Have you ever wondered about the empty house which stands next to The Spar in Badsey High Street? It has been empty for a good 30-40 years, but older members of the village will remember it as the home of the Cull family who had the Sumachs Bakery at the rear. What is its history?
Bring along the whole family for an afternoon stroll at New Farm, Norton. Meet Alan and Shirley Tutton at the end of the car park by the Valley Railway and take the waymarked path through the gate to the nature reserve. On the way we will observe the wildlife and see where the prehistoric settlement and Romano-British farmstead lay. The short trail is 1 mile, the longer one 1.75 miles, and takes about an hour. The final section is not accessible to pushchairs and wheelchairs, but the short route is.
Jane Neill who, for the past few years has been writing the "Nature Notes" column in Community News, will give an illustrated talk to us about the flora and fauna to be found in Badsey and Aldington. This will take place in Badsey Community Sports & Social Club.
The annual Richard Phillips Memorial Lecture will be held at Badsey Community Sports & Social Club.
Following on from his talk to the Badsey Society in May 2024, in which he recalled the history of Badsey up until the heyday of market gardening in the 1920s, Terry Sparrow, 91 years young, will bring the story up to date with a talk entitled “Badsey 1934-2025 – The Changing Scene”.
Badsey Community Sports & Social Club
"Witchcraft In Worcestershire: The Archaeological Evidence" proved to be a very popular talk with 38 members present in person, 12 on Zoom, and 19 non-members in attendance, who all came to listen to Wayne Perkins' talk. Wayne, an archaeologist and former pupil of Evesham High School, had visited the village in April 2022 and gave a talk in St James’ Church about the historic graffiti that might be found there.
At the 23rd AGM, 42 people were in attendance. Maureen Spinks was re-elected as Chairman and Shirley Tutton as Secretary. No one stepped forward to take on the role of Treasurer, so there is still a vacancy. Tom Locke, Jane Neill, Alan Tutton, Gill Woods, Helen Green and Andy Higgitt were re-elected to the Committee.
Twelve people attended an "Explore the Past" tour at The Hive, Worcester, organised by Shirley Tutton. The group started with the Historic Environment Record, and Teigan, who led the session, was excellent. She had preloaded the page for Badsey on the computer and dealt with all the queries knowledgably and efficiently.
Dr Stephen Roberts, who was Director of the History of Parliament Trust in London and is a vice-president of the Cromwell Association and active in the Worcestershire Historical Society, gave a short but fascinating talk about Quakers in the 17th century, with particular reference to the local area. In 1655, during Oliver Cromwell's rule, life in Evesham was shaken by an episode of disorder and agitation when Humphry Smith, a leader of the new sect called Quakers, visited the town.
Margaret Mary Hancock, always known as “Peggy”, who died earlier this year, was a keen local and family historian with a particular love of Wickhamford.
BADSEY BRIDE
Miss Muriel Bird married at St James
A charming wedding took place at St James’ Parish Church, Badsey, on Monday between Miss Muriel Mary Bird, second daughter of Mr & Mrs J Bird of Bretforton Road, Badsey, and Mr Albert Frederick Arthur Patrick Morcombe, son of Mr & Mrs H Morcombe of 17 Calthorpe Street, Grays Inn Road, London WC1.
