The Newsletter of Friends of Welwyn Hatfield Museums
No. 33 Summer 2011
Patron The Most Hon. the Marquess of Salisbury PC, DL
Member of the British Association of Friends of Museums
Welwyn Roman Baths are ‘relaunched’
Tony Rook, President of the Welwyn Archaeological
Society and of the Roman Building Trust, who
originally discovered the Roman baths and secured
their preservation, reports the occasion.
My wife, Merle, is going through her diaries producing a detailed history of Welwyn Archaeological
Society (WAS). Few people will realise how much of
a DIY job Welwyn Roman baths was. The archaeology
of the site, its saving, the construction of the vault, to
say nothing of collecting the money to pay for everything but the vault, had taken all our free time, and a
lot of energy, for five years. When we took possession
from the Highway Engineers, all we were given was a
tiny area of land outside the tunnel and no access from
the road. I had to obtain some railway sleepers and
WAS made a flight of steps down the steep embankment. I slipped the engineers money to put a duct for
cables across the road and Keith, a WAS member,
installed lighting, power and alarms. We made security
doors. Inside the vault, we could only just afford a
walkway round the baths from entrance to emergency
exit. Then we were officially forbidden to open the
site, because we had no car park and no public lavatories. We ignored such trivialities and went ahead.
For the next ten years or so (Merle hasn’t got that
far in her diary!) it was hand-to mouth, doing things as
we could afford them or doing them ourselves. I
rented the land down from the roundabout, for a peppercorn rent; we put in a gate, installed fences, constructed a path. We installed the rest of the walkways,
put in displays, built a sales counter, made a heated
cupboard from a old fridge (paper went soggy otherwise!). I was Voluntary Education Officer, on call for
schools every weekday, and the desk was manned
CONTENTS
Archimedean Screw hydro generator
1
REPORTS OF FRIENDS’ EVENTS
MUSEUM EVENTS AND EXHIBITIONS
2
7th AGM; England by gaslight;
Teddy Bear Fun Day; Hatfield’s first Heritage Fair;
Visit to the Forge Museum; The hero who never was ... Sporting Heroes
4
Friends' Forum no. 33 Summer 2011
entirely by volunteers at weekends. Everything was
hard work and piecemeal.
Although the event at Welwyn Baths on 8 March
this year was desgnated a ‘relaunch’, the vault had
never actually been in dry dock! It was mostly ‘business as usual’ during the refit. What was being celebrated was nothing less than a Transformation: a
Quantum Leap forward. For the first time the site was
treated to integrated improvement, with the emphasis
on the educational potential of the site. What do you
want to know about the Romans? Dress, jewellery,
writing, coins, food, clothing, pottery and glass, building ... All arranged in new, purpose-built display cases.
And fun for the kids: dressing up, puzzles, colouring
sheets, artefacts to handle ...
For visitor comfort we have a new sales desk, a new
non-slip floor, and, replacing the old wooden railings,
new toughened glass panels and new metal rails. Tables and chairs in-scale for children. To my surprise,
the site seems a lot bigger. The ‘relaunch’ was held at
tea-time on Shrove Tuesday; I couldn’t take part in the
pancake race, and Merle and I were the only members
of the ‘Old Gang’ able to attend. The thirty people who
did could sample tasters of Roman-style food: cheese,
bread, cucumbers with pomegranate seeds, dates in
honey.
The Borough Deputy Mayor, Carl Storer, elegantly
thanked me, the Museum Staff and volunteers; and
Jenny Oxley, Curator of Welwyn Hatfield Museums,
thanked the contractors who did the latest work and
Sarah Keeling and Nicky Metcalf who were responsible for the designs and layouts of the displays. We nod
our heads wisely and say: ‘She’s done wonders on
what foundations we were able to provide!’ but Merle
and I were greatly impressed at what the Museum team
has achieved, and offer our congratulations.
Is there anything more to be done? Well, I’m busy
learning a new technology: recording and editing a
guided tour for ‘audio posts’, which will allow visitors
to hear, using magic wands, accounts of the site from
the horse’s mouth.
Green electricity – to come!
We are delighted to report that WHB Council has
approved the capital grant application submitted by the
Renewable Energy Trust for the installation, upstream
of the mill, of an Archimedean Screw hydro generator
(an ancient water-lifting contrivance, as shown in our
picture). The approval was dependent on the income
to be derived by selling the excess power to the National Grid, plus the savings accruing from the use of
“home-generated” power instead of that from EDF
Energy, for the whole of the Mill Green complex. So
Mill Green can claim thorough environmental greenness!
DENNIS WILL SEND PROPER ARTICEL
The Friends of Welwyn Hatfield Museums
Friends’ Forum
Patron The Most Hon. the Marquess of Salisbury PC, DL
President Dr Dennis Lewis
Honorary Officers and Committee 2010–2011
Chairman Derek Fitzhugh
Secretary Celia Gould
Treasurer Christine Wilding
Membership Sylvia Clarke
Publicity Terry Mitchinson
Editor, Friends’ Forum Hazel Bell
Lay members John Cassidy; John Cast; Peter Colman
Published by The Friends of Welwyn Hatfield Museums
Printed by STEPS, St Etheldreda’s Church, Hatfield, Herts
Ex-officio: Caroline Rawle, Museums Manager
page 2 Friends' Forum no. 33 Summer 2011
Friends’ Forum is published quarterly
in March, June, September and December
Price £1.00 (free to Friends)
© The Friends of Welwyn Hatfield Museums, 2011
A cumulative index to previous issues is available online at
http://tinyurl.com/7pf8kt
The deadline for receipt of copy for the next edition is
29 July 2011
MUSEUM EVENTS AND EXHIBITIONS
Shopping in Welwyn Hatfield
The first thing you see in this intriguing exhibition
at Mill Green is the Grocer. Did you know that most
people under 45 don’t know the meaning of the word
‘grocer’? Here he is in full glory, with waistcoat~watch chain and straw hat; ready to supervise the
making ofbutterpats and the weighing of flour. Because the exhibition is interactive, you are invited to
take a lump of “butter’ and try shaping it yourself
There are several types of scales for weighing out flour
and grain, too, and you can turn the handle of a minibutter churn.
You may remember the adverts for McVitie &
Price’s High Class Biscuits, James Keller & Sons’
Dundee Marmalade and the wide assortment of cannisters and packets from Bickiepegs Chu-chus to Play-
Photograph — Jenny Oxley
Flying Colour and magic in the Gallery
There can’t be many people who are not cheered up
by the sight of a butterfly so the exhibition put on by
artist Marion Bolitho in Gallery 1 at Mill Green, entitled “A Splash of Flying Colour",was a heart-lifting
experience, compensating for the relatively few sightings that we get nowadays of the real thing.
There was a strong feeling of surprise as you entered
the Gallery as the majority of the pictures were of the
same subject, so the walls were full of pictures of
individual, very colourful, fantasy butterflies – intricately patterned wings outstretched – vying for your
attention.
As it was the colour that was flying rather than the
butterflies you could really enjoy the spectacle of these
beauties without the problem of them flitting off, and
so appreciate each one for its unique selection of
shades, the amazing detail of the patterns: the wings
really did match each other. Their descriptive names
were amusing as well taking their character from the
colours used for the picture. So –Jazzy Joe, Blue
Emperor and Pink Poppet grabbed your attention with
ers Navy Cut, The shop shelves are groaning with
bottles and jars of every kind.
On video there are slides and still of old shops in the
Welwyn Hatfield area, for example, WelwynDepartment Store, Coulson’s, Deard’s and Wellingham’s.
The variety of zinc baths and buckets hanging aloft is
a reminder of the wide range of items, apart from food,
to be found in the local shop. The ‘Mystery Objects’
near the till, some of them fearsome implements, are a
reminder of Victorian life in all its complicated glory.
It’s a delightful exhibition, worth a second – or even
third – visit and well up to the standard we have leamed
to expect from Jenny Oxley and her team. Don’t miss
it.
Merle Rook
The Green Princess
their sparkling colours whilst Woody Princess had the
more subtle appeal of muted tones.
Inother pictures the colour took over from form as
if the butterflies had disintegrated into small elements
of vivid hue tumbling down the canvas. There were
studies of fruit in expressionist style, one of apples, one
of pears, both in lovely bright singing colours .
For me the whole Exhibition was intriguing because
my overall impression was of freedom and imagination, but the painting itself was detailed and painstakingly precise. The combination of these two elements
gives the artist a quite unique style.
This exhibition so fitted in with the aim of making
this Gallery available to local artists as a source of
attractive affordable art for visitors. Marion’s pictures,
in oil or acrylic on canvas, were very modestly priced.
I enjoyed this show and thought the pictures were
great fun. So, it seemed, did others, as even on the
opening night several red dots had already appeared.
WRITE-UP OF LINDA OWEN’S PICS TO COME
Anne Chick
Friends' Forum no. 33 Summer 2011
another Celtic Games Event, run in partnership with
Celtic Harmony Camp, Brickendon, where you can
enter our ancient arena and test your strength with
throwing games, from shot put to discus and javelin,
and experience the thrill of shooting the Wild Boar
target with our longbow archer.
Creamy Sundays
Delicious cream teas are again being served on
Sudays in the Jubilee Garden at Mill Green. You can
enjoy scones and cakes by the river, 2.30-4.30, until
the last Sunday in September.
At the Baths
Following the relaunch of the Roman Baths at Welwyn, plenty will be happening there to entertain visitors. On Thursday and Friday 2-3 June there will be
page 4 Friends' Forum no. 33 Summer 2011
Sunday 19 June there will be another chance to
experience a Roman Day, and find how the RomanoBritish lived, as reported last year in Friends’ Forum
no. 30, pages 4-5. Again, re-enactors will demonstrate
letter-writing, cooking, surgery and medicine, pottery,
and weaponry and armour, in a Roman encampment.
Photographs: Jenny Oxley; James Wilding; John
Beckerson
Caroline — write about admission prices, season
tickets?
Also Potting shed report – Ann Chick
REPORTS OF FRIENDS’ EVENTS
London Underground Stations – the first
120 years
Talk given by Mark Andrew Pardoe, 16 February
Mark kept our full house attentive to his enormous
showing of photographs and information on the Underground Stations and platforms from the first Paddington to Baker Street, etc., in 1863 to those in the
1980s. There eventually became so many lines and
extensions of lines; so many railway companies with
their successes, failures and amalgamations; and of
course so many stations that it became impossible to
write this summary without a most severe selection.
The first lines were virtually all achieved by cutand-fill, with the fill usually becoming roadways
above the lines. The engines were steam – and the
resulting foul environment was claimed to be “good
for the health to breath in!”. Bayswater remains the
best preserved example of an early 1868 station and
Gloucester Road terminal is one of those recently
brought back to what it was in the pre-electric age.
Many stations have been replaced or abandoned, but,
increasingly, many that remain are now listed under
Planning Regulations.
The names of the early architects, or possible
station engineers, are not known; but the tunnel under
the River Thames created by Brunel was taken over in
1869 for the Brighton Railway to extend to the Minories on the North Bank. Companies extended lines
into Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, etc., but it was in
1880 with the City and South London that the first real
‘Underground’ was created and where Kennington
Station with its dome is retained. Architects became
known, such as Harry Measurer and Desolier Joseph
with their use of white tiles internally to reflect light.
But it was Lesley Green with his red terracotta and
large arched openings used in a great variety of designs, including some with a hotel on top, that became
popular and continued after his death at 33 years. The
famous round red symbol with a blue line through
The Bayeux Tapestry
Talk given by Gary Fisher, 16 March 2011
What is approximately 231 feet long and 19½ inches
deep, embroidered in woollen thread on linen in eight
colours and two different stitches, with over 1500
images including 620 men, three women and 200
horses, and a border showing scenes from Aesop’s
Fables? The answer to that question is, of course, the
Bayeux Tapestry. A full house at Mill Green was
treated to a spirited and enthusiastic account of the
Chiswick Park of 1932. Architect – Charles Holden;
photograph – Mark Andrew Pardoe
came in 1908; the all electric started in 1922 and all
the various companies were amalgamated into the
London Transport Scheme in 1933, with only onethird of the layout actually underground.
Charles Holden became a great leader of modern
design in the 1930s, including Southgate and Arnos
Grove with their circular forms. At this time Public
Work Schemes included big extensions of the Underground in all directions, but after World War Two
some, even though half built, were abandoned. Then
in 1968 work commenced on the Victoria Line.
Changes and “improvements” are constantly occurring and sometimes some fun, such as keeping the
original Victorian tiles name on the platform walls
even though the station name was changed. And having tiles pictures to echo a station name, such as a pair
of pistols at Finsbury Park and Sherlock Holmes at
Baker Street.
Mark finished his presentation before the advent of
the more recent and sometimes dramatic stations were
created in the last ten years, but everyone was delighted with the often humorous journey through the
history of the world’s first underground railway.
David Sutcliffe
Norman conquest, aka ‘1066 and all that’, as depicted
in the Bayeux Tapestry.
A brisk canter through the historical background set
the scene for the events that followed the death of the
English King Edward the Confessor in January 1066.
In a nutshell these hinged on the usurpation of the
throne by Harold, Earl of Wessex in default of a
promise made by Edward to William, Duke of Normandy that he should be the appointed successor.
The tapestry commences with Edward seated on his
throne conversing with Harold and then illustrates a
journey Harold makes to Normandy where he spends
Friends' Forum no. 33 Summer 2011
time with William. On his return Harold is seen reporting to Edward, whose death and burial – in the newly
consecrated Westminster Abbey – is then depicted.
Harold’s coronation follows. An appearance of Halley’s comet at Easter awakens forebodings.
When William hears of Harold’s treachery he commences building ships and assembles a mercenary
army. He lands at Pevensey in September and holds a
great feast. The invaders then throw up a castle at
Hastings and ravage the neighbourhood to bring
Harold to battle.
After further preliminaries, and following Harold’s
rapid return to the south after defeating Haroldhardrada at Stamford Bridge, the Battle of Hastings commences on 14 October, with the English at the top of
the hill and the Normans at the bottom. The different
styles of fighting are clearly seen, with the English on
foot protected by a shield wall and wielding spears and
two-handed axes, and the Normans on horseback with
swords and lances and backed up by archers. It culminates with the death of Harold and the flight of the
English army.
The tapestry ends at this point, and how much is
missing can only be a subject for conjecture. However,
it has been argued that it was intended to close with the
enthroned King William I– who was crowned at Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day – to balance the
opening scene showing Edward enthroned. It is not
known for certain who commissioned the work, but
there is persuasive evidence in favour of William’s
half brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux. Evidence also
suggests that it was made in Canterbury in the late
1080s within living memory of the battle.
One thing is certain. If you have not already seen
the tapestry, then you should plan a visit to Bayeux to
see this evocative and uniquely surviving historical
artefact.
Celia Gould
The woodcarver of Woolmer Green
Alas, some years after Macdonald’s death in 1971
the property was acquired for redevelopment, and his
work was demolished – with no local protest. Only
twelve pieces are known to have survived. However,
his ‘whimsical and artistic talent’, as Bev Curtis,
thanking the speaker, put it, is beginning to be recognized and valued. What remains is displayed at local
heritage fairs, and a Blue Plaque now adorns the site
Hazel Bell
Talk given by Emma Pearce, 20 April 2011
Emma Pearce has been appointed Woolmer Green
historian, anxious to preserve memories of the work of
Harry Macdonald. She told us of his origins and lifestory. A jobbing joiner from Leeds, he came to Hertfordshire and bought an empty warehouse in Woolmer
Green in 1937. There he produced, first, rustic garden
furniture, then models of people and animals for advertisements. To produce finer work, he devised his
own machinery, based on an old motor-cycle, and
attended an art class in St Albans. He created his own
garden display, which attracted international publicity
in exhibitions, magazines and a film.
In 1941 a military lorry crashed into his premises,
demolishing the display, and Macdonal started again,
creating a 16th-century village with waterfalls, a Nativity scene, an Eastern village, and nursery-rhyme
figures animated by stepping on concrete slabs – much
loved by visiting children.
page 6 Friends' Forum no. 33 Summer 2011
BOOK REVIEW
Hertfordshire: Who Lies Beneath by Margaret Ward . Countryside Books, 2010, 96 pages, ISBN 978-1-84674210-1
Margaret Ward lives in Hertfordshire and is a writer
and social historian. She has previously written about
Hertfordshire notables and the problems of writing
family history. In this book, she has dug up (not
literally) a number of remarkable people who came to
be buried in Hertfordshire. She has added flesh to the
bare bones of the inscriptions on headstones with
information from church records, archives, and newspaper accounts. She gives particular credit to the
Hertfordshire Family History Society, whose members have recorded monumental inscriptions from
every churchyard in the county. These are not simply
accounts of the great and the famous, but a marvellous
cross-section of humanity. There are the famous but
also the obscure, the wealthy and the poor, heroes and
villains, poachers and gamekeepers, about thirty stories in all. A few examples will give the flavour.
At Aldenham, there is a flat stone commemorating
Midshipman Robert Smith who died in 1805. His
remains are not here for a very good reason; he died
fighting at Trafalgar under the command of Lord Nelson, who died the same day. Smith left a letter to be
sent to his parents in case of such an eventuality,
stating that he “could not die in a more glorious cause
and that it is all the fortune of war”. War was frequently
an element in the shortened lives of people in our
county. There is a headstone in Essendon that marks
the remains of two young sisters, Frances and Eleanor
Bamford, unlucky victims of a Zeppelin raid from
Germany in 1916.
Of course, other people lived long and peaceful
lives. One of England’s greatest architects, Nicholas
Hawksmoor, died in 1736 at the age of 75 and was
buried at Shenley. Although his most famous achievements are in London, he had bought a house in Shenley
and wished to be buried there. Then there was Mathew
(sic) Wall, who died about 1595 and was buried at
Braughing. Some years earlier, he became seriously
ill, so much so that he was placed in a coffin and was
being carried to the churchyard for burial, when one of
the bearers slipped and dropped one end of the coffin.
The bearers then heard knocking from within the coffin. They took off the lid and were overjoyed to find
that Mathew was very much alive! He recovered,
married his girlfriend the next year, fathered a family,
and had a full life.
There is not space here to tell all of the engrossing
stories, even about the “wild boy” buried at Northchurch. The overall effect of reading this book might
have been depressing, but Margaret Ward treats all of
her subjects with understanding and dignity. They are
at peace now. Let us give the last word to Shakespeare:
Golden lads and girls all must,
As chimney-sweepers, come to dust.
Jack Kampmeier
From the Committee
Friends' Forum no. 33 Summer 2011
FORTHCOMING FRIENDS’ EVENTS
Evening talks are held in the seminar room at Mill Green Museum at 7.30 for 8pm, and include wine or soft drinks and nibbles. Admission is by
ticket only: Friends are advised to purchase tickets in advance because of the strict limitation on numbers that may be admitted. Tickets are
available up to three months in advance. Friends’ members’ tickets are £3.00; non-member tickets are £5.00. They can be purchased from the
Museum shop, at Talks or by post using the enclosed form. Please make cheques payable to “The Friends of Welwyn Hatfield Museums” and
mark the envelope “Friends’ Tickets, Friends of WHM, Mill Green Museum, Mill Green, Hatfield, Herts, AL9 5PD”. To have tickets sent to you
beforehand, enclose a stamped address envelope.
15 June, Wednesday. Talk: Peter Dell, a Volunteer
Guide at the Henry Moore Foundation, on Henry
Moore: Maverick to Master.
The talk will cover Moore’s family background as the
son of a miner in Castleford, Yorkshire; his teenage
determination to become an artist, soon focussed on
sculpture, making him a maverick in a coalmining
community; his early education; experience as a conscripted soldier in World War I; further education in
Leeds and London. Then the gradual acknowledgement of his talent; marriage; solo exhibition and
sales. His move to Perry Green in 1940; the Shelter
Drawings; Festival of Britain in 1951; growing international acclaim through exhibitions and prizes; phenomenal productivity of both sculpture and drawings;
international decorations and recognition as a Master
sculptor and artist.
To be followed by an all-day visit to the Henry
Moore Foundation at Perry Green, on Tuesday 21
June, 11 a.m.-4.30p.m. £15 per person, exclusive of
coffee, lunch and tea. Full details will be given in the
June issue of Friends Forum.
20 July, Wednesday. Talk: Keith Collman on Great
War Portraits.
Great War Portraits is a book of black and white
photographic portraits of British Veterans of the Great
War, taken by Keith Collman from 1984, on battlefield
trips, special occasions and visits to the veterans’
homes. He presents a slide show
of a selection of
the photographs,
with service details and accounts
of his meetings
with the veterans.
Included
are
audioclips of the
veterans talking
about their experiences in the front line, such as: fighting in no-man’s
land, capturing a German Pill-Box, seeing a friend
killed by a sniper, swearing at the dinner table, friendly
fire, in an ambulance on the Somme and a case of shell
shock. The show closes with the funeral of Harry Patch
at Wells Cathedral in 2009.
Summer Soiree
7 p.m. Saturday 13 August in The Jubilee Gardens,
Mill Green Museum
Entertainment by Opera-interactive
Light Refreshments
£20.00 (Members £ 15.00)
Special Guest: Richard Whitmore
21 September, Wednesday. FWHM 8th AGM
followed by Talk: Judy Faraday, Partnership Archivist for John Lewis, on Partnership in the Past.
The talk describes the development of the John
Lewis department store chain and Waitrose supermarkets from the 1800s to the present day. It focuses on
the structure of the Partnership and explains how this
makes them a different business from other o the high
street.
19 October, Wednesday. Talk: Marlene McAndrew
on Coffee houses, coffee shops, coffee stalls and
coffee bars
Traces London’s love affair with the coffee drink,
from Pasqua Rose’s coffee house in l652, through
Georgian workmen’s coffee shops, Victorian coffee
stalls, caffs, cafés, cafeterias, cafetières, espresso bars,
and on to Starbucks. Attempts to show that while the
British pride themselves on being tea swillers, other
beverages played a part in our culture. Coffee was here
before tea and has never gone away. It was consumed
in many forms and by all classes. It’s stimulating but
not intoxicating. Marlene hopes to make this talk the
same!
16 November, Wednesday. Talk: Merle Rook on
Diaries as History
The Friends of Welwyn Hatfield Museums hold talks on a wide range of topics, arrange visits, publish a newsletter with information about the Museums, and help the Museums in various ways. All are welcome to join. The annual subscription is £5.00 for individuals or £10.00 for a family at one
address.
Benefits include ticket purchase for events at a reduced price and free copies of the quarterly newsletter.
Pick up an application form from Mill Green Museum – phone 01707 271362. Learn more from our website: www.welhat.gov.uk/museum
page 8 Friends' Forum no. 33 Summer 2011