An Extraordinary Man – PVHG Meeting Tuesday 26th February 2019

At our February meeting in Venue 35 we will welcome Paula Dring to talk to us about Rev. Joseph Goadby, who was a leading figure in the former Baptist Chapel in the village. We will be pleased to welcome any non-members who would like to hear about him at this meeting.

Joseph Goadby labelled “dissenter” by an “intolerant aristocrat..”

So, who was Joseph Goadby? Why was he Extraordinary? Why was he labelled as “.. a Dissenter“? Perhaps the answer lies in this quote ascribed to a more modern sage:

Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.

Do come and hear about this Extraordinary Man of Packington.

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

PVHG January 2019 – AGM and Meeting Minutes

At Venue 35 – the Memorial Hall Meeting Room – on Tuesday 29th January 2019 at 7:30 pm

Present: Chairman Robin Boucher and 6 members.

Apologies received from:- Diane and Doug

Annual General Meeting AGM 2019

Minutes of the previous AGM meeting in January 2018 were read, approved and signed. There were no matters arising.

Chairman’s report:- 

“After the difficult year of 2017 the Group has had a more positive 2018.  New members have joined and made valued contributions. Activities have included:

  • an overview of Anglo-Saxon England with specific reference to Packington and the surrounding area
  • a meeting with Ashby Museum which led to the updating of a poster about Packington displayed there
  • discussion with a local film / drama group about a forthcoming project on a seventeenth-century vicar of Packington;  and
  • a significant contribution to the village’s centenary commemoration of the end of the First World War 
  • much debate about the future of archive material
  • a firm commitment to disseminating the information in the archive. Group members now have a much greater understanding of its size and scope.
  • At the end of the reporting period, the Group has obtained agreement to store archive material in the Memorial Hall Venue 35, which will greatly help during 2019.

The Group now has its own website at pvhg.uk

Firmer links have been made with the Packington Post, resulting in regular publicity for the Group’s activities.

However, the Group still faces a number of issues at the start of 2019. There is still a need to attract new members, particularly from younger residents of the village. This has implications for the kind of activities which the Group may plan. Development of the archive will continue to be a major focus, requiring a positive relationship with other parties such as the Memorial Hall Committee and also pursuit of financial support.

I would like to thank all members for their support to the Group over the past year. My particular thanks go to Robert for his help with information technology and for volunteering to represent the Group on the Memorial Hall Committee; and to Yvonne for her secretarial work and her reliable and steady support to me as Chair. “

Treasurer’s report:

A copy of the income and expenditure throughout 2018 was circulated. The present balance shown in the building society account is now still positive following the purchase of the archive cupboard. Members were pleased the archives will be in easy reach and available to any key holding members at any reasonable time after co-ordination with the Hall bookings clerk. Adrian pointed out that this may need to be checked before our next meeting in case the buildings insurance policy be invalidated. Members agreed that the Group needs to apply to the Parish Council Solar Fund for a grant to help with the cost of specialised archiving boxes and materials etc.

Election of Officers for 2019

Chairman: Robin Boucher, proposed by Robert and seconded by Adrian – carried.

Vice-chair: no takers, this position to be left in abeyance for 2019

Secretary/treasurer: Yvonne Eaton, proposed by Adrian, seconded by Sue – carried.

Committee; Robin, Yvonne, Diane, David and Robert.

Setting of membership fees for 2019; these to stay as 2018. £10 per single member and £15 per couple. Members agreed any new member joining later in the year to be at a reduced rate and if that is September or beyond £10 to be charged to include 2020. Proposed meeting dates for 2019 to be the last Tuesday of each month omitting July, August, November and December.

Members thanked Robin and Yvonne for their work throughout 2018. The AGM meeting closed, and was followed by an ordinary meeting.


Ordinary Meeting 29 January 2019

Robin reminded members that Paula Dring will be our speaker for the February meeting, on the subject of Joseph Goadby who brought the Baptist Chapel to Packington in the early nineteenth century. 

Robin also reported he had been in touch with Wendy Freer of Pudding Bag Productions following her visit in November.  She has approached the school, church, and Guild Hall Leicester, who are happy to be involved. Wendy has also applied for a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and is hopeful the film of the Pestells will be completed this year.  Robin suggested she be asked to come to a meeting later this year to update her progress.

Members agreed a history walk be included in our year’s programme, Robin is already working on a High Street walk, having found Peter’s notes and archive material.  The walk to include an exhibition of photographs etc of the High Street in the Venue 35 meeting room.  Sue is willing to provide display stands.  The proposed date for the walk is Tuesday, 25th June 2019.

Sue is willing to give a talk on Medieval Packington at our October meeting.   Members felt it important to note any changes within the village and parish boundary.  There was discussion as to how this can be best achieved.  Adrian proposed OS maps be obtained and boundaries compared to the Estate map, however this to be put on hold as Sue will bring her maps to the March meeting when decisions can be made on how to proceed.  

The archive material can now all be moved to the meeting room and members can then proceed with the thinning process. To this end members to meet on Monday 11th February at 10am to noon to make a start. The  meeting closed at 9.20pm

The next meeting is arranged for Tuesday, 26th February at 7.30pm.  

PVHG News – Late 2018

At our November final PVHG meeting for 2018, we were joined by Wendy Freer of Pudding Bag Productions, a group based in Ashby which produces film and drama documentaries on historical themes.

Wendy and colleagues are working on a film project about Rev. Thomas Pestell, who succeeded his father (also named Thomas) as Vicar of Packington in 1644 during the Civil War between King Charles I and Parliament. A year or so later he was ejected by a Puritan preacher and accused of various misdemeanours, for which he appeared before Parliamentary Commissioners in Leicester. In 1651 he was present at the Battle of Worcester and narrowly avoided being hanged after Oliver Cromwell defeated the Royalist forces there. He returned as Packington’s vicar in 1662 after the restoration of King Charles II and continued until he died in 1690. Wendy told us that she hopes some of the filming will take place in Packington and there may be opportunities for local people to observe a “shoot” or to appear as an extra in the film. We will be keeping in touch with this project as it develops through 2019.

Our PVHG Annual General Meeting will take place on Tuesday 29th January at 7.30 pm in Venue 35, the Memorial Hall Meeting Room. We are keen to recruit new members, so anyone who has an interest in history, particularly concerning the village and the surrounding area, will be very welcome to join us.

After the formal part of the meeting we will have a wider discussion to plan the group’s activities for 2019.

At our February meeting (Tuesday 26th February, same time and place) we will welcome Paula Dring who will talk to us about Rev. Joseph Goadby, who was a leading figure in the former Baptist Chapel in the village. We will be pleased to welcome any non-members who would like to hear about him at this meeting.

Contact: Robin Boucher, e-mail randbboucher@googlemail.com, tel. 01530 411638

Minutes of the PVHG October 2018 Meeting

MINUTES OF THE October 2018 MEETING OF PACKINGTON VILLAGE HISTORY GROUP PVHG

held in Venue 35 – the Memorial Hall Meeting Room – on Tuesday 30th October 2018 at 7:30 pm

Present: Chairman Robin Boucher and 7 members.

Apologies received from:- Diane and Doug

Minutes of the previous meeting were approved and signed.

Robin reported:
  • he had suitably cut the old Packington poster which used to hang in the museum,  and kept the photographs ready for archiving.
  • Paula Dring has replied favourably regarding the request for her to talk to the history group about her research on Reverend Joseph Goadby, the Baptist Minister.  It is hoped the February 2019 meeting will be agreeable to her.
  • Wendy Freer of Pudding Bag productions has agreed to attend our next November 2018 meeting, and will talk on Reverend Thomas Pestell  (the younger), Vicar of Packington from 1644, whose career was interrupted by the Civil War and the Interregnum, then resumed after the restoration of King Charles II.  There is more on her heritage group’s website,  puddingbagproductions.co.uk ; Wendy will also be outlining what she requires from our group.
Robert reported on his first meeting of the Memorial Hall Committee, where he was warmly welcomed, and said how the history group was thought well of, as many of the Memorial Hall committee members had attended the history walks and seen the exhibitions.
The important matter of storage space at Memorial Hall for the archives was thoroughly discussed by members concluding with the proposal that a suitable steel cabinet be purchased by the history group and be situated in the storage room at the memorial hall, subject to the agreement of the Memorial Hall Committee.  Robert will put this before the Memorial Hall Committee at their next meeting in November.
It was also hoped that history group members would be able to use the Venue 35 meeting room for the thinning of the archive material. This would be on several morning sessions throughout the beginning of 2019.  The question of dissemination of the archive material was further discussed.
The question of future projects was discussed.  Sue proposed that medieval Packington would be a very interesting subject to pursue.
The meeting closed at 9.20pm.
The next PVHG meeting is on Tuesday, 27th November 2018 at 7.30pm.
Yvonne Eaton, Secretary

Can Memorial Hall host our History Group Archive? 20 November 2018

We’ve asked the Memorial Hall Committee to help with storage of, and access to, our 3500-item archive. Here’s a copy of our request to them:

Letter to Memorial Hall Committee:

Packington Village History Group PVHG

From: Robin Boucher                    13th November 2018

To:  Mr. Chris Miles, Chairman Packington Memorial Hall Committee

Dear Chris,

Storage of History Group Archive

Following our brief word at the end of the World War One commemorations, I am writing on behalf of the History Group to make a formal request about storage of the archive at the Memorial Hall.

You will remember my previous letter of six months ago on this subject: since then we have put forward Robert Dilworth as our representative on the Hall Committee. I understand that at the Hall Committee’s last meeting, it was suggested that the History Group should put forward a proposal – hence this letter, on which Robert will be able to speak further at the meeting on 20th November.

The History Group requests agreement to place a large metal lockable cabinet in a suitable location in one of the storage rooms at the Hall, for the long term. This would be used to maintain archive material in a weatherproof and secure place, central to the village. The History Group would need access to the cabinet on an “ad hoc” basis during daytimes and possibly occasional evenings, while seeking to avoid any disruption to other users of the Hall’s facilities.

The History Group’s ultimate wish is to digitise the archive material, making it readily available to residents of the village (and of course to the wider world). However, the Group needs to carry out a good deal of work to prepare for this. If the material is stored at the Hall, the Group wishes to hold a number of sessions during 2019 (probably in the daytime) to undertake this preparation work. These sessions would be in addition to the Group’s schedule of evening meetings round the year.

We are aware that the constitution of the Memorial Hall includes references to the promotion of reading and other educational activities; we believe our intended usage is wholly congruent with these aims.

Robert will attend the meeting on 20th November hoping to progress our request, bringing queries back to the next History Group meeting on 27th November if required. I do hope your committee will feel able to support us.

Yours sincerely,

Robin Boucher
Chair,
Packington Village History Group

PVHG Helps Commemmorate WW1 Armistice Centenary

PVHG helped Packington commemmorate the 100th anniversary of the Armistice that ended World War 1, by mounting on the 11th November 2018 weekend at Memorial Hall two displays of local people who had been involved in the Great War.

The single photo image on the right comes from a Packington family:

This photo image is of Private Walter Woodward of Packington, who was a “Mountie”,  a mounted trooper in a Canadian regiment. He died in 1915 near Ypres. Buried in the Westoutre war graves cemetery near there, he has a memorial addition at his parents’ grave in our village church cemetery, row A no 24 – the most South-westerly of all our church burial plots:

Walter Henry Woodward of the 2nd Canadian Mtd Rifles Third son of WW and A Woodward, who fell in action near Ypres October 8, 1915, aged 37 years. Buried at Westoutre

https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2938959/woodward,-/#&gid=null&pid=2

You can see these details, and search for other casualties and memorials, at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website, cwgc.org

Minutes of the PVHG September 2018 Meeting

MINUTES OF THE September 2018 MEETING OF PACKINGTON VILLAGE HISTORY GROUP PVHG

held in Venue 35 – the Memorial Hall Meeting Room – on Tuesday 25th September 2018 at 7:30 pm

Present: Chairman Robin Boucher, 6 members. and guest Terry Hammond

Apologies received from:- Diane, Doug, and Nev.

Minutes of the previous meeting were approved and signed.

Robin welcomed Terry Hammond who brought the meeting up to date with the World War 1  commemoration events in November:

  • A copy of the programme for the Saturday evening Music Hall entertainment was circulated.
  • Terry explained that regrettably the actors reading the soldiers’ story would not be in military uniform, as the cost of hire was prohibitive.
  • It was with some regret that members heard the film to be shown on Friday night the 9th November was not a war film. The possibility of whether a war film could be shown at some other time over that weekend was discussed, but at this stage of the arrangements it was not thought to be possible.
  • Robin has been searching the archives for suitable photographs for the display in the Memorial Hall and showed members his findings. Some were of the village as it was during the l914/18 period, as well as some of the village soldiers and sailors who served in the first world war.
  • The display stands required to house the photographs for the display can be kindly supplied by Sue.
  • Members thanked Terry for his hard work on this WWI commemoration project

Robin reported he had organised the replacement Packington display poster for the museum and had succeeded in obtaining a grant from the Packington Parish Council for this purpose.  Thanks were expressed by members for this.  The new poster is now on display at the museum.  The question of what should happen to the old poster which was brought from the museum, was discussed and it was decided to keep the top portion of photographs which would be added to the archives.

Members who had taken archive boxes over the summer for thinning reported their progress, Sue had achieved almost 50% as newspaper reports were hand written as well as typed, this being just one example of unnecessary archive space being used.  There was much discussion regarding what should be kept and what constituted genuine historical information to be kept.

Robert suggested approaching the memorial hall committee requesting space in the meeting room for the group to use at any reasonable time, but it was pointed out that the trust had to adhere to rules laid down and therefore this request was unlikely to be granted.  As playgroup are no longer using the memorial hall, storage space is now available, members felt the memorial hall committee should be approached asking if the history group could place their archives in such a space.

It was therefore proposed a representative of the history group be on the memorial hall committee.  Robert was proposed by Stephen and seconded by David, passed unanimously and agreed to be our representative.  Future meetings were discussed and Robert  suggested an invitation be sent to Paula Dring to speak on her research of the first Packington Baptist Minister. This was agreed.

Robin had received a letter from Wendy Frear who was requesting help from the history group and Robin will reply, inviting her to speak at our November meeting.

The village is slowly changing, population and buildings, therefore photographic evidence for the archives is essential showing these changes and it is hoped Richard Jones would be willing to take the necessary photographs.

The meeting closed at 9.30. The next meeting is on Tuesday 30th October, 2018 at 7.30pm

Poster at Ashby Museum

On visiting the Museum in May 2018, History Group members noticed that a poster about Packington, which was on permanent display, was out-of-date in a number of respects. We believe that the poster was drawn up about ten years earlier and not surprisingly needed to be revised.

The Group applied for funding from Packington Parish Council for the cost of replacement, whereupon the Council made a grant of £275.  The Group itself funded the VAT element of the cost, being a further £55. The new poster  was produced and put on display in the Museum on Wednesday 19th September.

Thanks go to the Parish Council for their financial support and to Quiet Storm Solutions of Whitwick for the production work.

Commemorating the end of World War One.

Later this year, the Group will be contributing to village events commemorating the end of the war. We are hoping to have a small exhibition of pictures, articles and other memorabilia to display in the Memorial Hall over the weekend 9th – 11th November. We would be pleased to hear from anyone who has items which could be displayed. Please note that, for this purpose, there does not need to be  a direct connection with Packington – anything related to the war and its conclusion will be welcome. Do contact us if you have anything!

Robin Boucher tel.: 01530 411638, e-mail randdbboucher@googlemail.com