Regarding the Patch Marks David referred to in his talk. Here are some Aerial photos provided by a local drone pilot, showing the patch marks .

With reference to Ron Shoesmith's diagram below, from David Whitehead's book. (diagram has been rotated to match the photo) 
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It’s almost 90 years since former lady’s maid Ellen Ballinger became the first tenant at Bartonsham’s Jane Hayes Almshouses. Sharon Elson unravels the tale here (Portrait of Sharon by laura loo Photography).

This article can also be found under Topics on our website, where a new Jane Hayes Almshouses section has been created.

A document was produced recently to provide background to possible conservation work on "green and blue corridors" within the city by a newly forming City branch of the Wildlife Trust. This may be of interest in Bartonsham, especially to those residents who have been following the development of our walks and research on the area mills.

Download a pdf of the document on the link below. There is still wide scope for document research - other than maps - to add details to the brief suggested outline. If anyone is interested, please contact BHG and we will put you in touch with the author.

As a result of exhaustive research in a range of records, and from knowledge built up over the years of living in Foley Street, Win Morgan-Brewer gives a thorough history of each house in the street in terms of when it was built, who was living there at any one time and their occupations.

A picture emerges of a number of families settled in the street for the long term – 110 years and counting in one case – and of a number of lodgers, often taken in to help cover bills, who pass through. Many interesting themes emerge – the number of residents who worked on the railways or in the tile industry; how many families adopted children; the widespread place of birth across the British Isles of those who lived in the street at any one time; the age at which many of the boys, especially, began working.

In addition, a chronological list of events that have shaped Hereford is provided, giving some interesting details about life and times in the city as a whole.

Win Morgan-Brewer came to live in Foley Street in 1977 and by the early 1980s she had started researching the family history of both her paternal and maternal relatives. In 2007, with retirement not too far away, she decided to start writing, which resulted in published articles in newspapers and magazines. Around 2010 she started to delve into the history of her house and the people who occupied it, research which snowballed into this history of Foley Street.
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Paperback, 160 pages, over 25 colour and 120 black and white illustrations, mainly photographs ISBN 978-1-910839-14-0 Price £10

A planning application to demolish historic cottages built by John Venn on Kyrle Street has been turned down by Herefordshire Council. The Masonic Housing Trust had applied to demolish the two existing dwellings to facilitate redevelopment of 9 residential apartments with associated car parking, cycles and refuse stores.

We are pleased to publish a fascinating article by local historian and author Jean O'Donnell MBE on the history of these buildings.

You may already know that The Friends of Castle Green is delighted to have been awarded a grant by The Big Lottery Fund Awards for All to carry out a year long city-wide consultation process to determine the future of Castle Green and the surrounding area.
 
The Friends would like to invite members of the History Group and a friend to a World Cafe Event to have their say on 'Planning the Future: Castle Green in the 21st Century'. They hope to bring together a good cross section of people to facilitate a discussion on what people want to happen to the area and how we go about achieving these objectives.

There will be a series of events throughout the year, and there are currently spaces on the evenings of 8th March and 22nd March. The evening will begin at 7.30pm at The Pavilion on Castle Green with food provided, but please bring your own drinks.

The Friends are limited on numbers so if interested you need to RSVP using the attached form as soon as possible and no later than 24th February. The only stipulation is an open mind and plenty of ideas!

For more information contact: - 

Katie Bott
Operations Manager
Friends of Castle Green
07939 261640
operations@friendsofcastlegreen.org.uk

Some exciting news from rev Dawn Waterton from Nuneaton. Readers may remember research by Green Street's Naomi Bell about the links between this church and our own St. James. 

"I am part of a group of people at All Saints Church Chilvers Coton, Nuneaton, who are working on a new guide book for the church along with plans to celebrate, in September this year, the 70th anniversary of the re-dedication of the church in 1947, after the bombing during WW2."

"I was amazed to read on your website that St James, Bartonsham is linked to All Saints Chilvers Coton, and actually played a part in the rebuilding."

"I wonder if you could possibly [get in touch] as I'm sure we will have lots to talk about, and we would love you to be a part of our celebrations."

Stand by for further developments...

A planning application to demolish historic cottages built by John Venn on Kyrle Street will be turned down by Herefordshire Council, officers say.

The Masonic Housing Trust had applied to demolish the two existing dwellings to facilitate redevelopment of 9 residential apartments with associated car parking, cycles and refuse stores.

A number of objections had been received, including from the City Council and Civic Society, on grounds of historical and architectural merit, the purpose of the original buildings, and environmental considerations around the density of the new development.

We hope to publish information on the history of these buildings shortly.

There were many historic mills in the Bartonsham area, and traces of some of them still remain in street names and buildings.

Discover more in a fascinating illustrated article which follows on from our guided history walk over New Year. You may be surprised!

On the World War 2 memorial just to the north of the main entrance to St James’ church in Green Street is an intriguing inscription to the help given to the rebuilding of All Saints Church Chilvers Coton following its destruction in the blitz.  It reads as follows:

Members of this parish have also furnished the chancel of the Chapel of the Three Kings in the rebuilt Parish Church of Chilvers Coton in the Diocese of Coventry destroyed by enemy action in May 1941.

Why did St James Hereford parishioners help with this specific church near Coventry? What was the link? Read a new article by local resident Naomi Bell explaining what she has found out.