THE DUSTSHEET

This is a significant issue of the Dustsheet for it will be the last published whilst Carl Harrison is Chief Archivist.  Carl retires at the end of March after nearly 18 years as County Archivist.  During his time he has overseen such significant events as the move of the Record Office to Wigston and more importantly still the birth of 'The Dustsheet'!  (Look out for Carl's article at the end of this issue.) We all wish him a very happy retirement.

Charles William Packe (1792-1867) was the Tory MP for South Leicestershire and a chum of Shelley’s at Eton. He was a patron of the arts and certainly did much to bring international music to provincial Leicestershire. Locally he is perhaps best known now as the man who had Prestwold Hall rebuilt in its present Italianate style. Now, as a result of a newly acquired account book (DE7340/1) we can say rather more about this intriguing character.

The book is a small, velum bound volume, inscribed on the inside of the front cover: “Charles William Packe Accompt Book Dec^br 15 ^th 1810”. It has some 180 paper pages, lined faintly in red for the pounds, shillings and pence. It is written throughout in a small, careful, round hand; varying only slightly in appearance with the effect of newly cut quills and different inks.

The accounts begin on 15 December 1810 with, appropriately, the expenditure of 3 shillings and sixpence on an “Accompt Book” and a further 6d on a haircut. From then on, we are launched into the intimate world of Charles William Packe –who had just emerged from school, with £30 from his father and 11/6 “remaining in my purse from Eton”.

The first few pages record Packe’s expenditure in preparation for and at University in Oxford. He sets himself up with all the necessaries of an undergraduate: the “ Tea, Sugar, Soap, & candles”, “Inkstand” and  “Paper, pens, sealing wax, & Ink” that we might expect, as well as candlesticks, snuffers, egg cups and spoons, corkscrew, decanters and a wealth of glasses, jugs, slop pail, etc. etc.  We should notice too the fee for tuition, the cap and two gowns and the regular appearance of set texts; such as ‘Murphy’s Tacitus’, ‘Beloe’s Herodotus’ and ‘D’Anville’s Ancient Geography’.

It is at Oxford too that Packe’s love of music becomes apparent, the four pence laid out on a ‘music book for the flute’ clearly being one of his wisest investments. Certainly it was money better spent than the half crown for ‘Bull bait’ and probably stood him in better stead than the few shillings devoted to billiards about once a week. Whether the £1.14.09 charged by ‘Miss Lyne for et ceteras in term’ proved to be money well spent we have no means of judging.

The accounts cease in 1811, to begin again with the New Year of 1816. From then on the record gives so complete a picture of our young fellow’s expenditure that it is possible to follow in his wake, as he pays for lunch here, a haircut there, and sets off across country, paying his way through toll bars and putting up at inns. We can follow Charles William’s fads as they come and go and we can see those interests that remained constant, throughout his life.

Packe dashes back and forth across Regency England, closely pursued, Sancho Panza-like, by his servant, Richard Wade.  This image is rendered even more vivid by the fact that we can picture ‘Richard’ so well too – in his hat from Manby’s (18/-) blue livery cloth coat (£1.11.06) scarlet waistcoat (10/7½d) dressed with buff nankeen (6/8) cord breeches (8/3d) and boots (£1.12.0); his pockets jingling with his £10 wages per annum.

Packe’s mode of travelling is almost as interesting as the reasons for his trips. Take the races and balls around Stamford in the first week of July, 1817. There is the cost of two balls, wine, a box at the theatre and hat cleaning but the entries for ‘logistics’ easily outnumber those for ‘fun’. There was the chaise back to Burghley (7/6d) the stable man there (3/-) turnpikes (1/-) three nights’ bed at Mrs Priest’s (7/6) tips to the chambermaid and ostler (1/- apiece) horse feed (7/6) sandwiches (1/-) stabling at the George, Stamford (7/-) more turnpikes (6d) Richard’s expenses (7/-) and three items for the horses: a pair of horse girths (3/-) sponge (2/9) and mane comb (2d).

The routes taken are instructive too. Often Packe and Richard travel locally by gig or chaise, paying for stabling and ‘baiting’ en route. There are hackney carriages in London – such as the 1 shilling ride from the Blue Boar in Holborn to Lincoln’s Inn, with an additional shilling for ‘dirtying cushion’! Just as often they resort to the coaches: the ‘Union’ to Leicester from London (£1 each outside), the ‘Express’ to Leeds, the ‘Hope’ to Leicester and Loughborough, the ‘Lord Nelson’ from York to Newark and by ‘Perseverance’ to ‘Deeping’. On several occasions the pair make their way across country, via Uppingham, to pick up the London coach at Connington on the Great North Road.

Young Mr Packe (as has been said) seems something of a faddist. Some fads were so long lasting and all-consuming that they might better be termed passions. We’ll leave those for now. Others however, were passing and typical of a young chap making his way in the world.

For a start there is food. We have already encountered the sandwiches at Stamford but for a time there are regular helpings of honey (2lbs for 4 shillings, plus four pence for the jar!) or ‘apples and filberds’ washed down with porter and then there is the ‘Damson tart for dinner for two’ that cost a shilling in March 1817. I shall say nothing of the dozen of oysters and ‘Rice pudding for one’ the following month and the two lobsters, two dozen oysters and a cucumber (for which C.W.P. appears to have paid half) will remain an unspoken reproach as far as I am concerned. I can sympathise with the one and nine penny ‘pot of Piccalilla Pickle’ and the ‘ounce of scotch snuff at Loughborough’ but ‘a bottle of French olives’ ’ I don’t know. It surely was an age of indulgence: ‘3 ounces of refined Liquorice at Bells, Oxford St’ indeed! And don’t tell me it was medicinal!

Nor was Packe one to neglect his appearance. Probably the two most regular items of expenditure are ‘haircutting…6d’ (later this becomes ‘hair curling’ and a shilling – or 2/6 if it was ‘haircutting and dressing’) and new watch ribbons. Young Charles had at least two watches (as he specifies a silver watch, for cleaning by King and a new main-spring by Palmer, both at Loughborough and later pays ‘Mr Grignon for cleaning gold watch &c’) but even so, the wear and tear on ribbons was shocking. It must have been a sound investment when, in 1821, Mr Garrard was paid £13 for a ‘Gold and Platina watchchain’.

By the end of the account book there are frequent entries for dentifrice, bears’ grease, Naples soap and bottles of rose and violet essence. The purchase and repair of clothing and footwear is a constant presence too; sometimes suggesting the pursuit of fashion but at times indicating other interests – such as cricket outfits or the purchase of items of Yeomanry uniform.

Packe’s greatest love however, without a doubt, was music. He appreciated the Arts generally, visiting galleries and historic buildings but music – both as listener and player – is a constant theme. His accounts reveal many trips to Drury Lane, Covent Garden or to unspecified theatres, music rooms and operas, as well as expenses at a Birm[ingham?] music meeting’. His early purchase of flute music paid off too, as the flute was to became an abiding passion. There are payments for repairs to the flute, ‘entrance money to Jackson for learning flute’ and, regularly, purchases of flute music. On one day, 18 June 1817, Packe records £8.8.06 spent on ‘Mr Laust 17 lessons on Flute’, followed by Laust’s ‘Study for Flute’, and five sets of flute and piano music. It is by no means unusual, though there was, perhaps, an element of consolation as the very next item is for £31.10.00 to a Mr Wadd, ‘for surgical attendance’.

I could go on – there is no shortage of amusing, quaint and revealing expenditure. The strength of the accounts, more than anything, is in their depiction of ordinary life. However, there are occasional references that tantalise and I shall end with a few of those. Some crave further investigation, others will remain curios. There is, for example, the 2 guinea trip to Mr Thompson, the dentist, on 5 May 1818, ‘cleaning and stopping teeth’; followed the next day by ‘Camphorated tincture of opium at Savory’s’  for a shilling. Our sympathy, Mr Packe!

In August 1817 there was a trip along the south coast, buying a guide book at Portsmouth, ‘ice’ at Chichester, and gaiter straps at Worthing – not to mention ‘Taken in by smugglers for 8 yds & ½ of East India muslin for neckcloths’. The year before there had been a shilling spent on ‘seeing Wild Beasts’ at Huntingdon and, to cap it all, perhaps my favourite; half a crown on 10 November 1811, for a ‘Medal of Sadler the Aeronaut’.

Don’t take my word for it though – have a look yourself, order up DE7430/1 and spend an hour or so in the company of Charles William Packe. He is an agreeable companion!

In January this year, our esteemed editor and I took one of our occasional archive-hunting trips to London. After arriving at St Pancras, Jess disappeared down a hole in the ground en route to her chosen record office and I walked along the Euston Road and window-shopped my way down the Tottenham Court and Charing Cross Roads towards Westminster. I was meeting with a minister at Methodist Central Hall.

The Hall is an imposing and monumental building, close to Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament, very white, clean and extremely large and topped with a dome. I did not have time to take the tour up the dome but it seems that from the top there is a view that takes in much of surrounding London and allows you to have a face to face encounter with Parliament’s clock. Opened in October 1912, Central Hall is a church, a conference centre, an art gallery, with excellent eating facilities and the staff there are dedicated to making a visitor welcome.

I was there to see the Methodist Church’s famous Historic Roll. This was created as a result of a fund-raising exercise that the Wesleyan Methodists introduced in honour of the centenary of John Wesley’s death. It was variously called the 20^th Century Fund, Millennium Fund and Million Guinea Fund. (One guinea = £1 plus 1 shilling = 105 p).   Wesleyans who were able, were encouraged to donate one guinea each to the fund or several people could give a guinea between them. No record was made of how much each person gave which removed any embarrassment felt by the poorer members of the church. The money was collected in the Wesleyan churches throughout the country and also by the missionary churches in far-flung places. As people gave their money they signed their names to pages which were eventually bound into the volumes that can be seen today. The fund-raising was a great success. The fund was open from 1898 to 1904 and in that time it raised £1,073,682. The money was divided between building chapels, schools and mission halls in Britain (£300,000 allocated), educational work (£200,000), foreign missions (£100,000), home missions (£100,000), the Methodist Children’s Homes (£50,000) and the site and building work for the Central Hall in London (£250,000). The Central Hall (like all grand designs) went way over budget (by £100,000) and took sixty years to pay off. More information can be found in The Federation of Family History Societies’ ‘Basic Facts About’ pamphlet on the Wesleyan Methodist Historic Roll, written by the Central Hall archivist Richard Ratcliffe, and also in the Hall’s Guidebook.

I had previously made the acquaintance of the Public Services Officer at Central Hall by telephone when I contacted him in order to book in, so I already knew that (a) he was well-acquainted with Leicester (having served at the Bishop Street Church), (b) he thought that I was rather strange (for planning to walk from St. Pancras), and (c) his mother’s maiden name was Stoddart. On my arrival, I showed him my husband’s family tree and he introduced me to the Historic Roll.

The fifty volumes of the Roll are housed in a specially-made bookcase in an inner hall off the main entrance of the building. Each large volume rests on its own wooden slide which can be used to pull the book forward without the reader having to hook one finger into the top of the book spine (the usual method used by library users for shortening the life of precious books). There is a cushioned lectern on which a volume can be opened and desk space for a notebook. Contrary to my expectations, I was offered the choice of a free run of the volumes or a supervised play on the microfiche reader. The fiche reader I gathered was somewhat elderly and given to bad behaviour. I chose the volumes.

What researchers need to know about the Historic Roll is that it was compiled between 1898 and 1904, and consists of signatures of people contributing to the fund with an address, though some give no more than their village. It  occasionally includes details of family relationships and in memoria to the departed and, remember, it is Wesleyan only. It is a record of a wide spectrum of people from all walks of life. I found most of my turn-of-the-last-century family in the volumes, learning that my great-grandfather was connected to a chapel in Lancashire that I had wondered (but had not been sure) about and I also confirmed that he was a lay pastor. In Norfolk I found my great-great-uncle (or someone signing for him) unable to spell either his first or his family name. I found my father and his siblings, all very small, with their parents in Wiltshire. I was interested to see which of my father’s aunts, uncles and numerous cousins had donated to the fund – and which had not!

The entire Roll is available on many microfiches and there is a website which gives the name of every Wesleyan centre with the volume and page and microfiche numbers. Microfiche are available for 50p each. I was told however that they are thinking of putting the whole lot (entire country plus the missionary churches) on to four CD ROMs, possibly later this year. Leicestershire and Rutland appear in four of the volumes, all of which also contain lots of other circuits as well. Most of the volumes have about 30 to 40 fiches each. The pages for the smaller churches only have a few signatures so a lot of places can appear on one fiche. The full list is on the website (www.c-h-w.com) but here I have extracted the Leicestershire and Rutland ones only:

Volume 7 has the Market Harborough Circuit on fiche number 35

Volume 22 includes the Hinckley Circuit of which only fiche numbers 28 and 29 seem to be Leicestershire

Volume 39 includes the Leicester Bishop Street and Humberstone Road Circuits, but only fiche numbers 34 to 40 concern them

Volume 40 includes Melton Mowbray, Oakham, Ashby de la Zouch, Loughborough, Castle Donington and Stamford Circuits and the relevant fiche numbers are 1 to 9, 16, 18,19, 34 to 37. Fiche 39 is Netherseal. I have included Stamford itself as, being a market centre, it might attract Rutland people into the church there. There are of course other border places where people from our counties might have found the churches more convenient or congenial - for details of these other churches see the long list on the website.

The Leicestershire and Rutland entries have been indexed: see the website of the Leicestershire and Rutland Family History Society for information on accessing the index. If you want to look for entries from elsewhere in the country you will need to do your homework from the Central Hall website (follow the link to History), so that you can make a list of volume, page and fiche numbers. You should book in advance (not all at once!) if you want to see the originals. To buy fiche you would need to quote at least the volume number and the fiche number. The page numbers are useful for finding the church you want in a volume or on a fiche.

My visit to Central Hall lasted only the morning so I was able to make good use of the rest of my day. I had found it very interesting, though the Public Services Officer and I decided that we are probably not related!

These notes have been taken from the Leicester Workhouse Admission & Discharge register for 1880.  The registers are held at the Records Office and contain the pauper's name, calling, parish, age, religion and the reason for his admittance.  In some instances the name of one of the parents of children, is also included.

The Poor Law Board requires that the Master of the Workhouse keeps a proper account in the Admission and Discharge Book, of every Pauper admitted into, and every pauper discharged from the Workhouse.

Paupers are admitted by a written Order from the Board of Guardians, a Relieving Officer, or an Overseer, and in an emergency by the Master or in his absence the Matron.  This order must be presented within 6 days of its date although the Master may admit any pauper delivered to the workhouse under an Order of Removal.

As soon as the paupers are admitted they are placed in the reception room and examined by the Medical Officer.  If the examination finds them to be suffering from disease of mind or body they are placed in the sick ward.  Otherwise they are placed in the part of the workhouse assigned to the class to which they belong.  Before being taken from the reception ward the pauper is thoroughly cleansed and clothed in workhouse dress.  The clothes which they wore on admittance are purified, assigned with a number and kept for them until they leave the workhouse.  Every pauper on admission is searched for all prohibited articles.  Any that are found on their person, are taken from them and, if proper, returned to them on their departure.  It is the duty of the Master to cause this to be carried out for every male above the age of seven years and the duty of the Matron for females as well as children under the age of seven.

It will also be the duty of the Master to admit into the workhouse anyone who may be brought there by a policeman, as having been found abroad in a state of destitution.  Anyone can bring to the notice of the Master a person of urgent need and the Master is bound to admit them if they apply for relief.  Their entitlement is a matter for subsequent inquiry.

Any pauper may quit the workhouse upon giving to the Master or Matron reasonable notice (about 3 hours) of his wish to do so.  In this case the whole of his family is sent with him, unless there is any special reason.  A husband, if he thinks fit, can detain his wife in the workhouse by his marital authority.  A pauper may by special direction be allowed to quit and then return after a temporary absence in order to seek work or visit a relative etc.  Any pauper under the age of 15 years may quit the workhouse under guidance for the purpose of exercise.

The Board of Guardians has the power to discharge any pauper whom they consider capable of supporting himself.  However it is believed that, if the workhouse is regulated properly, persons who are not really destitute will, in general, be unwilling to remain there.  They therefore think that the power of discharge should be used with the utmost caution.

Any pauper whose conduct is such that the Master deems it proper to remove them from the workhouse and refuses to be removed, or any pauper who absconds from, leaves the workhouse or asylum, or refuses to work, damages property or clothing belonging to the Guardians or any pauper who gives a false name, shall be liable to prosecution under the Vagrancy Act of 1824.  If any pauper suffering from an infectious disease absconds, a magistrate may upon his detention commit him back to the workhouse until such time that they are cured.

Any officer of the workhouse may arrest a pauper without a warrant.  The Master and Porter have the powers of a Constable under this section of the above Act.

Some of you will remember Pat Grundy's article on the case of the King v. Richard Hack which came before Rutland Quarter Sessions in 1819, when Hack was accused of persuading Charles Garfitt to sell his wife Lucy to him…  Audrey Buxton has more to add :

"I read Pat Grundy's piece on pp.24-25 of the Winter 2007 Dustsheet with fond memories of the research I carried out on this family in 2002.

Richard was indeed the son of John and Elizabeth Hack.  His father (at one time High Sheriff of Rutland), was an extremely wealthy yeoman farmer and landowner with a 'Midas' touch : he left land in Rutland, Lincolnshire and Leighfield Liberty severally to all 13 of his surviving children and houses to five of them in his will dated 17 October 1816, which covers seven pages and is a mine of information on the family.

Had the scandal erupted six months earlier, I have no doubt that his errant son would have been disinherited of his additional share, i.e. of 31 acres of land in Greetham.  In addition, he and his brothers John and William, having already been set up in business by their father, were to hold in Trust the Stretton estate comprising 110 acres, to sell bit by bit to cover any debts and then divide the remainder fourteen ways to include their mother Elizabeth.  It would be interesting to know what the family did regarding the additional moneys : one thing is clear - although their brother is buried next to his parents, the opprobrium was not forgiven.  Dwarfed by their table tombs, his unadorned plot has an edging which reads : "Richard Hack third son of Jack Hack Esq. died 6th May 1847 aged 61 years.  It is sown in weakness it is raised in power".  I feel this must be a quotation from the bible, surely referring to his blackening of their name.

The local Press did have a field day!  Drakard's Stamford News reported the trial with relish, including what may (or may not) have been said at the handing-over of Lucy and her daughter Elizabeth.  It makes wonderful reading, unlike that of the Rutland and Stamford Mercury who merely remarked stuffily that had Richard not belonged to a family of standing he would have paid a great deal more than one shilling.

Who were Lucy and her husband?  Charles Garfitt was a Castle Bytham man (although in the 1851 census he says he was born in Market Overton); Lucy, six years younger, was a Teigh girl, daughter of John and Bridget Pilmore.  Whether the two concocted a scam to get money out of Richard, or Charles was in debt to the local publican, we shall never know.  Since divorce was not open to ordinary folk until after 1858, couples resorted to various means of parting company.  Some were pleased with their bargain, others were not.  One man even offered £15 to a husband if he would take his wife back.  We do know that according to Drakard, Charles regretted his action : following an evening of celebration in Greetham he tottered to a Cottesmore Lodge and made such a nuisance of himself that Richard flung open the window and suggested he go to Clipsham and comfort Charlotte - which he did, and spent the night there.  The next day Richard took Lucy back to his home and all three are alleged to have slept together the following night!

After three months of a ménage a trois, Lucy went back to her husband and had more children by him.  Charles left £100 to 'his dear wife' when he died in 1858, their surname now changed to Garfoot.  Richard and Charlotte moved to the obscurity of Pickworth, where the errant husband died of apoplexy in 1847 prior to his burial in Clipsham.  There is no mention of his widow Charlotte.  In the 1841 census there are two Charlottes living in Pickworth, one of whom is the wife of Matthew, farmer, and the other his daughter.  His brother George is also there - Richard could have moved in with either.  In 1851 Richard is dead, and there is no sign of any other Charlotte anywhere in Rutland.  I thought I had cracked the problem when I was able to look at later Burials and found Charlotte Hack, aged 90, living in Leicester and buried at Pickworth on 3 January 1899; but no.  This is Matthew's Lincolnshire-born widow who had been living with her son John who had moved from Pickworth.  So the question remains : whatever happened to Charlotte?  Could she have gone to live with one of their other children?  Some moved to the West Midlands, and at least two emigrated…"

[Audrey Buxton, with help from Wendy Maxwell and others.]

It is interesting to note that it is not only family historians who have difficulty with the census.  This case was reported in the Leicester Journal on 10 September 1909 [Ed] :

The Ballinamore Old-Age Pensions Sub-Committee had before them at their last meeting the case of an applicant named Mary McGovern, which had been adjourned from the previous meeting for the purpose of obtaining further particulars as to her age.  There was no trace of the family in the census returns for 1841 and the Local Government Board had rejected the claim on the evidence of age found in the census of 1851.  In the returns for 1851 claimant's father's age was given as 48 years, and the mother's as 35, while both were married in 1817.  This would show that at the time of marriage the father was only 14 years of age, and the mother two years.  Mr. Kiernan said this was an instance of the inaccuracy of the census returns.  The claim was allowed.

It struck me suddenly, after a mere 7 years of working here, as these things often do, that there must be something on almost any topic you could name, in our library index, tucked away there in the second search room (aka Searchroom 2).  It is, as you will often hear me groan, a much under-utilised resource, compiled by hundreds, well, tens (ok, a few) librarians who beaver away indexing through the millions, (ok, so I have a small tendency to exaggerate). Hundreds is what I meant to say of local newspapers and periodicals (journals, magazines, church newsletters, community information broadsheets, local council newsletters, booklets, etc…) in fact anything locally published that resembles a newspaper or magazine by any kind of local interest group, community spirited individuals and eccentrics.  (Sometimes these categories overlap slightly).

Thus, I said to myself, I could set myself a challenge here and test that theory ‘to the max’ (Note to self: I watch far too much TV).  For some peculiar reason - unknown to medical science and probably something to do with the ‘mid-afternoon slump’ post dinner feeling that had me wondering if the UK couldn’t do with instigating that great institution of the long lunch favoured in more Mediterranean climates - I had the inspiration.  Dogs.  There must be something, somewhere about dogs in the index, I was sure.

Ah-ha.  I was right.  There are index cards that are dog-related.  In fact, we have 3 sub-categories.  In fact, I am going to list them here, as I know that I now have you riveted to the page, deeply expectant to know what kind of dogs I am talking about.  Let me break the nail-biting suspense and show you:

Now, I don’t believe the residents of Bruntingthorpe are especially plagued with incontinent hounds, or, that individuals there are especially stubborn about not clearing up after their pets, but, that’s just the way that articles have been uncovered by a diligent indexer.  For instance, I don’t think dog-fighting has disappeared entirely in Leicestershire; it’s just that these are no longer being as widely reported. Now, thinking about dogs, led to me thinking about cats (don’t ask why), and sure enough, I know you are dying to hear, I endeavoured to dig out any information on them too.

The result was the ‘Cat Action Trust’, and if you want to know which journal they appear in - then you will have to look it up.  There’s a challenge for you.  No, there isn’t a prize for finding it before you ask.

This naturally led my mind on to meandering about other pets.  Goldfish seemed to be the next obvious candidate.  I blame too many ‘Tom & Jerry’ cartoons in my misspent youth.  However, there are no index cards under that topic.  Undeterred, I cleverly thought of another cunning keyword: ‘Fish’, (by any other name…, or should that be Rose?  Answers on the back of a postage stamp please) and yes, you are getting the hang of this one, aren’t you?  I discovered a couple of sub-categories under this as well.  First, the obvious ‘Fish’.  Just because we are land-locked in the centre of England doesn’t mean we don’t have fish in Leicestershire.  There was also ‘Fish: trout’, and ‘Fish: salmon’.  Indirectly, it leads me to point out that we also have fish related surnames, like, well, er ‘Fisher’, and that culinary delicacy beloved by gourmets ‘Fish and chip shops’.  Which brings me, in a much less direct fashion (well, completely indirectly since I can’t think of another way to link it), to the next category.  Budgies.

Budgerigars to be more precise.  And yes, we do have a mention of these too.  In fact, one card highlights the fact that we have a champion budgerigar in our midst.  

To consult these index cards you will need to ask a member of staff, as the index currently resides behind the counter in Search Room 2. Ho yes, we aren’t backward at coming forward here in Leicestershire about showing off our skills and achievements.  In fact, we have a host of them - most of which, as you correctly guessed, are indexed in the library card index!  I am not foolish enough to set the challenge for you all to find out what we haven’t got in the index (unless you have an awful lot of spare time on your hands), but you will all be pleasantly surprised to discover for yourself exactly what we do have.

And for those of you aggrieved that this article isn’t more closely dog-related, you will have to hunt down the articles in the index to get your doggy fix… (No animals were harmed in the writing of this article)

As many of you already know, we have a very large Local Authors collection, wherein we try and collect as many original works as we can, for each of our locally based authors – the majority of the ones we know about anyway.  By definition these are authors born in Leicester, Leicestershire or Rutland, or who moved to these areas, or are working (or have worked!) here, or have another relevant connection.  These include local poets, local illustrators, local printers and local publishers, as well as collected printed works of local artists & illustrators, for both fiction and non-fiction stock.  There are not just books in the library: we collect newspaper articles written by local authors, illustrated post-cards with author’s poems, reading cards for children, talking books (CD’s and cassette tapes), DVD’s about local notable people, etc.  So, I thought it would be a nice idea to highlight any unusual or more attractive stock we receive, and with this in mind I have three items to bring to your attention.

The first item is ‘Life in cold blood’ by David Attenborough (Library Reference: LA, under ATTENBOROUGH, David), hardback edition, which happens to coincide with the series currently being shown on the Beeb.  This latest edition published by BBC Books is gloriously illustrated with full colour photographs on almost every other page covering everything from the lives of our own humble newt to the more exotic species such as the marine leatherback turtle.

The book introduces us to a brief history of the evolution of reptiles, with reference to earlier species from fossil evidence; and the chapters are divided between the water-based species, and land-dwellers, with specific chapters dedicated to crocodiles and their ilk, lizards, and snakes and also a chapter on the extremes of environment which different species can endure; the variety of defence mechanisms, and unusual behaviour which hasn’t been highly profiled before.  The book has a useful index of both common and scientific names, highlighting those species that are illustrated within it, and an impressive list of wildlife photographers who have contributed to it.  Even those people who are reptile or snake-phobic can’t fail to be impressed by the wealth of information and the range of high quality photographs within it.  I definitely recommend it, especially for those spouses awaiting their other halves who will just be ‘five more minutes’ looking up that elusive ancestor in the first search-room.  They will be waiting for you to finish reading it for a change!

The second item on the list is also non-fiction: ‘But why? Developing philosophical thinking in the classroom’ by Sara Stanley with Steve Bowkett (Library Reference: LA/BOW, under BOWKETT, Steve), paperback edition.  This is interesting on two counts.  It is material designed for use by teachers, and the local author is the secondary, rather than primary, contributor to the work, so it’s yet another example of the variety of material that we collect here at ROLLR.  Published by Network Educational Press Ltd in 2004, it is still contemporary enough to be used as an untapped resource for anyone remotely connected to, or interested in, education, at the P4C level.  It does, as they say ‘tick all the boxes’ for creating ‘a climate for learning’; ‘motivation’; ‘communication skills’; ‘creativity & imagination’; ‘moral citizenship’; as well as boosting ‘confidence, self-esteem and self identity’.

This has definitely been written by someone specifically aiming at current teaching methods in the ’noughties, and completely different to the teaching methods employed ‘in my day’, when we were lined up in rows and told to shut up (No, I am not going to tell you how old I am).  There are useful case-studies of real dialogue showing how these teaching methods can be implemented, with example questions, and imaginative use of toys e.g. the philosophy bear which can be used to get children thinking about their own pre-conceived ideas (or inherited ideas), rather than taking everything they think they know, for granted.  It is certainly aimed at honing children’s thinking processes.  Something for the grandparents to browse?  Not at all what you expect the Record Office to be collecting.

The third item we have acquired is by local author Sam Hayes, a hardback edition of  ‘Blood ties’, published by Headline in 2007 (Library Reference: LA, under HAYES, Sam).  Despite rumours to the contrary, I haven’t (yet) read this, but it’s a work of fiction on the premise of a missing baby, stolen and raised by someone else, or, if I am interpreting the blurb on the cover correctly, is this child really someone else’s?

A mystery, so you have gathered, and also an adventure story to pass the time you are struggling to fill whilst waiting for your spouse.  It’s perhaps a mystery to you why your spouse’s fifteen minutes stretch to more like two hours, but that’s time enough to let rip with your imagination and enjoy the book.  The jacket blurb dramatically states: ‘A stolen child. A runaway teenager. A family on edge.’  Well, it’s certainly going to hook me in…

A Cure for the Bite of a Mad Dog (said to be infallible) Brought from Tonquin by George Cobb, Baronet.

Take 24 Grains of Native Cinnabar, 24 Grains of Factitious Cinnabar and 16 Grains of Musk ; grind all these together into an exceeding fine Powder, and put it into a small Tea-Cup of Arrack, Rum or Brandy - let it be well mixt, and give it to the person as soon as possible after the Bite. A second Dose of the same must be repeated thirty days after, and a Third may be taken in thirty more - But if the symptoms of Madness appear on the Persons, they must take one of the above Doses immediately and a second in an Hour after ; and if wanted, a Third must be given a few Hours afterwards. N.B. This Recipe is calculated for a full grown Person ; but must be given in smaller Quantities to children in Proportion to their ages - This Medicine has been given ( says the communication) to Hundreds with Success, and Sir George Cobb himself has cur'd two Persons who had the symptoms of madness upon them - I myself gave it to Wm. Smalley's son Joseph (about 5 years old) who was bit very much in the face ; and Mr. Smith of Cadeby gave it to two children there about the same time, with success.

July 2nd 1754    B. Holwell, Curate at Nailstone
Parish register for Nailstone 1694-1794 [DE 2707/2]

Now for all the gentlemen not asked and for all the ladies refused on 29th February 2008 - A Receipt to cure Love.

Take two ounces of the spirits of reason, three ounces of the powder of Experience, five drams of the juice of discresion(sic), three ounces of the powder of good advice and two spoonfull of the cooling water of consideration ; make these into pills for a dose and be sure to drink a little content after them. One dose taken considerably clears the head of maggots and whims, after which drink a little more Content for fear of a relapse. Then take another dose resolutely and you will be restored to your right sense. Now he or she that will not follow these rules must be incurably become a sacrifice to cupid and die for Love, for all the doctors in the universe can't cure him.

Uppingham Churchwardens accounts 1783 [DE 1784/18]

Holiday souvenirs of a past age, can provide interesting insights into some surprising worlds. This is certainly the case with the photograph albums compiled by the Abell sisters of Leicester[DE 7318].  Between the wars, these intrepid sisters, Olive and Kathleen, were amongst the privileged few who were able to enjoy continental holidays. In particular, they seem to have enjoyed very pleasurable vacations in Switzerland.

Amongst the predictable postcards, beer mats and snapshots of tall willowy girls draped in front of lakeside scenes, there are also glimpses of something more… In July and August 1933 the girls evidently escaped suspicion whilst photographing Swiss army troops in their garrison and seem also to have particularly enjoyed encountering competitors in the ‘Coupe Internationale des Alpes’ during the race’s halt at Lugano.

The motorists were taking part in the team race between Merano and Nice. Judging by the captions under the photographs, the girls were deeply inspired by this brief encounter with the excitement and glamour of the racing world. They appear to have been especially impressed by the Daimler- Benz team who finished second. Each of the girls is found posed in front of ‘Burgaller’s Mercedes’ whilst an obliging and smiling driver seated in front of his ‘Delage’ is described merely as ‘a French competitor’.

The girls’ new found enthusiasm for the sport clearly endured after their return to Leicester. Several newscuttings, slipped in to the album, testify to a continuing interest in the subject. An undated newscutting bears the headline: ‘Icy Roads for Alpine Car Trial’ and reports that a storm and blizzard had added new hazards to the International Alpine Trial : 'the most gruelling and terrifying motoring contest in the world’  Competitors, it recounts, would be required to drive over the Stelvio Pass, the highest road in Europe in a timed race, which necessitated a minimum speed of ‘30 miles an hour’!

Alarmingly the report went on : ‘Despite this , the cars have to climb 9,000 ft over a road with 50 acute hair pin bends, at any of which an error of judgement might mean a fall over a precipice some 400 or 500ft down.’ Unfortunately, no subsequent newscutting survives to tell us how many opted for the second option.  Interestingly the race was to include 50 British entries driving a variety of cars including Riley, M. G., Standard  ,Fraser , Nash and Vauxhall. There were also twelve female competitors incuding Mrs Elsie Wisdom, ‘Britain’s leading woman driver’.

Another newscutting shows the Swiss driver, F Burggaller – obviously a particular heart throb for the girls – with other racers in the German Grand Prix. There is a sad post-script too with a short newscutting dated 13 Feb.1940. Under the heading ‘Nazi Air Ace Dies in Raid’ the death of Ernst Burccaller[sic] ‘racing motorist of international repute’ , whilst leading an attack on the English coast  was recorded. He was 44 years old. How wistful the Abell sisters must have felt when they recalled that glamorous  summer of 1933….

How much do you know about the building control plans for Leicester which are held in the Record Office from 1849 onwards? How many rabbit hutches were approved between 1849 and 1890? When was the first skating rink in Park Rd. approved? Where did H Newton have his new photographic studio built in 1882? The answer to these and many other long unanswered questions can now be found the new database for Leicester’s building plans which currently covers the period 1849 to 1892.

Many of you will have already struggled with the very confusing street indices, only to find that the original plan has not survived anyway! Now, thanks to an army of volunteers from NADFAS who have been listing the surviving plans and our noble and long suffering receptionists who have then been entering the details into an Access database, we have a wonderful new finding aid to help us in the quest. Not only is this database searchable by the name of the depositor of the plan or the street, but also by name of architect or builder and property type. Hence I can tell you that the first library plan which we hold is that for Hart Free Library in Garendon St. which was approved in 1882. The first temporary circus approved, was erected in Campbell St., also in 1882.  It is important to remember also that this is the first time that we have had an inventory of what actually survives as opposed to what was initially created.

Special thanks are due too to Liz Ward who assiduously sorts out all the queries and anomalies for us. Her work has been invaluable in tracing and recording many hitherto lost plans which had been misnumbered by some disaffected office boy many years ago. You may have seen Liz looking dazed and confused as she reels out of the searchroom on a Monday evening… Thanks to her, the database has been closely checked and corrected where necessary and is now proving itself an invaluable tool for anyone interested in Leicester’s early building plans.

Work is continuing all the time and a regularly updated version is available in the searchroom for anyone to consult [CD 36 ]. Our original goal of recording all building plans pre -1900 is now well in sight. It may then be time to add the building plans which exist for parishes like Knighton, which only became part of the city in 1892.

The building plans for Leicester form a fascinating collection which is of great value not only to the local historian but also to the student of art and architecture. We are very grateful indeed to all the volunteers who have, over the years, worked so hard to help produce such a useful tool for searchers. Without such endeavours and the generous gift of time, the building plan database would not exist.

We’re starting a project based at the Record Office to collect and record the memories of people who lived through the upheaval of Partition in India in 1947-1948 and the creation of East and West Pakistan.  The project will run from now until the end of March 2009.

The partition of the Indian sub-Continent in 1947 led to one of the largest migrations in history.  Some ten to twelve million migrants moved across the new borders in Punjab and Bengal. There was extreme violence between communities, with an estimated death rate of between 500,000 and one million.  People lost everything – families, homes, land and livelihoods.   State boundaries changed and set up many problems for the future, some continuing to this day, for example in the unresolved conflict over Kashmir.

There are people living in Leicestershire today who were there, who witnessed these events and whose family life changed forever as a result, and that’s one reason why we’re beginning this project here at the Record Office.  We want to record their memories about their lives in India in this dramatic period of change.  Work has begun already, with an interview in Leicester with Raj Kumary Bowry, who witnessed the handing over of power by Lord Louis Mountbatten to Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister in August 1947 at the Red Fort in Delhi.  Her home in Delhi was filled with other family members who had fled from over the border, in what became Pakistan.  Now well into her 80s, she still remembers these dramatic events clearly.  

We hope that some interviewees might have photographs, letters or other documents about Partition which we can copy for preservation among our collections in the archives.  In so doing, we will build up a unique resource for future historians and continue to reflect the diverse heritage of the people who live in our county.   Again, we have started with a wonderful collection of newspapers of the time which was brought into the Record Office by Mr and Mrs Gohil, of West Knighton, after they had read about the project in a local newspaper.  Mrs Gohil’s parents, Mr and Mrs Natali of Mumbai, had preserved newspapers from the time of Partition, as a legacy for their children, to explain how they had fled from Karachi with nothing, to seek a new life in Mumbai (then Bombay) after the new borders had been drawn in 1947.  These original newspapers are now very fragile, and our conservator, Bill Cochrane, was called upon to give advice and help with preserving the material for the future.  These newspapers will be digitised for use in the Record Office, and the originals will be returned to the family.

A second stage of the project will be to create some travelling exhibitions, which will be seen around the county and in Leicester, which can be used as a stimulus to discussions about the impact past events have on present-day issues.  We’ll also be working with teachers in local schools to develop some educational resources based on this material, as a means to explore not just the history of Partition, but wider issues of identity which are raised by a period of sudden upheaval and migration.  We hope to have part of our Record Office website made available to the project, where people can record their memories directly.  Events being held in libraries in the autumn will give opportunities for people to contribute to the project via this website, and also to consult books about Partition – both non-fiction and fiction, inspired by history – as part of the National Year of Reading.  

It’s an exciting and innovative project, and we hope it will make a significant contribution to the history of the period, and to a greater understanding of some of the difficult issues surrounding the division of the Indian subcontinent – particularly among the younger generation.

If you know someone whose life was affected by Partition, or if you yourself lived through it, please get in touch.  We would like to hear from you.  

Please contact:  Margaret Bonney at The Record Office, Long Street, Wigston Magna LE18 2AH.  Tel 0116 257 1080.  Email mbonney@leics.gov.uk

Exploring the Legacy of Partition is one of 28 projects nationwide to bid successfully for funding from Their Past Your Future 2 grant programme, administered by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA).  

Leicester Military District Enlistment Register, 1886-1899 [CD35]  This index to one surviving register was compiled by our receptionists and contains the names of soldiers who enlisted through the depot at Glen Parva, including most local men who served in the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902). The CD gives the soldier’s name, regiment and birthplace, while the register itself (available on microfilm MF654) records further details such as age, height, residence and trade. A large proportion joined the Leicestershire Regiment, but many other regiments are represented. Further information about the register may be found in the free Record Office leaflet ‘Did your ancestor serve in South Africa?

Leicester Building Plan Index, 1849–c.1891 [CD36]  A separate article on this index appears earlier.

Leicester Schools Registers, 1878-1954 [CD37]  These indexes to nearly 300,000 names have been compiled painstakingly, over countless mornings in the searchroom, by volunteer John Savage. The Age and Exemption Registers were compiled by the Leicester School Board/Education Committee and used for calculating school leaving ages and recording pupils who became exempt from full-time education. The legal leaving age gradually increased from 10 in 1880 to 15 in 1944. The Age Register indexes contain pupils’ names and dates of birth, while the registers themselves give the parents’ names and residences. The Exemption Register indexes record names, leaving dates and ages/dates of birth, while the registers also contain the names of the schools and educational standards attained. These records are invaluable for tracing the whereabouts of families, as they contain details of virtually every child who left school in Leicester and was born between 1863 and 1939. The registers are available on microfiche and the indexes to pupils born before 1920 are to be published shortly on two CDs  by the LRFHS.

Leicester Marriage Index, 1801-1837 [CD38]  Another single-handed production by the prolific John Savage! This is an expansion of the indexes to marriages at the five ancient parish churches (All Saints, St. Margaret, St. Martin, St. Mary de Castro and St. Nicholas), which were published many years ago in four small volumes by the Family History Society. The data can be searched by groom or bride and includes exact dates and parishes of residence. If recorded, further details (eg soldiers and other occupations) are included. The index will be published this year on another LRFHS CD.

Ancestry Library Edition, a version of the commercial Ancestry.com, is now available free of charge on the three searchroom public PCs and in all Leicestershire libraries. It is the largest website of its kind and contains over 4 billion names from the U.K., U.S. and other countries. These are just some of its most useful databases:

British Census Returns 1841-1901 (name and place searches, with images of original pages)

England and Wales General Register Office indexes 1837-1983 (images of original indexes) and searchable database of births, marriages and deaths, 1984-2005

U.S. immigration records, including ships’ passenger lists

Military records, including First World War pension and some service records

Some parish and probate records

‘Ancestry’ may be found via the Libraries home page by clicking ‘Online Reference Library’ and scrolling to ‘Family and Local History’. It is not available for home use, whereas many other Leicestershire Libraries online subscription services can be used at home, by entering library card details. There is a vast range of encyclopedias, dictionaries, directories and other reference sources available in this way on the internet, via www.leics.gov.uk/reference. Two of these will be of particular interest to Record Office users:

Oxford DNB online is the modern updated version of the Victorian Dictionary of National Biography and has been described as ‘the greatest reference work on earth’. The fully searchable database contains 55,000 biographies (many illustrated) of men and women who shaped the history of Britain and beyond.

NewsUK is a database of national and regional newspapers and magazines from the early 1990s to the present. Of local significance is the Leicester Mercury, the full text of which can be searched from 22 Jan. 1999 onwards.

Prepare for the groans as I work my way through many bad puns in this exhibition report!!

2008 cantered in with a very special blockbuster exhibition, Horsing Around:  a 2,000 year old love affair, lovingly groomed by our own horsewoman extraordinaire, Lois Edwards.  With stamina fit for the Burghley Horse Trials, she trotted through the pre-historic horse, negotiated a few nasty jumps over the Roman and pre-industrial periods, galloped her way over the Victorian and 20^th century horse, and arrived with prize winner's medals attached to her mane at the horse in the 21^st century.  In so doing we have all learned a great deal about the large segment of Leicestershire’s economy which hangs its jodhpurs upon horses.  This colourful exhibition was accompanied by a stunning (there is no other word for it) piece of horse armour created especially for the exhibition by a local craftsman, Julian Adams, and which will go on to grace the exhibition gallery at Bosworth.   Horsing Around next enters the field at Melton museum, in April.

In complete contrast, The Lacemakers’ Story:  Loughborough, Luddites and Long Journeys, which opened at the Record Office on 10 March, highlights the contribution of pioneering inventor, John Heathcoat, to the industrial revolution.  Heathcote invented a new lacemaking machine which many saw as a threat to local jobs.  After his factory was attacked by Luddites in 1816, he upped sticks and went to Tiverton in Devon to start a new mechanised factory.  Some of his workers followed him, and others migrated to Calais or even as far away as Australia.  This informative exhibition, devised by the Friends of Charnwood Museum, tells the story, and is accompanied by a display of lace and associated objects.   

Meanwhile, our slavery exhibition, the Long Road to Freedom, has been on view at Melton Museum this winter, before moving on to Market Harborough in April.

I find myself in the curious position of being about to leave the Record Office (and Leicestershire) for a second time – having had two tours of duty here, first as one of two Keepers of Archives between 1974 and 1977, and now as County/Chief Archivist from 1991 to date.

Both were periods of major change.  I arrived at 57 New Walk in 1974, immediately after the last Local Government Reorganisation but one.  As a result the Record Office had combined both the old County record office and City manuscripts department, and was part of the new countywide Museums Arts & Records Service.  With Kate Thompson, the other Keeper, I reported to Leslie Parker (always ‘Dr Parker’) who reported to Allen Chinnery (always ‘Chin’) who rejoiced in the grand title of Assistant Director (Human History).  Anyone who was around at the time will know that the set-up carried a lot of historical baggage.

In fact we rubbed along pretty well and as I recall most of our time was spent welding  together a disparate collection of facilities and practices into a more or less smoothly functioning archives service.  That included concentrating all the public services into the extended searchroom at 57 New Walk and (Heaven forgive me) planning removal of the grim outstore opposite the station on London Rd to the promised land of Humberstone Drive.

Having started planning the removal, I made what I thought was a very clever move by leaving before the heavy lifting started in earnest.  A lengthy stint as Archivist to a London Borough revealed the errors in my thinking.  It also taught me a great deal about small, under-resourced archives services, the impact of local politics, and how to work with librarians (since the archives were part of the Library Service).  Eventually, seeking to escape The Great Wen, I cast around for vacancies in the county record offices and, lo and behold, in 1990 Kate Thompson left for Hertfordshire and Leicestershire became available.  Even more astonishingly, given that they did not have the excuse of not knowing me, they had me back.

This time around the first job was another reorganisation – combining the Record Office and Local Studies Library – and another removal – the really big task of moving everything to Wigston Magna.  With able colleagues to do all the detailed planning and Pickfords the lifting, the move went well.  We then set about the tasks (both now accomplished) of fusing the two services into one and filling up the (not overgenerous) collections expansion space.  However if I thought (as I did) that all was now set fair, fate intervened to expose my hubris yet again.  Yes – another Local Government Reorganisation, in 1997 when the City of Leicester and Rutland achieved unitary status.

This time the Record Office was badly caught up in the aftermath of the noisy divorce of the Museums Arts & Records Service between County and City.  The one fortunate aspect was that by now our facilities were too large and specialist to split easily, so we were saved from the prospect of turning a large and reasonably well-resourced archives service into two (or three) smaller, less-well-resourced ones.  The downside was that we spent the next four or five years under something of a cloud so far as (what were now) the joint arrangement partners were concerned.

Happily the mood lightened with the new Millenium and the last five years or so have been ones of ever closer bonding with colleagues in the museums and libraries of all three authorities.  To the point where I’m happy to assert with confidence that by working closely together and playing to our several strengths, the partnerships are now delivering far more than the sum of their parts.  In the process we have also taken great strides to make the Record Office and its services more varied, more innovative and more genuinely accessible to many more of the diverse communities we serve.

And so, the end is near –  retirement beckons, and what do I find?  Yet again the strongrooms and the searchrooms are full, and we need to expand once more.  Is this where I came in (the second time) or went out (the first time?)  This time, however, we are looking not only to the local authorities to fund our growing needs, but also instinctively looking outward, to forge new partnerships, with the Media Archive for Central England (MACE) and the East Midlands Oral History Archive (EMOHA), and with our neighbouring borough councils and the museums and arts groups within them.  I leave behind an exciting vision of the Record Office sharing a site with a rich mix of film, sound, museum, arts, cultural and educational activities and resources – each complementing and adding value to the other.  I’m holding my diary open for the invitation to the official opening…

The Friends of the Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester & Rutland is a charity (No.515512) formed to support the work of the Record Office.  Membership details are available at the Record Office Reception.  Letters & comments to the Editor c/o The Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland, Long Street, Wigston Magna, Leicester, LE18 2AH.