Latest news with #Cirencester
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Call for memories of historic Brunel railway station
A history festival is calling for memories of a former railway station, which will be temporarily reopened during the event. Cirencester History Festival takes place from 25 October to 1 November, offering talks and activities on local and global history. People will be able to tour the town's Grade-II listed Old Station, which was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and closed in 1965. The free event on both Saturdays of the festival will celebrate the "golden age of rail," said festival producer Jess Yarrow. Ms Yarrow said most people know the Old Station as "a slightly sad, empty-looking building" but she hopes some will remember using it, on their commute, or even watching it welcome evacuees and soldiers during World War Two. "We know that there are lots of people out there who can remember the station in its heyday," said Ms Yarrow. "We'd love to hear stories, we'd love to see photographs, we'd love to have any memorabilia that people have got tucked away because we'll be dressing the station as if it were a station with prams and benches and cases, so anything like that people have, we'd love to know about it." More news stories for Gloucestershire Listen to the latest news for Gloucestershire Architect Jonathan Rixon is refurbishing the station to use as his offices, and he will lead the tours. There will also be an audio listening project sharing stories of the station, and Cirencester College students have worked with Mr Rixon to create a virtual reality experience of the station during the Victoria era. Mr Rixon said: "The building holds many hidden treasures, including a boardroom where Brunel sought a meeting space outside London. "It's important to protect our industrial heritage. I'm passionate about preserving this piece of history and sharing it with the town." Cirencester History Festival is returning for its second year, with This Country star Charlie Cooper as its ambassador. Follow BBC Gloucestershire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. Council seeks partner to help restore old station Former railway station to be repaired after investment Hope of restoration as former station to be sold Cirencester History Festival
BBC News
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Memories of Cirencester's Old Station sought for history festival
A history festival is calling for memories of a former railway station, which will be temporarily reopened during the History Festival takes place from 25 October to 1 November, offering talks and activities on local and global will be able to tour the town's Grade-II listed Old Station, which was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and closed in free event on both Saturdays of the festival will celebrate the "golden age of rail," said festival producer Jess Yarrow. Ms Yarrow said most people know the Old Station as "a slightly sad, empty-looking building" but she hopes some will remember using it, on their commute, or even watching it welcome evacuees and soldiers during World War Two."We know that there are lots of people out there who can remember the station in its heyday," said Ms Yarrow. "We'd love to hear stories, we'd love to see photographs, we'd love to have any memorabilia that people have got tucked away because we'll be dressing the station as if it were a station with prams and benches and cases, so anything like that people have, we'd love to know about it." Architect Jonathan Rixon is refurbishing the station to use as his offices, and he will lead the will also be an audio listening project sharing stories of the station, and Cirencester College students have worked with Mr Rixon to create a virtual reality experience of the station during the Victoria Rixon said: "The building holds many hidden treasures, including a boardroom where Brunel sought a meeting space outside London. "It's important to protect our industrial heritage. I'm passionate about preserving this piece of history and sharing it with the town."Cirencester History Festival is returning for its second year, with This Country star Charlie Cooper as its ambassador.
The Guardian
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The Guardian view on metal detecting: hobbyists as well as experts can play a part in unearthing the past
The discovery of two swords at a dig in Gloucestershire has fuelled speculation that a Roman villa may once have stood there, at a period in the second or third century AD when Saxons were making inroads in the region. Experts think that the blades may even have been deliberately hidden – but not deep enough to conceal them from a novice metal detectorist, Glenn Manning. Next month, the public will get a chance to see the weapons when they go on display at the Corinium museum in Cirencester, to which they have been given. The items join a growing list of striking finds by hobbyists. These include a gold nugget found in the Shropshire Hills by Richard Brock, who located it with the help of an old machine that was 'only half working'. Another newcomer dug up a gold necklace bearing the initials of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon, which is now in the British Museum. There are an estimated 20,000 metal detectorists in Britain, with at least two factors having contributed to the activity's increased popularity over the last decade. One was the pandemic and the nudge it gave to some people to find a new way to spend leisure time. The other was the Bafta-winning BBC television comedy Detectorists, which ran for three series starting in 2014 and returned for a Christmas special in 2022. Written by Mackenzie Crook, this was a story about the hidden depths of male friendship as well as the Essex farmland where they did their detecting. While archaeology had been on TV before, in programmes such as Time Team, metal detecting was an unexpected focus for a popular drama. There was probably also something in the zeitgeist, since mudlarking on the Thames saw a boom during the same period – going from the obscure pastime of aficionados to something much more mainstream. Like metal detectorists, whose focus on precious objects sometimes comes into sharp conflict with the scholarly priorities and painstaking processes of archaeologists, mudlarks (who sometimes use metal detectors along with other techniques) need authorisation to go on their scavenging hunts. From just 200 permits sought in 2018-19 from the Port of London authority, the total rose to 5,000 three years later. One result of this upsurge in interest is a new exhibition of 350 mudlarked objects. Secrets of the Thames includes medieval carvings and Victorian forgeries, and opened at the London Museum last week. Not all metal detecting is focused on the distant past. A 5,000-strong network of volunteers, the National Ring Recovery Service, helps living people find lost items. While this altruistic project is described by its founder, Morley Howard, as a 'fifth emergency service', the activities and motivations of metal detectorists who hunt for valuable artefacts remain controversial, and some believe that the legal framework is too lax. Archaeological sites have been damaged, and in 2019 two men were jailed for the illegal sale of coins and jewellery known as the Leominster hoard. But deeply regrettable though such losses are, they should not be allowed to overshadow the positive contributions of amateur detectorists, some of whom volunteer on digs led by experts – as Mr Manning did on the day he found the swords. This commitment to scouring the countryside for traces of ancient lives is a testament to an abiding curiosity about the past that is not limited to experts.
BBC News
03-07-2025
- BBC News
Dramatic pictures show huge scale of £460m A417 Missing Link work
Dramatic drone pictures show the scale of construction work required to build a dual shots from National Highways show just one part of the £460m A417 Missing Link scheme, which will span the three miles (5km) between Gloucester and June, workers began moving 10 huge, 100-tonne steel beams into place to support what will be the largest "green bridge" in the UK, serving walkers, cyclists and horse riders as well as wildlife. The Gloucestershire Way bridge at Shab Hill will cross the eight lanes of the dual carriageway and will be planted with native grass and hedges. Green bridges create a safe crossing point for wildlife and join up habitats, making animal populations more resilient, according to the National Highways project is due to be completed in 2027.
BBC News
21-06-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Gloucestershire in pictures: Sunny starts and pigeons
What a heatwave! The sun certainly showed itself this week after some rainfall in the county earlier this month. Temperatures were scorching - some days reaching 30C. And alongside the beautiful weather comes beautiful settings for photo opportunities. We have had some treats this week - here are a few of our favourite moments. Sunny starts: What a way to start a morning in the county. Bourton-on-the-Water is beautiful as it is but looks even more stunning in the early morning sunrise. Thank you to our weather watcher, Geordie, for sending this to us. Pigeon love: A moment to appreciate the pigeons! Tony Triffitt in Podsmead feeds the pigeons in Kings Square every week and there is an emotional reason behind it. When his wife passed away, she asked him to "look after her babies" which was her way of saying "look after the pigeons". Tony has kept his promise all these years on - so if you see him around Gloucester - that is why he is doing it. A world first in the skies over Gloucestershire: Three cousins have "made aviation history" by performing a triple formation wing walk, believed to be a world Brewer, 21, Rose Powell, 20, and Jasmine Norman, 20, flew metres apart on the wings of three vintage bi-planes on Saturday over Rendcomb Airfield in Cirencester. Edgy: Loving this photo captured in Edge this week by our weather watcher, Abstract Emotion. What a beautiful corner of the world we live in! To the top: From the top of Robinswood Hill - you can see a large portion of the county and it is stunning. In this photo, if you look really closely, you can see Gloucester Cathedral. In the hot seat: George Skivington joined BBC Radio Gloucestershire's Steve Kitchen his week to talk all things rugby and personal life. Listeners were able to send in questions to George, who is director of rugby for Gloucester. One questioner asked: "George, are you happy?" "I am happy yes. I know I haven't got a massive reputation for smiling," George answered.
