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THE
FRIENDS OF ST MICHAEL CREATON HISTORY GROUP |
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Creaton History Group arranges a programme of monthly events from September to May. These include talks on aspects of local history and visits to local historic sites. Annual membership is £10 for individuals or £15 for Family Membership. Alternatively, pay on the door for individual talks. All talks take place in St Michael's and start at 7:30pm unless otherwise stated. The History Group have
completed their current season. The next
starts in the Autumn - watch this space! It was almost the first warm sunny day of May and a goup of members of the Friends of St Michael’s History Group gathered in high spirits on the Welford Road, ready to board the bus for Kenilworth Castle. The bus took us through the lovely countryside of Northamptonshire and Warwickshire - surely some of the most beautiful in the UK. If the spring has been cold and hard it has at least had the advantage of holding everything back so that all at once we are surrounded by fields of golden oil seed rape and hedgerows bedecked in emerald green leaves peeping out through the beginnings of the cow parsley flowers. Once at the castle we waited for Jim Hepburn, organiser of the trip, to check that all was in order and were able to admire the impressive silhouette of the ruins against a blue sky that belied the still chilly wind that whistled over the hilltop that the fortress straddles. Teas, coffees and our lunch were all to be served in the Education Centre, situated in the former cellars of the gatehouse, and we were requested not to go in early for our tea in the afternoon, as a wedding ceremony was taking place directly above our heads, and our chatter would have conflicted with the solemnity of the occasion. Jim had organised two guided tours, one of the gatehouse in the morning, the second of the newly reconstructed formal gardens that had originally been laid out by Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester and incumbent of the castle in 1575. He hoped that his pageants and impressive new buildings would sway the balance and enable him to win the hand of Elizabeth I. Poor Dudley, he had invested so much hope, effort and money in the refurbishment and reconstruction of Kenilworth but the Queen’s final visit was cut short, leaving us to speculate even today as to the cause of her displeasure. Why does one assume that English Heritage guides, like those at the National Trust, will be in their middle years, or older? For almost all the Creaton group members, the two youngsters who were our guides could have been our children, if not our grandchildren. But they knew their stuff! Alex took us round the gatehouse, answering all our questions and making us chuckle with his wry sense of humour, and James, whilst not a horticulturalist was able to answer all enquiries about the original gardens and the somewhat notorious refurbishment as well. The photographs on the website attest to our general enjoyment of a splendid day out. and as a group I’m sure we would all recommend to anyone who has not yet visited that they make the journey, for Kenilworth is a major heritage site, and its chequered history is sufficiently fascinating to occupy an entire day. Many thanks are due to Jim Hepburn, our outgoing treasurer, for the entire day ran as smoothly as clockwork, as we had come to expect, for Jim has “form” in trip management! We are very much hoping that he will continue to lend his support to the History Group, and if nothing else, pass on all his useful knowledge on how to set up successful outings to places of historic interest.
Click on the links below to look at photographs
from the day: NEW
PAGE ADDED
To read about the trip to Stowe in May 2009, click here!
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A series of Local History Symposia takes place at Highgate House. Information about these monthly meetings can be found here.
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| Our friends at Spratton also have a local history group, details of which can be found here. |