Newsletter – March 2015
March 26th, 2015Notwithstanding road works and queues, we take our Hagley roads very much for granted and we rely on the County Council for their maintenance. However, 400 years ago it was a parish responsibility and each adult male was expected to spend six days per year on road maintenance without pay.
Roads improved, we were told by our speaker Julian Hunt, in the 1700s when acts of parliament were passed to introduce Turnpikes. These roads were maintained through the collection of tolls at toll houses along the route. Many toll houses have now gone but probably the nearest example is the ‘Hasbury Stores’ at Haley Green. Of course collection of tolls means toll collectors and local worthies bid for the right to collect these on the understanding that all money collected was spent on road maintenance. Not all of it was of course and profits were made. Some things do not change.
We are fortunate in Hagley that we still retain our parish archives. Among them you can find lists of the ten notable locals annually selected by the Constable of Hagley to assist the Highways Surveyor in determining what maintenance was required. These archives are kept under environmentally controlled conditions and supervised by a Parish Archivist. The post of Parish Archivist is currently vacant and applicants sought. If you are interested please send an email to admin@hagleycofe.co.uk with subject ARCHIVIST expressing interest.
Our meeting on Tuesday 5th May at 8pm in St. Saviour’s Church Hall is a ticket only Social Evening followed by ‘Videos of Old Hagley’. Visitors are most welcome at all our events – see hhfs.org.uk for details and contacts.