Interesting Talk at Community Histoy Meeting
I had an interesting evening recently at the February meeting of the Community History Network in Leicester. Nothing unusual there – I nearly always manage to attend, and the talk is always fascinating.
This time, though, the talk was even more fascinating than usual. It was delivered by Bob Trubshaw, historian, author and publisher.
The title of Bob’s talk, illustrated with slides, was “Little-Known Leicestershire and Rutland: the folklore of standing stones, holy wells, medieval carvings, etc.”
It ranged through an amazing collection of unusual things, things that most people are totally unaware of. There were quite a few that I had not come upon before.
The subjects discussed included the Anglo-Saxon cross in Rothley churchyard; the holy well at Ashwell; the Humber Stone; a tympanum showing St. Michael defeating a dragon at Hallaton; and a curious piece of stone on the outer wall of the parish church at Whitwick.
And then, as if that were not enough, Bob discussed the standing stone in a field at Anstey, bringing in the idea of ley lines; St. John’s Stone, which used to stand near Leicester Abbey; the spring which issues from beneath the church at Whitwick; and the Maypole at Belton.
The Community History Network meets every two months at the New Walk Centre, and apart from the Christmas meeting, for which there is a small charge, membership and attendance is completely free.
Anybody interested in any aspect of local history is welcome to attend. That includes individuals as well as representatives of societies, who take the opportunity to inform the rest of the network about any interesting events, research etc. Groups involved include the Victorian Society, Vaughan Historical and Archaeological Society and Friends of Welford Road Cemetery.
The Network is expertly run by Angela Cutting and Joyce Mills, who can be contacted at the Reference Library in Bishop Street.
Posted by colin on Thursday 16th February, 2006 at 7:43am