Notes on a meeting of the Wadhurst History Society Task Groups on Monday 21st February 2005 @ FTA.

1. Present: Michael Harte (EB), Robin Head (FH), Sally Lowe, Des Mansfield (OH), Sheila Mansfield (OH), Rosemarie Peeling (FH), Emma Richardson (FH), Chris and Rachel Ring (Devt), Val Tunbridge (OH), and Heather Woodward (OH). Apologies: Jan Comerford (OH), Bridget and Dudley Groves (Devt), and Martin Turner (IA)

2. Matters arising from notes of 14.10.04:
a) The 300 postcards were from Chris Wilson. (4a)
b) MICHAEL has still to see Chris Lunn. (4b)
c) Information about Cutbush family and others will be in next Newsletter. (4d)
d) Railway talk: on 2.3.05. ROBIN will pass on to John Millett information about Eaton’s Garage which used to be a forge.
e) RAC sign – pending. (MICHAEL )
f) Apparently the Church House “island” is probably the site of the old market. Traders put up shacks and sheds to save them having to put up and dismantle every week. These eventually became accommodation. Market hall seems to have been a section at the back of what is now Lloyds Bank. (4g)
g) Plans were rejected. (3h)
h) WASP – nothing new to report as nothing has been done. Robert Rice has resigned therefore. (3i)
i) AGM _ worked well. David James had been co-opted on to main committee and will eventually chair Task Groups. (4j)
j) After Victorian period; 1920s and 1930s. (4o)

3. Feedback from individual task groups:
(A) DEVELOPMENT: Has had meeting. Churches handed over to Liz Kittermaster. Document found in a Tunbridge Wells junk shop has been handed on to David James. Refers to building probably opposite Clock House where Hair Workshop used to be – this cross-references with census documents. Various documents are being cross-referenced by the GROVESES. RACHEL is researching Poor Law and the workhouse which closed around 1830. Group has found Kelly’s directories unhelpful and too generalised. Emma has found reference to the workhouse i.e maps etc but no records of inmates at Wadhurst, only Wadhurst inmates at Flimwell Union post 1835. The group has not yet enough to provide any written report. Tollhouse was on Sunnymead Estate toward Mayfield Lane. The trouble is that once title is registered, solicitors throw out documents. Yates’ wine boxes could be useful! (see AOB 4d)

(B) ESTATES AND BUILDINGS: MARY has interviewed Pamela Yeo who has done a lot of research on Manor Cottage. Others have also so this is a good example of overlap. Joy Creasy has a video of the aftermath of the plane crash Wadhurst History Society will copy it for our archives. – will be useful to DW group. Mrs. Corfe at Faircrouch has plenty of documents re the estate. The Newsletter picture for 2005 will be of Snape with railway line and a mill – it was Riseden Post Mill which burnt down. Apparently there was also a mill on “Butcher’s Field” and one in Lower Cousley Wood. Michael Harte is interested in Pennybridge Farm. David Payne’s parents lived there and he might have information about it.

(C) FAMILY HISTORY: EMMA is going to look at glass photos with John Bishop. Emma wondered what had resulted from various appeals locally. They are getting lots of information from abroad e.g. New Zealand. They asked if MICHAEL could do an interactive message board on the website. People could put information on a “guest book” and this would avoid reinventing the wheel. The “magnum opus” is progressing despite computer explosion. Information has been received from Gillingham about Ebenezer Wilfred Baldock and will be passed to FH group.. Baldock families were very devout. EWB had a brother Henry. William Winsley B. was at Rehoboth Chapel in Pell Green – a dissenting minister. Wadhurst, Sandhurst and Newenden were on same circuit so are the same. Updated information about Alfie Wimshurst and link with Kennard at Greenman Farm. EMMA will put in paragraph for Focus.

(D) INDUSTRY AND AGRICULTURE: A lot of research going on about George Street. Manor Cottage was owned by George Luck from 1900 to 1904 and he sold off all fields and land for building – hence Gloster Villas, George Street, Clifton Villas. Gloucester Road there already; Western Road came with development. Liz Trevor was Secretary of the George Street residents’ Association for about 20 years. On-going interviews – all interviewers will complete the paperwork required to be consistent across groups. (see also section E) Code numbers for interviews from Heather. That way we can avoid duplication and un-necessary overlap. Heather’s list of potential interviewees and their interviewers means that, if another group wants specific information from an individual, they can ask the interviewer direct to put relevant questions. Sue Petrie is currently in New Zealand and discovered that the timbers in Christchurch Cathedral came from Whiligh.

(E) ORAL HISTORY: Thanks to the interviews being done by IA, the situation is now much more positive than was reported at the AGM. Heather showed a list of completed interviews and of those who have died. The problem of transcriptions is, however, still major. Interviewing techniques are being learnt the hard way. We have been advised that a complete transcription is important if at all possible. That complete transcription should be retained. Extracts and edited versions can be taken from it. The documentation side of interviewing is essential though a nuisance.
• An identity card, confidentiality release form, and usually a background information sheet have to be completed for every interviewee.
• After each interview and before the mini-disk is passed on for technical archiving, every interviewer must complete a tracking sheet including the approximate times for each change of topic area.
• Key Words can be highlighted for future cross-referencing.
• All interviewers must ask Heather for the identification code for each interview before it is passed on. For this year, they will be 05/OH/…… and the next number in the sequence will be given.
• To avoid un-necessary overload for interviewees, leaders of task groups are asked to tell Heather (OH) whom they are intending to i/v.

RACHEL was keen to do a transcription from a tape using her foot-control. A tape version has recently been done by Mary, and Des has transferred it to mini-disk before it is handed on for the technical process for archiving. She could do that. Filing a mini-disk is not archival.
There followed a technical discussion of MP3 – USB etc which most people did not understand.

(F) SALLY LOWE: explained to the meeting about the NADFAS detailed recording of Churches. A very tight efficient format has been evolved. Neither Tunbridge Wells nor Tenterden could do Wadhurst Church.
We could do it as Associate Member under the NADFAS umbrella and that would cover for insurance - £15 per person. Recording is done under 10 headings e.g. description, material, date, design etc. Everything is photographed. People work in pairs. 5 copies are produced once they are edited – this is painstaking work. Beneficial to Church for insurance purposes (cf Charles the Martyr fire).
Wadhurst Parish Church already has quite detailed inventory. Neil Rose is interested in the concept. Jeremy has not replied yet. Main cost is the photography and NADFAS has not yet accepted digital.
Are we interested?
In principle – yes. But it would be good for Church to be fully involved. i.e. 16 people in pairs. Do it fortnightly at the same time. “They” have found Monday mornings good because Church is still warm!
This would probably turn into another task group. Church would have to be very supportive but Sally said it is surprising how little support is usually forthcoming.

4. A.O.B.
a. ROBIN requested micro-fiche readers – c £50. Going to Lewes can be expensive.
b. Photocopying at Lewes is 80p. Some places let you make a donation.
c. Valuable information/documentation is with Len Young’s family but this is not currently available.
d. Heather had received offer of 6/7 wine boxes full of old bills, estimates, tickets etc from Brian Yates. Neil Rose will pick up the boxes and they can be stored at Greenman Farm. Each box will be sifted and sorted by individuals. Could be people outside the task groups. HEATHER will work out instructions as to what needs to be done once she has seen them.
e. Brian Yates would love to be interviewed. His name has been added to list and Philip Meredith will interview him.
f. What are we going to produce as a result of this work on the Victorian period.
A pamphlet/booklet would present it well.
Ready for the end of October/beginning of November for sale for Christmas 2005.
Such publications should be occasional so that their quality if guaranteed. “From Toll to Toll” (?)
All groups except probably OH to contribute. Any overlap can be edited out before publication.
At next task group meeting, EACH GROUP will put forward ideas of what they intend to contribute to this publication. Have a mini-forum about it.
g. MICHAEL would like to extract from all the census returns, tables and comparative data and information on the Wadhurst main area.

Meeting ended at 9.30. Next meeting; Monday 25th April, 7.30 at FTA Conference Centre (now sign-posted Wadhurst Conference Centre).