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St Mary & St Anne at St Augustine of Hippo
Wonderful treasures hide inside the late 19thc red brick church of St Augustine of Hippo at Holly Hall in Dudley! Not only splendid glass by the Camm’s of Smethwick (which will no doubt be put on the blog at a later date) but the most exquisite window dedicated to Annie Maria Garratt by her son… Continue reading
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Another Black Country MP record.
This should be the last post about Members of Parliament for a while – but I felt having featured Alfred Dobbs and his record for being the shortest serving MP of all time I really shouldn’t pass over the opportunity to mention another Black Country MP – this time the holder of the record for… Continue reading
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Edward Legge . . .MP ?
Given our recent focus on MP’s I thought it would be apt to mention Edward Legge, 5th son of the 1st earl of Dartmouth, the one who had established Sandwell Hall as the family seat in 1710. Edward Legge (born in 1710) had joined the Royal Navy as a 16 year old and passed his… Continue reading
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Death by Lemonade (bottle)!
In times of war I think we have to be morbidly and horrifically impressed by the many various and new ways humans can invent to kill each other. Harry Lime’s quote about the creativity of conflict in the renaissance just about sums it up – although as far as I am aware the cuckoo clock… Continue reading
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Death by Skeleton.
One of my favourite films when growing up was Jason and the Argonauts – I’m sure you can all remember the wonderful battle between Jason, two of his crew and the skeletons that made up the climax to the movie. But did you know that one of Jason’s crew members later became MP for Smethwick?… Continue reading
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Not a record you’d want to hold!
There are some records that you really don’t want to hold. For example, Tom Collins set a record for the longest wait on a trolley in a hospital (over 77 hours before he was found a bed) in 2001 (I fear this may be broken this winter), the stuntman Evel Knievel broke or fractured 433… Continue reading
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Sir Rick Astley
The splendid Astley tomb at Patshull, a rare surviving portrayal of Royalist Troops in the 17th century. Sir Richard Astley (Rick?) is pictured leading the troops. He raised a troop of horse for King Charles I and served as captain during the first Civil War, possibly fighting with Lord Loughborough’s regiment. The Astleys, Royalists during… Continue reading
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Hidden Treasure in Christ Church Lye
We visited Christ Church Lye early in August, eager to see the stained glass in the Church, predominantly by A.E. Lemmon. We were not disappointed. We were absolutely thrilled to discover a forgotten window by Lemmon, now hidden upstairs after reordering by the church. The window of the Good Shepherd is dedicated to Thomas &… Continue reading
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