1. Present: Jan Comerford (OH), Mr and Mrs. John Goulton (Devt), Bridget and Dudley Groves (Devt), Michael Harte (EB), Sheila Mansfield (OH), Rosemarie Peeling (FH), Emma Richardson (FH), Chris and Rachel Ring (Devt), Val Tunbridge (OH), Martin Turner (IA) and Heather Woodward (OH).

2. Purpose of meeting: To share information about what task groups are doing and what they need To think about what each could present to AGM A.O.B.

3. Feedback from individual task groups:

(A) DEVELOPMENT: Have been very busy in recent weeks. Tithe map had been traced with some difficulty from Durgates-ish to Lower High Street and was displayed. IA group might find 1839/1840 information useful. Other maps are available to follow alongside censuses through to 1901. High Street was open (despite Michael Harte’s theories!)
The Award Book of 1839 is a tome in Record Office. Gives numerical key to owners and tenants, size of field to garden, and the state of cultivation and how much was being paid to the Church. Tithe was still being paid in 1956. 1844 was first year under new system when tithes were paid.
The group felt research is needed on turnpikes and tollgates. They were administered by the Turnpike Trust and were awarded individually their parliamentary permission to charge. Became ineffective and inefficient. Various around: opp Primary School, opp Walter’s Cottages, opp Russetts in Lower High Street. Did tollgate move from Walter’s Cottages to opp Russetts – if so why and when? Most were erected 1820 to 1850. Turnpike Trust papers should be helpful. Building shown mainly shops and commercial properties. Nothing in Courthope documents mentions toll-gates.
One of the frustrations had been that nothing matched with current ownerships or habitation.
Rosemary Cottage (Tapsells Lane) was a toll-gate cottage. Not the one opposite which is now called Tollgate Cottage.
BRIDGET will e-mail information to Emma for comparing with censuses.
Michael Kent has complete series of Col Mudge maps. This area’s is dated 1819. MICHAEL will pursue it for borrowing.
Sue Petrie has found survey of farms for 1941 with every conceivable detail – at Kew.
Martin would like to find out when the B2100 was built. Old road ran parallel.
Very good information is available on the website A2A – National Record Office site. Eventually hopes to have all holdings on to A2A. Will become very valuable resource. Currently access is free.
Group is now thinking about which way to go now: split into pairs or work as whole group?
Michael provided CD of Kew Tithe Map (19mb). The map is more practical in size than the Tithe Map which is 10-12’ wide and 36’ long! It goes nearly to Lamberhurst and not quite as far as Whiligh.
Their work has definitely been an experience. Well done!

(B) ESTATES AND BUILDINGS: Sally Lowe, Jeremy Oldershaw, Val Tunbridge, Merediths and Michael Harte had very interesting recent visit to Snape Barn (opposite Snape Clock House) which is being converted into accommodation and floors are being inserted. 5-bay barn with cat-slide extension at one end. Mediæval crown-post roof with complete collar run in middle with later supportive additions.
Sir Henry Barham (cf Newsletter 2, March 2004) in 19th C. made changes to create a grand manorial hall. Inglenook fireplace installed. Very nice painted board with the ironmaster’s lament (Newsletter 2) and interesting early Victorian stained-glass windows. Barn has been residence at some point.
Have not decided what they do next.
Suggestion: could they look at Victorian additions?
Not sure whether barn had been for agricultural or animal use. Michael will see David Martin to find out what research he has done on material he has.

(C) FAMILY HISTORY: They have “finished “ the churchyard. Have map of the rows from 1908 but are not allowed to look at the map without observers. Now putting them into logical order. Censuses have been checked free over the Summer. 1800 inscriptions are legible and some are below the level of the ground.
Trying to find out causes of death. e.g. 1850s diphtheria. Also seems to have been depression because quite a few suicides.
Can they publish it now? Yes – permission has been given by Jeremy James. Should do it as soon as possible because Tunbridge Wells Family History are about to publish their version apparently.
Material from Barbican House (Lewes) was very useful and interesting. Lady whose family moved from here to South Africa in 1845 has also been in touch.
Three possible ways of publishing: micro-fiche; CD but this may have restrictions; hard copy publication. Important to have something available to people who do not have technological resources. EMMA will discuss possibilities with MICHAEL. Well done again!

(D) INDUSTRY AND AGRICULTURE: Having increasingly enjoyable meetings (!) with progress being made in the area of iron. Gwen Skae is writing notes on existing publications and Sigi Goolden is starting thesis on Wealden Iron.
Group decided to interview various people but log-jam with transcribing is discouraging. Very keen to get them transcribed to avoid duplication.
Interviews will have different purposes for different task groups. Some will be very specific, others more general. To avoid un-necessary overload for interviewees, leaders of task groups are asked to tell Heather (OH) whom they are intending to i/v.
There is a lot to learn re i/ving. 2nd i/vs are usually better than first through experience. 2/3 tapes were used learning to sue the machine!
John Hardcastle has recently been i/vd by Martin. John Hardcastle has book on Whiligh Estate from 1890 with every labourer’s tasks detailed on every day. On Good Friday they would have day off with full pay provided they went to Church.
Barry Luck will be i/vd by IA (Bassett’s Forge). Advised to contact Celia Drew (Ticehurst) who saved much of their paperwork.
DUDLEY is researching Brewing Industry – several establishment sin area. Has contacted Harvey’s of Lewes. Lotte Sande-Cobley used to live at Brewery Cottage and might have information (784721).
Michael has been asked to talk to the Cubs and would like to borrow the Hardcastle book.

Rachel asked Michael what he is hoping to have produced for Victorian Wadhurst:-
• written thesis or piece for website
• publication/pamphlet including graphics which need interpreting
• build up information on the website
• CD showing streets with views and secondary links to its previous situation. Could be powerful resource. Constantly updated.
• Frame the Tithe Map tracing. Add overlays to present day.

Concern was expressed about putting too much on the website. Effort and time spent need to be rewarded and recognised. Many organisations charge for information. We should not miss out.

(E) ORAL HISTORY: The group has been very keen but like the IAs has been frustrated and disheartened by the technical problems of having interviews transcribed and also made available for permanent archival storage. Meetings have been held about once every two months to plan and consider progress, and to update the ever-expanding list.
On the current list there have been 84 names, only one of whom has completed the whole process through to accepted transcription. The transcription cost £80 which was paid by the interviewee not the Society. 5 people have died and 11 are in the pipeline at some stage along the process. Some have preferred to be interviewed but not taped. The response to being asked has been very positive and people are flattered to be invited and keen to offer lots of information, albeit in haphazard order. The group decided to interview husbands and wives separately in order to gain the full picture. It has been interesting to observe the differing descriptions of the same events from different people – somewhere between lies the truth. Actual interviewing is a steep learning curve and the ideal is to have considerably less interviewer than interviewee. Interviews are on mini-disks. From these, CDs can be produced and are “tracked” for easy future reference. The CDs are for archival requirements. Transcribers require a different format or some efficient form of foot-control and that has been the problem. Very amateur typists can cope with the F-key process to stop, back-track etc. F9 – plays; F4 stops it; F7 winds it back. Professionals find it interrupts their automatic flow. Michael has acquired what is supposed to be a good system which will take an MP3 file but has not yet been able to make it work. He hopes it will work from a mini-disk. Ideally the transcription should be done by the interviewer but this is not always possible. Can’t we use ordinary tapes? Many of us wish we could but they are not compatible with advanced archival-quality systems. For the first few interviews it was decided to transcribe them verbatim. Thereafter tracks would be chosen for immediate interest and the other tracks would be indexed to facilitate future research.
It is important that EVERY GROUP pleases tells the OH group via Heather who they have already interviewed, when and by whom. Please also tell her who they themselves would like to interview for inclusion on the general interview list. That way we can avoid overload on interviewees and overlap generally.

HEATHER will provide a current list for the “leaders” of each task group when all the information has been received from them.

4. A.O.B.
a. CD of 300 old photos available. Will be useful for historical record and could also be used for comparisons in future publications.
b. Legal document about the forced sale of what is now Gateway Farm, Woods Green in 1804 has been bought by the current owner, Chris Lunn and he is giving it to the Wadhurst History Society for safe keeping. Bought in Canada.
c. AGM: EACH GROUP to think about what it will do to fill a 10-minute slot as a presentation. OHP available. Also slide projector. Emma can borrow Michael’s digital camera. EACH GROUP to tell the current committee before 17th November what each will do.
d. FH will perhaps introduce 2/3 stones and/or 2/3 interesting families. Others could show a building in the High Street for example and show who, what and when.
e. Neil Rose has done a great deal on the railways. Will be doing a talk on 2005 programme. 2005 programme is now complete.
f. RAC sign below Uplands has interesting position. Why was it needed to indicate that the main road bore left?
g. Where was the original market, bearing in mind the Market Hall was situated behind the current Lloyds Bank near back entrance to Crittles? Also Market Street runs to left of Wood-B-Pine into their car park.
h. Michael explained that the Wadhurst Partnership of which the Wadhurst History Society is a member represents Wadhurst generally. It is working on project at Uplands. Hoping to gain public financial support and should know by December 2004 whether it has. What could be done with current library? One thought from Hall and Field is to use it as archive and display room – Bocking, Cosham and Wadhurst History Society?
i. Michael told the meeting of the WASP situation. Suggestion has been made that their funds of around £10,000 should be passed to CPRE. BUT this was a “fighting fund” explained John Goulden raised by Wadhurst for Wadhurst. A special general meeting is to be held on 27th November and information is to be passed to Heather for inclusion in her Courier column and perhaps put into the general news section. WASP takes wider view on bigger issues. Concern about what happens if it does fold. Keep it dormant until there is an emergency? WASP oversees what happens in Wadhurst in the best interest of the village.
j. AGM will include elections. THOSE PRESENT urged to consider standing for the committee and encouraging others to do so. Slightly larger committee is needed.
k. Rough estimate is that there are about 30 active members out of the 200 membership.
l. What would members think about a book stall and a lending library at meetings? Good idea.
m. HEATHER will put a paragraph in December Focus re the FH group. Would like to see/borrow family trees, photos etc. Every monumental inscription has been recorded in graveyard and Church.
n. Emma asked about Bellringer book. HEATHER will give her a ‘phone number and name.
o. Once Victorian has been researched, next area of focus should be the interwar years 1920s and 1930s

Meeting ended at 9.43 with a cluster round the fascinating traced map produced by the development group. Next meeting; some time in the New Year.