Just for fun – a montage of photographs from the Settle Flowerpot festival – with all the figures made from flowerpots.
Author: Chris Baker
14th and 15th century Oakham Wills
Introduction
In this blog post I look at three 14th and 15th century wills – two of them are wills from Vicars of Oakham and one from the founder of a major charitable institution in the town. The texts of these wills are taken from
These wills have been used in previous historical investigations of the area, to address specific issues and interests, but do not seem to have been considered elsewhere in their totality. In this short post, we consider these wills, what they can tell us about the individuals involved, and about 14th and 15th century Oakham. The texts of the wills are in the main taken directly from Gibbons although I have modified the punctuation, expanded abbreviations and added full currency descriptions to make the extracts easier to read.
William de Pensax, Vicar 1338 to 1378
WILLIAM PENSAX, vicar of Okham.
Monday before Feast of St. James Apostle 1378
To be buried in the Chancel of Okham.
Bequest to St Mary’s Chapel in Okham Churchyard ; and to John Belgrave, parish chaplain there.
Ellen, daughter of Richard de Pilton.
Alice de Langton
Katherine daughter of John de Multon.
Margaret de Langton.
Executors —William fflore and John de Pensax
Proved at Lydington, 4 May 1385.
Extract from the Vicar’s board at All Saints Oakham
Little seems to be known about William de Pensax other than his will. John de Pensax, the executor of his will and almost certainly a close relative, has made more impression on the historical record. He was one of Rutland’s parliamentary representative in 1404, 1406, 1413 and 1421 and Sherrif from1400-8 and 1419-1420. and seems to have had Lancastrian sympathies. One can probably assume that William was of the same political persuasion.
The will itself is the briefest of the three presented here and gives a short list of beneficiaries. It would seem that it was written close to William’s death on July 19th 1378 – the Feast of St James is on July 25th. There was and interval of 6 years until it was proved, possibly indicating that it was in some fashion controversial. Of interest is his request for burial under the chancel of the church, but if there was ever any memorial, it was lost either in the chancel rebuilding of the fifteenth century or during the Reformation, He also made a bequest to the Guild Chapel of St. Mary and the chaplain there. This was situated in the churchyard, roughly at the site of the current Old School building. More mention will be made of this and other guilds below. No details of the scale of the bequests is given, so presumably these were recorded in some other way or Gibbons chose not to record them.
As an aside, Pensax, presumably William’s ancestral home, is a small village to the south west of Kidderminster. On the Parish Council web site we read the following.
The name Pensax is a combination of the Celtic words “pen” (hilltop) and “sais” (Englishman, Saxon). Unlike many English place names with Celtic elements, the modifier follows the basic noun, as is customary in Celtic languages. This indicates that Brittonic speakers coined the name, rather than Old English speakers borrowing a Brittonic element
William Dalby, founder of the Hospital of St. John and St. Anne, 1398
WILLIAM DALBY, of Okham.
Dated there, 8 October 1404
To be buried in All Saints’ Church, Okham.
Thomas Man, vicar of Exston.
To Thomas Smyth formerly dwelling in Exston, a noble.
John Sapcote 20 pounds
William Lytell 10 pounds
William Luffeld 20 pounds
William Lesyngham 10 marks
Anne Wyttilbury 100 shillings.
My servants Thomas, Bernard Osbern, and Margaret Osbern.
John Eltham my apprentice.
Isabell Aldewyn.
William, William and Hugh, sons of Richard Sapcote.
My wife’s sister Johan.
Roger fflore, and his children, William, John, Robert, Agnes, Elizabeth, and Johan.
John clerk of Wyssenden.
My daughter Johan 20 pounds.
John and Elizabeth children of William Grene.
My brother John and his children.
To Simon master of the Hospital 10 pounds; to Thomas Heremyte and Johan Godewyn of the Hospital 3 pounds each, and to10 other poor persons of the Hospital 10 pounds.
Guilds of S. Trinity of Tylton, Corpus Christi of Leycester, the Great Guild of Coventry, and S. Trinity, S. Mary, and S. Michael of Okham.
Abbeys of Osolueston and de Lauda.
Agnes my wife 50 pounds.
Executors :—Roger fflore, John clerk of Wyssenden, and John Skynner chaplain.
Proved at Lincoln, 14 June 1405.
William Dalby, a wealthy wool merchant of the staple of Calais, is best know for founding The hospital of St. John Evangelist and St. Anne in 1398, to support twelve poor men, under the charge of two chaplains. The advowson of the hospital was to be in the hands of the prior and convent of St. Anne’s, Coventry. William Dalby granted an estate worth £40 a year for the foundation, and a little later paid 577 marks to the prior and convent of St. Anne’s to increase the endowment.
The will itself again seems to have been written just before William’s death and was proved soon afterwards. Unlike that of William de Pensax it gives details of some, but not all, of the bequests, These are for varying amounts up to £50. Depending on how one does the calculation this represents somewhere between £40,000 and several million pounds in today’s terms. There were generous gifts to the Hospital Master and to its inmates. Amongst the beneficiaries are the abbeys at Laund and the nearby Owston Abbey, just over the Rutland border in Leicestershire. Guilds again get a mention with bequests to the guild of the Holy Trinity at Tilton (oddly named as St Trinity), the guild of Corpus Christie in Leicester, the great guild at Coventry and the guilds of the Holy Trinty, St Mary and St Michael in Oakham. At Oakham the guild of the Trinity was probably based in the current Trinity chapel at All Saints, and the guilds of St Mary and St Michael at chapels in the churchyard. That of St Mary may have also been associated later with the Lady Chapel at All Saints, although that does not seem to have been in existence till around 1480.
Robert Stoneham Vicar 1397 to 1409
ROBERT STONHAM, vicar of Okham.
Not dated,
Ego, Xpianus in fide firmus &c. Corpus meum sepeliendum et post diem judicii cum anipia glorificandum &c. (I, a Christian firm in the faith, etc. [I desire] my body to be buried and, after the Day of Judgment, to be glorified together with the soul, etc)
18 poor people of Okham and 6 of Lydington to be clothed, tam ad corpus quam ad lectum (as much to the body as to the bed.)
To Okham church various plate, librum rubeum decretorum, librum decretalium, librum bonum ligatum pupiUe oculi cum constitutionibus in eodem contentis. (The red book of decrees, the book of decretals, and a well-bound book—the apple of my eye— containing the constitutions within it.)
Chapels of Langham, Egilton, Caldecote, and Brook, 6 shillings each for 3 chalices.
Lidyngton church, 100 shillings for a silver cross.
Merton Hall, Oxford, 20 pounds for a silver cross and candelabra ; also my books not otherwise bequeathed, to be kept in the College Library.
To the Church and Bishop of ‘Carlisle the Bible which I had of gift of Thomas late Bishop of Carlisle.
To Master Henry Abyngdon, my portiforium (breviary)
To Deacon William Baxter my manuale &c. (handbook?)
Deacon Thomas Gauter.
John Bower.
Richard Brook my clerk.
Bequests to William Carter, principalis meus famulus (my chief servant), and other servants; also, illis meis servientibus qui non recedent sed pro tempore quo ero extra Angliam fidelicer manebunt ad reventum meum. (to those servants of mine who will not leave, but will remain faithfully until my return for the time I am away from England.)
My sister, a nun ; and my sister Isabella.
To my Lord of Lincoln zonam meam viridem deauratam. (my green, gold-trimmed belt.)
Item domine Comitesse de Cancia de Brunne gobeletum deauratum. (Item, for the Countess of Kent, of Bourne, a gilded goblet.)
Deacon Robert Croxton of Lincoln.
All my tenements in the city of London to my brother Edmund and my sister Isabella, they procuring masses (either alone or by turns with the heirs of John Basse) for the souls of my mother, of Lucia atte Stone, and of John Basse.
My sister Alice.
To Master Henry Abyngdon my quat’num novum preciosum qui incipit ‘In nomine patris et filii et spiritus et alium quat’num preciosum et secretum Gebar s^ patris in nibio papiro ubi fit mentio de omnibus libris meis quam aliorum (quia habeo multos Ubros qui non sunt mei et volo quod quUibet habeat quod suum est). (A new, valuable quire beginning “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Spirit,” and another valuable and private quire of Father Gebar on fine paper, in which mention is made of all my books as well as those of others (for I have many books that do not belong to me, and I wish for everyone to have what is their own).
To Richard Curteys, Tabulam de Eborer cipresso cum stilo argenteo. (A writing tablet of ivory and cypress wood with a silver stylus.)
Item Master Henrious habebit meum Annys de Crysty Gray (Master Henry shall have my Agnes de Crysty Gray.). Item Baxter meum Mens suppellic’. (My Baxter’s furniture). Item ecclesia de Okham totum meum velym pro antiphonarijs et libris. (To the church of Okham, my entire stock of wool for antiphonaries and books.)
Item Corrector de Aischeruge habebit certum librum in quat’nis xuj quos mihi dedit qui incipit ‘ ffrat’ p’ dil’ce.’ (The corrector of Aischeruge shall have the specific book in sixteen quires which he gave to me, beginning “Frater praedilecte.”)
Executors :—My brother Edmund, and William Baxter chaplain.
Supervisors :—The Bishop of Lincoln, and Roger flflore.
Proved at Sleford, 15 Jan. 1409.
Alexander V
Robert Stoneham was probably born in the 1350s or 1360s. He was a fellow of Merton College Oxford from 1384 to 1397, when he was appointed Vicar of Oakham. At some stage he was appointed a Canon of Lincoln Cathedral. He clearly rose through the church hierarchy and by 1409 was a member of the Papal Court at Pisa. He was taken ill in that year and remained in Pisa, where he died, when Pope Alexander V (an antipope, elected in 1409 at the Council of Pisa) transferred his court from Pisa to Pistoia.
Stoneham’s will is the longest of the three presented here, and is partly in Latin. The Latin phrases have been translated (using Google Translate – such is my ability in the language) and the translations are shown in italics. The will lists a large number of bequests, and in particular specifies the destination of what seems to have been a very considerable library. His servants and family seem to have been well provided for. His bequest of a silver cross and books to Merton College is noted in the College archives. Despite the fact that his career took him away from Oakham, for what were probably considerable periods, he clearly retained an interest there, and made a bequest to clothe 18 poor people from the town (and 6 in Lyddington). He also donated books to the church, including what seems to have been his favourite.
The red book of decrees, the book of decretals, and a well-bound book—the apple of my eye— containing the constitutions within it.
He also donated a stock of wool to the church, seemingly for the purpose of buying books.
To the church of Okham, my entire stock of wool for antiphonaries and books.
A bibliophile indeed. In the light of the current (September 2026) exhibition of the Oakham Parish Library in All Saints church, from 1616, it is of interest to see that books, and material with which to purchae books, were being donated to All Saints two centuries before that.
Articles from St Michael’s church magazine
I have recently been tidying up my archive files, and have come across the drafts of five articles that were included in the magazine of St Michael’s, Lichfield church in (I think) 2021 or 2022. These are basically historical sketches that used material from other blogs on this site, although perhaps the material is presented here in a more succinct way. I include links to them below. A compilation of all five articles can be downloaded using the button below the links.
The Petits of Ettingshall and Lichfield.
The St. Michael chalice of 1684
A miscellany of blog posts
Whilst sorting out my electronic archives, I came across a chace of blog posts / essays from an old (dead) website. Many of these are now outdated, as is the case with such posts, but a number may still be of some interest. Links to them are given in the table below, in date order. It can be seem that they are indeed a miscellany and relate to environmental issues, transport, cricket and football and a few other things. A compilation of all of these can be downloaded using the button beneath the table.
| Global warming and the Christian (article in Church Times) | 3rd September 2003 |
| Natural disasters – Personal and Social Responsibility (talk delivered to the Lunar Society) | 14th August 2006 |
| Journeys by rail, coach and bus in the East Midlands | 14th August 2006 |
| Cricket League Tables | 2006 |
| Gene Mapping | 25th September 2006 |
| Gene Mapping again | 2nd October 2006 |
| An analysis of the Duckworth Lewis method | 7th February 2011 |
| Kidderminster Harriers – the early years | 4th May 2014 |
| Thoughts arising from a reading of “Re-imaging the Railway” by John Dora and John Beckford | 18th May 2014 |
| On corporate Christmas Cards | 30th December 2015 |
| Rail Connectivity in the Midland Engine | 5th June 2017 |
| Contextual data in university admissions. | 1st November 2017 |
| War on Motorists | 16th January 2018 |
| Driverless vehicles – the road ahead | 16th January 2018 |
High mortality events in Lichfield 1840 to 1940
Introduction
In a recent blog post, I investigated the registers and monumental inscriptions surveys of the churchyard of St Michael’s in Lichfield, to see if they contained traces of the effects of the 1918 flu pandemic. This was made possible by work carried out over the last decade where I collated both sets of records into a searchable spreadsheet. It turned out that there was significant excess mortality recorded at the time of the 1918 pandemic and that the age profile of this excess mortality matched that associated with the pandemic i.e. excess mortality in the age ranges from 20 to 50 (approximately).
The obvious follow up to such work was to further investigate the St Michael’s database to attempt to identify other periods of significant excess mortality in the Lichfield area, and this is addressed in this blog post. In the next section an outline of the methodology that was used is set out. This leads to the identification of a number of periods of high mortality, that were then investigated further with regard to the excess mortality age profile. The results were then interpreted using limited historical data from other records.
Methodology
The methodology that was adopted is as follows.
- The period from January 1840 to December 1940 was chosen for the analysis. For this period, earlier work has shown that the number of burials per year in St. Michael’s churchyard remained roughly constant, and was around 15% of the total number of deaths in the larger Lichfield Civil Registration area.
- The number of burials each month was extracted from the data and tabulated by year and month.
- For each month, the average of the monthly deaths for that month in the preceding five years and the five years that follow was obtained.
- The ratio of the actual monthly data to the average monthly data was then obtained for each month (R). A value of less than 1.0 thus indicated that the monthly data was below the average for 10 years around that period, and a value above 1.0 indicated that the data was above that average.
As an example of this process, consider the period from 1860 to 1865. Firstly Figure 1a shows the number of burials by month over that period. It can be seen that, unsurprisingly, there is much month by month variability, but that there seem to be an unusual number of deaths in the first half of 1863. Figure 1b shows the 10 year averages, based on the same month 5 years before and 5 years after. The graphs for each year can be seen to be generally similar with a slight variation across the months. Figure 1c shows the ratio of the actual and mean values (R). Again the 1863 values stand out quite clearly.
a) Monthly burials from 1860 to 1865
b) Average monthly burials five years before and five years after the month in question
c) The ratio R of the data in figures a and b
Figure 1 Example of monthly data analysis
Identification of high mortality events
The criteria that were adopted for determining events for more detailed study were that firstly the ratio of actual burials to average burials (R) should exceed 1.7 for at least two consecutive months, and that secondly at least one month should have a value of R of greater than 2.0. Only those events with more than 30 deaths overall were chosen. This process resulted in seven events being identified and these are given below. The list shows the R value for each month; the total number of deaths in the period; the expected deaths in each period (the average values for 5 years before and 5 years after); and the excess deaths over the period (the difference between the last two values).
- 1846 August (R=2.8); September (R=2.6); Actual deaths 33, Expected deaths 12; Excess deaths 21
- 1863 March (R=2.1); April (R=2.0); May (R=1.8); June (R=2.0); July (R=2.5); Actual deaths 80, Expected deaths 39; Excess deaths 41
- 1883 September (R=1.7);October (R=2.7); Actual deaths 31, Expected deaths 14; Excess deaths 17
- 1895 February (R=1.7); March (R=2.3); Actual deaths 38, Expected deaths 22; Excess deaths 16
- 1899 March (R=1.8); April (R=2.0); Actual deaths 41, Expected deaths 22; Excess deaths 19
- 1918 October (R=4.6); November (R=2.8); Actual deaths 45, Expected deaths 13; Excess deaths 32
- 1940 January (R=2.3); February (R=3.0); Actual deaths 42, Expected deaths 16; Excess deaths 26
As might be expected the 1863 data of figure 1 features in the list.
Analysis of events by age at death
The next step was to breakdown the number of deaths in each event by age, in intervals of ten years. As an example, the 1863 results are shown in Figure 2a. Similarly the deaths in the periods of 5 years before and 5 years after each event were broken down by age. These were then factored by the ratio of the number of deaths in the event and the overall number of deaths in the 10 year period, to calculate what might be called the expected number of deaths during the event. Figure 2b shows such values for the period 1858 to 1862 and 1864 to 1858. It can be seen that, in this case, the number of burials in the 0 to 9 age group greatly exceeds the expected value, a point that will be taken up in what follows. The differences between the values in the two graphs will be referred to as the excess deaths in what follows.
a) Age at death breakdown for 1863 event
b) Expected age at death breakdown from 1858 to 1862 and 1864 to 1868
Figure 2. Breakdown of burials by age for 1863 event
The above procedure was then carried out for all seven identified events and the breakdown of excess deaths by age is shown in Figures 3a to 3g. The first three events (1846, 1863 and1883) are all of the same form, and show that the excess deaths are concentrated in the 0 to 9 age group, which was a period of high child mortality in any case. But the concentration or excess deaths in this age band are striking. The 1895 and 1899 events are different in form, with excess mortality in the older age groups, particularly for those over 60. The 1918 event by contrast shows excess mortality spread across the mid age range. The final 1940 event shows a large peak of excess mortality in the 60+ age range.
a) 1846 event
b) 1863 event
c) 1883 event
d) 1895 event
e) 1899 event
f) 1918 event
g) 1940 event
Figure 3.Excess deaths for each of the identified high mortality events
Interpretation
The question then arises as to whether any more can be said about the causes of the events from the historical record. For the last two events that proves to be the case. The 1918 event shows the effects of the Spanish Flu pandemic in Lichfield, and this was widely reported in the local press and that I considered in the earlier post. An analysis of the burial register for the 1940 event indicates that 18 of the 42 deaths in that period were elderly patients in the former Workhouse Infirmary, which would suggest that there was some sort of localised outbreak there. This was however, not reported in the press. The first five events listed above do not seem to have been recorded in any historical sources, and their cause must remain unknown. Conversely the major flu epidemic of 1889 / 1890 (the Russian Flu) has left no trace in the St. Michael’s burial records.
There is some indication of the effects of climate for the 1895 and 1940 events. February 1895 was the coldest February in the entire period from 1840 to 1940, with an average central England temperature of -1.8 degrees , and one of only two years below zero. The average over the period was 4.1 degrees. January1940 was also the coldest January in the entire period at -1.4 degrees against and average of 3.7 degrees. It was one of only three years below zero. Old people seem to have been particularly affected in these two events.
But the numbers and the age profiles of the events surely hide many stories; the concentrated grief of many parents losing their children in a short space of time in 1846, 1863c and 1883; the loss of elderly and much loved parents in 1895 and 1899; the incomprehension of the loss of the young and healthy in the Spanish flu of 1918; and the despair of the community in the dark days of 1940 that the place of safety and rest in the infirmary should become a place of death. The names of all those who died are recorded and for some the inscriptions on the memorial stones were recorded, even if the memorials can no longer be found. Perhaps one of the most poignant is that to the Hitchins children of Butchers Row who died during or close to the 1846 event.
Sacred to the memory of SARAH ANN HITCHINS who died July 25th 1846 aged 7 years. Also of HENRY WRIGHT HITCHINS who died August 5th 1846 aged 9 years. And of ADELAIDE HITCHINS who died November 15th 1846 aged 3 years.
There is perhaps one other individual who does come into sharper focus. Nearly all the burials in the 1846 and 1863 events were conducted by the Perpetual Curate (vicar) Thomas Gnossall Parr. More is told about him here. But the emotional trauma that he would have experienced as he buried the children of many of his parishioners must not be underestimated. He would no doubt have had a degree of professional detachment, but nonetheless he would have been faced with the raw grief and despair of many of his parishioners for whom he had the cure of souls. The strain of parish ministry in such circumstances is so often forgotten.
Traces of the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic in St. Michael’s churchyard, Lichfield
Background
Over the last decade or so, I have collated a great deal of information concerning the interments in the large churchyard of St. Michael’s church in Lichfield, bringing together burial register entries and monumental inscription surveys into one searchable spreadsheet. This has proved to be useful for family history researchers in particular. The data has also allowed me to carry out a fairly detailed analysis of how patterns of death and burial have changed over the two hundred year period since burial registers were introduced in 1812, The results of this work can be found elsewhere on this website in the paper “The changing face of death“.
Now of necessity this analysis, dealing with 200 years of data, has used fairly broad data averaging periods to examine long term trends, and most of the analysis used data averaged over 10 year periods. Thus the effects of any events that occur over a shorter time period will not be visible in the results. Now recently I have been reading a number of papers and reports about aspects of death, burial and cremation and have come across repeated references to the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918 / 1919. This has led me to wonder if there is any trace of the deaths caused by this epidemic in the St. Michael’s churchyard data. As esch wave of this epidemic occurred over a period of a few months, an analysis over much shorter time scales than I previously used was required. This blog post presents the results of this analysis, and is supplemented by newspaper material from the period that illustrates how the pandemic was viewed in the wider Lichfield area.
Burial numbers 1918/1919
The analysis of burial numbers looked at two sets of data. The first was the information from the burial registers. This was analysed over annual, quarterly and monthly periods from 1910 to 1920. The second set of data was from the Civil Death Registration database for the Lichfield Registration area. This is much larger than the parishes of St. Michael and St. Mary that use the churchyard, and also much larger than the city of Lichfield itself. It extends to the surrounding towns and villages, including Brownhills, Burntwood and Rugeley. Data was analysed over annual and quarterly periods. The results of the analysis are shown in Figure 1 below. Figure 1a show the annual data for the two sets of records. The St. Michael’s data has been multiplied by a factor of 10 for clarity. In general the results imply that the number of burials recorded in the St. Michael’s records are around 10 to 15% of those for the entire registration district, which seems reasonable. The civil registrations show a significant peak in the data for 1918, but such a peak is not apparent in the St. Michael’s data. Figure 1b show quarterly burial numbers and registrations for 1918 and 1919. Here both datasets show a significant peak in the last quarter of 1918, which ties in with historical records that the epidemic was at its peak over this period. Figure 1c shows the monthly data for the St. Michael’s burials for 1918 and 1919 only. The dotted lines show the spread of the monthly data for the years 1910 to 1917.The 1918 data shows a low number of burials in January and February, below the 1910 to 1917 spread of data, and a major peak in October and November as the epidemic hit Lichfield. The low values in January and February of that year explain why the epidemic peak could not be seen in the annual averages, as they would tend to lower the averages despite the peak later in the year. The 1919 data lies within the spread of the 1910 to 1917 data. Tus to answer the question posed above, it is possible to see some traces of the epidemic in the St. Michael’s data, concentrated in the months of November and December 1918.
Figure 1. Analysis of burials by year, quarter and month
Residence
In total in October and November 1918 there were 45 deaths recorded in the St. Michael’s burial register and it is possible to look at where these lived within the parish and their age at the time of death. Details of all 45 individuals are given in Table 1 below (a downloadable pdf). Of these 13 were residents of the Workhouse on Trent Valley Rd. The addresses do not reveal any particular cluster of cases, and deaths from across and beyond the parish were recorded.
Table 1. Details of the burials in October and November 1918
Age distributions
The data in table 1 also enables the age distribution of the deaths to be investigated. First however, the question arises as to what might be the expected age distribution of deaths. For the October / November period in the years 1910 to 1917 there were an average of 14 deaths. If one applies the average death age distribution for the decades 1910 to 1930 to the expected 14 deaths, the expected death age distribution for October / November 1918 is shown in figure 2a. It can be seen it shows a peak for ages between 0 and 10, followed by a rapid fall off, then a gradual rise withe age, peaking in the 71 to 80 age range. It thus shows high child mortality, but the majority of other deaths in the older age group. Note that these are average expected values and there were large variations around this distribution from year to year. Figure 2b shows the actual number of deaths by age in October / November 1918. The difference between Figures 2a and 2b is best appreciated from Figure 2c which shows this data from Figure 2b minus the expected death rates from Figure 2a i.e. what would now be called the excess deaths. It is clear that most of the excess deaths were in the 11 to 50 age range, which is very much in line with what has been reported by many other sources – that the Spanish flu virus was particularly dangerous for the young and healthy.
Figure 2 Death rates by age group
From the press
Naturally the arrival of the epidemic in Lichfield caused much consternation and was reported at length in the press -particularly the Lichfield Mercury. In this section we present a few extracts from that publication between October and December 1918.
From 11/10/1918, we have this description of the effects of the virus and the symptoms.
An epidemic of influenza raging in Lichfield and all the schools. with the exception of the High School, have been closed. The epidemic is the most widespread that has occurred for very many years, and it has developed with great rapidity. There are quite a large number of instances where four or five members of a household are down with the disease and one case reported where eight persons in one house are under treatment Happily, the cases are for most part of mild type, though a proportion are of a more serious character. One noteworthy feature is that number of cases the influenza is accompanied by nose bleeding and vomiting, while in others the sufferers are delirious. The outbreak has increased the strain on the local doctors, who. for a long time have been working at high pressure consequent on the absence on military service of members of the who formerly practiced in the district.
A week later (18/10/1918) there was no respite.
The influenza epidemic in Lichfield at present shows no signs of waning. Every day brings an addition the list of cases, and several deaths have occurred. The Grammar School and High School and all the elementary schools in the City are closed. Many people who so far have escaped are taking all the recognized precautions, and the local chemists have had large demands made upon them far quinine, essence of cinnamon, eucalyptus oil, and other preventatives.
On 25/10/1918 we read of the actions taken by the City Council with the (limited) provision of nursing support. Official advice on how to behave is also given.
The present influenza epidemic is the most virulent and widespread has been experienced in the district for very many years, certainly for the last quarter of a century. The Lichfield City Council, as the local health authority, has, through the Sanitary Committee, had the matter under consideration, and two special nurses have been called in to assist combating the disease. They are acting under the direction Mr. G. Homan. the City Medical Officer of Health, and the other local doctors, and although at the time of writing fresh cases continue to be notified, it hoped that before long the disease will have run its course.
Of course the position in Lichfield is not by any means singular in regard to the extent of the epidemic; it has made its appearance in all parts of the country, and amongst all classes of the community. Those who have, so far escaped attack will wise to take all the available precautions. Sir Arthur Newsholme, Medical Officer of the Local Government Board, has issued a pamphlet asking for the cooperation of everyone in obtaining control over disease, and suggesting preventive measures. Infection is chiefly spread in the earlier stages, and every patient who has severe cold or fever should go bed and stay there for three or four days. If every person suffering from fever were to do this the spread of disease in factories and workshops, offices, shops, and schools would be greatly reduced. Among the precautions suggested are;— Avoid scattering infection in sneezing and coughing. Boil handkerchiefs. Spit in receptacles containing disinfectant. Indiscriminate spitting is especially dangerous during the prevalence of influenza. Keep windows open, especially in bedrooms. Thoroughly wash all utensils from influenza sick room. Overcrowding in dwellings, unventilated assembly rooms, and places of entertainment should avoided. Gargle the throat with solution of one in 5,000 permanganate of potassium in water containing a pinch of common salt. This should also be snuffed up through the nostrils and expelled through the mouth. Stay in bed until all fever is gone. Relapses follow chills or over exertion while convalescent. Alcoholism favours infection. Old persons and young children should not be allowed near an influenza patient. No vaccine is available for the treatment of influenza, and although in cases of primary pneumonia and bronchitis, treatment with a vaccine has sometimes been found useful, no such treatment can be recommended for the pulmonary complications of influenza.
By 1/11/18 the epidemic in the city was abating, although its seems to be still spreading in the outlying villages. The writer of the article below speculates on how such an epidemic might be better managed in the future,
LESSONS FROM THE LICHFIELD OUTBREAK -THE POLICY OF THE FUTURE
The influenza epidemic is still causing acute anxiety in Lichfield. Fresh cases continue to occur in the City, though they are not as numerous as they were fortnight or three weeks ago. Unfortunately the disease seems now to be spreading to the outlying districts and the schools are closed at Armitage, Gentleshaw, Fradley, Alrewas Shenstone. Wall, Chasetown, Kings Bromley, Whittington, Weeford, BrownhilIs and Norton Canes. It cannot, therefore, be said that there is any real abatement.
The impression has gaining ground that disease which has made its appearance with such virulence and over practically the whole world is not influenza. This impression arose the fact that the symptoms seemed in general to be a of quite different type from those experienced in previous epidemics. In the many people there was a suspicion that the outbreak was a form plague. The latter suspicion, is, according Sir Walter Director of the Medical Research Committee, and Lieutenant-Col. Harvey, the Royal Army Medical College, entirely without foundation. Research work has been proceeding for some time and no such organism as the plague bacilus has been found. Further it is pointed out by another expert that influenza manifests itself in various ways, and bacteriologists may find that what we call influenza is really a group of distinct diseases.
The widespread nature of the outbreak is responsible for the great public attention that the disease is attracting at the present time. The State is now directing its energies io ascertain what preventive measures may be taken, and a special conference of representatives of ail departments has been promised by Mr. Haves Fisher. But, Professor W. J. H. Simpson, of King’s College, London, points out. to wait until epidemic has acquired a full grip on the community before taking measures against it is not prevention. There should be some central health organization in the country which have readily its command all available information concerning all communicable diseases occurring in every part of the world and in every part of its own country.
THE NURSING ARRANGEMENTS.
From the outbreak as it has manifested itself in Lichfield, a number of useful lessons may be drawn .It is of course, essential that the Medical Officer of Health should at once call into consultation with him the local doctors, and as part of the possible co-ordinate their service. Then, too, the local authority should take such steps they are able to secure adequate nursing. At Lichfield both these things have been done, though in regard to the nursing of cases the arrangements made have been totally inadequate. But for the latter fact it must be remembered that neither the Medical Officer of Health nor the City Council is in any degree to blame. Two nurses were specially engaged to in the nursing of cases and these, with the nurses from the Nursing Homo, have worked zealously and untiringly. But so heavy was the demand their services that they were not remain at one case for any length of time, and in cases of influenza and pneumonia not only careful but continual nursing is essential.
The simple truth that the supply of nurses not equal to the demand. The question arises, in the case of epidemic of the present magnitude, what can be done to remedy the paucity of trained nurses. An answer may be found if we turn our thoughts back to the beginning the war. The call went forth for nurses to assist in looking alter the wounded, and immediately there was noble and patriotic response on the part of a large number women, partly trained in nursing as members of the V.A.D. The call in the interests of the nation was answered then; and there is every reason to be believe that it would be similarly answered when an epidemic which threatened to have d effect on the mortality of the nation made its appearance. Some organizarion might established whose duty it would be to maintain a list of women who were prepared in an emergency offer their services. Such a scheme would, of course, call for some form of subsidy on the part of the local authority. It would be necessary to have available a number of women who could be called upon to sit up with patients during the night. The ordinary individual cannot afford to bear the whole of the expense a fully qualified nurse even if such were available. But if the City Council had a list of women, possessed of shrewd common sense and some knowledge of nursing, whom they could call upon in case of a serious epidemic and to whose payment they would make a grant, it would be an incalculable service to the community.
Only a small number of obituaries of the deceased were published. The first (from 25/10/1918) describes the death of a soldier from influenza after having recovered from being wounded in action. Second Lieutenant Ward was not buried in the graveyard but was presumably buried around Le Havre. However the grief of his mother was firmly located in the city.
The death took place in. hospital on Saturday, from influenza and pneumonia, Second Lieutenant E. Ward. R.F.A., son of Mrs. Ward. 24, Trent Valley Road, Lichfield. Second Lieutenant Ward enlisted the R.F.A. in 1906. and at outbreak of the war was serving in India as a sergeant. His battery then served in Mesopotamia until last April, when they were moved to France. Last February deceased was granted commission as Second Lieutenant. and September 13th he was wounded. Recovering from his wounds was sent to Havre, and was passed as fit for duty. Subsequently he was admitted to hospital suffering from influenza and died as already stated. This is the second son Mrs Ward has lost and another son is still serving on Salonika.
And from 8/11/18
The funeral of the late Mrs. Agnes Pilsbury, wife of Councillor A. Pilsbury, 29, St. John Street, took place Saturday. The deceased, who was 43 years of age, died on the 28th ult. from pneumonia, following influenza, leaving a family of six little children, with whom, and the husband, sincerest sympathy is felt. The first part of the service was in St. Mary’s Church, the Rev. H. S. Cresswell officiating The interment place in St. Michael’s churchyard. The mourners were Councillor A. Pilsbury (husband), Misses Sylvia and Winifred Pilsbury (daughters). Mr. Jno. Topliss (brother), Miss Topliss (sister), Mr. and Mrs. Fred Topliss (brother and sister-in-law), Mr. and Mrs. W. Lester (Burton). Miss Leedbam, and Mrs Dix.
Finally on a lighter note, clearly some saw the pandemic as a commercial opportunity. From the 1/11/18 edition and weekly till the end of December we find this advert for an overcoat.
TO PREVENT INFLUENZA!
Order a good Overcoat, all wool. from £4 10s.
YOU KNOW THE TAILOR G. C. DEAN.
Lierapnon Serge, regd. (guaranteed all wool). 20 ozs.), Indigo, just arrived. Suit to Order, £6 6s.
Note Addresses:— 26, Queen Square, WOLVERHAMPTON. Corner Corporation St., BIRMINGHAM, (Opposite Stephenson Place). 94. BULL. RING. (Opposite Seed Shop). Tel. Mid 860.
On the 13/12/18 we see the difficulties caused by the war and the epidemic to the makers of Bovril.
Amongst the many difficulties that have hampered Food Manufacturers during the War none have been more troublesome. or have entailed more serious sequences, than the shortage of containers all kinds, and especially of glass bottles and jars. During the current influenza epidemic, tor example, the special strengthening and stimulating powers of Bovril made large supplies of this well-known food, so urgently needed. the proprietors found themselves totally unable to meet the public requirement through lack of bottles although they had ample supplies of raw materials in stock.
From Agenoria to Beeching – The first and last days of steam in Dudley
An exhibition of photographs and other material entitled From Agenoria to Beeching – The first and last days of steam in Dudley was organised by the Dudley Archives and Local History Service and the Black Country Society between October and December 2025, as a contribution to the national Railways 200 celebrations, which marked the 200th anniversary of Railways in Britain. The exhibition, held in the foyer of the Archives, was in two parts. The first part illustrated the first days of steam railways in the Dudley area between 1830 and 1860, mainly using material from the Dudley Archive collections. The second part of the exhibition illustrated the final days of steam in the area, from the late 1950s and early 1960s, through photographs from the Terry Hyde Collection held by the Black Country Society.
The Exhibition organisers were the Black Country Society (Chris Baker, Keith Hodgkins and Quintin Watt) and Dudley Archives and Local History Service (Hannah Clynes and Paul Ford). In this post I present those aspects of the exhibition which I contributed – primarily the material on the early days of steam in the Dudley area and the introductory slide loop and poster. Some photos from the opening of the exhibition are also included. More information and a fuller description of the exhibition can be found on the Black Country Society website.
Introductory slide loop
From Agenoria ……
Exhibition opening
The history of All Saints Oakham
This post gives access to a number of sources of information for the history of All Saints church in Oakham – church guides from 1932 and 1972 and a compilation of article from issues of the Rutland County Magazine and Historical Record from 1903 to 1906, Clearly this is not material I have written. My role has been to put the hard copies of the guides into pdf format, and to extract the relevant pages from the Rutland Magazine and put these into pdf format. They are presented here as an aid to further research.
Note that a more up to date church guide was written in 2000 by Nigel Aston and can be accessed from the Oakham Team Ministry website.
A guide from 1932 of the Castle, Church and School written by the then vicar, Rev. A Edward Fraser. It contains a number of adverts for Oakham business that are also of historical interest which have been presented in Oakham Adverts 1932.
A church guide written by Rev. Stephen Haddelsey in 1972.
A brief leaflet of unknown date, but probably somewhere around the time of the Haddelsey guide.
A short church guide based on the material found in the Haddelsey guide.
Holy Week and Easter 2026
Holy Week and Easter liturgy
The traditional Catholic / Anglo-Catholic liturgy for Holy Week and Easter is both powerful and deeply moving. It is built around four services – the liturgy of Palm Sunday, the washing of the feet and institution of holy Communion on Maundy Thursday, the liturgy of the Crucifixion on good Friday and the Service of Light and Holy Communion on Easter Day. It has a well established form that has been shaped by 2000 years of history and, some might say, should not be changed or modified to any degree.
Whilst I personally always find the sequence of service uplifting and thought provoking, I have to admit that there are aspects that I find distracting and unsatisfactory. The entire passion gospel is read twice – on Palm Sunday and Good Friday, and this seems to me to have two downsides. Firstly the unfolding series of events in Holy Week is somewhat obscured using this approach, and secondly this limits the time for serious preaching on the passion narrative at these two services. The on Easter Day, the traditional order places the reading of the resurrection gospel a long way into the service, which has always struck me as off, as to my mind, this belongs right at the start.
Now in 2026, I was, for the first time in my ministerial career, able to craft the Holy Week services to reflect my own views. This is a task normally undertaken by any incumbent, but as we don’t currently have one I was able to take advantage. This post contains the liturgical material that was put together for that week, that I offer here perhaps as a model that others might use. It is not terribly radical – the main innovation being that it is based around the reading of the Passion narrative from the gospel for the year (Matthew in this case) throughout Holy Week, and its use of both online and face-to-face services to enable as many as possible to take some part in the celebration.
The setting
There were two settings for the Holy Week liturgy presented here – one physical and one virtual. The physical one is of course All Saints itself. this is a large, high church, with nave, nave aisles, transepts, chancel and chancel chapels, The nave and transepts are, in the main, filled with pews, which limits the amount of liturgical movement, but the aisles offer room for processions, and some pews have been removed at the front of the nave, which allows for a nave altar to be used on most Sundays. The chancel, normally used for the choir, offers a different and more intimate worship space for small congregations. The Eucharist is celebrated at the high altar at the east end on festivals. Even when a nave altar is used, communion is usually received at the communion rails at the high altar. The chapel to the north side of the chancel (dedicated to the Holy Trinity) is used for small worship services and, as we will see below, is used as the Chapel of the Watch in Holy Week.
The virtual context is the streaming of services via Facebook, which has been used since the Covid lockdown. The audience for streamed Sunday services can be significant, but there is also a regular audience for streamed morning prayer services on three days a week.
Principles
My objectives in developing the Easter and Holy Week services for 2026 were as follows.
- To broadly follow the traditional form, but to improve its consistency in the context of the congregations and facilities at All Saints Oakham.
- To read through the Passion account for the set gospel of the year (Matthew), allowing space for sermons to be preached on most aspect of the story.
- To allow members of the congregation to follow the liturgy to as great an extent as they could individually manage, through the provision of a pattern for readings, and streaming and face to face services.
The readings
A booklet of readings was available for collection in church from Passion Sunday onwards and was also posted on line. The gospel readings basically followed the account in Matthew 21 and 26 to 28 from Palm Sunday onwards, although a precise chronological framework is not of course possible. Appropriate Old Testament readings were also provided.
Palm Sunday
The service began with the reading of the gospel and the palm procession from the south door to the west door. The story of Jesus in the temple was then read, a sermon preached and the eucharist followed in the normal way. The service featured full ceremonial – formal processions with incense and anthems.
Monday to Wednesday
From Monday to Wednesday, Morning Prayer was streamed on Facebook using the normal online form from Common Worship Daily Prayer. The Old Testament readings were taken from Lamentations in a traditional pattern. Compline was said in the chancel of church every evening, with a short address and suitable recorded music. At both Morning Prayer and Compline each day the same New Testament reading from Matthew was used was used.
Maundy Thursday
Morning Prayer was again streamed over Facebook, with a reading from Lamentations and a short reading from Matthew. The main Maundy Thursday service in the evening was held in the body of church. The first part of the service was focussed on the events of the Last Supper as recorded by John (the only non-Matthean reading of the week), leading into a sermon and the foot / hand washing. The service then moved on to the institution of Holy Communion and the celebration of the Eucharist itself. The icon shown below was brought to the altar with the bread and the wine. After the Eucharist, the altar was stripped and the consecrated bread and wine taken to the Holy Trinity chapel. The gospel account of Gethsemane was read before the congregation departed, with some moving to the Trinity chapel for a short Watch.
Good Friday
Morning Prayer was said in the Chapel of St John and St Anne, with the reading of the accounts of the trials of Jesus. A sermon was delivered. the formal Good Friday liturgy followed at noon. This began with the account of the crucifixion, followed by a sermon and the proclamation of the cross with the usual devotions. The icon below as placed in front of the cross. The formal Good Friday intercessions were then used, and then the account of the death of Jesus was read, with last year’s Easter candle being established. Communion was administered using the consecrated bread and wine from the evening before. In the evening, Compline was streamed on Facebook, and focussed on the burial of Jesus.
Holy Saturday
The readings for the Vigil were provided in a separate booklet and posted online, and their reading was streamed on Facebook on Holy Saturday evening, on the basis that some of the congregation would like to mark the vigil, but could not attend the Easter Dawn liturgy.
Easter Day
The dawn service (at 5.30am) began in near darkness at the back of church with the Vigil readings. The congregation then gathered around a brazier outside the south door where the Paschal candle was lit, from which all lit their own candles. The candle was then taken into church with the congregation following to the chancel, where all the altar lights were lit whilst the Exsultet was sung. The icon below was placed in front of the altar. The Easter gospel was then read, and the Easter greeting proclaimed and hymns were sung. The renewal of baptismal vows, with sprinkling of blessed water and the Eucharist then followed.
A straightforward traditional language Eucharist was celebrated at 8.00, supplemented on this occasion by hymns. The main Easter Eucharist was celebrated at 10.30 on Easter morning – a choral service with full ceremonial. The liturgy was straightforward beginning with the reading of the Easter Gospel from Matthew and included the renewal of baptismal vows as at the early service, and also, for those who wished, the anointing with oil at the communion rail for healing for themselves or those on their hearts. The icon above was again used as a focus for those receiving communion.
Professor Julian Hunt FRS, Baron Hunt of Chesterton (1941-2026)
Author’s note
This post contains the text of a tribute to Julian Hunt that I delivered (through a recording) to the Wind Engineering community gathered at London Ontario for the Conference Dinner of the Computational Wind Engineering Conference in June 2026. I cannot claim to have known Julian well – he would have regarded me as a simple acquaintance – and much of the material below is derived from other public sources. However it does contain some personal memories, that are of particular relevance to those in the wind engineering discipline and I hope it will be of some interest to readers in that community. Note that the tribute as delivered was somewhat shorter than that contained below because of the restrictions of time.
Other obituaries
Other obituaries can be found via the following links.
- Trinity College, Cambridge
- University of Cambridge
- Royal Meteorological Society
- Royal Society
- Cambridge Environmental Research Consultants
- The Times
- The Guardian
- The Telegraph
The tribute
Julian Charles Ronald Hunt was born in Madras in British India in 1941, where his father was a civil servant and diplomat, but spent most of his childhood in England with relatives. He attended Westminster School and Trinity College Cambridge, where he read Mechanical Sciences and graduated with a 1st Class BA in 1963, before carrying out postgraduate research in the field of magnetohydrodynamics, for which he was awarded a PhD in 1967. He had been elected a Fellow of Trinity College in 1966 and in 1967 he undertook post-doctoral research as a Fulbright Scholar at Cornell. From 1968 to 1970, he was a research officer with the Central Electricity Generating Board where, amongst other things, he studied the collapse of the Ferrybridge Cooling Towers. On his return to Cambridge in 1970 he was made a university lecturer in applied mathematics and engineering, and was later appointed Reader and Professor of Fluid Dynamics in 1990. He held numerous visiting professorships, and was also a visiting scholar at the United States EPA in 1977 and the National Center for Atmospheric Research in 1983. He was a founding director of Cambridge Environmental Research Consultants in 1985, which developed his academic work into practical applications, and remained as Chairman of the company until 2022.In 1989 he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society and in 1992, became Director General of the Meteorological Office. In 1997 he became Professor of Climate Modelling at University College London, from where he retired in 2008.
Julian Hunt married Marylla Shephard in 1965 and they had three children: novelist Jemima; medical doctor Matilda; and historian and former Member of Parliament, Tristram. He was politically active and joined the British Labour Party in the 1960s, and was served as a Councillor on Cambridge City Council from 1971 to 1974, being leader of the Labour Group in 1972. He was created a life peer as Baron Hunt of Chesterton (a suburb to the north of Cambridge) in 2000. He died on April 20th 2026.
I first came across Julian as a final year undergraduate at Cambridge in the early 1970s when he lectured to me – a short course on vorticity and a longer course on pollutant dispersal based on Gaussian plume modelling, which emphasised the importance of the Richardson number, named after the noted mathematician and meteorologist Lweis Fry Richardson. It was some years later that I realised that he was Julian’s great uncle. Julian’s lectures were always entertaining, but more than a little chaotic and taking any sort of coherent notes was far from easy. Nonetheless mucgh of the narerial he covered was to inform my research and scholarship for many years afterwards. I undertook my Bachelor’s project in the Hydraulic Laboratory of the Department of Engineering, where there was a prominently displayed photograph of Julian Hunt as a research student from a few years previously, with a suitably 1960s flowing hair style, collecting signatures for an anti-Vietnam war petition.
I saw rather more of him as a PhD student, where his work on flow topology helped me in the interpretation of oil flow visualization of horseshoe vortices. He gave a seminar on this topic in the Department of Applied Mathematics on this work, and it was there that I observed one of the few occasions when he appeared unsure of himself, wondering what the audience of very able mathematicians would make of his essentially observational topological work.
On another memorable occasion, as I was walking through Cambridge to do some shopping, he cycled towards me, braked heavily on seeing me, took out a notebook and paper and, whilst still astride his bicycle, sketched out how my smoke flow visualization of horseshoe vortices could be used to check his theory of flow between two buildings. This brief encounter was to result in a short paper in one of the early editions of the Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics.
Throughout the following decades, Julian was an ever present in the Fluid Mechanics and Wind Engineering Community, at conferences and seminars, and was very supportive in the early days of the UK Wind Engineering Society. His talks were always stimulating even if the style remained a little chaotic and always delivered with confidence. On one occasion I remember him walking into a meeting of the Hazards forum a little late and finding his name down to give a presentation, that he had clearly forgotten about. For the next 20 minutes he sat at the back of the room and wrote one out (it was the days of OHP acetates, not PowerPoint) and then proceeded to give a coherent presentation that gave no clue as to its recent genesis.
Whilst perhaps best known to the wider world for his work on meteorology, climatology and hazard prediction Julian Hunt’s contribution to the development of wind engineering has of course been significant, laying the basis for the study of wind effects on pedestrians, wind flow over hills, wind forces on and flows around buildings and the dispersion of pollutants, all based on his fundamental work on the nature of atmospheric turbulence. Much of his work on pollutant dispersion has been incorporated in the ADMS modelling suite which is used worldwide as a powerful design tool.
But, as well as these very real achievements, I would suggest Julian’s greatest gift was his ability to analyse a problem, identify the most significant parameters, and develop simple theoretical approaches that could be both practically useful and offer considerable and generisable insights. With our current abilities to generate very large experimental and computational datasets that can so easily cloud our basic understanding of the phenomena we study, cultivating such an approach is perhaps more important than ever, to underpin the huge advances in technology that we are experiencing.
Ladies and Gentlemen, as I am recording this well before you all sat down to eat this evening, I have no idea what will be the state of the meal you are enjoying, but if you still have something left in the glass before you, I would ask you to raise it in a toast, to the memory of Professor Lord Julian Hunt FRS, Baron Hunt of Chesterton.
