height of the strawberry season. The visitors eagerly looked forward to seeing their Majesties and were greatly disappointed when they discovered that "King" and "Queen" are Mr Bathurst's steamers.

75 Years Ago June 24, 1933 THE beautiful gardens of Bretforton Hall were the scene of a garden party held under the auspices of the Women's Institute. Miss Randall very kindly lent the use of her gardens and the event was favoured with fine and warm weather. The sale was opened by Miss Wedgwood, of Stanton, who said it gave her great pleasure to come to Bretforton to meet members of the institute as she had always taken a great interest in its work. Mrs Byrd proposed a vote of thanks to Miss Wedgwood for kindly opening the show and sale, and also to Miss Randall for her kindness in loaning the use of her lawns. She then asked Miss Randall to present Miss Wedgwood with a bundle of asparagus and also to accept a basket of strawberries for herself.

30 Years Ago June 29, 1978 MR Richard Judge, a Beckford garage owner, has discovered three Saxon brooches with his daughter's metal detector. At the same time he struck a blow in defence of other metal-finding enthusiasts who have come in for criticism for abusing archaeological sites. Mr Judge took two of the brooches to Evesham Almonry Museum for identification - the third is in Cheltenham Museum - and this week their Saxon origin was confirmed. Ben Cox, an Evesham historian, said the brooches, which were found four or five inches below the surface of a gravel path in the Ashton-under-Hill area, were grave goods from a Saxon burial. Mr Gordon Alcock, museum custodian, said: "Although severe criticism has been levelled against those who use metal detectors discriminately on archaeological sites, the use of these instruments for detecting surface finds can have very rewarding results."