Sometime ago we asked if anyone could put us in touch with Dee Cooper.

Dee owned the original copy of Emily Pepys’s Diary. Henry Pepys was Bishop of Worcester from 1841- 1860. Between July 1844 and January 1845, Emily, his 10 year old daughter, kept an detailed and delightful record of family life at Hartlebury Castle. For our Heritage Open Days last year the we put on an entertainment based on the diary. The audiences loved it and wanted to know more about Emily and how Dee had found the diary.

We knew that Dee’s family had lived in Worcestershire and that she had found the original diary on the bookshelves in her grandmother’s house. Dee published Emily’s diary in 1984 and in the preface she described how she had visited Hartlebury Castle to see where Emily lived. This was in 1955, the Castle was empty at that time.

We had almost given up hope of finding Dee when she telephoned to say she and her husband had retired to Dorset. A member of her history society had told her we were looking for her.

Our story has a happy ending.

Last month Dee and her husband Giles came to the Castle (above left) and we were there to welcome them. It was moving to see and to hold the original diary (above right), written 164 years ago. It has been used as a copy book and a shopping list but Emily’s writing is strong and clear. One of the things that really thrilled us was that, written on the cover, was ‘Volume 1’ and the diary finishes on the last page.

We hope that somewhere there must be a small notebook which says ‘ Volume 2 ‘. We will keep looking, because we hope that someone who wrote as well as Emily and had so much to say would not stop at Volume 1.

Mary Arden-Davis (Trustee)

with Hartlebury Castle Trustee Mary Arden-Davis

There have been 113 Bishops of Worcester. The first was Bosel, consecrated in 680. Those early Bishops were politicians, travellers, ambassadors and soldiers. We know that Werefrid, our Bishop in 873 had been a scholar at the court of Alfred the Great. Aeltric Puttoc crowned Edward the Confessor. Ealdred crowned William the Conqueror on Christmas Day 1066.

Baldwin crowned Richard 1st in 1189 and died in the Holy Land. Gainsborough was poisoned at Beauvais in 1307 as he returned to England having arranged a marriage between Edward 1st son and Isabella of France. Reginald Brian was a friend of the Black Prince and Thomas Bouchier crowned Edward 4th in 1461, Richard 3 in 1483 and married Henry 7th to Elizabeth of York in 1486.

Mary’s powerpoint presentation concentrates on the Bishops from 1521-1982 whose portraits hang in the State Rooms at Hartlebury Castle and whose lives shaped the history of this country. Their portraits have a fascinating story to tell.

If you would like to book this talk for a group email Mary dennissiviter@googlemail.com.

The cost is a donation to the Hartlebury Castle Preservation Trust and travel costs. Please note you will need to provide a laptop and projector.

Lady Julia and a close up of one of her embroideries.

Everyone tried their hand at embroidery under the expert guidance of  Dr Lynn Hulse FSA and Nicola Jarvis. The workshop included a lecture by Dr Hulse and tours of the Castle and Hurd Library.

Dr Hulse working with Jennifer Stuart. Nicola Jarvis working with a group.

Lady Jane Grey, by Charles Linsell

See Stephan’s website for details of his extensive research into Lady Jane Grey sometimes called ‘the nine days Queen’. He has discovered the original portrait from which our Hartlebury painting was copied by Linsell. Stephan refers to it as the Elliot-Gedling portrait on his website.

The sitter has been recently identified as Anna (1503-1547), Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, Queen-Consort of the Romans. The original painting is by Hans Maler (1480-1526/9), dates to 1519, and is in the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid.

Hartlebury’s version of the painting (left) hangs in our Great Hall.

Saturday, 18 February 2012

10:00am – 4:00pm

On Saturday re-enactors take over Worcester City Centre!

Worcester Guildhall and Tudor House will host a number of events and heritage attractions. Hartlebury Preservation Trust will be at the Guildhall. Meet the Hurd Librarian, chris Penney and HCPT Trustees to find out more about our bid to save the Hartlebury Castle and the Hurd Library.

Entry free at both venues.

More details from Visit Worcester.

The annual general meeting of the Hartlebury Castle preservation Trust will take place at 14.00 on Saturday 31 March 2012, at Hartlebury Castle, DY11 7XZ (by permission of the Church Commissioners) for the following purposes:

1 to adopt the agenda,
2 presentation by Nick Molyneux, English Heritage,
3 to agree the minutes of the AGM’s held in 2010 and 2011,
4 to receive the accounts,
5 to receive the annual report,
6 to elect /re-elect trustees,
7 to appoint auditors,
8 any other business.

By order of the Board

Alison Brimelow
Chair

Non-members and interested parties are welcome.
It would help with arrangements for the meeting if you could let the Chair know if you plan to attend. Please email alison.brimelow@hartleburycastletrust.org

Notes

1 A member having the right to attend and vote at the above meeting is entitles to appoint a proxy to attend and on a poll to vote instead of him/her. A proxy must be a member of the Trust.

2 To be valid the form of proxy and the authority (if any) under which it is signed, or a certified copy of such authority, must be deposited at the Trust’s registered offices Tewkesbury Villa, 3 Shrubbery Street, Kidderminster DY10 2QZ no later than 2pm on Thursday 26 March 2012.

In 2011, with your help and support, twelve events took place including;

• a publication launch for 30,
• a Summer Ball for 370,
• AGMs for the Hereford and Worcester Gardens Trust and the Ancient Monuments Society,
• and two very successful choral concerts.

There is great enthusiasm for the castle as a venue. There is nothing remotely like it anywhere locally and people simply love coming to the castle.

Our trustees, Mary and Ginny could really do with your help with ideas for events this year. Do you know any group that might like to use the Castle for an event? The Commissioners do not allow private hire but events can be held if they are in support of the Trust and we would expect a donation. The Trust would be delighted to welcome new groups and we would do everything possible to assist them.

Please contact us if you have any ideas or would like more information about the facilities available at the castle email v_wagstaff@yahoo.co.uk or call +0044 (0)1299 250883.

Before Christmas I began studying the Hurd Manuscripts and writing draft catalogue entries. Studying the books I have uncovered some fascinating details about Bishop Hurd, but also about his many acquaintances. Book 2 of our Hurd Manuscripts contains letters sent to Bishop Hurd that relate to Hurd’s former college: Emmanuel College, Cambridge. I have already written about a request Bishop Hurd received from the college for an alumni contribution (to read this click here) from Book 2.

 

Travelling around the UK by train, Michael Portillo uses a copy of Victorian cartographer George Bradshaw’s Railway Companion to compare and contrast modern Britain with that of around 1860.

The BBC website – Hartlebury to Malvern.

… read the full story on our HLF Trainee Sarah Stretton’s Hurd Library blog.