News
30th July 2009 -- Forthcoming talk --- "Romans in Leicestershire"On 9th September, there will be a talk by Peter Liddle, the Community Archaeologist from LCC, on the Romans in Leicestershire. We will also have on display the Roman coins that were found in the village. This is a chance to come along and see them for yourself and hear about the impact of the Romans in the county. This event will be by ticket only: free to members of the DHT, £3 to non-members. Tickets from all Trustees or call 01332 853647.
30th July 2009 -- Annual Report and Accounts
You can read the latest Annual Report and Accounts for the Heritage Trust here
9th June 2009 -- Long Whatton Maternity Hospital Reunion event details available
This event, to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the Opening in September 1939, will be held on 26-27th September 2009 at Whatton House and Diseworth Heritage Centre. The exhibition at the Centre will include war time memorabilia, featuring hospitals and medical care. The outline programme for this event can be found here. See also the Heritage Centre events page.
14th May 2009 -- Shepshed Building Society supports Diseworth Heritage Trust
Shepshed Building Society is delighted to confirm that it has presented a cheque for £636.36 to Diseworth Heritage Trust. The cheque was presented to Peter Miller, Treasurer and the Trustees by Karen Freer of the Society on Friday 24th April at the newly renovated and re-opened Diseworth Heritage Centre. The payment represents an amount due under the Society’s Affiliation Sponsorship scheme for the years 2007 and 2008.
Greg Williamson, Chief Executive of the Society said, “The Shepshed is delighted that the Trust has participated in the Affiliation Sponsorship scheme. The scheme provides income for groups who have their members open savings accounts at the Society.” Martin Hening, Chair of the Trustees, added, “We are very appreciative of the support given by the Society and this latest donation will help us with our future planning.”
You can find details of how you can support the Trust through the Affiliation Sponsorship scheme here
5th May 2009 -- Talk and demonstration at Heritage Centre, "The Griswold Knitting Machine"
A talk & demonstration by Ivor Swift, Director, JA Swift Ltd of Hathern will take place on Friday 5th June 2009 3pm—5.30pm. Griswold Knitting machines were used in many homes in Leicestershire villages. The Diseworth Retired Residents Bench will be unveiled during the afternoon.
Light refreshments will be served, price £2. Further details from Nikki Hening on 01332 853647.
7th April 2009 -- Official Opening of the Heritage Centre by Lord Lieutenant for Leicestershire
A bright Spring morning greeted members of the Heritage Trust and our guests for the Official Opening of the Centre by Jennifer, Lady Gretton JP, Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire. Also in attendance were representatives of the sponsors and the project team. After a short speech, congratulating everyone on a successful restoration project and wishing the Centre success for the future, Lady Gretton unveiled a commemorative plaque in the Main Hall of the Centre. A buffet lunch was served to musical accompaniment, and visitors had the opportunity to view the Centre's facilities and garden.
You can see more coverage of the event at the Centre's own web site, in the Gallery section
13th March 2009: Annual General Meeting
The Annual General meeting of the Heritage Trust will be held on Friday 27th March 2009 at 7pm at the Heritage Centre. This is an early opportunity for you to come along, see the gleaming new facilities of the Centre and hear about our plans for the future. As always, new members of the Trust, or others who may be potential users of the Centre are very welcome.
6th March 2009: Almost complete - the signs go up and the floors are polished!
The building work is now complete and the finishing touches are being made to the Heritage Centre. Furniture is being installed, and the display boards telling the story of the villages are mounted on the walls. You can see pictures of the (almost) finished Centre on the Restoration page.
The Centre also now has its own web site, where you can find details of facilities, events and more:
Visit www.diseworthcentre.org for details.
9th January 2009: New restoration pictures
A new set of pictures from the site has been added to the Restoration page, showing the progress that has been made in the last couple of months. The roof is now complete and looking as good as new, and the interior is rapidly progressing, with plaster and tiling being applied throughout.
8th January 2009: New article on the craft of thatching
An article about the history and techniques of thatching, illustrated with photographs of a recent re-thatching project in Diseworth can be found here
24th November 2008: DHT will be at the Christmas Shopping Evening
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This will be held on Friday 28th November, 7 - 9pm in the Village Hall, Diseworth. |
The Trust intend to have a stall for good second hand books (we have already collected quite a large number) to sell at the Christmas Shopping evening run by Anna Groves. Proceeds from the stall will go to the Trust. Please come along and bring any spare books -- and more importantly buy a few !
The perfect antidote to the credit crunch: 'Don't go out. Stay in and read a good book'.
20th October 2008: New restoration pictures
A few more pictures of the latest construction work have been added to the Restoration page.
10th October 2008 -- Airport memories attract a large audience
| Diseworth Village Hall was packed on Tuesday evening to hear ex WAAF Dot Wilkes from Syston give her account of life at RAF Castle Donington during the Second World War. Dot was trained in Mechanical Transport when she joined up at the age of 17 ½ years at the beginning of the war. She was posted to RAF Wymeswold but claimed WAAFs were not popular there and they were sent on to CD, as she referred to the airport. It was a happy if busy station she recalled, where service personnel were on duty at all hours. Her tasks were to drive the station vehicles from the Medical Officer’s car to the large Fordson WOT 3 trucks. Dot told amusing stories of incidents while driving, but remembering that all headlights were covered at night it could also be dangerous. Castle Donington held special memories, it was a popular place to visit the local public houses and Dot mentioned the Post Office which is still in the same place, where she would be sent to collect mail for the station, much looked for by home sick service men and women. |
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| "We’ll Meet Again" One of the visitors to the talk was Castle Donington resident John Davison, who last saw Dot when she drove him, suffering from Malaria, in her ambulance to the Military Hospital in Lincolnshire. They shared memories afterwards. The evening had been based on the book ‘East Midlands Airport in Wartime’ written by Dot’s husband Geoff who died some years ago, and Dot talked of how they met when Geoff was posted to RAF Castle Donington in March 1945. They were married in 1948 and lived their married life in Syston where Dot had been born. |
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| Farming Memories
Peter Cawdell, a retired farmer from Long Whatton, talked of his life on the Lockington Grange Farm which was the airfield. He was born there in 1928, and grew up on the farm and as WW2 approached his father realized they would have to move. He watched as the runways were being built, how he got his first ride on a bulldozer which managed to move a large chicken run with the chickens still inside. It was an exciting life for a boy, but when they moved he and his brother drove the sheep all the way through Diseworth to their new home at Manor Farm in Long Whatton. |
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| Sue Bird was born
after the war when the Grange Farm was again in use, and she
described the freedom of growing up in such a large area,
where animals were kept in disused service buildings and
children climbed the control tower. Sue remembered the
airfield was a favourite place for learner drivers (and
potential speeders). She then told of the long battle in
vain by her father to save the farm when the decision was
taken for it to become a commercial airport. She brought
some of the very many newspaper cuttings of the time which
showed the strength of feeling. |
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| The view from Wymeswold Brian Axom, a long serving officer in the Air Training Corps then brought the accounts together chronologically, from 1917, when the airfield was first used, through the years when RAF Wymeswold was the parent airfield, up to 1947 when they ceased to be used by the Air Force. |
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| A display of photographs and
documents of the war years and beyond attracted much
attention and visitors spent a happy time talking to the
four speakers. The event was organized by Diseworth Heritage Trust and sponsored by East Midlands Airport. Martin Hening gave the vote of thanks and presented flowers to Dot Wilkes. |
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You can see a full set of pictures from the event in the Gallery.
24th September 2008 -- Reminder regarding Maternity Home Reunion -- its NEXT year !
There has been some confusion in the local press about the date for the reunion at Whatton House on 26-27th of September 2009.
We can confirm that this will be in 2009, and not 2008 ! See details below
22nd September 2008 -- Latest pictures from the site
New pictures showing progress with the restoration of the building can be seen here.
22nd September 2008 -- New article about Long Whatton Census of 1851
You can read a short summary of the population in Long Whatton in 1851 here.
14th September 2008 --- Heritage Trust displays at the Diseworth Flower Show
The Heritage Trust manned their usual stall outside the Village Hall for this year's Flower Show. Displays including historical photographs and maps of the village attracted much attention, and copies of all of the Trust's publications were on sale (as well as part of this year's glut of apples to raise funds!).
5th September 2008 --- new pictures of the restoration
See the latest views on the Restoration page.
3rd September 2008 --- News of the September 2009 Maternity Hospital Reunion
Wartime Maternity Hospital Reunion. On Saturday and Sunday, 26-27th of September 2009, with the kind permission of Lord and Lady Crawshaw and in conjunction with the Long Whatton History Society and the Diseworth Heritage Centre, it is proposed to hold a reunion for all the babies, born at the Maternity Hospital Long Whatton, between September 1939 and March 1945. The event will be open to the general public. This being the 70th anniversary of the opening of the Maternity Hospital on the 24th September 1939.
An exhibition will be held at Whatton House and also at the nearby Diseworth Heritage Centre. This will be the second reunion, the first was held by the late Lord Crawshaw on June 22nd 1997. On that occasion more than 250 “babies” and their relatives attended the reunion.
We have through the LWHS web pages on www.leicestershirevillages.com, received emails from around the world from people who were born at the Maternity Hospital and were keen to find out more about their birthplace.
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If you were born there, your
birth certificate should read as per the sample shown on the
left. Now, this can be misconstrued: a comma should be placed after Long Whatton, i.e. you were born at The Maternity Hospital, Long Whatton, which was part of Castle Donington Rural District. So you were not born in a castle, but in a Stately Home !! Whatton House is pictured on the right. |
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If you would like to be kept abreast with developments about the reunion, without obligation, please email us at LWHS@geasley.gotadsl.co.uk
You can find out more at the LWHS Maternity Reunion page You can also visit the Whatton House Gardens web site.
19th August 2008 --- New website page for your queries
A new section called "Lost and Found" has been added to this website, to allow questions to be raised and pictures to be sent in for identification. Click on the menu button at the bottom left for more....
11th August -- Forthcoming Talk : "East Midlands Airport in Wartime"
On Tuesday 7th October 2008 in Diseworth Village Hall at 7.30pm. We present an evening of memories with Dot Wilkes, who was a wartime services driver at the Airport, where she met her future husband Geoff. Also memories of local residents who grew up on the farms at the airport. An exhibition of photographs of the time will be on display.
Entry - £5 includes a glass of wine and light refreshments (£4 for members of Diseworth Heritage Trust). Sponsored by East Midlands Airport.
Raffle prizes include a copy of Geoff Wilkes book ‘East Midlands Airport in Wartime’ and prizes donated by EMA. Further details from Nikki Hening on 01332 853647.
8th August -- Press release : Diseworth Heritage Centre receives Biffaward grant
Trustees and members of Diseworth Heritage Trust are delighted to receive a £30,000 Biffaward grant towards the refurbishment of the Diseworth Heritage Centre. Biffaward, a multi-million pound environment fund is managed by the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts which uses landfill tax credits donated by Biffa Waste Services. The Heritage Centre will house a museum and exhibition hall, a coffee shop and drop-in centre, and an IT suite will serve principally residents of Long Whatton and Diseworth, the two villages in the parish. Already plans are underfoot for a grand opening week, featuring exhibitions from both local schools as well as displays portraying the history of the two villages. The aim of the Heritage Centre is to foster the local environment, heritage, educational and conservational interests of Diseworth and Long Whatton and the surrounding villages and the Biffaward grant will be used in the restoration of the Grade II listed chapel which was purchased from the Baptist Union by the Diseworth Heritage Trust. Nikki Hening, Chair of Management Group for the Trust, said ‘It is fitting that in these days of acknowledgement of the value of recycling and waste management, the Heritage Centre has benefited from Biffa Limited, one of the largest suppliers of waste management services in the UK.
Further details may be obtained from www.biffaward.org
5th August 2008 -- Update on the War Memorial
You can find the results of Meg Galley-Taylor's further research into the Orridge family and Frank Bexon and his family here
3rd August 2008 -- More pictures of the restoration in progress
As well as the views of the Chapel (and the MSM team) seen in the BCC Television film (see below), you can also see more still pictures on the Restoration page.
3rd August 2008 -- Long Whatton Village Trail
Long Whatton History Society and Diseworth Heritage Trust have produced a Village Trail which was launched at the Long Whatton Show and will be available at the Diseworth Show. The Trail takes the route through the village ‘a mile from east to west’ as it is known, from Turvey which housed Industrial Row, the line of framework cottages, to West End marking the site of the Long Eaton Co-op, long since gone and now a small housing development.
The three village churches are on the map also a 50 year old photograph of the Post Office and Village stores. The Trail is the result of a year’s hard work by members of the Long Whatton History Society. It will cost £1 and be available at the Diseworth Show or from Nikki Hening, on 01332 853647. See the Long Whatton pages at LeicestershireVillages.com for more details.
31st July 2008 -- Our resident bats appear on BBC TV local news
The presence of a colony of long-eared bats in the roof, whilst causing a delay to the restoration project, has attracted the interest of the local BBC TV "East Midlands Today" news team. Click on the links below to watch the short article that appeared on 30th July.
DHT bats (high resolution, 11MB) DHT bats (low resolution, 3MB)
21st June 2008 -- Restoration work is well under way
Since starting work in May, Midland Stonemasonry have been making good progress with the restoration project. The asbestos content of the building has been removed, and the interior cleared out, making the space seem larger than ever. The exterior rendering has been removed, exposing the original brickwork, although this will be hidden again, as the state of the local bricks means that rendering of the front and the lower part at the rear, is the only option. A lot of small bricks were found buried as infill under the stage, and a further stock of matching bricks has been obtained from a reclamation yard to restore the visible brick-built parts. The front wall has been taken down, and new footings are being laid in preparation for its re-instatement. The drains are being inspected, and it may be necessary to dig up the road outside if any problems are found. Stone samples (Derbyshire sandstone) have been approved by the Conservation Officer for the repairs to the windows sills and door surrounds.
Now we need a long spell of fine weather to allow this excellent progress to continue !
10th April 2008 -- Vandalism at the Baptist Chapel
We are very sorry to report that there has been an incident of vandalism in the village involving the Baptist Chapel in Lady Gate. Over the weekend of 5th and 6th April one of the stained glass windows in the front wall has been broken in several places by, what seems to be, a football being kicked into it. This follows a similar incident a few months ago when one of the upstairs windows was also broken in the same way – the round hole being particularly obvious. However, in the case of the stained glass window, the damage is quite literally irreparable as the glass from which they are made is no longer available and so the whole window will have to be rebuilt at considerable cost. It is particularly regrettable that, having stood empty but untouched for 7 years, this damage should occur just as we are about to start the restoration work. Doubtless the culprits are unaware of the cost and seriousness of the damage they have caused but they do know that they were responsible and that to damage property in this way is wrong.
10th April -- Work to start soon on restoring the Baptist Chapel
We are very pleased to report that we have now chosen a contractor to carry out the restoration on the Chapel in Lady Gate. They are Midland Stonemasonry from Normanton on Soar, who are currently working on the church spire in Belton. They are planning to start work in mid May and the first task will be to remove the asbestos that lines the building. This will involve specialist contractors as the asbestos has to be removed with great care and all of the waste collected in sealed containers for safe disposal. This is likely to involve a number of vehicles being parked in the road outside the Chapel for up to two weeks whilst this work is carried out. We apologise in advance for any inconvenience but it is essential that this work is carried out in accordance with all of the safety regulations. Residents are also warned that during the restoration the site will be hazardous, especially to children and whilst it will be secure they should ensure the inquisitive youngsters are not tempted to trespass and be injured as a result. The external building and interior work are scheduled to take about 6 months after which time further fitting out will be needed prior to the building reopening some time in the late autumn.
1st March 2008 -- New article on Townley Coat of Arms
A fascinating new article on this web site, written by Vic Taylor, describes the origins on the Townley coat of arms. Read it here.
24th February 2008 -- Parish Plan is published
The Parish Plan for Long Whatton and Diseworth, which includes information on the Heritage Centre, is now available for download here.
14th February 2008 -- Annual General Meeting
The minutes of the AGM held on 4th February, together with the Chair's report and accounts, can be read here
31st January 2008 -- Notice of Annual General Meeting
The ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
AGENDA
- Apologies
- Minutes of the AGM held on
- Matters Arising
- Chairman’s Report
- Financial Report
- Appointment of Trustees
- Any Other Business
Following the meeting there will be an opportunity to look at the
plans and discuss the planned programmes with trustees and
Management group members.
23rd November 2007 -- 'Cheeses for Christmas' evening raises £360 for Trust funds
This now traditional event was again a resounding success, with Dorothy Davis on sparkling form on the subject of how to get the best from your Christmas cheeseboard, and with an "interval" demonstration by Iris Tebbutt, who showed us how to make an impressive Christmas wreath in just 15 minutes ! Tickets sales, plus strong-arm tactics by the raffle ticket sellers, resulted in a contribution to Trust funds of £360. Those who missed the evening can see more pictures here, including Martin Hening's virtuoso performance on mayonnaise and spoon !
14th November 2007 -- Notice of a PROPOSAL FOR TEMPORARY MOVEMENT OF HEADSTONES
The Chapel and Burial ground have been acquired by Diseworth Heritage Trust, and work will start shortly on the restoration of the building which will re-open in 2008 as Diseworth Heritage Centre. Work on the fabric of the building requires the temporary removal of a number of headstones placed close to the east wall. The names on those affected are:
Mary (d.1925), Robert (d.1969) & Maud Adkin (d. 1986), Isaac Adkin (d.1907), George (d.1825) & Mary James (d.1841), George Adkin (d.1811), Robert (d.1875) & Catherine Adkin (d.1874), John Jacques (d.1787?), Ann Jacques (d.1792), John Jacques (d.1772). Also the headstone against the front boundary wall: to Jane Barrowcliff & Daughter (d.1820).
When work is complete the headstones will be replaced in their original locations, but it is proposed to lay them flat to allow for future maintenance work.
Please address any comments, objections or questions in the first instance to Martin Hening, Chair, Diseworth Heritage Trust 9 Clements Gate, Diseworth, Derby DE74 2QE Telephone 01332 853647 Email: martin.hening@zen.co.uk Within six weeks of the date of this notice
(Signed) Martin Hening 14 November 2007
22nd October 2007 -- Purchase of the Chapel has been completed
Diseworth Heritage Trust is very pleased to announce the completed purchase of the Baptist Chapel in the village as the first stage of its repair, restoration and grand opening as the Diseworth Heritage Centre. Tenders are about to go out for prospective contractors and museum designers; it is hoped that work on the building will commence early in the New Year and the anticipated time for completion is 26 weeks, weather, materials etc permitting. The Opening Programmes are currently being discussed and the Trustees are meeting regularly to ensure a smooth ride for all.
10th September 2007 -- Diseworth wins "Village of the Year" Competition
The Calor sponsored Village of the Year competition run by the Rural Community Council held its Awards event at Beaumanor Hall on Sunday 9th September. The Lord Lieutenant, Lady Gretton, President of the RCC presented the awards. She was assisted by the Chair of Leicestershire County Council, Councillor Mike Jones. A large group from the participating villages had picnicked in the grounds awaiting the event. It was a great moment when Diseworth was called out for Best Village. A few minutes later Diseworth was named again for the category award for Business in the Community. Martin Hening, Victoria Britton and Sue Brompton, who had taken part in the presentation to the judges, received the awards.
4th June 2007 -- Heritage Lottery Fund Supports Diseworth Heritage Trust
Lottery windfall brings church
new lease of life at heart of village
Villagers campaigning to give their redundant church a new lease of
life at the heart of their community are celebrating today after the
Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF)
announced a £538,000 award. After years of plans and dreams, the HLF
award means villagers in Diseworth, in North West Leicestershire,
will be able to buy and restore the abandoned Grade 2 listed Baptist
Church and create a Heritage Centre for the parish and nearby
villages.
Once restoration and building work is completed, villagers and local
school children will be able to pop in and use the computer suite,
hold meetings and events and learn more about their local history
from a museum and archive collection. A Parish Council Office will
be included.
The money has been awarded to Diseworth Heritage Trust - a charity
led by volunteers from Long Whatton and Diseworth after they carried
out detailed planning and consultation following an earlier HLF
development grant.
HLF Regional Manager Emma Sale commented, "The Heritage Trust has
shown its commitment to this project to rescue the Baptist church
and put it to great use as a centre for heritage learning at the
core of village life in a thriving community."
Chair of the Management Committee, Nikki Hening is thrilled the
group can now get started. "It's absolutely fantastic news about the
HLF grant. Many people in the community have dreamed of this for
years and worked extremely hard to achieve this outcome for a
much-loved village building. "We want to give the church a new lease
of life, saving a vital part of village history and making a focal
point for the community once more."
Frequent flooding took its toll on the 250 year old church which was
forced to close after serious damage from the rising Diseworth brook
in 2000. Since then the Diseworth Heritage Trust has worked to
restore the churchyard and provide access and information for
visitors to the site.
After buying the church from the Baptist Union Corporation, much of
the funding will go towards repairs and conservation work. Wiring,
plumbing and heating will be renewed and access created for disabled
visitors.
Nikki Hening added, "We've got huge support from local people and
know the centre will be really well used. The church was originally
built through public subscriptions and it's very fitting that it
should be brought back into use through the enthusiasm and
dedication of the villagers."
The new heritage centre will include exhibitions covering the social
history of local people over the centuries since the church was
built. Future activities will involve the members of Diseworth
Heritage Trust, local residents, visitors, members of Diseworth and
Long Whatton Local History Societies and schools in Diseworth, Long
Whatton, Castle Donington and Shepshed.
Heritage Lottery Fund East Midlands Office
Chiltern House
25-27 Castle Gate
Nottingham
0115 934 9050
Martin Hening
Chair of the Diseworth Heritage Trust
01332 853647