Dear Fellow Members.
We have recently been told that there is a proposal to form a new Centre in Walsall, and we were asked whether we would have any objections to such a near neighbour. On the contrary, we would welcome it, as we feel that a new Centre would be preferable to increasing the size of our own Centre, which with a membership of over 500 is about the right size for efficiency and comfort. We are already finding difficulty in accommodating all who apply to attend our events and no-one is happy when members have to be told that the lists are full.
So it seems that another Centre will soon be added to the list, which grows so fast that it is difficult to find out just how many Centres there are, well over 160, I think. In addition to their primary purpose of supporting The National Trust, it seems that they are also providing a useful social service; we are constantly being told by our members that they have made so many friends at Centre events, and found new interests. And there are some who look upon our weekend trips as the highlight of their year. Of course, there are others to whom the Centre does not appeal. Almost a quarter of our members drop out each year, but they are quickly replaced by new members, and they may find consolation in the fact that it has not cost them much money to discover that Centre membership is not for them.
On the other hand, there are many who continue year after year, becoming increasingly enthusiastic. It is cheering to think that whilst they are supporting the Trust so loyally, they are themselves benefiting in so many ways. There cannot be many charities where the giving is made so enjoyable!
Yours sincerely,
W.P.Povey
A VILLAGE CUT OUT OF SANDSTONE
This little review of our walk along the southern end of the Staffordshire Way on 15th September should have appeared in the last issue of the "Newsletter". I apologise. Never mind, I am sure those who took part will not have forgotten the walk. Ken Brown was our guide, and a very good one he proved to be.
Never more than a few miles from the centre of Wolverhampton (hardly renowned for its scenic qualities) the paths we followed were marvellously rural and quiet - who would have thought the Black Country - or rather, the black town - was so close by?
We started at Highgate Common, very near the private airfield where people prove their valour by jumping off aeroplanes. The common itself sounded like a gigantic swarm of angry wasps, with radio-controlled model aircraft buzzing around in all directions. But we were soon on our way, following paths through typical gentle English countryside, until we reached Enville, where we stopped at the local for lunch. Enville Church, with its particularly handsome (though I would think; fairly recent) sandstone tower, greeted us through the trees.
After lunch the path took us through the beautiful grounds of Enville Hall - hooded. undulating, idyllic - just what a country estate should be. Then onto Kinver Edge. Not perhaps as spectacular as Wenlock Edge, but possessed of a most extraordinary network of sandstone caves with cottages built into - indeed, out of -. the sandstone cliffs. I gather these dwellings here inhabited until quite recently. Water it seems, was laid on - in fact you could see the system of pipes - but what a fearful ordeal it must have been carrying the weekly shopping basket up those cliffs from the village far below in the winter!
And then onto Kinver, and back to our comfortable twentieth century coach, and a luxurious ride back home.
Guy de Visme
THE LLANDUDNO WEEKEND
100 members responded to the idea of a weekend in North Wales, arising from the interest shown by the visit of the Marquis of Anglesey to our meeting in Lichfield last year.
We left in two coaches on Friday evening, September 28th, and although we arrived at the Queen’s Hotel in Llandudno rather later than scheduled, this was more than compensated for by the warm and cheerful welcome of the youthful hotel staff, who speedily served us with a splendid buffet supper. This indeed set the tone of the catering for the whole weekend - ample food and really pleasant service.
In spite of the gloomy forebodings of the BBC weatherman, Saturday dawned fine and mild. The sea was like a millpond and by noon the pessimists amongst us had peeled off layers of outer clothing. The morning was spent doing one's own thing - to many this meant visiting the various shopping areas while others, more energetic, visited the Happy Valley gardens or merely strolled along the wide promenade basking in the warm autumn sun,
In the afternoon the majority of the group visited Bodnant Gardens, 8 miles away. Established in 1875 by the Aberconway family, the present Lord Aberconway lives in the house above the gardens, although this is not open to the public. The setting is unique, facing down the Conway Valley with views of the Snowdon range in the distance - which can be fully appreciated from a series of fine terraces below the house. Although some hold that spring is the best time to visit Bodnant there is still ample compensation in the autumn, admiring the enormous variety of trees and bushes some of which date from the beginnings of the garden in 1875. Of particular note are the two enormous cedars flanking a pool of water lilies on the highest of the terraces and a bank of gentians just coming into flower.
Our allotted time came to an end all too soon and as we drank tea in the sunshine outside the refreshment kiosk some of our members emerged proudly from the plant sale area bearing mainly heathers - no one, fortunately, had brought anything larger.
After a succulent dinner of Welsh Lamb we assembled to hear Mr J. Evans, the Administrator of Plas Newydd, give a talk about the house we were to visit the following day, The many slides she showed whetted our appetites to see more of this particularly attractive house, and he showed both learning and humour in outlining its history and main features,
On Sunday the early risers saw stormy skies change to blue as our time of departure approached, and we were waved off by the friendly young hotel owner and her staff. After a brief drive we stopped at Conway, where we were to spend the morning. We all sighed with relief as our coaches squeezed through the arches in the old town walls with only inches to spare on either side. There was so much to see in this attractive small walled town, celebrating the 700th anniversary of its charter, that we hardly knew where to start. The massive castle, dating from 1283, with splendid views of the surrounding country, was a starting point. Then there were two most interesting houses from two different periods - Plas Mawr, an Elizabethan house recently restored, and Aberconwy House N.T. property, dating from the 15th century which contains a well presented exhibition stating the life of Conwy from Roman times. Finally, although we didn't manage it, I am assured - that - the three quarters of a mile walk on the town walls, is well worth the effort - another time perhaps!!
Back in the coach by noon we had a pleasant run in glorious sunshine along the coast, crossing the water to Anglesey and then to Plas Newydd. Here we were issued with enormous packed lunches, to be eaten in the coach and in the nearby tea-room before being free to visit the house and grounds for the remainder of the afternoon.
Plas Newydd is almost unique amongst National Trust houses in having both 20th century and 18th century attractions, Splendidly situated on the edge of the Menai Straits this attractive house has special ties with Staffordshire, Although developed from an earlier 16th century manor house, it was modified and built on several times during the 18th century, the major work being undertaken in the 1790's by .James Wyatt and his assistant .Joseph Potter of Lichfield. In 1737 the owner, Sir Nicholas Bayly, married Caroline Paget, who was heiress to the Beaudesert estates in Staffordshire, and it was their son Henry, who became Earl of Uxbridge, who was responsible for these major alterations to the house and interior. His son was later created 1st -. Marquis of Anglesey as a reward for his having had leadership at the battle of Waterloo, and the Cavalry Museum is full of mementoes and pictures of his military associations.
The next main stage of development at Plas Newydd came in the 1930's when the 6th Marquis rebuilt the North Wing, thus creating the long Dining Room where the main feature is an enormous painting, 58 feet long covering the whole of one wall, and parts of two others, by Rex Whistler, who was a personal friend and a frequent visitor to the house. Highly decorative, the theme is of a Mediterranean town and harbour containing an astonishing variety, of architectural features. and many amusing and intriguing references to various members of the Paget family - all painted in meticulous Trompe e'œil style. An adjoining room is laid out as an Exhibition of Whistler's other work, particularly related to the theatre.
The remainder of this house is a mixture of Gothic and Neo-Classical styles with many interesting features and pictures. Many fine pieces of furniture came from Beaudesert when it was demolished in 1935, and in the Saloon are a pair of early Georgian decorated tables from Ingestre Hall.
The Bedrooms of the 6th Marquis and his wife Lady Marjorie Manners are particularly interesting - the latter being aptly described in the guide book as 'comfortable and feminine'. The main point of interest in the bedroom of the Marquis is the enormous state bed dating from the early 18th century which also came from Beaudesert.
The terraced gardens and extensive wooded grounds were also worth a visit, sloping down to the Menai Straits with the whole of the Snowdonia range crystal clear as a backcloth.
The time for return came all too soon but we thoroughly enjoyed the early part of the drive home in evening sunshine down the A5 through the best of the regions scenery.
So ended a well organised interesting weekend thoroughly enjoyed by every member of the party. We were all very astonished when Mr Povey informed us that a profit of £600 had been made from this weekend, in spite of the fact that we all felt we had had excellent value for money - a real tribute to the organisers' budgeting skills. Mr Povey also indicated that it was proposed to allocate this sum exclusively for the benefit of the Welsh National Trust as a tribute to the enjoyment we had experienced during the weekend.
I am sure I'm speaking for all members who came with us in thanking Mr Povey, Major Ashlin and Mr Ashton who between them bore the brunt of organising this really successful weekend,
Alan Parkinson
THE DISAPPEARING WILDLIFE OF BRITAIN
The number of members who attended Roger Hill's excellent illustrated lecture on the above topic (over 100) bore witness to the gravity which the above problem has now assumed. In introducing the speaker, the organiser predicted that the audience would be in for a gloomy evening. In fact Mr Hill, during his talk did not dwell unduly on the ravages to the British countryside produced by uncaring farmers, urban development, etc., though he did show two slides which vividly illustrated scenes we read about all too often - scenes of huge prairie-like fields which no doubt produce a fat income for the farmer but which are utterly bereft of beauty and any form of wildlife. No, Mr Hill showed us instead a truly wonderful selection of slides of plants, animals, butterflies and insects now only rarely seen in Britain and indeed often confined to only a very small number of localities. I suppose most of these examples of wildlife were not even known to many of us in the audience including myself, but I for one will keep my eyes open in future in the hope of catching a glimpse of these dying species.
It was during question time that the matter of conservation policy was raised, and Mr Hill pointed out some of the weaknesses of the 1981 Wildlife Protection Act. Can farmers, tempted by huge subsidies for growing cereal for instance, be blamed for increasing their acreage by cutting down that bit of useless woodland on the corner of their land or draining that area of marsh between those two fields, or for removing those tiresome hedgerows which waste so much precious time in ploughing, sowing and harvesting?
Ultimately, Mr Hill said, it's all a question of money - though I myself sometimes wonder what is the point of earning more and more money to live in a less and less attractive country.
Guy de Visme
STILL SOMETHING NEW ON CANNOCK CHASE
Alan and I have lived in Stafford for 15 years and during that time have had many walks on Cannock Chase. However the walk we went on led by Ken Brown on 11th October round Brindley Heath was quite new to me,
Apart from the fact that the weather was good for walking and the Chase was looking good in its Autumn colours, we learnt some historical facts about the hospital built during the Great War and where the village of Brindley itself had been. I tried to imagine the train chugging along where the lines had been but the surroundings were too peaceful for this flight of fancy,
Although no doubt the hospital and its attendant buildings served a very useful purpose. I am pleased the Chase has now reverted to a place where people can wander and enjoy the countryside in its natural state,
Devna York
'A STITCH IN TIME SAVES THOUSANDS'
I feel that I must add my own personal thanks to Miss Cousens for the excellent talk which she gave at Wolgarston High School during November.
As Assistant Historic Buildings Representative, Miss Cousens described in detail the necessary survey work and planning which is continually being undertaken by experts to the interiors of all properties and culminating in the delicate repairs and renovation work to preserve the contents of houses.
The talk was well illustrated with excellent slides of furniture, fabrics, wall papers, pictures, floor coverings and plasterwork as well as glass, metal and other materials and objects to be found in a large country house.
The conservation of house interiors is I feel often taken for granted by many visitors to houses and little thought is given to the vast amount of painstaking repair work which has to be undertaken during the months when the properties are closed in order to maintain them in the high standard of repair demanded by the National Trust.
In future I shall certainly reflect on Miss Cousens work and her devotion with gratitude whenever I renew my Annual Subscription.
Derek J. Simkin
WEEKDAY WANDER ON CANNOCK CHASE
It was raining when we left Lichfield - a very early Monday morning start for me. The dog was quite mystified by the obvious preparations for a long walk including wellingtons on a day which is normally washing day.
When we arrived at Milford it was dry and the sun trying to shine. Quite a sizeable group had gathered by l0 am and we set off up the hill towards Brocton Coppice. The autumn leaves were a delight in the sun. It was by now perfect walking weather. One or two eagle-eyed people spotted some deer on one of the deer lawns in the distance. My dog loved to paddle in the Stepping Stones brook and was doubly happy that we came back that way again. We were walking along, with the dog on the lead because it was deer protected areas we had been going through, when suddenly a deer leapt up right in front of us from where it had been standing or lying quite invisible in the bracken. If it hadn't taken fright and moved we would never have seen it and we could see its white tail bobbing away up the hill. For me that was my first sight of a deer on Cannock Chase.
We swung back towards Brocton along the Seven Springs for a way, led by Ray Briggs with the very knowledgeable Ken Brown bringing up the rear and answering my questions,
When we arrived back in Lichfield there was evidence that it had rained heavily all morning - weren't we lucky to enjoy such a perfect sunny Autumn morning just the other side of the Chase.
Sandra Green.
THE SIXTH CHRISTMAS LUNCH
Our Annual Christmas Dinner this year was held on Sunday, 9th December, 1984 and once again in the Oak Room at Stychfields where the first such dinner was held. It was a beautiful day and people arrived for a preprandial drink an excellent meal and fellowship.
The Chairman of the Mercia Regional Committee, Mr Peter Giffard, and his wife were amongst our guests and it fell to Mr Giffard to address us afterwards.