Our next Meeting:
The next meeting is on Monday
9th December in the Ashcroft
Centre, Ashcroft Road Cirencester
at 7.30pm, a joint meeting with
Cirencester Civic Society.
Woodchester Mansion
– an Unfinished
Masterpiece
Liz Davenport
On behalf of the Woodchester
Mansion Trust, Liz will tell us
about this unique Grade 1 listed
Victorian Gothic house hidden in
a Cotswold valley.
Would you like to receive a
reminder about each meeting?
Whether a member or not, send
your email address to
cahs @ cirenhistory.org.uk
(without the spaces!)
© Cirencester Archaeological & Historical Society & Contributors 2016-9
Registered Charity no. 287289
Do read down… The news is updated to 4 December 2019
We apologise that our November meeting entitled
Woodchester Mansion - an Unfinished Masterpiece
a talk by Liz Davenport of the Woodchester Mansion Trust
was cancelled at very short notice. However there is a new chance
to hear it on Monday 9th December at 7.30pm at Ashcroft. This is
due to the kindness of The Civic Society, who also have had a
cancellation and so have borrowed our speaker! The meeting is
free to members of both Societies. There may be a small charge for
non-members.
A proposal to demolish and rebuild flats off The Avenue,
Cirencester, brings an article in our Newsletter 49 of 2009 on Public
Art to the fore. The planning assessment shows much archaeology
under the site, believed to be the original Roman town centre.
News from GLHA, Gloucestershire Local History Association
The next Local History Day will be on 25th April 2020 at Oxstalls
Campus, University of Gloucestershire,, on the theme of Education.
If any members would like to assist in getting a display ready,
please get in touch with CAHS committee. The closing date for
booking a display table is 16th February.
Next year’s Summer meeting is at Nailsworth on 28th June.
Booking is not yet open
Gloucestershire Archives are always keen to hear about any old
documents, maps etc that are coming up for sale by auction in
order to bring them to public access. Sometimes they are able to
raise money to buy them for the archives before auctions push the
price up. Claire Collins is Head of Collections and can be contacted
by anyone with any information.
Anyone for Podcasts?
Richard Reece, who talked to us last September, has been
interviewed in a recent podcast about his career and views on
Roman studies and archaeology. It can be found by searching
“Coffee and Circuses”, There are 2 parts.
Black Jack Project.
Cirencester Church intends to add new statues to the empty plinths
on the tower. The proposals were on display during Heritage Open
Days (13-15 September) More Information here. Do you have any
pictures of what used to be there? If so, let us know. (Email button
on the right).
Cirencester Winner!
Louise Ryland-Epton, who published an article in our Newsletter
62 on the Cirencester Workhouse, also contributed a more detailed
article on this subject entitled ’Cirencester Workhouse under the
Old Poor Law’ which was published in the Transactions of the Bristol
& Gloucestershire Archaeological Society, vol 135 for 2017, pp.225-236.
In May 2019, Louise won the Bryan Jerrard Award for 2018 for this
latter study which is presented annually by the Gloucestershire
Local History Association [GLHA] for the article which in the judges’
view presents the best study of an aspect of Gloucestershire’s
history published in the past year. There were ten finalists – so,
congratulations, Louise; it’s good to have a Cirencester winner!
The Newsletters for 2018 and 2019, are now available online. We
expect to be publishing more of our back collection of articles on
line, so come back soon and see! (Articles can be found by
searching our Publications pages- those available are underlined).
The centenary of the WW1 Armistice has been and gone, but we
are still receiving updates to our information on those who died
during the war… Our Newsletter this year takes up the story
after the war ended.
Mike Tovey of Chedworth has written to introduce us to the work
that villagers have produced about their Great War dead. Between
them they have found out enough to fill a two hundred page book.
If you have relatives from there, or are merely interested in how
others have researched the period, the book is freely available on
https://chedworth.org.uk
If you have more information than we have published about any of
the people on the Cirencester monuments, do drop us a note.
Ray Wilson has sent an article about local historical maps available
online at the National Library of Scotland. Yes, local to here!
KnowYourPlaceWest now has mapping for Wilts, Gloucestershire
and Somerset. Maps from about 1840 to date can be compared,
and, after moderation, you can add historical information. Do
watch the video to see how to use it! Have fun! Tithe maps have
been added where they exist.
A Century Ago...
With the Centenary of the 1918 Armistice now passed, we
record those who died later…
RALPH MORTIMER WRIGLEY whose parents lived at The
Barton died in hospital on 6 November aged 21, a
Lieutenant with 3rd Railway Company, Royal
Monmouthshire Royal Engineers. He is commemorated on
their memorial in the Priory Church at Monmouth.
1918 November 11: Armistice Day - ceasefire on the
Western Front.
1918-1919: A world-wide influenza pandemic continued
throughout the winter.
WILLIAM SHILL died on 22 November, age 26, a Private in
A Company 11/OBLI. His parents Richard and Louisa Helen
of Field Barn Ewen had lost a younger son HOWARD in
1916.
FREDERICK GEORGE ALLEN or ALLAN died in December
1918 having been discharged that April as unfit for further
military service. In 1911 he had lived at 30 Victoria Road
with a wife and small daughter. As a married man of 40 he
could have claimed exemption from conscription but
enlisted at Bath in February 1916 in the Somerset Light
Infantry.
FREDERICK WILLIAM RICHINGS was born in 1877, son of
Alfred and Roseanna of 77 City Bank Road. He had 24 years
service with the Glosters including the Siege of Ladysmith,
and had been wounded in 1917. He had been promoted to
Sergeant Major and awarded the Meritorious Service
Medal. FREDERICK died at home on leave whilst awaiting
demobilization, shortly before his intended marriage. He is
buried in Cirencester Cemetery
CYRIL LAWSON COLE - Captain 2/5 Glosters and Transport
Officer 184 Infantry Brigade died on 14 March 1919. He was
the third son of William Henry and Catherine of Bourne
House Brimscombe to die.
MARK A WRIGHT died the next day, aged 39. He served as
Sapper in 54 Division Signals Company. He was son of
Alfred Benjamin of Cirencester and husband of Agnes,
living in Burton on Trent.
Both men are buried in Etaples, a base area in Northern
France where there were several hospitals. Their names are
not on the St John’s Church memorial erected in November
1918.
1919 June 28: Treaty of Versailles signed, declaring
Germany guilty of causing the war and liable to pay
reparations.
PERCY GEYTON’s name was added after his death on 29
July 1919. He had served as Second Lieutenant in the
Machine Gun Corps. PERCY had attended Cirencester
Grammar School and became a bank clerk working in
Devizes. His father lived at 6 Cricklade Street and was a
wine merchant’s manager.
JOHN KENT is buried in Cirencester Cemetery. He died on
26 October 1919 aged 46. He had served as Staff Sergeant
Farrier in 19 Hussars and left a wife, Gertrude Mary
ARTHUR CHARLES HAINES had served as a Sergeant in the
Royal Marines Light Infantry, on HMS Cornwallis in the
Dardanelles and then in HMS Lord Nelson. He died at
home, 10 Whiteway Road Spitalgate, of illness resulting
from service, on 15 February 1920.
CHARLES HENRY NEWELL’s name was added to St John’s
Church memorial following his death on 1 September 1920
of injuries received in the war. He had served as a Corporal
and is buried in Cirencester Cemetery
JULIA HERBERT is the only woman commemorated on
Cirencester war memorials. She was a volunteer nurse at
Bingham Hall.
Three Cirencester men who died after the war as a result of
wounds or illness are buried in Cirencester Cemetery; all
three left widows living in the town -
W GARDINER - Corporal 25/Middlesex died on 13 May
1921 aged 37;
C HOOPER - Sergeant 5/Glosters died 19 June 1921 aged
60.
JESSE BENJAMIN WRIGHT - Private 3/Rifle Brigade died on
25 August 1921 aged 37.
Timeline written by Dale Hjort
More about some of these men can be found in our WW1
biography section.
A chronology of deaths of all WW1 names on the
memorials can be found in Newsletter 61.
Page last updated 4 December 2019
Navigating our site
Not all pages are
immediately apparent
from the links at the top.
The Great War
biographies, covering very
many pages, have
internal links. and the
articles reprinted from
our past publications are
linked from the relevant
Newsletter page. There is
a facility to browse these
at random at the bottom
of most articles.
The old Memorial Hospital on Sheep
Street (used within the last 30 years)
used to hold the Bannatyne memorial
staircase. It has recently been carefully
removed and sent to relatives in Ireland,
making way for the refurbishment of the
car park.
Cotswold Archaeology has written a
number of studies for CDC that are
worth reading. See the downloads for
the Parking Project.
Click the picture above to read David
Viner’s notes on the Hospital and the
Staircase.
The building across Sheep Street, called
the Memorial Hospital Annex, is still in
NHS use. It has the Great War memorial
panels on its side. We have an article
about this building.
Can’t find it? See
Navigating our site