This month the Group meeting was on the theme of “World War 2 memories of Marton villagers”. As usual for such a local topic there was a good turnout. A summary of the evening can be found at this link.
There is no meeting in December.
The next meeting is on January 25th 2016 and the topic for the evening is The Harry Ferguson Story, with his links to Marton – a talk to be given by John Westrope. All welcome, entrance fee £3 includes a glass of wine.
Click link below to download/view the November 2015 Newsletter.
This month the Group had a talk by Anne Langley (pictured) on Warwickshire Alms Houses. More about this talk in this article.
The next Group meeting is on Monday November 23rd 7.30pm in the village hall. The theme for the evening is “World War 2 memories of Marton villagers”. As well as individuals’ memories there will be photos and news articles from that period.
All welcome, entrance fee £3 includes a glass of wine.
The full programme can be seen on this page.
Anne Langley has researched into Alms Houses in Warwickshire and has a book about to be published on the subject. The following are some brief notes of the talk she gave to the Group in October 2015.
There is no universally recognised definition of what an “Alms House” is but Anne decided on the following definition for her research: they are created by an endowment, are purpose-built, and are for elderly people who are often given a pension as well as the accommodation. On this basis Anne has identified 34 Alms Houses in Warwickshire, the closest to Marton being the one at Leamington Hastings (pictured on the left of the image on the left).
Very early (Middle Ages) Alms Houses were often called “Hospitals”, although not all such institutions would have fitted the criteria of an Alms House as inhabitants may have been selected on the basis of ill health or poverty, rather than just age. (The Leamington Hastings Alms House appears to have been known as a “Hospital” at the time of the 1804 enclosure map for Marton. This shows fields owned by “Hospital” and “Allotment Leamington hospital”.)
Many Alms Houses were founded by “self-made” business men, who made their fortune in London and then returned to their home town and bequeathed the funds to set up an Alms House. There was great religious significance to this act, as it was believed that such generosity would help them reach paradise following their death. Some of these founders were childless and had so had no direct descendants to pass their wealth onto.
There were strict rules that occupants of Alms Houses had to comply with which might include attendance at church and general good conduct (no drunkenness). In some the rules were such that a widow would be evicted soon after the death of her husband. Special clothes, such as gowns, were frequently supplied to residents, perhaps to be worn on special occasions such as church.
Residents sometimes had family members living with them such as children or grandchildren. Given the pension they received the resident may well have been the main breadwinner of the family. Some residents had a carer living with them. Residents that could no longer look after themselves and had not made arrangements for someone else to look after them would have been moved out, perhaps to a workhouse, or to an asylum if they had mental problems.
More information about Alms Houses can be found by internet searches. For example, Anne has written a short article about Leamington Hastings Alms House for “Our Warwickshire” see this link.
The following MPC Audit Report and documents have now been uploaded:
Click link below to download/view the October 2015 Newsletter.
NB All Minutes are consider in draft form until approved as an accurate record at the following meeting
MARTON PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of Marton Parish Council Meeting held on the 8th September 2015 at 7:30pm at the Marton Village Hall.
Click link below to download/view the September 2015 Newsletter.
Thanks to some hard work from volunteers from the village and the Coventry Godiva Angling Club over a couple of days in May and June, much of the River Leam in the village has been cleared of blockages created by collapsing willows. The ‘crack willow’ is so named because of its brittle nature and it propagates by the branches splitting from the trunk and developing a new set of roots when it hits the river—hence the difficulty of dragging these sections from the river bed.
Co-ordination by Miranda and Ulli greatly eased the process. There was some brave work done by those who immersed themselves in the river as well as those who operated the chain saws. The rest of us just dragged and chopped!
Many thanks also to the land owners for their co-operation and support.
Another day’s work to the west of the bridge and the whole of the river up to the confluence with the Itchen will have been cleared
Perhaps it is overstating the case to imply that by clearing the river of fallen trees that Marton will no longer experience flooding, but the impact of the work on the flow of the river means that the watercourse is now working much more efficiently. Certainly the river’s capacity to dispose of floodwater has been enhanced.
Marton Museum of Country Bygones is now open for the summer, every Sunday afternoon until 13 September from 2.00pm until 4.00pm. Admission is free but all donations gratefully received. We look forward to seeing you there. We would also like to see you at Birdingbury Show on 11 & 12 July where we will have a stall inside the marquee, so no problem if it’s raining!