The City and County Photographic Company studio at Bartonsham, writes Peter Klein who has been collecting Hereford carts-de-visite for some time, is a new one on me.  Examples are certainly rare, so the studio is likely to have been trading for only a brief period.  The style and finish of the printed mount is fairly precisely datable - probably during the period 1866 to 1874 - and the studio was perhaps based in a private house.  The site of the present corner shop on the corner of  Harold Street and Green Street was still shown as undeveloped in 1884, in the 1888 edition of the OS 25 inch map, so I was wondering where other commercial shop premises might have been situated in around 1870.  I can find no mention of the company in the local trade directories, and I've drawn a blank there.  As this studio probably didn't do very well and folded within a year or two, what few sitters did come to have their portraits taken are likely to have been very local to the Bartonsham area.
Closer examination of the 1871 Census might show something, for instance there was a 28-year-old "photographic artist", Thomas A. Williams, living with his parents at Barrack Villa, 41 Harold Street (schedule no. 118), so he might be the photographer.  He was still there in 1881.

This picture - Credit: Ron Cosens

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.

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 web@bartonshamhistory.org.uk. 

​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.
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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.”

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...

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.