Our Honorary President
From the Society’s inception, until he died in 2001, Dr Webster honoured the Society by holding the Office of President. He was an acknowledged specialist and pioneer in the archaeology of Roman Britain, conducting digs in Lincoln, Chester, Wroxeter and other places. In 1954, he became the Archaeology Tutor in the Extra-Mural Department at Birmingham University, where he initiated archaeology training schools, such as that at Larford, and most famously at Wroxeter, where he dug for thirty years. He published widely on Roman Britain.
Dr Simon Penn, Director of the Avoncroft Museum, Bromsgrove, assumed the Presidency in March 2003. His inaugural lecture, entitled ‘Medieval Builders and Workers’, was received by Society members with warmth and great enthusiasm. We were all saddened by his sudden, early death in 2004.
In 2005, he was succeeded as our President by the eminent archaeologist, Simon Buteux B.A. (Hons.), M. Phil., M.I.F.A.L. Simon was associated with the Society for many years, starting when he was part of and then head of the Birmingham University Archaeology Field Unit. He moved on to Warndon Court near Worcester and the restoration of the Reader’s House in Ludlow. He then became Director of the Birmingham Conservation Trust, where he oversaw the restoration and opening of the Newman Brothers Museum, better known as the Coffin Works. All of these places were the subjects of talks and outings for the Society. Simon’s most recent move to Historic England, in eastern England and then in London, has been the source of further fascinating talks. However, it also meant that the distance he had to travel to Kidderminster became prohibitive and he reluctantly decided he had to step down as our President. We said goodbye in 2022. His interest and support have been much appreciated by all of our members.
Our International Links
The story of Kidderminster-born Walter William Law, and his involvement in the founding of the village of Briarcliff Manor, some 40 miles north of New York on the river Hudson, can be found under Local History on this website. For some time, we have been in correspondence with the Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough Historical Society, much to our mutual benefit in establishing the historical details of this interesting and successful man who numbered among his friends the famous philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.
We felt privileged that a member from Briarcliff was able to make a ‘flying’ visit to Kidderminster in September and that we were able to provide a brief guided tour of places that Walter would have known as a young man including the Town Hall Music Room, St Mary’s Church, and Baxter Church where the minister kindly showed us around.
The current Baxter Church was not built when Walter Law emigrated to New York in 1860, but he and some of his siblings were baptised in its predecessor the Old Meeting and had been members of its congregation. When the Old Meeting was demolished, Walter Law purchased the wooden panelling taken from the building and installed it in his house in Briarcliff Manor.
We have been sent some beautiful photographs of stained glass windows related to Walter Law installed in the Congregational church in Briarcliff Manor. These fascinating windows may be seen in our story of ‘Walter William Law’.
We all had an excellent and interesting time, and our visitor was able to go away with a new connection between Kidderminster and the USA: the Whittall family.
The photograph shows our visitors with members of our Society in front of the Richard Baxter statue and St Mary’s Church in Kidderminster.
Walter William was not the only member of this enterprising family to emigrate! A few years ago, Tim Law, the great grandson of John Francis Law, contacted us with a view to visiting Kidderminster to see the town of the family’s roots.
John Francis, born in 1834, was William’s elder brother. In the 1850s, he left to seek his fortune in Australia. Some years later, when John Francis had established himself as a banker, all the family who remained in England after William had left for America – mother, father and eight siblings – joined him.
In May 2024, Tim Law and his wife Kerry visited the UK and members of KHS were able to give him a tour of the town.
More information about the Law family can also be found online at kiddercivicsociety.wixsite.com/kiddercivsoc.
2016: Visit by a member of the Briarcliff Manor/Scarborough Historical Society (New York State, USA) on 1st September
2024: Tim and Kerry Law by the Slingfield Mill plaque in Kidderminster. Tim is the descendant of John Francis Law, William’s elder brother.
Some Significant Dates
2026: The Inaugural Malcolm Dick OBE Annual Lecture in Midlands History
The Centre for Midlands History and Cultures (formerly The Centre for West Midlands History) was founded at the University of Birmingham to create a forum for research into and study of the history of the region.
The Centre took the decision to organise an annual lecture to be named The Malcolm Dick OBE Annual Lecture in recognition of Malcolm’s commitment and achievements during his time as Director of The Centre for West Midlands History. As Malcolm is our Honorary President, the news of this annual lecture was of particular interest to KHS members!
The inaugural meeting took place on the 21st May and the speaker was Professor Andrew Hopper of Oxford Lifelong Learning. The title of his talk was ‘Warwick Castle during the English Civil War’. He gave a fascinating account of the actions and experiences of Robert Greville (Lord Brooke, a leading Parliamentarian) and his wife Katherine (Lady Brooke) who continued her husband’s support for the Parliamentarians after he was killed during the siege of Lichfield Cathedral Close in 1643. An enjoyable bonus on the subject of the English Civil War was a short film about John “Tinker” Fox, an artisan from Walsall who became a colonel in charge of the Parliamentarian garrison established at Edgbaston House in Warwickshire. He audaciously captured Sir Thomas Lyttelton, Commander of the Royalist garrison at Bewdley, in April 1644.
A drinks reception followed the talk.
The photo shows Andrew Hopper with Malcolm Dick.
Video of Stourport
School Festival, 1875
This recent addition to our collection of historical articles is an account describing the ‘School Festival’ held by St George’s Parish Church on Whit Monday in 1875.
View the full article by clicking: School Festival
Latest edition of an earlier publication
One of our earlier publications, ‘Caldwall Hall’ by Don Gilbert and Richard Warner (1999), has been ‘out of print’ for some time. It is now available as a digital download on the website of the Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry.
New addition to our historical documents
The latest addition to our collection of documented memorabilia is a transcription of the Botanical notebook of George Edward Roberts. Two pages from this 1850s notebook are given below.
The French Society
It is engraved:
Kidderminster French Society Tennis Final 1931 E.G. Eddy M.J. Eddy 11-9 3-6 6-6
E.G. Eddy would have been Sir George, and M.J. Eddy his daughter.
If you have any further information about the Kidderminster French Society, please use our ‘Contact Us‘ page to get in touch.
Short Brothers in Kidderminster during WW2
Short Bros designed and made the Sunderland flying boat and the RAF’s first four-engine bomber, the Stirling, before the Lancaster and Halifax came into service. Short Bros were located in Belfast and Rochester, Kent, but due to heavy bombing, they relocated, drawing office staff to Kidderminster during the latter part of 1940 and stayed for over two years.
No Stirling aircraft exists. However, ‘The Stirling Project’ charity is building from scratch a forward fuselage section as a fitting memorial to this underrated and overshadowed aircraft. The Stirling aircraft was converted to glider-towing and played a major role in Operation Market Garden and the attempt to capture the Arnhem bridge.
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