Hagley Historical and Field Society

May was a busy month for the Society with two meetings, the first our usual Tuesday gathering and then later in the month our annual social evening.  Our first presentation was by Jo Roche and her subject, “Abberley Hall and Clock Tower”, was planned to coincide with our visits there in June and July.  The house, by Samuel Daukes in the Italianate style, dates from 1845 and was built on the site of an older building by the banker John Lewis Moilliet, who died before it was completed.  The property eventually passed into the Jones family, cotton magnates from Oldham, the tower being built in memory of the second Jones to live at Abberley.  Since 1916 the largely untouched building has been used as a school.

Despite the title of his talk, Ian Bott’s presentation at the social was both amusing and scholarly.  Ian’s “Black Country Burials” fascinated the audience with tales of murder, grave robbers, over-crowding and the lot of suicides and victims of plague.  We saw a plethora of fascinating memorials in wood, cast iron and stone and learned about the symbolism and background to some of the inscriptions.  All this whetted our appetite for a splendid buffet provided by the committee and friends.

Both talks were fascinating and extremely well received by members and visitors.