Events and excursions, Winter 2024
The Myles Thoroton Hilyard Lecture 2024
RNLI 200: Celebrating 200 years of saving lives at sea
Denis Readhead, RNLI Community Presenter
On Saturday 12th October, members gathered at Nottingham Mechanics Institute for the annual Myles Thoroton Hildyard lecture. Named in honour of a past and highly respected President of the Society, this year's presentation was given by Denis Readhead, Community Presenter for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). Denis began his talk - RNLI 200: Celebrating 200 years of saving lives at sea - speaking of the origins of the organisation, founded in March 1824 by the business man Sir William Hillary. Appalled at the loss of life at sea, he and a group of like-minded individuals proposed the establishment of what was then called the National Institute for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck. Royal patronage came from George IV and in 1854 the name we know the organisation by today was taken. Since 1824 some 146,000 lives have been saved. Today, the RNLI operates 238 stations across the UK, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It came as a surprise to me to learn that not all are located on the coast and that several are inland for example at Loch Ness.
As a ‘charity that saves lives at sea’, Denis explained that, free from Government funding, the RNLI was able to control its own destiny and policy, without political interference or direction. Operating 24/7 and 365/6 days a year, the organisation functions purely on donations made to its cause. In 2022 that amounted to over £220 million, a sum which supported 5,700 volunteer crew, 4,000 support personnel maintaining over 400 boats and running the onshore facilities. Denis referred to the increasing number of women volunteers and that there are now 300 female coxswains or helmspersons. Between 3-5% are paid full-time RNLI employees, including the coxswains of the All-Weather boats. He went on to talk about the RNLI Headquarters at Poole in Dorset, where the organisation maintains its training and in-house research, design and engineering facilities, developing the boats and equipment essential for meeting its objectives. For example, the E-Class lifeboat was designed specifically for use in the Thames estuary. The newest boats - Shannon 13 - are £2.78 million each, whilst the cost of personal kit runs into several thousand pounds per person. He joked that the cost of gloves - £25 — remained the same for several years! He then to explain that the main boats were named after rivers - Trent, Thames, Shannon - and that the numbers to be seen on the hulls of each vessel refer to the length of the craft and how many in that series have been produced. Thus, the Torbay lifeboat is 17-28 i.e. 17 metres in length and the 28th built. In addition to these, numerous smaller boats and rigid inflatables are in active service, as are, surprisingly perhaps, seven hovercraft. Denis spoke of the range and diversity of the work and rescues undertaken and of the dangers the sea, rivers, and lakes present. He mentioned the rising number of incidents involving paddle boarders being swept out to sea, as an example of a new threat to life being dealt with by crews. Not confined to saving the lives of human beings, it was not unusual for crews to find themselves engaged in rescuing all manner of animals. Personally, I have witnessed at close quarters the RNLI in action when the Weymouth lifeboat acted as an ambulance, to take a chronically seasick shipmate off a square rigger in the English Channel. On average there are 40 lifeboat launches each day. The RNLI also undertakes the training of lifeguards employed by local councils on 239 beaches. Throughout, the lecture was profusely illustrated by images and audio-visual clips of the people and lifeboats 'in action', which brought home to us all the danger and complexity of the essential role the RNLI fulfils. Following Denis's lecture, several questions were asked, covering matters such as the selection and training of the volunteer crews and the awards for bravery given to personnel. One member spoke of her family's past service with the organisation. Denis concluded by saying that the Institution's headquarters in Poole, included a hotel facility and that we should all consider a visit.
Rob James
THOROTON EXCURSIONS
A WEEKEND IN OXFORD
Friday
On the morning of Friday 6th September our group of ten travelled by mini coach for our weekend visit to Oxford, organized and led by Paul Baker, who had lived and taught in that city for 18 years. He brought his local knowledge and expertise both on where to visit and where to eat.
Bodleian Library (Photo: Ruth Strong)Arriving opposite the Ashmolean museum at midday, we dispersed to our hotels, to unpack, freshen up and to take lunch. We reassembled at 2pm for our tour of the Bodleian Library, led by a guide, who clearly adapted her script for a group of historians rather than general tourists.
Oxford’s libraries are famous around the world, for both their collections of books and manuscripts and for their buildings; some of these have been in continuous use since the Middle Ages. The Bodleian Libraries group includes research libraries and those attached to faculties, departments and other institutions of the University.
In addition, of course, is the principal University library, the Bodleian Library itself, a library of legal deposit for 400 years. Together, the Bodleian Libraries hold over 13 million printed items. The Bodleian Library, one of the oldest libraries in Europe, is currently second in size in this country only to the British Library.
The University’s first purpose-built library was begun around 1320. By 1488 the room was superseded by the library known as Duke Humfrey’s, built by the University to house books donated by Humfrey, Duke of Gloucester. This library lasted just 60 years. In 1550, the Dean of Christ Church, seeking to purge the English church of all traces of Catholicism and its ‘superstitious books and images’, removed all the library’s books — some to be burnt. We were told that this process left just five books.
The library was rescued by Sir Thomas Bodley (1545—1613), a Fellow of Merton College and a diplomat in Queen Elizabeth I’s court, who decided in his retirement to re-create a library for the University. In 1598, the old library was refurbished to house a new collection of around 2,500 books, some of them given by Bodley himself. This new library opened on 8th November 1602.
In 1610 Bodley negotiated with the Stationers’ Company of London an agreement whereby a copy of every book published in England and registered at Stationers’ Hall would be deposited in this new library. This agreement led to the future of the Bodleian as a legal deposit library.
Since then, it has expanded, slowly at first but with ever increasing momentum, keeping pace with the ever-growing accumulation of books, papers, and other materials. Despite this growth, the core of the old buildings has remained intact. These buildings are still used by students and scholars from all over the world, in addition of course to the ever-increasing number of visitors such as our group.
A zealously guarded principle is that no books were to be lent to readers - it was to be a reference library only; we were told that in 1645 even King Charles I was refused permission to borrow a book.
By 1849, there were 220,000 books and some 21,000 manuscripts in the library’s collection; by 1914 the total had reached the million mark.
With the number of readers and books increasing, it was decided in 1931 to build a new library, The New Bodleian, as it was known then, later completely renovated and reopened as the Weston Library in 2015.
It is fair to say that, though we were impressed by the history and statistics of the library’s growth, what really wowed us was the stunning beauty of the ceilings, shelving and panelling.
Still spellbound by what we had seen, we left the library for a walking tour of the city centre, led by Paul. This took in the many buildings of historic interest in the High Street, the site of the burning of the three Protestant martyrs (Thomas Cranmer, Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley) in the time of Queen Mary, the site of the North Gate, Christ Church and its meadows and Merton College.
After again dispersing to our hotels, we reassembled at the Rose and Crown, North Parade Avenue, off Banbury Road, which was Paul’s previous ‘local’ for many years, when teaching nearby. Described quite rightly by CAMRA as ‘This popular Victorian local on a vibrant north Oxford Street is a time capsule with two small rooms and many original features. No intrusive music or mobile phones are permitted.’ A wise choice as we had tasty meals, showing the benefit of local knowledge!
Saturday
An early start for our visit to the Ashmolean Museum. The museum was opened on 24th May 1683 by Elias Ashmole, who had acquired a collection that included antique coins, books, engravings and geological and zoological specimens (including the stuffed body of the last dodo ever seen in Europe!). The present building dates from 1841 to 1845. Largely responsible for the current museum is Sir Arthur Evans, who was appointed keeper in 1884. This enabled the museum to become a depository for some of the important archaeological finds from Evans’ excavations in Crete.
Between 2006 and 2009, the museum was expanded at a cost of over £90 million. This rebuilding resulted in five floors instead of three, with a doubling of the display space, as well as new conservation studios and an education centre. What impressed us especially was the layout, labelling and general presentation of the exhibits.
Two years later new galleries for ancient Egypt and Nubia were opened, allowing for many objects previously in storage to be shown. In 2016 further galleries were opened to display the collection of Victorian specimens and fine art. The main museum contains impressive collections of archaeological specimens and fine art. Among these are: drawings by Michelangelo, Raphael, and Eeonardo da Vinci; paintings by Pablo Picasso, Anthony van Dyck, Peter Paul Rubens, Paul Cezanne, John Constable, and Titian; the ‘Alfred Jewel’; and watercolours and paintings by J. M. W. Turner. With so much to see, we opted to explore individually the galleries which interested us especially.
Gathering for lunch we exchanged experiences on the galleries that we had visited and our favourite exhibits. Among these were the Egyptian, Early English galleries, and the Pissarro collection. For us, it was thrilling to see up close the ‘Alfred Jewel’ with its exquisite craftsmanship.
After lunch at the Ashmolean, group members were free to visit attractions and to explore the city and its history. Among those chosen were the ‘City Sightseeing’ bus tour, the Pitt Rivers Museum, the History of Science Museum, Oxford Castle and, of course, some of the colleges that make up the University.
Our splendid evening meal was at Gee’s on Banbury Road.
Sunday
Blenheim Palace (Photograph Paul Baker).
Our coach returned from Nottingham to collect us but, rather than heading straight home, we visited Blenheim Palace. Blenheim Palace was built between 1705 and 1722 and designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. Named after the 1704 Battle of Blenheim, it was intended to be a reward to John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough for his military triumphs against the French and Bavarians in the War of the Spanish Succession, which culminated in the Battle of Blenheim. The land was given as a gift, and construction began in 1705, with financial support from Queen Anne. The house was designed by Vanbrugh in the English Baroque style, but completion was delayed by the fall from grace of the Duke and the Duchess in 1712 when Queen Anne withdrew her support. For three years the Duke was in exile on the continent.
Following the Duke’s death in 1722, the Duchess drove forward the completion of the house and its park. Vanbrugh’s assistant, Hawksmoor, was recalled, completing the interior design of the library and the ceilings of many of the state rooms
Thoroton Society members on the Oxford excursion enjoy lunch at Blenheim Palace.
Following the Palace’s completion, it became the home of the Churchill family for the next 300 years. Various members of the family have made changes to the interiors, park and gardens. At the end of the 19th century, the palace was saved from ruin by funds gained from the 9th Duke of Marlborough’s marriage to American railroad heiress Consuelo Vanderbilt. We explored and studied the house and grounds, park, and other visitor attractions at our own pace and according to our interests but ensured that we met for a most civilised lunch on the terrace. We left Blenheim homewards in mid-afternoon. The weekend had been dry but just as the coach moved off, the rain started. We arrived back in Nottingham after an interesting, informative and convivial weekend, appreciative of Paul Baker’s and Ruth Strong’s initiative and organisation.
David Barton
THE MUSEUM OF TIMEKEEPING AND UPTON VILLAGE
On Thursday 12th September, members of the Thoroton Society and the Friends of Nottinghamshire Archives (FONA) joined forces for a visit to the Museum of Timekeeping, and a walking tour of the village of Upton. We were greeted on arrival by our guide, Dave. Over coffee and biscuits Dave gave us a short history of clockmaking and how it developed from a simple water clock to the sophisticated clocks and timepieces we use now, and the background to the
Museum and its role as the base for the British Horological Society. As we toured the Museum, Dave described the exhibits and explained the difference between a clock and a timepiece. Part of the museum is dedicated to the Speaking Clock, dating from 1936 which is known to many as TIM. It was interesting to find out how the different voices of TIM were recruited and the importance of the Speaking Clock to a less technological age. As well as discovering the wide variety of exhibits in the Museum we were able to visit the Library. This archive of horological knowledge is looked after by a group of dedicated volunteers. The Journal the British Horological Soriety founded in 1858 is thought to be the oldest technical journal in the UK, and possibly in Europe.
After lunch at the Cross Keys pub in Upton, the group set out on a walking tour of the village led by Dr. Richard Jones. Upton is sometimes described as the village built on the bend in the road. The tour started in the Cross Keys which displays a 1795 map on a wall, showing the land boundaries of the parish and individual holdings when enclosure was completed. The walk took us from the pub along the original paths to the church of St. Peter and St. Paul. The church is mainly 13th Century with a 14th-Century chantry and a magnificent tower topped by eight pinnacles. There does not seem to be any development after the 15th century although there are signs of renovation in the 1860s. The church contains a 14th Century Parish chest and a chapel of the De Brose family, whose famous member was a Chancellor of Edward III. In the chapel, there is a squint so that two masses could be held at the same time and the Host raised could be seen in each. The church is built on higher ground giving a clear view over the Trent valley. Upton Village is a conservation village and is remarkable in that the farmhouses border the main road. The Parish boundaries are thought to be unchanged since its inception. The first mention of Upton was in 996CE in the reign of King Oswin although it is not mentioned in Domesday as a separate village but as part of Southwell. Excavations have revealed no pre-conquest material but a quantity of 12th and 13th century pottery has been found along the line of the escarpment on which the church stands.
After leaving the church, we returned to the coach through footpaths leading back to the main road past the remnant of the village green. This small area of land has had seating installed by the village community giving the foot weary a rest. The land has Bramley apple trees growing on and around it and the villagers retain commoners’ rights to these apples. Upton has experienced a stable population over the years and gives an impression of being rebuilt, recycled and renovated using the same brick and pantile materials used since the 18th century. With thanks to Dr. Richard Jones for his interesting and entertaining tour of Upton.
Ruth Strong