Maggie

It says in the Advertizer this week that at the North Planning Committee..'members will discuss a proposal to erect 7 dwellings on land at Chirk Bank, which is recommended for refusal due to its open countryside location despite receiving the support of Weston Rhyn Parish Council. More than 80 letters of objection have been received by Shropshire Council in relation to the scheme.' Well, further to this, Cllr Bright has been speaking to the Planning Officers today, and actually, at the planning committee meeting, the decision was not (I repeat NOT) thrown out but deferred until after a site meeting by the councilors, despite recommendations by the planning officers. SO, it is all still ongoing. See http://www.facebook....196351593802788 for more details.

Anyone who has been down to Gledrid Bridge recently will have seen that the contractors are cracking on with the work to enlarge the dining space in the Poachers Pocket. The refurbished Poachers Pocket will reopen on March 18th. Marston's Inns are also advertizing for a new head chef for the pub. This link takes you to the relevant page where you will also find a free drink voucher so can't be bad! http://www.poacherspocketpub.co.uk/ and this link takes you to the job advert. http://www.leisurejo...ile-358857.html

Isn't a lot of this within remit for Big Local project, and a lot of it is the same aspirations as the other 2 villages.

Thanks Greta. Neville's Book is still for sale around here, Its isbn number is 1-84494-004-7 if you need to order it from a Library. Booka Bookshop in Oswestry have it. http://www.bookabookshop.co.uk/ He doesn't reference his information much, and is now too frail to ask him these sorts of questions directly. He does mention an enquiry into the employment of children in paper mills in north wales in 1843. I've done a quick search on National Library of Wales website but cannot find anything via their online stuff but there is this: http://www.genuki.or...per.html��which is a research paper based on NLW items and talks about Welsh Mills (the 'Chirk' Mills mentioned are those in Weston Rhyn).

Hi, I've got 'History of the Parishes of St Martin's & Weston Rhyn' by Neville Hurdsman in front of me now. p111 for History of the paper mills. There is a photo of the remains of the Weston Rhyn Mill and photo of a millwheel lying in undergrowth there and 3rd photo of The Wern Mill. It says as caption 'Weston Rhyn paper mill was the principal paper milling centre in the Wern, situated on the river Morlas near the 'paper mill' bridge (now a culvert) on the Weston Rhyn- Oswestry road. This was the home of the Duckett family for 100 years. Paper was produced here after 1710, the last being the coarse blue paper used for sugar bags'. The Wern Mill the last surviving mill building in the area. located on the Selattyn road. It milled mainly corn but may also have been a paper mill run by the Duckett family'. Then on p 113 he mentions Tamar Duckett, in a section talking about the paper mill workers. (There are paper millers buried in Selattyn and in Selattyn Parish registers, not just St Martins, he has done a lot of work tracing them). (Weston Rhyn) 'mill house may have been rebuilt by a Mr Green who was the paper miller here from around 1760 until his death in 1797; his widow Eleanor died in 1802. Their daughter Tamar inherited the business. She had married Thomas Duckett of Ruyton IX Towns in 1795. After her parents death she probably added a new porch to the house in which are set 2 bricks one on each side of the door, recording her initials and those of her husband.' founding the Duckett milling dynasty on the Morlas Brook. ... 'between 1795 and 1808 the Ducketts had 10 children, 5 sons and 5 daughters' (4 died shortly after birth). Thomas Duckett died 1811 at 51. then run by Tamar with the help of her son Thomas. The family took over most of the other mills in the area, running them as paper or mix of corn and paper mills and also owned farm land. The mills would have used rags, which were sorted often by children, and women and children were also employed in cutting rags. The main hazard was dust. Hours were long and night shifts were worked. There is a lot more about these conditions in Neville's book. No more info. about Mr Green, Maybe Eleanor Green is in the Selattyn Parish records? The local studies department in Oswestry Library has a lot of records, and there are P/T experts who hold sessions there. It might be worth contacting them.

I had this email today: Do you have great community photos to share? It's been an amazing year and we're looking for images to celebrate your communities at their best. You might have a a brilliant snap of the Jubilee, or perhaps your community has been helping to clear the recent snow. We've launched an app called Cam360 which will allow you to upload pictures, sell them or give them away and to celebrate the launch we've teamed up with Big Lottery and Thisis to offer the Communities in Focus competition. Enter and you could win a Canon EOS 5D Mark II Digital SLR and a Media Trust photography course. The deadline is 19 December, so make sure you upload your photos soon. If you have any questions please email us or leave a query on the site I bet some of us have some good photos to enter.

Yeah you use seed bombs! seedbomb.net

That sounds very positive, I'm really glad something is being done. Still we are nowhere near a 50% ownership of the project by us locals (see above). What else came out of the meeting? I was very interested to see from the results of the questionnaire last year that loads of people wanted more flowers around their villages (I simplify!), and this ties in neatly with the newish surge in interest in community gardens... We've been starting this in Chirk Bank for example. There are lots of spare bits of scrubby land around here and community (or guerilla) planting would be an interesting project. There is a new project called Incredible Edible Shropshire, hoping to follow in the footsteps of Incredible Edible Todmorden (Where spare land was planted with community food, e.g. even traffic islands). One project is the community orchard planted by the old railway along the Gobowen Road out from Oswestry. Why not Kidney beans on the Gledrid Roundabout? (well no, too dangerous to get to). http://www.facebook.com/IncredibleEdibleShropshire?fref=pb

Well said that man! I know how hard the youth club committee, and Lee in particular, worked over the years to keep the youth club going, despite the lack of support from many in the village. I know how much work goes in to each application for funding, whether or not they are successful. No way is it 'just a couple of 18 year old girls' who are needed. Shropshire council do not give grants out for this sort of thing, other than via the LJC, which has supported the youth club in the past, but nowhere near the levels of funding needed to cover room hire (£1000 from Stute plus various amounts for supposed damage caused by the youth club), Insurances, activities etc etc. It is a bit late in the day for the Quinta to offer use of its facilities to the youth club, maybe this should have been done a few years ago; one costly problem in Weston Rhyn is that transport is needed to get young people to many activities because Weston Rhyn has few local facilities. Mr Bullen seems to have a very naive idea about what is needed to get a youth club running and even more naive idea that there is a plentiful supply of money sitting in 'the council' just waiting to be asked for... I wish! Many of us have supported the fundraising activities in the village over the years, such as a race night, Victorian Fair, etc etc. all of which have taken hours and hours of organizing. The youth club committee were very successful in getting grants too, But in the end it was all too much and the youth club folded this summer. It is my belief that if there had been more support from the village, and the Stute committee in particular, then we would still have a youth club, however, if Mr Bullen manages to get a youth club going again then I will also support his efforts via any fundraising activities etc he plans. Weston Rhyn village should support all its citizens, and that includes the sometimes stroppy teenagers. (I'd be more than stroppy if I was still young and stuck without transport with nothing to do in such an anti-youth village).

It seems to me that this is all about what we want to see done in our 'Big Local' area to improve our lot for the next how ever many years. We've done an awful lot of talking and saying what we think is wrong with the area, and this seems to be continuing in a sort of vacuum where there are no comprehensive ideas coming out of it all that would make a lasting good change to the area, and which a majority would believe would be a good way to spend the money. There is an ever increasing gap between the Big Local Committee and the people who live in Gobowen, St Martins and Weston Rhyn. and we seem to be operating in 2 parallel universes. There was an interesting tweet today from Debbie Ladds from Local Trust (the organisation that runs Big Local nationally) ' How far towards 100% residents on the Big Local partnership? Experience is between 51% and 100%. With workers & organisations in support. ' This is far from the experience here, there doesn't appear to be much buy in to the Big Local process amongst those I speak to, and no understanding of what makes that other parallel universe tick! To succeed there needs to be a lot more people involved in any decision making, at present the Big Local Committee doesn't represent anything I recognize from the area and certainly not 50-100% of residents. The 'organisation' which comes closest to tapping into the concerns of the area is this Community Online Forum. Some of the campaigns and activities highlighted on this site have done a lot more to improve the area; and to get people talking and working together. I may be wrong but I thought that there was a thread about lift sharing very early on in Community Online, (this being one of the Big Local ideas to be discussed at the next meeting) Somehow the inclusiveness (is that the right word?) and creative spark shown by many contributors to Community Online needs to be adopted into the Big Local Committee so that the Big Local can become a bit more representative. Would it be a good idea to start talking on Community Online about what vision we might have for the area in 10 years time? Some of the activities we are involved in developing from Community Online are about future sustainability (e.g. 'cycle' route from Gobowen to Oswestry, allotments, community orchards and gardens,(Incredible edible Shropshire) litter picking, sustrans, youth clubs, wildlife groups etc.) . and these are all good candidates for future use of £1million. I don't think these concerns are being taken on board by the Big Local Committee, and it looks like it is probably down to us to make our thoughts known to them. (If Mohammed won't come to the mountain...etc). So...Who's going to the next meeting then?

It occurs to me that Community Online could be involved in this; any stories or old photographs out there about Gledrid, Chirk Bank or lower Ceiriog valley? I heard one at the last parish council meeting of how the Gledrid Bridge, now the 'Gateway to the World Heritage Site' was kept open by taking a donkey across it to demonstrate it should be kept as a road. I'm sure there are loads more! Why not post some on here. I'd like to know more about the old guy who once lived in a caravan on the plot beside the aqueduct where we now have the allotments.

I'm chuffed to announce that Aqueducks have got a HLF grant to run 'Living along the Cut, Canal Memories' on the WHS 11 mile stretch of Llangollen Canal. Remember the great 'Show and Tell' we did in Chirk Bank? Well this will be more of these, in all the villages along the canal, plus walks and then recording stories and scanning old photographs to produce an archive and podcasts etc etc. If you want to get involved let us know, all help gratefully received and we will definitely have some fun doing this. Some training involved too, and cakes. The next meeting of Aqueducks is on Thursday 29th November in Chirk Bank Methodist Hall at 7pm (it's our AGM). Why not come along too. http://www.hlf.org.u...px#.UK-7EOS6c80

There was a young lady from Chirk Who felt like a bit of a burk Community Online Is really sublime But I really should get on with some work There is a canal themed limerick competition from Canal and River trust, I'm sure everyone can do better than me, so why not have a go! http://canalrivertrust.org.uk/news-and-views/features/100-treasures-of-britains-canals/win-the-latest-coolcanals-book

At a meeting in Oswestry last night it was decided to renew this group, and begin site based activities again. To start with we will be monitoring the Hillfort for wildlife interests and deteriorating habitat (there has been a lot of encroachment of bracken during the last 10 years), plus monitoring deterioration of paths and anything else that has an impact on the archaeology. We would be doing this on behalf of English Heritage, to assist them in deciding what works need to be done each year by their contractors. We hope to run guided walks and some talks again soon (in addition to our usual annual seminar). Anyone who regularly goes for walks, or walks their dog on the hillfort and would like to get involved and help us look after this wonderful place please get in touch! maggierowlands@talktalk.net or find us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/OldOswestryLandscapeandArchaeologyProject?ref=hl

I think you would stand a good chance of getting a grant from the source Lee pointed to because it is for supporting young disadvantaged people and sport particularly. What you need is a field that someone is happy to let you use for this. Do we have any offers or suggestions? Once you have that, then grants should be easier to get. There would seem to be a few regulars on community online who could help. But you need to find a suitable site first. Any ideas?

Yep, agree, and that's why I said about not causing harm;

Sorry, I left the more recent and obvious collieries out. The Chirk Bank Colliery which flooded is the one I have posted a picture of in the 'Gallery'. Ifton Meadows Mngt Committee have a good display of info. about the Ifton Pit, which is usually in Oswestry Museum. Beeches is the only other site I haven't recorded, where was that? I have just posted a picture in 'Gallery' of Ifton Pit in 1940's. I haven't come across a picture of Preesgwynne . The Romans were using coal in Shropshire, so suspect that coal has been 'quarried' from the surface where it outcrops for a very very long time.

Great idea! Polish your tubas and get down there.

Yes Yes Yes Yes

I put my geologist's hat on and trawled google for some linkable information about collieries. The North Wales mines Site has a list of collieries, including ones in our area, http://www.northwalesminers.com/sites/sites_coal.htm but I am a bit dubious of it's accuracy, certainly they have got the site and information wrong for Chirk Bank. There isn't much else so you have to go to good old fashioned books! see. Neville Hurdsman 'A History of the Parish of Chirk' 1996 , Neville Hurdsman 'A History of St Martins and Weston Rhyn' 2003 I think both are still in print so try Booka in Oswestry, and are definitely in the Library. The Geol Survey of 'The Country around Oswestry' 1929 by Wedd et.al. has loads of sections through strata at local mines, and is a good source of where the mine shafts were then. There is a copy in Oswestry Library. This gives sections from collieries at Chirk Bank, Preesgwyn, Moreton Hall, Daywall, Gobowen, Penylan nr Oswestry, Coed y go nr Oswestry, Trefar-Clawdd nr Oswestry, (these might be over near Sweeney, I'm not sure so have included them). Coal Mining is first recorded in the St Martins area in 1602 in Coad-yr-Allt and Flannog, but was obviously active some time before then. These were small 'bell-pits' worked for coal and clays, You can just about make out where some early pits were in Pen-y-banc behind Ifotn Meadows, above Glyn Morlas, as hummocks on a lawn. The first records in Weston Rhyn is a pit at Berllandeg (Rhosweil) in 17th century. The lump of land behind the farm is the remains of the spoil heap. Once the canal came through around 1800 then lots of horse drawn tramways developed from collieries down to the canal and you can make out a lot of these across our countryside. They connected to collieries in Upper Chirk Bank, Quinta and Trehowell. The Quinta/Trehowell colliery also extracted clays for bricks, and these were particularly fine, cream coloured bricks, which can be seen in the terrace of houses in Upper Chirk Bank. You can see the track of a tramway across the field the other side of the railway on Trehowell Ave/lane. It goes into a wood, where there is a spoil heap and pond which are the site of a colliery. I do not know which was Quinta pit and which was Trehowell pit in this wider area. There is loads of information about all these collieries in the Neville Hurdsman books mentioned above. When Jessop and Telford were digging out the canal in Chirk Bank they hit coal, and there was a coal mine developed by the river below the canal. The National Library of Wales have a brilliant sketch of the mine, whilst Chirk Aqueduct appears to still be in construction. I've put it in the CO Gallery. This flooded on Christmas Eve 1816 when the canal above breached. Luckily it was holiday time and no miners were down it at the time. There was a big stone bridge across the road in Lower Chirk Bank, just below where Oaklands Rd joins it. Neville Hurdsman has a photo of this and if I can find one online I will put that in the gallery too. This carried coal wagons from Quinta and Trehowell collieries down to the Chirk Bank canal wharf. The whole area is riddled with old shafts and underground workings. I think that the ponds over the fields from Oaklands Road are subsidence and also probably where thin upper coals was extracted well before Victorian times. The more you look the more you see!

I thought the comments in the report were a bit contradictory. There seemed to be one negative thread running through about how the site was difficult to use and the site was not needed in the area; not sure how you address that. Not my experience at all, but if some people are unhappy then something needs to be done, but I've no idea what! Thinking caps on.