Hagley Historical and Field Society

The large number of members and visitors at our March meeting suggested that either our speaker or his topic were likely to be of interest: Richard Perrin and the history of Bewdley exceeded all expectations on both counts.  As a nod to the Society’s 50^th birthday, Richard started with some of the 60s bands that played in the town but he quickly went back to the 14^th century, the Mortimers and Tickenhill Palace, once the home of the Princesses Elizabeth and Mary Tudor.  The Severn was the key to Bewdley’s prosperity and our speaker showed pictures of the famous trows, the various bridges and pre-Second War views of rowing, swimming and pleasure craft.  The town has a plethora of fascinating buildings, although many gems have been lost: Richard’s photographic coverage showed us what we had missed.  We concluded with some of the town’s famous people, focusing on the Baldwins and General de Gaulle.  All this whetted our appetite for Richard’s conducted walk around Bewdley in July.  We should be in for a fascinating tour!