March 24, 2009 at 4:00 am (Genealogy, History, Podcast)
Tags: National Archives
An introduction to medieval and early modern sources relating to English and Welsh local history. In this podcast from the National Archives, Sean Cunningham and James Ross explore the vast collection of accounts, surveys, court rolls, inquisitions, deeds and taxation records held at The National Archives.
March 17, 2009 at 4:00 am (Genealogy, Podcast)
Tags: National Archives
This podcast from the National Archives features a step-by-step guide to tracing your ancestors, using the Darwin family as a case study. Gerry Toop introduces researchers to the most important genealogical sources available at The National Archives and elsewhere, including birth, marriage and death indexes, census returns, wills and death duty records, as well as some of the main websites for family history research.
March 7, 2009 at 4:00 am (Biography, History, Podcast)
Tags: Hugh Flatt, Quakers, Somerset
Hugh Flatt speaks of his life in farming which began when, as a pacifist during World War II, he managed a Quaker training centre for conscientious objectors. He then went on to farm in partnership with another family in Devon.
March 4, 2009 at 4:00 am (Biography, History, Podcast)
Tags: Ashcott, Frampton, Glastonbury
Elsie Frampton (b. 1898) and her son Alan farmed in Ashcott near Glastonbury. The Framptons ran a milk round until 1952. Using a bicycle, they delivered to customers who would come out with their jugs to be filled with milk. Elsie Frampton was given an Austin car in 1924; she learnt to drive when cars were rare on the roads in Somerset. When Elsie was younger her uncle bought her a Governess pony trap, which was made in Bristol, they brought it back to Bridgwater by train.
March 3, 2009 at 4:00 am (History, Podcast)
Tags: National Archives
In this podcast from the National Archives Bruno Pappalardo introduces the collection of medical officers’ journals found in AMD 101. These journals give a detailed insight into a ship’s daily activities, as well as the science and wildlife that was encountered by British Navy medical officers.
March 1, 2009 at 4:00 am (Biography, History, Podcast)
Tags: Burrowbridge, Dyer, Somerset
John Dyer was one of the last men to cut withies (willow) by hand. He has worked for a number of willow-growers in the Burrowbridge area from the 1970s onwards. He talks about cutting in detail using the hook, which is sharpened with a wet stone, as well as about sorting and stripping the withies.
February 26, 2009 at 4:00 am (Biography, History, Podcast)
Tags: Compton Dundon, Durston, Nicholls, Somerset, Wright
Adrian and Mark were employed by Richard Wright, thatcher and farmer of Compton Dundon. Richard Wright came from a family of thatchers, his father Harold and uncle ran the business before him. The Wright family were living in Compton Dundon village by 1851, and are recorded on the 1851 census.
February 23, 2009 at 3:00 am (Biography, History, Podcast)
Tags: Baltonsborough, Dunkerton, Glastonbury, Somerset
This recording was made in 1973. Leonard Stanley Dunkerton was born in 1888 and farmed in Baltonsborough near Glastonbury. Apart from a short time away from the village to learn how to make cheese, Leonard spent all his life in Baltonsborough; milking the cows by hand in all weathers, making Cheddar cheese, and producing cider.
February 22, 2009 at 4:00 am (History, Podcast)
Last year saw the 90th anniversary of the establishment of the Royal Air Force. The records of thousands of men (and women) who served in the RAF and its predecessors during the First World War are held by The National Archives. This talk will demonstrate how you can use these records to find out more about your ancestors’ lives in this pioneering branch of the armed services.
February 20, 2009 at 4:00 am (Biography, History, Podcast)
Tags: Cannington, Duckett, Highbridge, Mark, Somerset, Wedmore
A cheese school operated from Mary Duckett’s parents home in Mark during the 1920s. A tutor from Cannington Agricultural College visited for a week to show students how to make Cheddar and Caerphilly. Mary Duckett’s father was a Caerphilly cheese dealer at Highbridge Market. Orders would be sent from Wales and elsewhere, via train, to Highbidge Station, Mr Duckett would then buy cheeses at market, pack them in wooden crates and send them off by train.
