Event date
10:00am - 04:30pm, 15th Oct 2022
Speaker(s)
Jane Burrell, Sue Ellis, Dr David Peacock, Phil Wood
Event type
History Day
A series of talks on topic related to fulfilling the needs of the people. To include local almshouses, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, social housing in Newbury,supporting the poor before 1834 and Newbury hospitals.
In the Middle Ages the poor and sick were cared for by their families or by local charities, usually based in religious houses. The Reformation saw the dissolution of most of the religious houses, this included small local chantries that funded poor relief. As a result the government was forced to institute new Poor Laws to ensure that the poor were not left to starve. The social upheaval of the industrial revolution stretched the Tudor Poor Laws to breaking point and various methods were tried to alleviate the problem, including the Speenhamland System first introduced by Berkshire JPs following a meeting in Newbury. Eventually a national rethink led to the Poor Law Reform Act and the infamous Victorian workhouse system. Later in the 19thC public health became a focus for local government reform and a string of new measures were introduced: hospitals and schools were built, efficient drainage and clean water supplies were provided, an Old Age Pension was paid, local councils began to clear slums and build housing, unemployment benefit was introduced and, eventually, the National Health Service was founded in 1947.
The talks at this History Day will look at aspects of this national history as they impacted on the Newbury area as well as local endeavours For the Public Good.
As well as the talks there will be plenty of opportunity to consult the experts on any aspect of Newbury history. Tea and coffee will be available between talks.
Programme
Our lineup of talks, and the speakers are as follows:
Social Housing in Newbury, by Sue Ellis
The idea that the state, in the form of local councils, should build houses for the less well-off and let them at affordable rents gained momentum in the early years of the 20th Century. Building began in Newbury before the Great War and continued on an ever increasing scale until a Government policy change saw the housing stock sold off or handed over to Housing Associations.
Sue Ellis is a local historian with a freewheeling interest in a whole range of subjects, including family history, historic architecture, historic water pumps, archaeology, and dollshouses.
The Almshouses of Newbury, by Dr David Peacock
Newbury is exceptionlly blessed with almshouses provided by a variety of charites to house the needy. For over 700 years the numbers grew – today they face an uncertain future but their stories make for a fascinating talk.
Dr David Peacock is a well-known historian of Newbury and the surroundng area whose PhD thesis was on John Winchcombe and the Tudor cloth trade in Newbury. He is the author of the current edition of The Story of Newbury (4th Ed), The Roman Cemetery and innumerable articles on local history in publications and in the Newbury Weekly News.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission, by Jane Burrell
During the bloodbath of the Great War it was impossible to bring all the dead home for burial. The Government decided that all the dead should remain in well tended graves near to the battlefields on which they perished. Today the Commonwealth War Graves Commission is responsible cares for their graves and monuments all over the world. The images of rows of beautifully tended crosses are familar to many, perhaps less well known are the many individual graves they tend in cemeteries anc churchyards inlcuding many in Newbury and the sorrounding district. This talk will explain the work of the Commission and look at a few of the local men whose memory they keep alive.
Jane Burrell is a former curator of West Berkshire Museum, Bridport Museum and the Airborne Forces Museum. She is a popular speaker to local groups and societies.
Supporting the Poor, 1494-1834, by Phil Wood
In 1834 the Governemnt passed The Poor Law Reform Act, which created the infamous workhouse system of poor relief – but what was being reformed? This talk looks at efforts to resolve the perpetual problem of deprivation staring in the reign of Henry VII.
Phil Wood, an enthusiastic local historian, is President of the Newbury District Field Club. For the last few years he has concentrated his efforts into uncovering all there is to know about the large number of pubs and breweries that once seemed to fill the town. Study of the existing pubs also gives him the opportunity for some enjoyable field work! More recently he has been researching the Great War casualties listed on the Newbury War Memorial.
Newbury Hospitals, by Dr David Peacock
Everyone knows that the National Health Service was formed in the aftermath of the Second World War and most have experienced the service it provides. However, it did not spring into the world fully formed the day Parliament voted it into existence – Newbury already had hospitals and these are their stories.
Dr David Peacock is a well-known historian of Newbury and the surroundng area whose PhD thesis was on John Winchcombe and the Tudor cloth trade in Newbury. He is the author of the current edition of The Story of Newbury (4th Ed), The Roman Cemetery and innumerable articles on local history in publications and in the Newbury Weekly News.