Category: Archive of Records

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PVHG Book Launch and Signing – Saturday 30th November 2024 – 10am to 1pm at Memorial Hall Meeting Room

Our Packington Village History Group PVHG is to publish a new book, about life more than a whole century ago, right here in our village.

The new book is to be launched on Saturday 30th November 2024, at the Memorial Hall meeting room, from 10 am to 1 pm.

PVHG chair and editor Robin Boucher will personally sign first-day copies there. DO come and get YOURS!

Synopsis

It is the year 1900. A young Packington man observes village life.  He is “very fond of scribbling”.  He writes in an endearingly fluent hand of significant changes around him during his twenty-five years of life so far.

Soon, in 1901, two more stark changes. Early in the year after 63 years on the throne, the great Queen and Empress will die. The whole country is bereft.  Then, just prior to Christmas that year, a leading light of the village, the revered church vicar, will die suddenly.  The whole community is bereft. 

Changing Scenes indeed.  Thomas OAKEY writes again about his changed village and church life.

After a few more years, a third essay relates yet more changes under way.   

Latent till now in the archive of Packington Village History Group PVHG, his three handwritten manuscripts are reproduced here for YOU. 

Thomas gives us a unique insight into village life.  As he describes ordinary village folk reacting to change, we gain an endearing glimpse into our village and our country at the dawn of the twentieth century.

“Changing Scenes” indeed !

The book will be launched on Saturday, 30th Novemberm, and editor Robin Boucher, chair of PVHG, will be at the launch to sign YOUR first-day cover of the book.

Only 100 copies have been printed – this is YOUR opportunity to own this heart-warming treasure for an investment of just £5.

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PVHG Displays on Open Gardens Day 26th August 2024

Open Gardens Display

On the Bank Holiday Monday afternoon, 26th August 2024, our village History Group PVHG provided, in the Memorial Hall meeting room, some background information in a display about the Open Gardens history of our village:

The Full Display – Individual panels are shown below

House Dating Project Display

n addition, a brief summary display was shown, giving details of the project to record build date information, provided by villagers, of when their homes were built.

In mid-August 2024 we have dated 216 buildings, which we believe to be just under 60% of the total built environment of over 400 dwellings.

You can still contribute to this project by easily and quickly giving us your house date, using the form here on this website

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Where is the Packington Carnival Shield?

Village Carnivals were held annually between 1973 and 2008. This is the Carnival Shield:

Typically, prior to the event itself on a village field or playing ground, a parade round the village of decorated mobile floats was held.

Splendid decoration of the floats by affinity groups or street groups took place:

A trophy shield was awarded to the best float each year – the shield is shown in the picture above at top.

Do YOU know where that trophy Best Float shield is now? Packington Village History Group PVHG would like to place it on display as a souvenir exhibit to mark these special village events.

If you know, or suspect, where the trophy Best Float shield is – or even where it just might be – please let us know!

Please contact the Carnival history project – Adrian Mongredien will be keen to hear from you by email to: adrian dot mongredien at gmail dot com

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Please help to Document Packington Carnivals 1973 – 2000

A session on Monday 8th August 2022 at 2:30 pm to 5 pm at Memorial Hall

Packington Village History Group (PVHG) is looking to expand its records of the annual summer Carnivals held in Packington between the first Carnival in 1973 until the millennium. The History Group would like to obtain first-hand accounts of how the annual Carnival started, how many people were involved in the organisation of successive Carnivals, and what impact the Carnivals had on our village community.

To start the ball rolling: PVHG has booked Packington Memorial Hall on the afternoon of: Monday 8th August 2022 from 2.30pm to 5.00pm to assemble as many personal recollections, and as much photographic material of past Carnivals as we can.

Packington Carnival 2005

We would ask anyone interested in attending to give some thought to the following questions…….as far as you can remember!!

1. What was your involvement with the Carnivals and when did you start being involved? Were you on the organising committee at any point? How many Carnivals did you attend in this period? (a) as a child? (b) as an adolescent? (c) as an adult?

3. What was your favourite part of the Carnival events? Have you any specific memory (memories) of a particular Carnival you would be happy to put on record?

4. Did you ever take part in a Carnival Procession and if so, what was the theme of the float you were on, or were involved with?

5. Have you any photographic or film record of Carnival events in this period which you would be happy to share with your local History Group? Do you know of other people who might be prepared to share their memories, including photographs, with PVHG? Maybe someone who used to live in the village but has now moved away.

If you have suitable photographs, 35mm transparencies, or cine film of Carnivals in this period that you would be happy to share with us please contact one of the following:

Robin Boucher randbboucher at googlemail dot com

Nev Bray nevbray at hotmail dot com

Adrian Mongredien adrian dot mongredien at gmail dot com

As soon as possible please so that plans can be made, where practical, to download your pictures prior to the event.

If we obtain enough material of general interest PVHG may put on an exhibition at the Memorial Hall this winter for villagers and local residents of all ages to come and see our records of last century’s biggest annual social event in Packington. So, please check out your memories, your family photo albums, your lofts and attics for long forgotten photographs, colour slides and 8mm film and any other memorabilia of this now bygone age, and get in touch.

See you there?

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Book Launch success – Saturday 4th December 2021

The PVHG Book-Launch and Signing took place on Saturday 4th December 2021 at the Hall meeting room. An early purchaser, village resident Colin Goacher, is seen above outside Memorial Hall holding his signed first-day cover of the PVHG book “A Way of Life That has Gone“.

PVHG Chair Robin Boucher, seen below, who had himself painstakingly edited the original source interviews – from villagers of two decades ago, discussing their memories of eight to ten decades ago – was signing launch copies of the book in the Meeting Room.

Front cover – “A Way of Life That has Gone”

Copies of the book are available for purchase at £5 – contact Robin Boucher by email to randbboucher at googlemail dot com, or by telephone on 411638. They will also be available:

  • at the PVHG meeting on 25th January 2022
  • at subsequent 4th Tuesday PVHG meetings
  • at the June Platinum Jubilee display by PVHG during the anticipated Sunday 5th June Strawberry cream tea at the Hall.
The rear cover of “A Way of Life That has Gone”
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Gravestone Photo Resource now hosts Packington Records

Packington Village History Group PVHG has joined with a major internet repository of Gravestone Photographic Records to host hundreds of images of Packington gravestones, with the details of over 460 names recorded on them. There are still more to be added, when time permits..

YOU can now access these records, using the Gravestone Photo Resource (GPR) website

Here’s what you’ll see:

Continue reading “Gravestone Photo Resource now hosts Packington Records”
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Minutes of our Meeting on 28 January 2020 (After our AGM)

At Venue 35 – the Memorial Hall Meeting Room – on Tuesday 28th January 2020 at about 8 pm

Present: Chairman Robin Boucher, Secretary & Treasurer Yvonne Eaton, 10 members, and 4 visitors

  • Robin had been approached by Peter Last to see if the History Group were interested in having the hand-written minute book of Packington WI during the period March 1994 through to September 2011 for the archive. The thick bound A4 book was produced, and members agreed it would be a useful addition.
  • Visitor Janice Sumnall described a problem she and Andrew Sumnall were having with the Shire Horse Society in registering their stud in the name of “Packington”, the reason being the Packington Blind Horse. She asked for the groups help in this matter. Sue told Janice she thought the farmer’s name where the Blind horse stood was Hood, but this needed to be researched.   After further discussion Robin read a letter he had drafted to give to Janice to forward to the Shire Horse Society before their AGM  in April, members agreed the letter should be sent.
  • Janice also mentioned  that it will be the 10th year they have opened their farm to the general public for “Farms Open Day“, a national event.  They have had as many as 2,000 visitors  at the event, and this year they want to make it special by displaying agricultural equipment past and present. Many other activities were planned, and she invited the history group to put on a display – the event takes place on Sunday 7th June.
  • The Parish Council have asked the history group to take part in VE Day 75th anniversary celebrations on 8th May, however details of the councils plans have yet to be decided.  Members agreed the group should take part but we need to search the archives to see if any Packington men were in the forces at that time.  The book the history group had previously produced entitled “Where were you in the war” may be of use.
  • Adrian’s history is progressing and now covers the period 0-1100 CE .  He is now almost ready to place this on the website in order that more can be added as time goes by and more historical evidence may emerge.
  • Digitising the oral histories was discussed. An estimate of the cost of this process needs to be acquired, an application to the Solar Fund could then be made.
  • Robin proposed he leads a walk down Mill Street and he has much information to hand – members agreed this should take place at the end of June, weather permitting.
  • Sue put in a request for any pottery pieces anyone finds on their premises.  On a similar quest, visitor Stephen Plummer asked whether PVHG could use metal-detecting equipment to scan the village environment, especially near footpaths, for historic artifacts, perhaps a “Packington Hoard” – he had discovered items dating back to early 1800s this way.
  • Sue also suggested encouraging members to transcribe wills and inventories from the 1600s onwards. Our members agreed this could begin at our March meeting as these documents give a clear insight as to how people lived.
  • Visitor Stephen Plummer encouraged the group to advertise, especially by putting a piece in the Packington Communications Group’s “Welcome Pack“, which is given to all newcomers in the village when they first arrive. Members were in agreement and Robin will proceed with this.  
  • The meeting ended at 9.40pm.
  • Our next PVHG meeting is Tuesday, 25th February at 7.30pm.

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The Packington Blind Horse 1755-1770

Packington Post magazine Issue 68 September 2014

The following paragraphs appeared in Packington Post Issues 67 and 68, describing a famous blind horse from our village that is believed to have effectively founded the Shire Horse breed. At the end of our extract below, you can download FREE the source text from the printed book of 1899.

Foundation Stallion for the Shire Breed

The term “Shire horse” was first used in the mid-17th century, and incomplete records begin to appear near the end of the 18th century.

The “Packington Blind Horse”, from Leicestershire, is one of the best- known horses of the era, with direct descendants being recorded from 1755 to 1832.

Continue reading “The Packington Blind Horse 1755-1770”
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Archive Exploitation Meeting

Seven members of Packington Village History Group PVHG met on Monday 11th February 2019 at Venue 35 in our village Memorial Hall Venues.

PVHG has recently been privileged to have an offer from the Memorial Hall Venues committee of dedicated space for storage of the archive in Venue 35, and members have paid for a new lockable storage cabinet to house the materials.

Treasurer and Secretary, Yvonne Eaton, who has stored the archive contents in rooms of her home and outbuildings for two years, was able to bring in nearly all the items. After some trial-and-error attempts by Chair Robin Boucher, who is clearly good at 3-D puzzles, we were able to fit all of the archive materials into the new cabinet. and start to exploit the PVHG archive materials.

PVHG Members making an initial assessment of the village archive

Much work needs to be done to examine and rationalise the archive, much of which is paper text about Packington, either cuttings or typed copies taken from local newspapers, in particular from early editions of the Burton Chronicle, and more recently from the Ashby Times and Leicester Mercury. Here’s one such item from the Burton Chronicle:

PVHG Archive Item from 1926, about an item from 1823

PVHG seeks to publicise the archive content using this pvhg.uk website, but digitising the content is a challenging task. Please could YOU help?

Meanwhile, PVHG are keen to continue adding current information to the archive, for future generations to be able to see how THEIR village has evolved over time. There’s a new commercial site on Measham Road being built NOW. Hall Farm is being rebuilt, NOW. The Grove is being built, NOW. Century Drive was built only last year. We want to record images of how the village is now, before the depredations of HS2 start to take place, and are hoping to start this project in 2019.

Would you please help us? Please contact one of our members, or our chair Robin Boucher on tel: 411638