Issue number 127

Newsletter Summer 2025

Welcome to the latest edition of the LAHS Newsletter. Contributions to future editions of the Newsletter are as always welcome at any time. These can be emailed to the Newsletter editor, Cynthia Brown, at newsletter@lahs.org.uk.

LAHS LECTURE PROGRAMME FOR 2025 - 26

Two lectures have so far been arranged for the new session – see below. Venues are to be confirmed. Information about other lectures will be provided as it becomes available.

Thursday 25 September 2025, 7.30 pm

Scarborough Lecture: The Medieval Jewish Communities of the East Midlands (TBC)

Dr Dean Irwin, University of Lincoln

Thursday 16 October 2025, 7.30 pm

Edwardian Leicester

Cynthia Brown

The Edwardian period in Leicester, loosely defined here as 1901 – 1914, was both eventful and formative for the future – not least as a centre of campaigns for votes for women. Although outwardly a ‘growing and thriving’ town, the prosperity enjoyed by many existed alongside the poverty, poor health, substandard housing and long-term unemployment experienced by others. This talk will consider how these issues were addressed, and with what success. It will also explore the lighter side of Edwardian life in the town, from its theatres, music halls and cinemas, to the novelty of the ‘Homecoming to Leicester’ event in 1910, when around 300 ‘exiles’ returned to the ‘grand old town’ from all over the world for a week of festivities.

LAHS NEWS

OUR SINCERE THANKS TO MATTHEW BEAMISH

We are sad to inform you of the resignation in May of our Society Chair, Committee Member and Trustee, Matt Beamish. Over the past year, Matt has had to take on increasing family caring commitments, and these are now such that, with regret, he has taken the decision to step back from all formal involvement in LAHS. He will remain an active member, and hopes to be able to continue to assist at some of our lectures, so you may still see him around. Further information about the election of a new Chair will follow in due course. Matt was co-opted to the Committee back in 2011, and many of you will know him from his long-time role as Membership Secretary, which he held until 2023. Whether chasing unpaid subscriptions, responding to queries, or organising the delivery of our publications, he made sure that these tasks were done, behind the scenes - including developing a database to manage the administration, which definitely proved its value with the significant membership bounce in the wake of the discovery of Richard III.

Another significant project was the digitisation and online archiving of our publications, ensuring that the significant body of work that the Society holds on Leicestershire’s past is both accessible to all and will continue to be used going forward. Later he dealt with the challenges posed to the Society by Covid, and more recently, as Chair, Matt has overseen the update of our Constitution and Rulebook. These are just a few highlights, as in truth there is not really any aspect of the Society’s functions in which Matt has not been involved, or has provided cover for at some point: website, lectures, grants, events, finances, and more besides. He will be greatly missed for his energy and enthusiasm, combined with practicality, even when tackling more onerous tasks. On behalf of the LAHS Committee, we extend the thanks of our members to Matt for his immense contribution to the Society, and wish him all the best going forward.

Gillian Rawlins, LAHS Membership Secretary

COMING SOON…

In June the Society will be announcing an exciting new project aimed at engaging the wider public with the history of Leicester and Leicestershire. Society members will also benefit from the project as part of their membership. We hope that it will become a staple Society offering, benefitting existing members, drawing in new ones, and reaching broader audiences. Members will be contacted via email sometime in June with more details.

PUBLIC HERITAGE FUND

The Public Heritage Fund continues to receive high-quality applications from a very diverse range of organisations, and we are happy to announce funding for the following projects.

The Leicestershire Football Archive (www.leicestershirefootballarchive.com), a not-for-profit website which aims to celebrate the history of football in Leicestershire. It was founded in 2023 by Dr Nigel Freestone to disseminate findings of over 3,000 hours of research on the development of football across the county. We have provided funding for a project to help recruit De Montfort University students to make improvements to the website, create a marketing strategy, and assist with social media. All this will hopefully allow the website to become self-funding and the project is going extremely well so far. Nigel would like to engage with local history groups to produce histories of football in all major towns and villages across Leicestershire, making them freely accessible through the archive. If anyone would like to follow this up with him, please contact phfund@lahs.org.uk and we can put you in touch.

We have also contributed to the cost of hiring a re-enactment group and associated costs for the’ living history’ element of a programme of events, organized by Jim Butler of Hidden Histories, to commemorate the 380^th anniversary of the Siege of Leicester in June 1645. This element will be part of the Leicester Riverside Festival, Leicester City Council’s largest such event, with the aim of engaging new audiences with an important aspect of Leicester’s history. It will also place the Siege of Leicester within the larger national context. Further information will be circulated to LAHS members in due course.

LAHS HISTORY FAIR, OAKHAM CASTLE AND RUTLAND COUNTY MUSEUM

Saturday 5 July, 10 am – 4 pm

In our 170th Anniversary year we are pleased to host another of our hugely popular and family friendly LAHS History Fairs! As ever, this year’s event will include an exciting mix of living history and re-enactments from numerous periods, talks by local experts and displays by heritage groups and societies from across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. In fact, we have so many things happening this year, we are using two venues - the historic Oakham Castle and Rutland County Museum. The event will also see the official launch of the Leicestershire and Rutland Festival of Archaeology, so it is the perfect place to discover all the other activities that will be happening over July. We look forward to seeing you there. More details will be coming soon.

LAHS DISSERTATION PRIZES FOR LEICESTERSHIRE AND RUTLAND ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY

LAHS awards four annual dissertation prizes for extended projects that focus on the Archaeology and/or History of Leicestershire and/or Rutland. There are two prizes for Archaeology, for the best Undergraduate (BA/BSc) and the best Post-Graduate (M-level) dissertations, and two prizes for History, one for Undergraduate and one for Postgraduate levels. The subject area includes comparative studies, where Leicestershire/Rutland is one of the main comparisons, and where examples from the counties are the majority of those used. It also includes art and design histories, and museum and heritage studies where the focus is on Leicestershire and/or Rutland.

The 2026 prize is for dissertations written during the 2024-25 academic year. Dissertations should not previously have been published or be in publication. Each prize winner will be awarded £250 and the opportunity to publish some of their work in the Leicestershire Historian. The abstract will be published on the LAHS website. Guidelines and an application form, which should be submitted with a copy of the dissertation, are available at https://lahs.org.uk/grants/dissertation-prizes. The deadline for 2026 prizes is 31 December 2025. Enquiries should be directed to the convenor of the prize committee, Professor Elizabeth Tingle, at competitions@lahs.org.uk

T.G. DANIELS

We were sorry to hear recently from the LAHS Membership Secretary of the death of long-time Society member Mr. T.G. Daniels. He came from Leicestershire, lived in Australia, and returned to live in Croxton Kerrial. He was in a nursing home when he died in November 2023, but always maintained his membership. He donated copies of his early work to the Society in the 1960s, and these are in the LAHS Library:

• Churchwardens presentments 1639 Framland Hundred. 1965
• 16^th century parish register transcripts of N.E. Leicestershire. 1965
• 16^th century parish register transcripts of Leicestershire. Vol. 2 East Goscote. 1969
• Waltham on the Wolds glebe terriers 1601 – 1821. 1968

The Record Office also has a copy of his Index to Leicestershire glebe terriers in Lincoln, 1965.

Aubrey Stevenson, Hon. Librarian.

OTHER NEWS

REOPENING OF JEWRY WALL MUSEUM, LEICESTER

The refurbishment of Leicester’s Grade II listed Jewry Wall Museum has been completed, and it will reopen to the public on Saturday 26 July 2025 with more than 100 Roman artefacts ­– all discovered in Leicester and Leicestershire. A new pedestrian bridge from St Nicholas Circle will make the building fully accessible for the first time, and visitors will be welcomed with an immersive film taking them on a journey through the excavated areas of Roman Leicester. Interactive displays, games and projections will also allow them to explore the second century site and everyday life in Leicester as it was around 2,000 years ago.

Characterisations of the buildings and the people of Roman Leicester, created by artist Scott Tetlow, will help to animate the story, giving visitors an insight into the public and private lives of the residents of Ratae Corieltauvorum ­- the Roman name for the city of Leicester. The museum incorporates a café overlooking the remains of the Roman bath house, and this will be open to the public every day, without the need to buy an admission ticket. Ticket prices will start at £6.25 for children, with the full adult admission set at £12.50. Concession tickets will cost £11.50 and family tickets £32 (2 x adults + 2 x children). Tickets allow visitors to visit the museum as many times as they like within a 12-month period, subject to conditions. For further details, visit Jewry Wall.

GRIMSTON PENDANT ACQUIRED WITH HELP FROM LAHS ACQUISITIONS FUND

Leicestershire County Council Museums have recently acquired a stunning 17^th century pendant found by a metal detectorist in Grimston, Melton Borough. It was declared treasure by the British Museum under the Treasure Act 1996 and offered for purchase. Dating to the first quarter of the 17^th century, it shows the wealth of some of the people who lived or passed through the Melton district in this period. The pendant is made of gold and has a deep blue sapphire at its centre, surrounded by six rectangular table-cut quartz stones. Between each quartz is a small gold fleur de lis, two of which still show traces of white enamel. The fleur de lis may have originally held seed pearls.

The sapphire is broken and there is a slightly crude washer on its back which suggests that originally there may have been a different gem in its place. The back of the pendant is beautifully detailed with green and white enamel. The pendant could have possibly been suspended on an attifet, a heart-shaped headdress with a point that dips over the forehead, worn by European women in the 16th and 17th centuries. It gives a tantalising glimpse of the riches that some local families were lucky enough to enjoy in the early 1600s in Leicestershire. It is currently displayed in the temporary exhibition ‘Villiers Revealed - Darling of the Stuart Court’ at Melton Carnegie Museum, Melton Mowbray, alongside a portrait of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham. He rose to fame during the early 17th century, the same time period as the most likely date of the pendant. Although there is no direct connection to George Villiers or his family, it is the type of jewellery that would have been owned and worn by people in his circle. When this exhibition ends on 28 June, the pendant will find a permanent home in the Museum’s Melton Lives Gallery. Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society and the Arts Council England/V&A Purchase Grant Fund each contributed 50% of the purchase cost. View more details about the pendant here https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/1023803.

LEICESTER CATHEDRAL HERITAGE AND LEARNING CENTRE – OPENING 14 JUNE 2025

Leicester Cathedral has announced the completion of its Heritage and Learning Centre, a modern extension designed to share the heritage of the Cathedral and engage visitors in new ways. The Centre will officially open to the public on Saturday 14 June 2025, marking a significant milestone in the Cathedral’s history. It features an immersive exhibition space, with curated collections that celebrate Leicester’s history and the Cathedral’s connection to wider religious and cultural narratives. From Roman and medieval artifacts to contemporary storytelling, visitors will have the opportunity to explore the city and county’s past while contemplating the significance of faith, art, and heritage in today’s world.

The Centre also offers an educational space to welcome schools and community groups. Through guided tours, lectures, and hands-on activities, it aims to foster a deeper understanding of the Cathedral’s legacy, and provide learning experiences for all ages. The project, with long-term partners van Heyningen and Haward Architects, has been made possible with funding by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, along with many other generous funders and donors.

TOP TEN ENDANGERED BUILDINGS LIST 2025 – BOSWORTH PARK WATER TOWER

The Grade II listed Bosworth Park Water Tower in Market Bosworth is on the Victorian Society’s Top Ten Endangered Buildings list for 2025, and considered in urgent need of restoration.

It was designed by architect Thomas Garner, of the renowned Bodley & Garner partnership known for ecclesiastical works, and dates from around 1885. The tower originally supplied Bosworth Hall with water drawn from natural springs and distributed by gravity, feeding the kitchen offices, stables, wash house, and WC.

For further information, visit Endangered building - Bosworth Park Water Tower features on Victorian Society's Top Ten Endangered Buildings list 2025 - The Victorian Society. The current hall and gardens were commissioned by Charles Tollemache Scott after his marriage to Lady Agnes Tollemache, heiress to the Earls of Dysart of Ham House, Richmond.

EAST MIDLANDS ORAL HISTORY ARCHIVE (EMOHA) – WEB EXHIBITION ABOUT LEICESTER IN WORLD WAR 2

The East Midlands Oral History Archive (EMOHA) launched a new web exhibition about Leicester in World War 2 to mark VE Day on 8 May 2025. The Archive has more than 800 recordings that mention the war, and recruited help from student and staff volunteers to sift through them. It covers a wide range of topics including Air Raid Precautions, the blackout, evacuees, food and rationing, Prisoners of War, women and war work, and military campaigns in different parts of the world.

You can also hear extracts from oral histories on each topic, including Mrs Hall recalling how she first met American troops: ‘When we came off the bus at night from work, when I came home at I don’t know, five, six o’clock time in the winter, it was pitch black, that’s how I first met the Americans, ran into them. Well they thought we were starving, and they used to stand at the bus stop and hand something to everybody who got off the bus…’. The exhibition will be added to over the summer, but is available now at Introduction to Leicester in World War Two · Leicester in World War Two · Leicester Special Collections.

POPPING TO THE SHOPS: SAFFRON LANE - EXHIBITION

A reminder that the ‘Popping to the Shops – Saffron Lane’ exhibition at Leicester Museum and Art Gallery in New Walk continues until 31 August. This tells the history of Leicester's Saffron Lane in the words of the people who live and work in the area. Local businesses at the heart of the exhibition told their stories, and donated new objects to the museum that are representative of recent retail activity along Saffron Lane. The exhibition also sets Saffron Lane in its historical context, drawing on the book The Story of the Saff (1998), edited by Cynthia Brown with the Saffron Past and Present group. For more information, visit Event Details – Leicester Museums and https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g9kxq59g9o. Admission is free.

TAYLOR, TAYLOR & HOBSON, LEICESTER – PHOTOGRAPHIC LENS MAKERS

The website ‘The hardest working font in Manhattan’ by Marcin Wichery includes some interesting information about the origins of a font adopted by Taylor, Taylor and Hobson in the 1890s to put markings on their lenses. This can be found around halfway through the article at The hardest working font in Manhattan – Aresluna. For more information about the company itself, see the timeline at Taylor, Taylor and Hobson - Graces Guide.

WORLD WAR II AUDIO, 1939 – 1945 – ONLINE ACCESS

The family history website Ancestry (subscription required) offers online access to audio interviews and oral histories of British women who worked in the UK during World War II. Most are oral histories by women employed in the Women’s Land Army, but there are also accounts from female civilians. The topics covered by the interviews include war work, clothing, food, political views and social lives. They are searchable at UK, World War II Audio, 1939-1945 - Ancestry, where there are also useful links to other online resources relating to the Women’s Land Army and its sister organisation, the Women’s Timber Corps.

Ancestry also has a collection of UK Women’s Land Army Index Cards at UK, World War II Women's Land Army Index Cards, 1939-1948 - Ancestry. The Find My Past site also offers access to these - Search England & Wales, Women's Land Army Service Cards 1939-1950, Regimental & Service Records | Findmypast.co.uk (subscription required).

ARCHAEOLOGY

ULAS (University of Leicester Archaeological Services) recently marked the 80^th anniversary of VE Day by reflecting on projects in which it has been involved in the past to record aspects of Leicester’s Second World War civil defences before they were lost. These include, in 2011, the Wyggeston Boys School shelter on Victoria Park Road, now the site of the Victoria Park Health Centre; the Wyggeston Girls School shelter on the corner of University Road and Regents Road (2013), and six smaller shelters at the former Southfields Drive Infants School and The Newry Junior School (2022).

As the ULAS website explains: ‘These were all constructed in a similar manner, using a cut and cover method and a pre-fabricated modular design. Five-foot wide trenches (1.5m) were hand or machine-dug and then lined with pre-cast concrete panels slotted together using a simple tongue and groove system and sometimes sealed with tar. Concrete spacers, set at regular intervals along the floor and the pre-cast concrete roof prevented the wall panels slumping inwards, and earth was replaced on top. These were all constructed in a similar manner, using a cut and cover method and a pre-fabricated modular design. Five-foot wide trenches (1.5m) were hand or machine-dug and then lined with pre-cast concrete panels slotted together using a simple tongue and groove system and sometimes sealed with tar. Concrete spacers, set at regular intervals along the floor and the pre-cast concrete roof prevented the wall panels slumping inwards, and earth was replaced on top’.

Drainage was a common problem in shelters like these, with earth floors or concrete slabs, and electric pumps had to be installed at an early stage to prevent flooding. Another problem was the circulation of air, addressed by installing ventilation shafts and large hand-operated fans. Graffiti drawings on the walls of the shelters testify to the boredom of children confined to the shelters for the duration of drills or raids or warnings, among them images of the Blitz, and of German aeroplanes and Adolph Hitler. You can see more about the shelters and the experiences of those who used them at Shelter from above! – ULAS News.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

FRIENDS OF CHARNWOOD MUSEUM

Thursday 12 June 2025, Unity House, Fennel Street, Loughborough, 7.30 – 9.30 pm

Talk and tour of Unity House

Unity House was built in 1889 as a Medical Aid Centre with a doctor's surgery and a pharmacy on the ground floor and a ceremonial hall on the upper floor. The building was run by a group of Friendly Societies. The activity declined after the introduction of National Insurance by Lloyd George. It was leased in World War II as a British Restaurant, and bought by Mont Follick MP in 1945 for £1,900, It opened as Labour Party Premises on November 1st 1947. Members £3; non-members £5. Pre-booking is essential by visiting Charnwood Museum or calling 01509 233754. Payment can be taken over the phone.

FRIENDS OF JEWRY WALL MUSEUM, LEICESTER

The Friends of Jewry Wall Museum are offering a series of historically themed events at St Nicholas Church on the last Sunday of the month over the summer, 11 am – 3.30 pm. The church is next to the Jewry Wall site at 140 – 156 St Nicholas Walk, LE1 4LB.

29 June 2025 (Heritage Sunday)

Wellbeing, art and games through the ages

27 July 2025 (Heritage Sunday and Festival of Archaeology)

Archaeology and wellbeing: life and architecture at the Baths

FRIENDS OF WELFORD ROAD CEMETERY – GUIDED WALKS

Pre-booking essential – see Events from April 11 – September 6 – Friends of Welford Road Cemetery for details.

Friday 7 June, 2025, 10.30 am

Women – including those women who made a difference to life in the city

Friday 20 June 2025, 10.30 am

Crime and punishment tour

GREATER WIGSTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Little Hill Primary School, Launceston Road, Wigston Magna, LE18 2GZ

Doors open 6.45 for 7.15 pm start. Free to members; non-members £4 per person. Further details: Greater Wigston Historical Society.

Tuesday 17th June 2025

Edward Elgar: the man and his music

Sam Dobson

LEICESTER VAUGHAN COLLEGE FORUM

Thursday 12 June 2025, Leicester Adult Education College, Belvoir Street, LE1 6QL, 6.30 pm

Medieval Charnwood Forest: Wasteland or Wonderland

Dr Ann Stones

LEICESTER CIVIC SOCIETY – GUIDED WALKS

Walks cost £5 for members and £7 for non- members. Ticket numbers for walks are limited, and pre-booking is essential. Visit All Events - Leicester Civic Society for further details and bookings.

Saturday 12 July 2025, 10.30 am – 12.30 pm

Aylestone from Hamlet to Suburb

The walk will explore how Aylestone grew from a Saxon hamlet, through a place where drove roads, the canal and then the railway passed through, to a period of huge expansion in the late 19th and early 20^th century.

LEICESTERSHIRE AND RUTLAND FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY – LEICESTER GROUP

Friends Meeting House, Queen’s Road, Leicester, LE2 1WP

Doors open 7 pm for 7.30 pm start. For further details of these and meetings of LRFHS branches in Hinckley, Loughborough, Market Harborough and Oakham, see LRFHS - Meetings.

Wednesday 11 June 2025

Honest Men But Destitute - the plight of Leicestershire’s framework knitters

Jess Jenkins

LEICESTER TRANSPORT HERITAGE TRUST – STONEYGATE DEPOT OPEN DAY

Sunday 15 June 2025, 10 am – 4 pm

The Clarendon Park Summer Fair will take place on the same day, and a free heritage bus service will link the two events. Adult admission to the Depot £3; children free.

LOUGHBOROUGH BELLFOUNDRY TOURS

The Classic tour of the bellfoundry plus the museum is available until 30 September 2025; the Casting tour plus museum from 19 June 2025 – 20 November 2025. Please visit Loughborough Bellfoundry Trust for details of dates and how to book.

SERENDIPITY INSTITUTE FOR BLACK ARTS AND HERITAGE

8 Bowling Green Street, Leicester LE1 6AS

Sunday 22 June 2025, 6 – 8 pm

Annual Windrush Day lecture: They Called Me N****r”: the historical roots of literary protest by Caribbean immigrants in Britain

Professor Verene A. Shepherd, Professor of Social History, University of the West Indies

Tickets cost £12 – 15 and are available online at Events from 16 May – 11 November – Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

HINCKLEY HISTORIAN, NUMBER 95, SUMMER 2025

Various authors

Hinckley and District Museum, 2025, 36pp, £2

The main article in this summer edition, by W. Jebbett, was originally published in 1977 in the first two editions of the Hinckley Historian, and is well worth reprinting. Having ‘exceeded the allotted span of three score years and ten’, he felt it timely to record his recollections of the earlier part of his life, beginning with the small rented terraced house at the top of Castle Street where he lived with his parents, three brothers and a sister. These included the pungent smells from the glue-making process for the box factory close by, and the keeping of rabbits for food – along with some of the walks the family took in the area. This is followed by a detailed and very interesting section on Hinckley in the 1860s by David J. Knight, through the eyes of the local press. One of the main events was the opening of the Hinckley to Nuneaton railway in 1861, giving access by way of the latter to Birmingham, Manchester and London. The press also recorded in detail the effects of the American Civil War ‘cotton famine’ on an already depressed hosiery trade; and another major issue, the lack of an adequate water supply.

An intriguing article by Greg Drozdz examines the ‘enduring local legend’ that Bonnie Prince Charlie visited Nailstone in December 1745 to meet with supporters, and started the trek back to Scotland from there rather than Derby. His examination of the available evidence is well worth reading, without giving anything away here… Greg has also been given access to the transcript of a diary written in Hinckley in the 1840s by a Dominican priest, Fr. James Austin Maltus OP. This offers many insights into the plight of the framework knitters at this time – described by him as ‘slaves’ – as well as his own feelings, thoughts and prayers about his vocation, and the religious and social life of Catholics in the town.

ROBERT BAKEWELL: BRITAIN’S FOREMOST LIVESTOCK BREEDER

New Dishley Society members

New Dishley Society, 2025, 340 pp, illus, £25 + £4 post and packing inland UK

This new hardback book celebrates the tercentenary of the birth of Robert Bakewell, livestock breeder and agriculturalist. It includes much newly researched material on the Bakewell family, their farming provenance, the distribution of his famous animals, and his bankruptcy. The book can be ordered by emailing ndssecretary@gmail.com, or writing to The Secretary, New Dishley Society, 28 Wilfred Place, Ashby de la Zouch, Leics., LE65 2GW, with your name, address, postcode, and email.

A HISTORICAL FOOTNOTE

Leicestershire features in the ‘British Granite Quarries’ section of Whittaker’s Almanac in 1922 in the form of this advertisement for the Enderby and Stoney Stanton Granite Co Ltd., which also had a quarry in North Wales at Glynnogfawr, near Carnarvon. Here are some other extracts from the ‘Science and Invention in 1921’ pages of the Almanac, reflecting recent advances, successful and unsuccessful experiments, and contemporary concerns.

BOTTLES AT 180 A MINUTE. – A machine which can turn out 180 small glass bottles a minute has been installed by the United Glass Bottler Manufacturers at Charlton. It is described as being ‘not unlike a gigantic radial petrol engine in shape’… The process of making a bottle takes ten seconds, but the annealing or cooling process that follows takes ten hours.

CINEMA LIGHTS AND EYESIGHT. – An interim report on the alleged dangerous lights in cinema studios has been issued on behalf of the Ministry of Health. According to experts the trouble is due mainly to the use of powerful arcs of the searchlight pattern in an unshaded condition. Such lamps may cause injury by the unimpeded access of ultra-violet rays, and it is thought possible that artists looking straight at the lights may suffer from the intense visible lights.

CROP-GROWING BY ELECTRICITY. – Electrical stimulation of plant growth has been tried on a large scale at the Rothamstead Experimental Station [Hertfordshire]. Currents of 15,000 volts were passed through growing barley over a network of wires 10 feet from the ground, trials being made of alternative and continuous discharges, and of negative and positive discharges. The average increase of growth caused by electrical discharges over food crops was found to be about 21 per cent, or just below what is necessary to make it an economic proposition. In other words the increase of the crop barely pays for the cost of the electricity.

ROCKALL. – Dr. J. Charcot, the French Polar explorer, succeeded in landing from his exploring vessel, the ‘Pourquois Pas’, on the islet of Rockall, which lies 185 miles from St. Kilda and 260 miles west of the Hebrides. He obtained many geological specimens from the rock. Rockall rises like a needle 75 feet high from a shallow bank which has more than once been harmful to shipping, and has only been visited on five previous occasions.

This newsletter is edited by Cynthia Brown and published by Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society. Further information about the Society, its publications and other activities can be found on its website at www.lahs.org.uk.