What do you remember about the Second World War? Concerned about the diminishing pool of people who can still recall the last war, Naomi Bell starts the memory ball rolling with her own recollections. Read her article here and add your comments - or email your recollections and photos to [email protected]. 

​Faith Ford has researched the stories, originally published in JABA our community newsletter, behind the names on the war memorial to the parish men who died in the second world war. Read the full article here.

A mysterious earthwork running along Bartonsham Meadows is to be investigated thanks to a £10,000 Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) grant. A group of local enthusiasts formed the Bartonsham Row Ditch Community Archaeology Project with the support of Historic England and Hereford City Council & now, thanks to National Lottery players, the Project will oversee the first ever scientific investigation into the distinctive, but enigmatic, earthwork called the Row Ditch. 
 
Formerly a high bank and deep ditch situated in Bartonsham Meadows, to the south-east of Hereford city centre, the remains of the earthwork, a scheduled ancient monument, can still be traced at the back of Park Street. Currently on Historic England's “At Risk Register”, due to neglect and farming activity, it is marked on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1888 as an “Intrenchment Constructed by the Scotch Army AD1645”, but other evidence suggests the Row Ditch has a much older history.
 
The Project's chair, Ian Broom said: “The grant will help us understand the purpose and origins of the feature. We will be working with the community and involving young people from St James' CofE Primary School and Hereford Sixth Form College, to develop a better understanding of the feature in the history of the environs of Hereford's medieval city. Bartonsham Meadows is an area popular with local residents and many have speculated on the origin of the Row Ditch. Is it a Civil War defence? A flood drain? A part of Offa's Dyke? A feature of a medieval field management system, or something else? We are very pleased to have been awarded this grant and our thanks go to those who made it possible by participating in the National Lottery.”
 
Herefordshire Archaeology, part of Herefordshire Council, has been appointed to provide management expertise and leadership in meeting the Project's objectives. Archaeologist Tim Hoverd said; “This is fantastic news! We are really looking forward to working with the local community to hopefully solve the mystery of Row Ditch. We hope that the excavations will be able to tell us exactly what this monument was used for and when it was being used.”  
 
Local people will be given the opportunity to experience and participate in a professionally managed investigation within the community. Building on preliminary work already conducted, the project will include the digging of surface trenches, deeper augering and analysis of the results. At the end of the project, a report will be published and an interpretation board installed on site for the information of visitors and residents to raise awareness and appreciation of the area.
​
Vanessa Harbar, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund West Midlands, said: “Sharing Heritage is a wonderful opportunity for communities to delve into their local heritage and we are delighted to be able to offer this grant so that The Bartonsham Row Ditch Community Archaeology Project can embark on a real journey of discovery. Heritage means such different things to different people, and HLF’s funding offers a wealth of opportunities for groups to explore and celebrate what’s important to them in their area.”

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!

We have had an interesting response to a query we made to the Wedgwood Museum, about these pottery pieces, found near the Royal Ordnance Factory, Rotherwas.

"Thank you for the pictures. You can just make out the 'Wedgwood &', and underneath 'Tunstall', which is useful.

I'm afraid that I can be of little help on this occasion as the ware in question is a product of Wedgwood & Co not Josiah Wedgwood (& Sons).
 
Originally founded around 1832 by Enoch Wedgwood in Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent (Staffordshire), this factory (Wedgwood & Co) had nothing whatsoever to do with the firm known formerly as Josiah Wedgwood & Sons Limited, until 1980 when we were forced to take them over because of the ongoing confusion with the use of the Wedgwood name.  At the time of the takeover we were advised that their records had been destroyed in a series of fires in the 1950s, therefore we have no archive or other documentary material with which we can assist members of the public with enquiries relating to this former manufacturer.  You may however find this website of some use:
http://www.thepotteries.org/allpotters/1061.htm"

​We didn't know that before!

An article by Bill Laws on the Bassom - Bartonsham's Bathing Hut - has been published in our new Topics section. Please take a look, and add any of your own memories or further information in the comments section underneath.

Still to come are articles on schools, pubs, the dairy, shops, the Castle, war memorials and barracks. We welcome submissions! 

Did you used to live in Bartonsham? Do you have memories you'd be happy to share? The History Group will be at the Pavilion on Castle Green all day at the River Carnival on 30th April.

We would welcome any stories or pictures you can contribute to the local history of the area.

Do pop in for a visit, or email us here.

THE ROW DITCH is the remains of a bank & ditch running through Bartonsham Meadows, adjacent to the back gardens of houses on the south side of Park Street. Historic England have recognised the feature & because of its condition placed it on the “At Risk” register.
 
There are references to a “Rough Ditch” possibly dating back to the reign of Henry II in the mid 12th Century. In the 1880s the first Ordnance Survey map refers to it as “(Intrenchment) Constructed by the Scotch Army (A.D.1645)”. Later suggestions include an association with Offa's Dyke. 
 
The aim of the project is to raise the awareness, public appreciation & understanding of the feature to ensure there is no further degradation of the feature & contribute towards its place in the wider history of the city. A geophysical survey of the feature was undertaken in March 2014 by Headland Archaeology.
 
The project has already received substantial support from Historic England & Hereford City Council, but it will only be possible to progress to fruition if a grant of funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund is made available. An application to HLF should be in place by the end of 2015.
 
Support has also been received from Herefordshire Council, The Woolhope Club, Mr J. Matthews @ Bartonsham Farm Dairies (tenant) & the Church of England Commissioners (land owners).

Following a competitive tendering exercise arranged by Historic England, Herefordshire Archaeology, a department of Herefordshire Council, has been appointed by the group as project manager under the supervision of Archaeological Projects Manager, Tim Hoverd.

Assuming the Heritage Lottery Funding application is successful, it it hoped to undertake physical investigation work, by means of trench digging & augering during the spring / summer of 2016.  If anyone fancies getting their hands dirty, there will be opportunities for the local community to become involved in the investigation.

The Row Ditch Group is now working with the Bartonsham History Group and has its own website section. You can receive updates via this blog and/or by subscribing to the BHG e-Bulletin on the home page.  ​