Author Archives: Bob Goodenough

Local Oxfordshire talks – April 2016

Information provided by the OLHA (www.olha.org.uk)

1st – Benson – Keith Baldwin “Protecting the Queen (stories about those who guard her Majesty)”. Parish Hall, 7:30pm.

4th – Chalgrove – Graham Keevill “The Architecture and Assets of St Mary’s Church, Chalgrove”. St Mary’s Church (newly reopened following nine months of conservation and refurbishment), 7:45pm.

5th – Henley-on-Thames – Stuart Foreman “Archaeology of the Jubilee River”. King’s Arms Barn, King’s Road, 7:45pm.

5th – Hook Norton – Kate Tiller “Chapel and Community in Oxfordshire”. Baptist Church Hall, Netting Street, 7:30pm.

6th – Otmoor – Annual General Meeting followed by a short film. Islip Village Hall, 8:00pm.

7th – Eynsham – AGM and refreshments, plus Robert Stewart Parker “Analysis of an Ancient Egyptian Papyrus”. St Leonard’s Church Hall, Thames Street, 7:30pm.

11th – Chipping Norton – Donald Ratcliffe “Failing on the Frontier – An English Family Tries America”. Methodist Room, West Street, 7:30pm.

11th – Goring & Streatley – Simon Wenham “The Rise of Leisure on the Thames”. Goring Village Hall, 8:00pm.

11th – Radley – Jenny Lee “Men of Radley who served King and Country and died in WWI”. Primary School Hall, 7:30pm.

12th – Marcham – Bob Heath-Whyte “Medieval Wall Paintings in St Mary’s Church, Chalgrove”. Marcham church, 7:45pm.

12th – Thame – Stephen Barker “The Ox and Bucks on the Somme 1916”. Church Barns, Church Road, 7:30pm.

13th – Deddington – Don Ratcliffe “Hook Norton Lunatic Asylums”. Windmill Centre, Hempton Road, 7:30pm.

13th – Wallingford – Katharine Keats-Rohan “Coronation Street: William the Conqueror and Wallingford 1066”. St Mary’s Church, 8:00pm.

13th – Wolvercote – Ann Spokes Symonds “The History of Wolvercote Cemetery”. Village Hall, 7:30pm.

14th – Banbury – Norman Hudson “The historic country house in the post war years and now – its survival and future”. Banbury Museum, Spiceball Park Road, 7:30pm.

16th – Oxfordshire Gardens Trust – Visit to Radley College near Abingdon. 2:00pm.

18th – Adderbury – AGM and Phi Mansel “Face the Music”. Methodist Chapel School Room, Chapel Lane, 7:30pm.

18th – Kennington – Gregory Stores “Life in the Medieval Monastic Cloister”. Methodist Church, Upper Road, 7:45pm.

19th – Iffley – Vivien Greene Memorial Lecture, ticket only, Janina Ramirez “Saint Hilda of Whitby”. Church Hall, Church Way, 7:30pm.

19th – Clanfield and Bampton – Anthony Hall “The History of Champagne”. Carter Institute, Clanfield, 7:30pm.

20th – Littlemore – Bill King “On two wheels: the fascinating story of the bicycle”. Giles Road Community Centre, 7:30pm.

20th – Vale of White Horse Industrial Archaeology Group – Phil Coldwell “Malta to Constantinople 1915”. Denchworth Village Hall, 7:30pm.

21st – Abingdon – Joan Dils “Reflections on aspects of Abingdon society c.1550-c.1700”. Northcourt Centre, Northcourt Road, 7:45pm.

21st – Longworth – Alan Turton  “The Mary Rose”. Southmoor & Kingston Bagpuize Village Hall, 7:30pm.

21st – Sibfords – Stephen Barker “The Ox and Bucks on the Somme”. Sibford Gower village hall, 8:00pm.

21st – Thame – Outing  to Chedworth Roman Villa, Cirencester (NT).

21st – Wychwoods – Julie Ann Godson “The Water Gypsy: how a Thames fishergirl became a viscountess”. Milton or Shipton-under-Wychwood village hall (tbc), 7:30pm.

25th – Oxfordshire Family History Society – Colin Chapman “Detained in Britain 1914–1920 – Germanic Internees and POW Camps in Oxfordshire”. Exeter Hall, Oxford Road, Kidlington, 8:00pm.

26th – Hanney – Jane Harrison “The East Oxford Archaeology Project”. War Memorial Hall, 8:00pm.

26th – Kidlington – Mike Payne “History of Pinewood Studios”. St John Ambulance Hall, High Street, 7:50pm.

27th – Dorchester – Anne Ransome “Co-operative Societies in Oxfordshire from 1853 to the present day”. Village Hall, 7:30pm.

28th – Aston – AGM followed by Paul Sargent “Dinosaurs of Oxfordshire”. Fellowship Centre, Cote Road, 7:30pm.

The First Englishman to Fly

On March 10th we had a return visit from local author and comic writer Richard O. Smith to talk about “The First Englishman to Fly”. The subject was James Sadler (b.1753), whose family ran a pastry shop in Oxford High Street. James, who appears to have had no formal education, emerged somewhat mysteriously as a man of science and technology in his late twenties. He left sparse written evidence of his exploits, having in the words of close friends “little grammar” but biographers including Richard have made good use of contemporary letters and accounts, including local press such as Jacksons Journal in Oxford, to piece together his achievements and adventures.

Sadler2

The first hot air balloon ascent is attributed to the Montgolfier brothers in France in 1783. It is not, however, generally known that they wrongly believed the driving force to be the smoke from the fire below the balloon. They were paper manufacturers and had seen small pieces of the material rising up their chimney in the smoke. Sadler worked out that hot air was the driving force and he designed and built the first English balloon. He made his first flight in 1784 from a site near the Botanic Garden and landed safely in Water Eaton.

Although we are all familiar with modern hot air balloons and their propane burners, the pioneers soon resorted to hydrogen (made by adding acid to iron filings). James Sadler himself worked out that the gas is fourteen times lighter than air. He became a national figure, having organised a series of well advertised balloon events around Britain including one in Manchester in1785. A new Square in the town has been recently named after him.

In the same year Sadler gave up ballooning and went to work for the Admiralty in Portsmouth. Here he redesigned and improved naval guns with such success that Nelson declared that he would  have as many of Mr Sadler’s guns as possible for his ships. After twenty five years Sadler fell out with his employers and returned to ballooning. His comeback flight included a caged cat which was returned to the Oxford owner after a safe descent at Headington. In1811 he took off from Birmingham in a force seven gale heading north. He eventually landed in Boston Linconshire, remarking that even travelling in such a high wind he could maintain a single flame.

Sadler

Our speaker grew up in Linconshire and his interest in Sadler was kindled by reading an account of this flight in the Boston library. Richard also illustrated the “ balloonamania” which gripped Regency England with balloon hats for men and women and the widespread use of balloon motifs on crockery and tankards.

James Sadler had many ballooning adventures during this period including a night crossing of the Bristol Channel and a crossing of the Irish Sea. He survived them all and finally died in 1828 aged seventy five. His son Wyndham was less fortunate and perished in Blackburn having flown into a mill chimney.

 

 

Mapledurham Water Mill

At our February meeting  Corry Starling gave us an outstanding talk on Mapledurham Water Mill, the last commercially operated mill on the River Thames. A mill has existed on the site for over a thousand years and is referred to in the Doomesday Book: Mill and ten acre farm, twenty shillings.

The mill is part of the two and a half thousand acre Mapledurham estate which has been in the same family since 1492. Corry described the early history of the mill until the 1960’s when it became almost derelict. In it’s heyday five men and four boys were employed and two channels fed two wooden water wheels. It was one of the few mills to include a dressing machine so that white flour could be produced and this attracted premium prices from London merchants living in the neighbourhood.

The estate realised that other sources of income were required to support the mill and other buildings on the estate and a series of filming events fulfilled this requirement, starting with “The Eagle has Landed” in the 1970’s. Since them Midsomer Murders and Miss Marple have visited and the mill even featured on a Black Sabbath album cover. All of these now have large numbers of international fans keen to visit the site.

Corry and his wife moved into the village in 1999 for an eighteen month stay and have been there ever since. In 2012 they accepted the offer from the estate to rent the mill and shop. Since then they have completely overhauled the premises including a thorough clean from top to bottom and redressing the millstones. The wooden water wheel has been rebuilt and a derelict water turbine removed from the other wheel pit. In it’s place has been installed a state of the art Archimedes Screw water turbine which produces about 500,000KWhr per year. The deal with the National Grid means the scheme will pay for itself about half way through the twenty year contract.

Mr Starling gave a lively and informative description of the mill, it’s workings and his role as miller. It was clear to his audience that in addition to his great passion, Corry has considerable expertise and understanding of every aspect of the water mill. We were particularly enthralled by his description of a safety device consisting of a leather strap, a cord and a bell, designed to warn the miller on the floor below when the hopper was running low on grain. If the millstones operate without this feed there is a risk of fire. He emphasised the key influence weather and river levels can have on operations, including compete stoppage during flooding.

Mrs Starling is an expert baker and offers a range of speciality baking mixtures in addition to the various flours produced by the mill. This has transformed the shop so that all the flour produced is sold on the premises.

The History Society is planning a visit to the mill on Saturday June 18th and details will be posted on our website www.history-society.org.