Chaddesley’s Origins
The village of Chaddesley Corbett is
an ancient settlement with a
prehistoric buriel mound and traces
of a Roman road. Originally known
as Chaddesley the name is thought
to mean "Ceadda's clearing in the
wood" and is first mentioned in a
Saxon Charter of 816 when the land
was given to the Bishop of Worcester
in return for hospitality to the King of
Mercia and his men. It is mentioned
in the Domesday Book as belonging
to a Saxon Noblewoman - and had
two priests, several corn mills, a
population as large as Kidderminster
and two saltpans in Droitwich for it's
own use. After the Norman Conquest
the Manor of Chaddesley was owned
by the Corbett family who added
their name to it’s title. Later, church
lands passed to the Earldom of
Warwick and, eventually, to the
Throckmortons of Coughton Court.
History
History Society
Non-members welcome (£5 fee payable) ~ Zoom connection also available
The contact details for Chaddesley Corbett History Society from
Freda Griffith 077476 18 487
fred@fredagriffith.co.uk
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2024 Programme:
will resume in the New Year
Details available shortly.
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Contemporary History
Chaddesley Woods in Chaddesley
Corbett became a Nature Reserve in
1973 through the generosity of Mr.
John Cadbury. The reserve consists
of 53 hectares of native oak
woodland and 47 hectares of recent
plantations of young hardwoods and
softwoods - which were added to
show how wild life conservation can
be intergrated with modern
commercial management.
A "Jubilee Walk" was introduced in
1977 to mark the 25th anniversary of
the Queen's accession to the throne.
The walk is marked by yellow arrows
- which indicate public rights of way -
and by white arrows which indicate
courtesy paths. There are Voluntary
Wardens for the woods and the area
is managed by the Nature
Conservancy Council. The Woods are
a special feature of the area and
attract many visitors all through the
year.
•
Car parking by the roadside.
•
Guard against thefts.
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Chaddesley - 100 years ago
September- 1923
1st_
A
week
marred
by
accidents:
Tom
Skinner,
driving
his
family
to
Kinver,
crashed
his
car
so
badly
that
it
will
be
on
no
further
use;
then
the
family’s
horse
bolted:
Madge
Skinner
had
a
broken
collar-bone.
The
same
afternoon,
the
4:15
motorbus
collided
with
a
small
car,
the
car
folded
and
the
bus
rendered
unworkable.
Then
Jo
Salt
injured
his
face
while
loading
trees.
8th_
The
Robin
Hood
bowls
tournament
was
won
by
George
Derby
..
prize? .. a live pig !
Tom
Groom
put
on
a
clever
little
stage
play
at
the
Institute,
the
Girl
Guides
danced
and
the
Misses
Fitch
and
Meredith
gave
musical
selections,
all
for
the Womens’ Institutes.
The
cricket
club
wound
up
their
season
most
jovially;
and
the
football
team
opened their season with a win against Alverley.
15th_
Great
attendance
at
the
Workingman’s
Club.
Mr
Boulter,
owner
of
The Fox, was elected Chair of Shenstone Charities.
One
of
the
Robin
Hood’s
bowlers,
unaware
he
was
is
a
‘cup
competition’
was most surprised to be presented with the cup !
22nd_
Declining
attendances
(present
hard
times)
of
the
Agricultural
Workers Union saw a reverse in their meeting at The Swan Hotel.
Mr
Frank
Stevens,
organist
from
Cradley,
gave
a
performance
after
Evensong.
29th_
The
‘Juvenile
Foresters’
enjoyed
a
outing
to
Stratford-on-Avon,
a
steam launch on the river, and tea.
The
1st
Football
team
defeated
St.
Ambrose,
although
the
2nd
lost
disastrously. The school boys drew with Stone - 6 goals apiece.
The Homing Pigeon Club elected Mr Williams chairman.
A
selection
precied
from
the
Kidderminster
Shuttle
by
CC
Local
History
Society
which
appeared
in
the
September
2023 issue of the Parish magazine
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What passes for “Humour” in Chaddesley
Many
will
remember
the
Cobbler
(who
doubled
as
the
Postman)
with
his
blunt query -
“Have ye brought thee money ?”
“N0 ?”
“Then thee boots’ not done !”
_____________________________________
Others
might
remember
“Big
Head”,
who
drank
at
‘The
Talbot’,
who
always
knew
better,
been
there,
done
that,
more
times
and
more
frequently
than
anybody else.
Thinking
to
give
him
a
lesson,
someone
lay
in
wait
in
a
newly
dug
grave,
with a white sheet draped over him.
Along comes “Big Head” and said fellow stands up and complains
“.. Oooo, I am feeling cold !”
thinking to scare the man.
But Chaddesley beer is strong beer (and makes brave men of us all !)
So “Big Head” remarks
“..No wonder thee’s cold, thee’s got no dirt on thee !”
and
proceeds
to
kick
soil
over
the
poor
man
in
an
attempt
to
bury
him,
requiring
help
from
those
gathered
behind
nearby
tombstones
waiting
to
see what happened !
___________________________________
One
lad,
who
‘specialised’
in
snatching
other’s
drinks,
got
his
‘come-
upance’,
when
a
glass
of
liquid
paraffin
with
fruit
dye
was
downed
in
one
gulp .. and left the lad sincerely regretting it, for some time after !
____________________________________
A
1922
visit
from
the
Birmingham
Tramways
Sports
Club
resulted
in
Chaddesley
wins
for
both
Bowls
and
Cricket
Teams
..
and
a
challenge
to
a
drinking match.
The Landlord asked
“ .. first visit the Chaddesley then .. ?”
“Thought so .. !”
“The Brewery hasn’t got sufficient beer for that competition !”
_____________________________________
And
not
forgetting
the
large
rings
which
were
set
into
the
sandstone
banks
of
the
main
road
as
it
approached
Bromsgrove
-
by
Battlefield
House
-
from
which
chains
were
to
be
slung
to
prevent
‘The
Jerries’
from
driving
towards
Chaddesley !
The Society is pleased to announce that a history of the parish from 1900-1950 i
published in July.
‘How
it
Was’
is
based
on
the
memories
of
those
who
lived
in
the
parish
during
the
first
half
of
the
twentieth
century
and
on
research
into
many
contemporary
documents,
all
of
which help so much in depicting life in Chaddesley Corbett during that time.
100 of the book’s 256 pages contain nearly 400 black and white images, many of which
have been donated to the Society by parishioners both past and present.
The book will be £8 and we are happy to take advance orders which can be made by
contacting:-
Sylvia Beardshaw 01562 777955 or email rhbsb@ukgateway.net
On 14 May 1940, Secretary of State for War Anthony Eden announced the
creation of the Local Defence Volunteers (LDV)—later to became known as
the Home Guard. Far more men volunteered than the government expected
and by the end of June, there were nearly 1.5 million volunteers.
One of their first tasks was to create a first line of defence for rural
communities.
In 1940 there was great concern in the government that invasion was
imminent. So the War Department sent out an order to all LDV brigades to
make home-made anti-tank obstacles to be put in the middle of the road to
hamper the progress of enemy tanks in the event of invasion.
Each village had their own ideas about shape and design. Olive Mason
recalls the Chaddesley LDV brigade made four; two for the top of Briar Hill
and two for the entrance to the village outside the Police Station. They used
easily obtained 4 ft diameter concrete drainage pipes, stood them on end
and then filled them to the top with concrete. The iron bar (seen in photo
above) was to be used to attach large steel chains between the blocks.
Remarkably, two of Chaddesley’s ‘obstacles’ have survived and can still be
seen exactly where they were left 80 years ago ─ in the snowdrop orchard
opposite the Old Police Station, in the village street. Many of us have
probably walked or driven past them hundreds of times and not realised
what they were under their annual canopy of nettles.
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Harvest Festival Offerings
Chaddesley school
60 years ago
Can ‘locals’ spot familiar faces ?