Home Sweet Home

The next meeting of the Society takes place on Thursday 9th January 2014 at 7:30 pm in St. Andrew’s Church, Bilston Street, Sedgley.

Members and visitors are invited to come along and share research and tips on tracing their house history. Everyone is invited to bring along artefacts, photographs and memorabilia or just tell stories about their house.

Start the New Year by sharing your memories and ‘treasures’ at this friendly gathering. Take the opportunity to talk about your discoveries or ask for advice.

As usual visitors are invited to come along – cost £1.

2013 Autumn Teaser

This 1950 photograph came from the collection of the late Wilfred Barratt and was sent in by his daughter, Marilyn Palmer. Wilf was a member of Dudley Camera Club with a passion for recording the part of the Manor where he lived.

The Upper Gornal location was known locally as The Quarry and by the council as Vale Street Recreation Ground. The names persist to this day. We asked about the intriguing history of this single storey building.

The school was built around 1920 and originally used as a base for older pupils in the Sedgley Urban District to learn laundry skills, cookery and woodwork.

At the time of the photograph (1950) the building was the local Civic Restaurant. During WW2 it was one of the British Restaurants with a name change coming in 1946. They sold basic meals at reasonable prices and were staffed by volunteers – all part of a national drive to relieve food rationing in the 1940s and 50s.

By the late 1950s it was a youth club. Then sometime in the late 1970s or early 1980s the building was demolished.

“In the Bleak Midwinter”

In 1872 these were the opening words to Christina Rossetti’s Christmas poem published in an American monthly magazine. It was set to music by Cheltenham born Gustav Holst in 1905 and immediately became one of the best loved carols in the English Hymnal of 1906. His tune, ‘Cranham’, added to the already evocative poetry to create a seasonal hymn that makes both singers and listeners tingle.

The picture, taken in March 2013, shows a field on the north side of Eve Lane, Woodsetton. With “Earth stood hard as iron” the ridge and furrow pattern of a medieval field becomes visible traversing from the road into Swanbrook Valley.

Wintery conditions offer unexpected views throughout Sedgley Manor and the chance to take memorable pictures. Enjoy the weather!