Anyone
who has followed the activities of the Society over the nine years of its
existence, will know that apart from arranging Open Meetings in the village
hall, Members are always very keen to visit local houses of special
interest, and at the end of May the chance arose to tour Linton Brook Farm.
The owners of the property, Sheila and Roger Steeds, very kindly spent the
afternoon showing 22 Members over their listed house and hop kilns, pointing
out the enormous amount of work they have done on the building since moving
there. Despite the damp weather, half the group (mostly the men) climbed the
hill at the back of the house to learn about the workings of hydraulic rams!
At the end of a fascinating afternoon, everyone enjoyed tea and homemade
cakes. The very last outing of the present society was a visit to Eastnor
Castle at the beginning of June. It was one of the rare, very hot days early
in the month and the coolinterior of the Castle was surprisingly welcome,
Eastnor was closed to the public on that day so the 27 Members felt that the
private, guided tour was quite special. After tea and cream scones, anyone
with any energy left was able to wander the Castle grounds in peace and
quiet.
As many of you will already
have heard, the History Society has decided to disband at the end of this
season. The present committee have been in place since the Society was
formed nine years ago and it was felt by the majority that the time had come
to hand over to younger people who would bring new ideas with them.
Unfortunately volunteers were thin on the ground, and apart from two Alfrick
residents, none of our 48 Members thought they could take on the job.
Although the Suckley Local
History Society began with the aim of researching local history, it grew
into a much bigger project, with our Open Meetings in Suckley village hall
with a guest speaker, as well as regular outside events. Over the years we
visited many important local houses Grove Hill, Haventree, the Old Rectory,
the White House, Suckley Court and
the Society is very grateful to those homeowners who allowed us to do this.
The most lasting achievement,
however, was the publication of the Society’s book, "Aspects of Suckley",
where some of the local research done by a group of Members was made into a
permanent record. There are still a few copies available, so buy now before
they become collectors’ items.
It may
well be that in a few years’ time some of the younger generation in the
local community will have the enthusiasm and energy to start a similar
society. |
