Do not think because there are no talks during the summer your Civic Society is resting on its laurels. No! Behind the scenes we are beavering away on the Annual Report and Accounts which has to go to the publisher very soon, to be distributed in September in advance of October’s AGM. The AGM offers an opportunity to refresh the Executive Board, and this year we will welcome nominations from people with an interest in the town’s heritage and its development and some energy to spare. Come and talk to any of us if you might be interested….
I am keen to preserve the Society’s old minute books which are in a parlous state and to keep a complete set of annual reports so I’m talking to the Norris Museum about archiving them there in a more appropriate and professional way, using acid-free paper. This will be quite a task and time-consuming so probably a winter activity. In gathering them all together, I now have many spare old annual reports which I’m happy to give away! I will bring a list to the September meeting.
I’ve received numerous responses to my request for comments on what features should be preserved across St Ives and have also been following up residents’ complaints about the dirtiness of parts of town, damaged hedgerows, loss of rights of way, toilet facilities for the truckers’ on Meadow Lane.
I recently joined the St Ives Neighbourhood Planning group to get insights into HDCs and the Town Council’s thought processes about the town’s future, and to support the best of those ideas. It is noticeable that there was no representation on it by local businesses but talks are under way to find spokespeople. I also responded on behalf of the Society to HDCs Local Plan – which is based on the MasterPlan which you probably responded to earlier this year. If you have not, I urge you to do so without delay as unless proposals are received by the end of summer, the proposals contained in the MasterPlan ie turning the Sheep Market/bus station/auction house into a pedestrianised area with new housing, seating with parklets – and a pontoon lido to replace the beautiful tranquility of The Quay – will happen by default. You find details, and how to respond, on the HDC website here: https://shorturl.at/ILRU1
We have also been busy exploring East Anglia for excellent speakers to entertain and inform you through the autumn, winter and spring. It is always a serendipitous journey following recommendations, leads and left-field opportunities and this year we are delighted with the calibre of the speakers who have confirmed and the range of topics they will cover. The programme is being finalised as I write and may well be up on the website when you receive this newsletter.
The first talk of the season explores a local interest: Houghton Poultry Research Station, particularly given the redevelopment of this site into housing. Personally, it is of particular interest to us too, as my husband’s very first job was as the most junior of junior scientific technicians there and he understood their purpose in life was to defeat poultry viruses so the meat could become a cheap source of protein for the country, only recently off rationing at that time. Senior scientist Martin Shirley will tell us all about what went on there and I suspect he may also be interested to see what’s happening on that site on the hill.
Far more eclectic is the final talk of the year, in May 2024, by Prof Jonathan Foyle, an architectural historian and TV presenter whom you may know from BBC2’s Climbing Great Buildings. Having a much-prized contact now with a booking agency which handles many of the TV historians, we hope to attract one each season in our efforts to keep you stimulated and informed and attract new members
I should give you a quick update on our Coronation Year donation to the town of a bench and tree: we have decided the best location would be on Slepe Hall field given that we have been preparing a new Information Board for the field, already funded by Peggy Seamark and some of the ‘old girls’ of the school. Adding a memorial bench and a tree to this would create a significant donation to the town to mark the Coronation, but is subject to the Town Council’s approval. St Ives in Bloom has been most helpful in suggesting suitable trees. We hope to make this happen in the autumn, so watch this space.
Answers to June’s impromptu quiz questions:
1. “She-wolf’ Isabella of France was married to Edward II.
2. The only one of Henry VIII’s wives to receive a queen’s funeral was Jane Seymour.
3. Thomas Carlyle said ‘The history of the world is but the biography of great men’.
4. The last pitched battle to be fought on British soil was Culloden.
5. In 1752 Britain had riots because of 11 lost days when the Julian calendar changed to the Gregorian.
6. In 1918 Sir Cecil Chubb donated Stonehenge to the British government on condition the public had free access.
7. The first monarch to live in Buckingham Palace was Queen Victoria.
8. Norway ruled the Isle of Man before 1266.
9. Jarrow is the NE English town associated with the Venerable Bede.
10. Thomas Carlyle called the British-Spanish conflict of 1739-1748 The War of Jenkins’ Ear.
Christine
We look forward to seeing you at one of our events.
Civic Society of St Ives