Marston Green

Marston Green is a village in Solihull near to the NEC and Birmingham Airport and was part of the parish of Bickenhill which dates from the time of Edward the Confessor. The village itself is listed in the Domesday Book as Merestone but probably dates from before the Norman conquest. Merestone was divided into two in the 12th century, Marston Culy and Wavers Marston. The former changing its name to Marston Green by the early 19th century.

Marston Green lies between two brooks (Low Brook and Hatchford Brook which flow into the river Cole). The village's population has been, for most of its existence, concerned with agriculture but it is now mostly populated by people who work in Birmingham and Solihull. Some agricultural land still exists around the village though much of it has been eaten up by post-war developments including the airport. The village saw a great deal of residential growth in early 20th centuries. A station on the LMS' London-Birmingham line was opened in 1838, this and new roads helped make Marston Green accessible and appeal to workers in the city though interestingly it was not until the 1920s that new house building was begun in earnest.

A Canadian Airforce base was located in Marston Green during the Second World War. Post-war the site was used to build a maternity hospital catering for the east side of Birmingham (even though the hospital wasn't actually in Birmingham). Thousands of babies were born there, until maternity services were moved to Heartlands Hospital, including the author. The hospital was demolished in 1999 with houses now built on the site.

Until boundary changes in the early 1970s Marston Green was part of Warwickshire but is now part of the Solihull Metropolitan Borough.

'Parishes: Bickenhill.' A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 4, Hemlingford Hundred. Ed. L F Salzman. London: Victoria County History, 1947. 34-39. British History Online. Web. 9 March 2015. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/warks/vol4/pp34-39.

Dargue W., 'Marston Green, Marston Culy/ Marston Culey, Wavers Marston', A History of Birmingham Places and Placenames from A to Y. http://billdargue.jimdo.com/placenames-gazetteer-a-to-y/places-m/marston-green/ [accessed 11/03/15]

Church of St Peter, Wootton Wawen

The Church of St Peter in Wootton Wawen is Warwickshire's oldest church and one of the county's oldest free standing buildings with parts of the tower being of Saxon origin dating from the 11th century or earlier. Much of the current church dates from the 12 and 13th centuries with the nave and chancel, where most services take place today, being rebuilt from the original state. Other additions like the porch coming later on in the following centuries. The church contains a well preserved example of chancel screen-work and chancel seats dating from the 16th century. The oak pulpit is of a similar vintage as are a number of monumental brasses.

Wootton Wawen itself dates from at least the early 8th century with the original church established at the same time. This church was destroyed sometime in the late 10th century or early 11th. The current church of St Peter was established by the Anglo-Danish landowner Wagen (Wawen). Although a number of other stone churches were built in the late Saxon era Warwickshire only St Peter's church retains any substantial masonry in the county.

'Parishes: Wootton Wawen.' A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 3, Barlichway Hundred. Ed. Philip Styles. London: Victoria County History, 1945. 196-205. British History Online. Web. 8 March 2015. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/warks/vol3/pp196-205.

Bloom J.H., Warwickshire (Cambridge:Cambridge University Press, 1916)

Filming the freight train

I thought it was high time i made some videos of my model railway project, here 1099.013-3 takes a freight train around the layout.

Banbury Cross

The current Banbury Cross dates from 1859 and was built to celebrate the marriage of Princess Victoria to Prince Frederick of Prussia. Later additions also commemorated the coronation of King George V. It was the first cross the Oxfordshire town had had for over 250 years after several previous medieval crosses were destroyed by the Puritans. The destruction of the crosses is just one event from the town's radical past.

Banbury has a long history of radical religion with Puritans also disputing the erection of a maypole in the town in 1589, the maypole was destroyed sparking riots. The old crosses were destroyed in 1600 as they were seen by Puritans as objects of superstitious veneration. Even before the Reformation Banbury was known for its unorthodox religion, the phrase "Banbury gloss" meaning twisting of the truth may refer to what was seen as erroneous readings of Scripture.

Camden's Britannica from 1610 stated that Banbury was known for "cheese, cakes, and zeal"! In the 17th century the phrase "Banbury Man" was used as a derogatory term for a Puritan which is evidence that the town well known outside for religious radicalism. The town had become one of the major centres for Quakers and also Presbyterians also flourished. By the 18th century however the town's religious zeal was on the decline with the High Church (establishment backed Anglicanism) welcomed in the town though religious radicals continued to have influence.

The Banbury Cross is mentioned in a nursery rhyme "Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross" though this likely refers to the earlier crosses as the earliest recorded versions of the rhyme predate the current cross by some margin in the mid-18th century.

Colvin, Christina, Janet Cooper, N H Cooper, P D A Harvey, Marjory Hollings, Judith Hook, Mary Jessup, Mary D Lobel, J F A Mason, B S Trinder and Hilary Turner. 'Banbury: Introduction.' A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 10, Banbury Hundred. Ed. Alan Crossley. London: Victoria County History, 1972. 5-18. British History Online. Web. 3 March 2015. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/oxon/vol10/pp5-18.

Hereford Cathedral

Hereford Cathedral is one of the great cathedrals of the British Isles and is the home of the Mappa Mundi, a 13th century map of the world and the largest mediaeval map still in existence. The current cathedral's origins date from 1079 though a cathedral dedicated to the Virgin Mary and Saint Ethelbert (and before that a church) has been on the site since the 8th century. The original cathedral was destroyed by the Welsh in 1055.

Some of the original Norman church remains though much has changed as alterations and rebuilding have continued over the centuries. The cathedral suffered some damage in the civil war but the biggest damage to the cathedral occurred in 1786 when the west front and tower collapsed. Restorations and rebuilding of the cathedral continued into the early 20th century.

The cathedral was built almost entirely from local sandstone giving it its red appearance. The various stages of construction and rebuilding have given the cathedral a characteristic look with a variety of different styles. The Mappa Mundi dates from about 1285 and hung on the wall in an aisle, little regarded though perhaps it was nothing that much out of the ordinary at the time!

'Hereford'. An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Herefordshire, Volume 1, South west. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1931. 90-144. British History Online. Web. 3 March 2015. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/rchme/heref/vol1/pp90-144.

GWR 48XX/14XX Class

The 14XX class was a branch line steam locomotive built by the Great Western Railway in the mid-1930s. Seventy five of these small tank engines were built which had a 0-4-2 wheel arrangement, the four wheels at the front of the design being powered, of which 4 were preserved and survive today on heritage railways and museums. The example shown here 1450 is seen on the Severn Valley Railway.

Although dating from 1932 the origin of the 14XX class (originally called the 48XX) was the GWR 517 class from the 1860s. This design was continually modified and improved over the years with the  48XX locomotives built as a more modern version of the ageing 512 class locomotives.

The 14XX (as they become after World War 2) could work with an autocoach, a coach with a driving cab at one end getting rid of the need (and wasted time) of the locomotive having to change ends of the train at termini. When in push mode with the autocoach the fireman remained in the locomotive with the driver operating the locomotive via controls in the autocoach cab. The driver communicated with the fireman using an electric bell.

Typical routes a 14XX and autocoach were used on included High Wycombe-Aylesbury, the last running using this motive power being in 1962, and Bourne End-Marlow. The 14XX class had a decent career (though nowhere near as long as their 517 class forerunners) and made it to mainline steam's final decade with the final withdrawals in the mid-1960s.