Civic Trust News 2012

Winter 2012

Civic Trust Recent Events

Our first meeting back after the summer break saw the presentation of the O.D.Shelly Cup and a garden voucher for £20 to Mrs Lyn Roberts of Greenridge, Anslow Lane, for the best front garden. The Forest Shield and a £20 garden voucher was won by Ms Mandie Hoose of 3 Beacon Drive for the best container or hanging basket. Unfortunately Ms Hoose was unable to join us for the evening. The award was presented by our speaker for evening Mr Graham Wagstaffe whose talk on “ A Prize Winning, Small Front Garden” followed on from the formalities of the presentation. Mr Wagstaffe had very kindly stepped in at the last minute when our previously booked speaker was unable to attend.

The October meeting was very well attended for a talk by one of our regular speakers Mr Richard Stone. Richard - an historian, author and lecturer - is guaranteed to provide an interesting and informative talk. Entitled “Stained Glass Art: Painting with Light”, this was an insight into the history and development of stained glass, explaining the different styles and techniques used through the ages.

Sadly a great deal of our medieval stained glass has been lost over the centuries; however some has been saved in a remarkable way. In the example of Winchester Cathedral, the windows were smashed by Cromwell’s forces following the outbreak of the Civil War in 1642. After the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 the broken glass was gathered up and assembled randomly, in a fashion similar to mosaic work, pre-empting the art of collage by several hundred years.

Richard showed us many slides, giving us examples of stained glass around the country. More locally, these included St Giles in Cheadle, our own St Mary’s which has an example of stained glass by Charles E Kempe and St Oswalds in Ashbourne which also houses fine stained glass by Christopher Whall. The Pre-Raphaelites were also great exponents of the art form and a local example by Ford Maddox Brown and Edward Burne-Jones can be found at the Church of St Editha in Tamworth. This was a fascinating talk which I am sure will encourage us all to seek out other local examples.

Barn Dance

The barn dance, held on Saturday 13th October, saw many village groups working together with one main aim – to raise much needed money for the St Mary’s South Wall Restoration Fund.

The Civic Trust invited all interested groups to join in the organization of this major event. The response was wonderful, with all our village groups taking part in some way, whether it be donations of money to help with the cost of the buffet, time and effort in the preparation of the food or many hours of work put in by individuals to ensure that the evening went with a swing.

The band for the event travelled from Redditch and was sponsored by Rolleston Civic Trust. Rolleston Scout Group kindly donated the use of the Scout H. Q. This was transformed into a bunting bedecked barn fit for any dancer. We had a sell out event, with everyone willing to get up and dance, under the guidance of The Cats Whiskers Dance Band fronted by a very professional and patient caller who persuaded us that the dances were easy whilst being totally exhausting.

A huge thank you also goes out to those groups and individuals who donated the magnificent array of raffle prizes. A list of the donors and sponsors of the evening is printed in the Rollestonian and can also be found in the village notice board and on the village web site.

The whole event raised a magnificent total of £2013.17. Many thanks to everyone who helped in any way and to those who supported the event.

Christmas Event - Friday 7th December

This year we have decided to stay locally and will be holding our Christmas gathering at The Spread Eagle, Rolleston. The tickets are £18.95 per person and will include three courses. Tickets are available from Janet Sanderson 815480 or Sheila Lord 813877.

Spread Eagle Island

The Parish Council have now accepted a quotation from a contractor to complete the remaining ground work on the Island, as well as restoring and painting the railings, salvaging and reusing the stones. Due to the time scale of all these procedures we will now undertake the planting in spring 2013.

Hellebore Appeal

Karin Kay, our resident garden designer has volunteered to source the plants and oversee the planting operation for the Island. The Parish Council will be providing the bulk of the plants with the Civic Trust and Karin donating the remainder.

As part of the planting scheme we aim to create areas of Hellebores, we are hoping that the residents of Rolleston will help us by providing seedlings and small plants of the Helleborus Orientalis variety. A popular and attractive specimen which seeds freely. If you are able to assist us in this appeal please contact Karin Kay – 814932.

Programme for 2013

Wednesday January 16th
Layton Layberry, local author and biographer Tom Martin

Sunday January 20th
Mulled Wine at Apple Acres - With kind permission of Mr and Mrs S Richardson

Wednesday February 20th
Five South Derbyshire Landscapes
Philip Heath

Wednesday March 20th
AGM
Local Notes of a Staffordshire Lad
John Phillips

Wednesday April 17th
History Along The Road
Janet Spavold

Sunday April 21st
Plant Swap and Sale
Refreshments Available
The Old Grammar School
2pm – 4pm

Village Barn Dance 13 October

Rolleston Civic Trust would like to thank all those groups and individuals who volunteered their time, Support, donations and raffle prizes towards the recent Barn Dance.

The proceeds of the event amounting to £2013.17 will be donated to the South Wall Restoration Fund, St Mary’s Church. Below is a list of the sponsors and donations – Thanks also to those who donated prizes on the night.

Civic Trust Barn Dance: Sponsors & Donators

Thanks to all those village organizations whose donations and efforts have helped make this fund raising Barn Dance possible and to all those organizations and individuals who have helped with the management of the Barn Dance

Allotment Society - £25 Garden Voucher
Birmingham Think Tank - Family Entry Ticket
Chapter & Verse - Book Token
Civic Trust - Cost of Band (Cat’s Whiskers)
2 Tickets January Mulled Wine

Claymills Pumping Station - Family Entry Ticket
Doveside WI - £50
Florist Gate - Flower Arrangement
FOJORPS - £20
Gerry Hunt (Appleby Curtains) - Handmade Cushion
Good Life Pharmacy - Pet Pack/Diet Consultation
Grass Roots Hairdressers - Voucher
Ian Barker - Meat for Refreshments
Jamie Winstone’s Veterinary Surgery - Puppy/Kitten Pack
Mr & Mrs Featherstone (Honey Bees) - Gift Pack of Jams and Chutneys
Mr & Mrs Martin - Bottle of Whisky
Mr Peter Topliss - Wood Turned Item
Mrs A Topliss - Knitted Toy
Mrs Beryl Toon - Celebrity Catering
Ms Tessa Dunleavey - Vintage China Teatime Hamper
2 Spring Planters

National Brewery Centre - Family Entry Ticket
Assorted Beers & Glasses

RoDSEC - 2 Tickets for Live & Local Event
£30

Rolleston Commemoration Club - Bottle of Bacardi
Rolleston Cricket Club - 2 Bottles of Old Chain Wine
Rolleston Football Club - 2 Tkts to a Burton Albion home match
Rolleston Parish Council - £50
Rolleston Scout Group - Free use of Venue and Facilities
Ron Price (Burton Art Club) - Painting
Sanderson Couriers - Use of man & small van for up to 3
hours of courier work

Smith Partnership - Will Writing
2nd Chapter - Sweets
WI Rolleston - Homemade Apple Pies for Supper Hamper
Mr John Phillips (Publicity)

Autumn 2012

Recent Events

Despite torrential rain April saw our Walk and Talk very close to home, taking in the centre of Rolleston with Janet Spavold – our very knowledgeable guide – looking at The Vernacular Architecture and History of Domestic Housing. This was a fascinating and very interesting talk about our village, a place we all thought we knew very well, but obviously not! We ended at Rolleston Club for very a welcome supper, a lovely spread prepared by the ladies of the club.

Our May talk was given by one of our own members, Mrs Dianne Millar, who provided us with an insight into the work undertaken aboard a hospital ship in West Africa. Dianne spent a month aboard the nursing ship close to Sierra Leone. The ship, complete with state of the art medical equipment and operating theatres, treats people with various ailments and afflictions ranging from minor conditions to life threatening injuries. Of course all become life threatening if the ability to treat them is not available and this is where the hospital ship comes into its own. Sadly there are always too many patients for the available facilities and surgeons. It was a thought provoking talk, with evidence of a charity working successfully at the front line of need.

The Back to Backs of Birmingham was our final talk in June before the summer break. Mr Mac Joseph, a guide with the National Trust, gave us a fascinating talk about life in Birmingham back to backs from the mid 1800’s through to their continued used right up to 1970’s - and their subsequent renovation. They received Grade 11 listed building status in 1988.

Following the very successful but rather damp Jubilation Weekend at the beginning of June, during which the Civic Trust had an information stall, we went on to our next village event with our Skittle Game at the John of Rolleston Community Day. Needless to say this was very wet too!

The end of the month saw our annual Cheese and Wine Evening, held as usual at Apple Acres – many thanks to Helen and Simon Richardson. This coincided with the arrival in Burton of the Olympic Torch and so we celebrated with an Olympic theme. Sadly this did not run to the weather and once again we battled with the elements. The evening, however, was a great success with 70 revellers enjoying a night of food, wine and good company.

Autumn Programme

Our programme of guest speakers resume again on 19th September after our summer break. The speaker for this month will be Mr G Wagstaff with a horticultural based talk. At this meeting we will be presenting the O.D.Shelly Cup and The Forest Shield for the winners of the Front Garden and the Hanging Basket/Container competitions.

The October meeting on Wednesday 17th sees the return of Richard Stone with his talk, ‘Stained Glass Art: Painting With Light’.

Our final talk of the year on Wednesday 21st November
‘Local Churches Through the Ages’
will be presented by Robin Trotter

This year’s Christmas Event will be on Friday 7th December. The venue is yet to be decided but will be advertised nearer the time.

Spread Eagle Island Update

Since we last reported on the Spread Eagle Island there has been some movement towards our aim of up-grading and re-planting the island. The Civic Trust has funded a report by Mr Robert Vernon of The Bluebell Nursery and Arboretum which helped us to work out the best way forward.

The report made suggestions as to which trees needed to be removed in order to allow the Blue Cedar to become the centre of focus on the island, with other suggestions as what would be the best options for new planting. Working with the Parish Council, the tree removal was organised for the end of May to coincide with the Parish Cleanup Day. Volunteers at this event assisted in clearing the remaining undergrowth and weeds from the site. The site has now been treated to prevent further weed growth. We are currently awaiting the outcome from the August Parish Council meeting as to the acceptance of quotes for work to be carried out on the railings and the use of the stone.

The Civic Trust has been very pleased to accept the voluntary help of Rollestonian Karin Kay, Garden Designer, in producing a planting scheme to be implemented once the basic ground work has been completed.

This is likely to be a long term project with work continuing into 2013. We realise that the Island is a very special place in Rolleston and we need to work carefully to achieve the outcome that we all desire.

The Civic Trust Front Garden and Forest Shield Award 2012

The 2012 Civic Trust Front Garden Award was judged over a period of eight days at the beginning of July. At the same time the judges were looking to award the Forest Shield for the best or most interesting Hanging Basket or Container Garden.

The O.D Shelly Cup Front Garden Award

The winner of the Cup and a garden voucher for twenty pounds for the best front garden is:
Mrs L Roberts–‘Greenridge’ Anslow Lane.
We felt that this well maintained herbaceous garden gave excellent colour contrasts and was designed to give continued flowering during the whole year. The choice and variety of plants has been very well thought out.

Runner up: Mrs A Topliss - 49 The Lawns.
This well balanced small herbaceous garden showed plenty of colour and by using hollyhocks and species foxgloves a pleasant height variation has been obtained, along with a good backdrop of clematis on the house wall.

Highly Commended:

Mrs W Alcock – 25 Twentylands
A well designed, cottage garden within a modern housing setting. There is an interesting selection of plants with good variation in height and colour.
Mr and Mrs D Aspinall – 44 Hall Road
This large corner site is well maintained and has some well established shrubs, border plants and roses cascading over attractive arched trellises.

The Forest Shield Civic Trust Container Award

The winner of the Forest Shield and a twenty pound garden voucher for the container/ hanging basket award is:
Miss M Hoose - 5 Beacon Drive
These excellent begonia baskets had obviously well looked after and colour contrast well with the petuniafilled, three tiered planters. All the more impressive on a north facing wall!

Highly Commended

Mrs J Edwards – 54 Church Road
A splendid display of colourful mixed hanging baskets including petunias, geraniums and begonias

Mrs N Hoose - 95 Knowles Hill
Very attractive mixed, trailing hanging baskets with good depth, alongside large containers overflowing with assorted plants – a riot of colour.

Mr A Cook - 8 Marston Lane
A very colourful display of mixed pots lining the front path - including fuchsias, geraniums, begonias and petunias.

Mr and Mrs F Dean and Mrs C Brandon for Rolleston Club – Burnside
Four mixed trailing hanging baskets with lots variety and colour.

The judges also commented on the attractiveness of the troughs lining the Alderbrook railings on Burnside.

The Civic Trust would like to thank the independent judges for their time and expertise when judging these awards.

The awards will be presented on Wednesday 19th September 2012 at Rolleston Cricket Club. The evening meeting begins at 8pm with a horticultural talk by Mr G Wagstaff, the guest speaker. (This is an alternative talk to the one advertised in the Programme)

Summer 2012

Annual General Meeting

The Rolleston Civic Trust AGM 2012 was held on Wednesday 21st March at the Rolleston Cricket Club.

Following apologies and approval of the 2011 AGM Minutes, Peter Barnett handed over to Tom Martin to officiate over the election of the Officers and Committee members. Unfortunately there were no new nominations however all the current committee and officers agreed to continue as there is recognition that the next year will bring many challenges-the Village Plan, the Spread Eagle Island scheme and the Jubilee Orchard. In all of these projects we try to support the Parish Council as an independent organisation.

Many will be aware that we are members of a newly formed national body-Civic Voice, with Griff Rhys-Jones as its President.

He recently commented “Local people can help in making the places where we all live more attractive, enjoyable and distinctive. Because they care. Civic Voice is the national spearhead for a nationwide movement that campaigns for better places and that tremendously underrated value - civic pride.”

This is the year when so many celebrations are planned for Rolleston, bringing together the village as a community, so perhaps next year we can report new faces to our committee- keen to retain our village identity and conserve its heritage for future generations.

Recent Events

Following on from our January annual mulled wine event at Apple Acres we continued with our monthly programme of talks with a fascinating insight into Claymills Pumping Station, investigating the social history of the site.

Presented by Andrew Parsons the talk entitled Beer, Steam and Sewage drew together huge amounts of research from records held at the Lichfield archive and helped us to understand a little about the people, often family members, who worked at Claymills. There are numerous ledgers and notebooks chronicling the lives of the workforce, several of whom lived on site in the cottages. It is recorded that, at one time, there were over one hundred people employed in the sewage industry in Burton.

Needless to say the breweries had a great impact on the quantities of water which required processing. In the mid to late Victorian era there were two and a half thousand people employed by Bass alone. The cleansing of thousands of barrels produced sludge and water ending up in the sewers accompanied by spent hops, yeast and seeds, the pumping station built in 1883 sought to alleviate some of these problems.

It was not until 1900 that the sewage farm at Etwall was introduced. However over all it was judged not to have been very effective. The sewage farm supported several families housed in the cottages and lodges on the site. This area is now the subject of a planning application to build a rail hub for use by freight, linking up to the main railway lines.

Andrew was an eloquent and enthusiastic teller of the Claymills tale and is part of the current story of the pumping station, holding the post of Director responsible for site health and safety having joined the Claymills Pumping Engines Trust in 1995.

Our March AGM meeting saw the return of Jeff Bates a regular speaker on all things horticultural. This time his talk was about herbaceous plants and borders. With lots of hints and tips about plants and planting, care and dividing, colour co-ordinating and of course the history and developmental side of herbaceous borders, Jeff showed us a series of slides of amazing plants in a multitude of colours and varieties. This gave us all food for thought and the hope that one day our gardens too could be as beautiful as those. I’m sure we all went away keen to get to work on planning our summer displays in time for the forthcoming Civic Trust Front Garden Competition!

Civic Trust Programme

Wednesday 16th May
Hope on the Horizon – A hospital ship in West Africa
Mrs Diane Millar

Wednesday 20th June
Back to Backs of Birmingham
Mac Joseph

Saturday 30th June
Cheese and Wine Evening at Apple Acres
By kind permission of Mr and Mrs S Richardson
Ticket event (limited numbers)

Saturday 13th October
Advance Notice - Village Barn Dance
A fund raiser for St Mary’s Church South Wall Renovation Project

Front Garden Awards 2012

The judging for this year’s Front Garden Award the O.D.Shelly Cup will take place at the beginning of July, with the preliminary round of judging to take place between 2nd and 6th July and the final selection being made between the 9th and 13th July 2012.

As in previous years all front gardens will be considered unless specifically withdrawn. Observations will be made from the pavement/ public highway and will not encroach on private property. Front gardens not visible from the pavement/ public highway will not be included in the competition unless requested otherwise.

In addition to the Front Garden Award we will once again be awarding the Forest Shield to the best/most interesting and varied container garden or hanging basket. These too will have to be visible from the pavement/public highway as the judges have been instructed not to enter onto private property. The winners will be notified in due course and the results will be published in the Rollestonian and placed on the village notice boards. The judge’s decision will be final.

Spring 2012

A Village Update

November, December and January have been busy months for The Parish Council and The Civic Trust in respect of the two matters highlighted in the last Rollestonian. - The proposed National Planning Policy Framework (see Rollestonian Autumn 2011) , and proposals for The Spread Eagle Island.

First, Planning Policy
Following the formation of a Neighbourhood Development Plan Steering Group composed of Members of The Parish Council and of interested Villagers, including The Civic Trust, meetings have been held on a regular basis under the chairmanship of John Morris. A lot of work has already been undertaken and The Village has seen the issue of the first newsletter from the Group, members have been canvassing villagers for their views and discussions are ongoing with village groups and organisations to explain what is required and to enlist help.

It is vital that the views of the village are thoroughly investigated and analysed to ensure the resulting Village Plan is owned by and supported by The Village. To this end a small Sub Committee has been formed to formulate a questionnaire which will be issued to every household in the village. This is your chance to influence the future development of Rolleston, please don’t miss it, your response is important.

Already Developers are putting forward draft plans for projects in and around Rolleston. The Press has been covering in detail plans for housing development and new schools in our area. The Parish Council is trying everything it can to resist these developments pending completion of The Village Plan for Rolleston. You can also help by writing to Staffordshire County Council or The East Staffs Borough Council registering your concern regarding these premature plans.

Rolleston is your Village, please help to protect it for the future.

Second, The Spread Eagle Island
The Civic Trust has met with members of The Parish Council together with a tree and gardening specialist with the aim of drawing up an agreed schedule of works to be carried out on The Spread Eagle Island. Some trees will need to be removed and the area cleared of undergrowth before replanting can take place.

When the schedule is finalised we will work with the Parish Council to assist as best we can in carrying out the required works.

Recent Events

The January meeting held, as usual in Rolleston Cricket Club, welcomed Mr David Wood – Master Thatcher. David is not a stranger to Rolleston, having visited on previous occasions to our WI groups. David’s talk was excellent, informative, interesting and amusing. Using various props he explained his life and work with huge enthusiasm, leaving the audience with a greater understanding of this old and valued craft.

January also included The Mulled Wine Event at Apple acres. This very popular get together attracted over 50 guests, a pleasant way to spend a cold winter afternoon with lots of mulled wine and tasty morsels. This year we raised £106 on the raffle, which we are donating to the renovation of the Spread Eagle Island and with which we hope to buy a tree.

Civic Trust Programme

Wednesday 21st March
Annual General Meeting
Herbaceous Plants and Borders Mr Jeff Bates

Wednesday 18th April
Walk and Talk in Rolleston – Following the 2011 talk on Vernacular Architecture:The History of Domestic Housing on England.
Janet Spavold 6.15pm for a 6.30pm start.
Refreshments afterwards at Rolleston Club – Ticket event – limited numbers
Tickets available from committee members

Sunday 22nd April Plant Swap 2pm – 4pm
School Room St Mary’s Church
Refreshments available – proceeds to St Mary’s Fabric Fund

Wednesday 16th May
Hope on the Horizon – A hospital Ship in West Africa Mrs Diane Millar

Front Garden Awards

The Civic Trust is once again holding the Front Garden Award. This year the judging will take place during the middle of July over a 4-5 day period. As in previous years the winner of last year’s competition will not be eligible to be considered for the next five years.

The Forest Shield will also be awarded for the best, most interesting and varied container garden or hanging basket display. These will have to be visible from the public highway as the judges are instructed not to enter private property.

There is no need to apply for entry to this competition; all front gardens will be automatically considered – unless specifically withdrawn.

Judging dates will be announced in due course in the Rollestonian and also on the village notice boards. The judge’s decision on the award will be final. We hope you enjoy preparing your gardens and planning your hanging baskets for the summer judging.

Advance Notice

The Civic Trust have invited other village groups to join us in organising a Barn Dance to raise funds for the renovation of the South Wall of St Mary’ Church. The dance will be held on October 13th in the Scout HQ and led by The Cats Whiskers Barn Dance Band and will include refreshments; there will also be a bar. We are hoping that lots of help will be forthcoming so that we can realise as much money for the fund as possible. Watch out for more information in the next edition of the Rollestonian!

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Last updated: 26 December 2012