Readers of my earlier blogs will know I am often guided by those twin pillars of research: serendipity and curiosity. It was these two trusty old friends that led me Henry Charles “inky” Stephens (1841 – 1918). While tidying my desk as part of my New Year resolution I was left with just a few paper clips and two rulers on the work surface, which reminded me of a patent I had spotted in our indexes for “the parallel ruler” (yes, sadly someone had invented this before me).  The patent seems to enable …er…two parallel lines to be drawn, more seriously it was used by navigators to draw parallel lines on charts and originally invented by Fabrizio Mordente in 1584 and others sought to improve it. But there was more, with the documents were further patents for inkstands and an adjustable pencil, plus specifications for various ink manufacture and the chemistry behind them. Of course, what I had started to look at was part of an archive relating to the Cholderton estate, once owned by the family and an individual whose single small invention arguably helped change the course of writing.

Patent for an adjustible pencil point, designed by Henry Stephens, 1852
Ref: 1340/76

It was actually “Inky’s” father, Dr Henry Stephens of Redbourne, Hertfordshire, who in 1832  invented the  famous 'Blue-Black Writing Fluid', or Stephens writing ink as it became known,  a "carbonaceous black writing fluid, which will accomplish the so long-desired and apparently hopeless task of rendering the manuscript as durable and as indelible as the printed record". It is the forerunner of the waterproof inks we use today and literally at a stroke became the Archivist’s friend, ensuring better survival of some of our precious written heritage (though for obvious reasons we don’t recommend its use by our researchers, please stick with pencils!). The government made it the mandatory ink for legal documents and ships' log books, and saved businesses and organisations time and money, where much time previously had been spent mixing inks and cleaning nibs. His son, Henry Charles, took the process forward, ultimately building a factory and research laboratory in Finchley, creating new processes and manufacturing ink and wood stains on a large scale. “Inky” was also an MP for Hornsey (1887-1900), a chemist and a philanthropist, with an interest in subjects such as public health and agriculture. He purchased the Cholderton estate in the late nineteenth century and its archive shows the range of interests he had, which included setting up the first and only private water company in England, the Cholderton and District Water Company in 1904. On his death his house in Finchley was left for the use of the public and is now a museum.

“But about other Wiltshire inventors?” I hear you say. A perfect companion for “inky” Stephens would surely have been Sir Isaac Pitman (1813-1897), born in Trowbridge and inventor of stenographic sound-hand or, as we know it, Pitman shorthand. But our greatest Victorian inventor surely was William Henry Fox Talbot (1800 – 1877) who’s inventions and innovations in photography, including the first negative process, are world famous. He was also interested in other sciences and his work included patents for “gilding and silvering” metals and “obtaining motive power, and improvements in atmospheric engines.”

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There has recently become available at the Help Desk a partial index of those men who served in the Wiltshire Militia during the Napoleonic Wars 1793-1815. A brief description of the creation and function of the Militia will explain how and why this could be of use to researchers, together with the five unique features that set them apart from other military forces of the period.

The Infantry drilling, 1807

The first of these features was that the Militia Act of 1758 introduced the idea of conscription. The Regular Army before this date and up to the First World War was officially a volunteer army, but it was felt that volunteering would not raise enough men to serve the purpose of the new force, which was to defend the country in the face of an invasion threat and replace the Regular Army at home during a time of war. Each county was ordered to raise a certain number of infantry men (800 for Wiltshire); each parish was allotted its quota of this total, which was to be selected by ballot from a list drawn up by the parish constables containing the names of all males between the ages of 18-50 (later reduced to 45) with a number of exceptions, including peers, parish officials, clergymen, teachers, preachers, articled clerks, apprentices and members of the regular army. The term of service was for 3 years (later 5) after which time the whole process began again, although men could re-enlist and were encouraged to do so by means of a bounty.

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Whilst Wiltshire’s museums are full of the varied and interesting objects that define the county’s character, there are also clues within their collections to local people who have had a broader, historical impact.

I noticed this myself when I came across an image on the Chippenham Museum database http://www.chippenham.gov.uk/tourist-information/local-attractions/chippenham-museum--heritage-centre.aspx, which showed a silver and gilt hand bell, surmounted by a male figure representing industry and the handle showing the Trades Union Congress armorial emblem. A handsome piece of town silverware - but on closer inspection, the piece is inscribed ‘Presented to Florence Hancock CBE….September 1948’.

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A re-enactment event is being staged in Monkton Park, Saturday 25^th and Sunday 26^th June (11am – 5pm). With this in mind, I have delved into the Local Studies Library to arm you with further information regarding exactly what occurred in Chippenham during the Civil War period.

 
Map of Chippenham, mid to late 17th century
Ref: 118/53

Tony MacLachlan has written an excellent account in his book ‘The Civil War in Wiltshire’, which is well worth looking at, and is the basis for the information provided here.  

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Over the last couple of months I have been travelling regularly to North Swindon Library to meet with some young people from the Swindon Underground Youth Centre as part of our ongoing work as regional champion, South West Region, for the British Library and Museums, Libraries and Archives Council funded project called Campaign Make an Impact. Readers may recall from earlier blogs that this is a scheme where we are using history to inspire young people into active citizenship. Young people research historical campaigns and use the techniques they have learned to create their own modern campaign on issues important to them.

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“There is no place in England quite like it. Savernake is an epitome of every phase of beauty in our countryside”

                                                                                                                      Arthur Mee 

If you travel down “The King’s Way” from Marlborough you will pass through Savernake Forest. Before WWII Savernake was ‘one of the largest areas of virgin forest land in England, having a continuous wooded area greater than the New Forest [2].

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A year into my one and a half year contract I am responsible for locating and collecting the files and papers produced by the District Councils. Spanning a period from 1974 to 2009 this means some of the files are 35 years old. Unsure what to expect, it has and continues to be a very rewarding role meeting lots of people in a great many roles and locations, who are all passionate about preserving the history of the county.

                                                                     North Wiltshire District Council Minute Books

Why start collecting now?

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The Festival of British Archaeology is a nationwide, annual event that aims to promote archaeology. It has been running for twenty years, and has evolved from a single day to two whole weeks. As in previous years the Wiltshire Archaeology Service are actively involved and this year we will be doing not one but two exciting days out. Both events are free!

Aerial view of Barbury Castle

The first event is an exciting guided walk around Barbury Castle followed by a walk down the Ridgeway (approximately 2.6 km) to see some of the amazing prehistoric features of the Marlborough Downs. Barbury Castle is an impressive Iron Age Hillfort with enormous ramparts that overlooks Wroughton, Swindon and the surrounding countryside. David Vaughan, Assistant County Archaeologist will be leading this walk at 2pm on Saturday 31^st July. To book your place or to find out more information see the contact details below via 'read more'.

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After all the disruption caused by the recent snowfalls, here at the History Centre we were interested to find out how often similar events occurred in our County in the past.

We’ve all heard about the terrible winters of 1813/14 when the River Thames froze and frost fairs were held. Charlote Grove lived at Ferne House, in Donhead St. Mary, and began writing diaries at the age of 18. Her entry for January 11^th, 1814 states ‘It snowed very hard. Charles contrived to walk down to Mrs Cooke’s. January 20^th - ‘A very deep snow. The mail prevented from coming’. January 25^th – ‘I walked with my father to the sheep fold. The icicles on the hedge look like the most beautiful cut glass’.

Men digging out a locomotive stuck near Newton Tony, 1927
To find out about other snowy winters of the 19th century, please 'read more'.

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Hello, I am Terry Bracher, Archives and Local Studies Manager here at the History Centre.  Browsing through part of photographic collection I came across a photo of elephants bathing in the River Avon in Chippenham town centre in 1906. The elephants were part of a travelling circus and the Avon at Chippenham clearly provided a welcome break for the elephants as they walked to the venue for their next performance. Now I have always had an interest in historical curiosities and this led me to ask colleagues if they had come across any other curious animal related tales throughout Wiltshire, with the aim of creating our top ten animal tales, so long as they followed a simple rule - the animals could not be farm animals (unless they did something especially curious) and they had to have been see alive and well at some point in Wiltshire’s history.

The Elephants in Chippenham, 1906

But let’s start with animals that do not count. I would have liked to include the dancing bears of Lacock. They were a familiar site in the nineteenth century, being led into the village along with musicians and other entertainers. Looking through the book “Chippenham and Lacock in Old Photographs” I was astonished to see a picture of a dancing bear in the late 1930’s. Sadly, on closer inspection this was a photo of the 1938 pageant with a Mr Bob Vines in convincing pose playing the part of the bear, together with his “handler” his brother Eric Vines. This could be a whole new category in itself. 'Read more' to find out about some dramatic events involving animals in Wiltshire....

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