EDITORIAL

This third issue of ‘Chronicle‘ has been produced to be available at the first meeting of the 1979-80 winter session – the Annual General Meeting, and below will be found outlines of both the coming winter’s programme and next summer’s excursions, details of which will be notified in due course. The Secretary, and your committee, by the way, would welcome any suggestions for inclusion in future programmes.

On the pages which follow a start is made with Press Secretary Russ Clynick giving a ‘potted’ REVIEW OF MEETINGS which have taken place since our last issue, and the Secretary invites members to join him in SOME USEFUL WORK, namely a ploughed-field survey exercise. Leonard Hayward was invited to excavate human bones discovered earlier this year in Mudford Road and his report and conclusions are contained in A PLAGUE BURIAL AT YEOVIL?. Miss Joan Rendell writes a fascinating story of THE FASHIONS OF A WEDMORE FAMILY spanning a hundred years, to which she adds an expert description of the collection and infernces drawn. Continuing his PARISH CHEST SERIES Mr Hayward this time deals with ceremonies associated with St John’s Church in pre-Reformation times, while Mr Clynick, in an informative article adds to our knowledge of ICE HOUSES. Mrs Knight’s regular series on BOOK NEWS AND NOTICES brings us up to date with recent publications, while attention is drawn to our own SOCIETY’S LIBRARY with a reminder that additions to it, will be welcome! Mrs G.L.Brice, who has had work broadcast by Radio Bristol, contributes a recollection of some 13C WALL PAINTINGS, and our oldest member, Tom Cave, includes a note on Yeovil’s FROG MILL. He also, together with others, REPLY TO QUERIES inserted in our last issue, and there’s another query following. Notice of the commencement of our TINTINHULL CHURCH PROJECT includes an invitation to members to participate – and while on the subject of participation, it is hoped that the varied contents of this issue will induce other members to submit items, short or long, for inclusion in our next – these should be handed or sent to the editor as soon as they have been prepared! Incidentally, the interspersed ‘page fillers’ this time, are from Quarter Sessions records and a 1737 advertisement from the Sherborne Mercury, Finally, announcement is made of the issue of the second of this Society’s publications – ‘Street Names in Yeovil’ by your editor, which it is hoped will be as well patronized as was ‘The Romans’.

WINTER PROGRAMME 1979-80
2 November – Miss Mary Whitfield, Field Work around Bratton Seymour.
7 December – Mr I.Burrow, SCC Field Archaeologist, Current Archaeology in Somerset.
4 January – Members’ Night
8 February (NOTE, DATE) Mr Robin Bush – Life and Laughter in Old Somerset.
7 March Mr B.Storer The Somerset Peatlands.
4 April – Mr R.Machin Vernacular Architecture in North Dorset.

Winter Meetings are held at Yeovil Reference Library, King George Street, at 7.30 pm (Prompt start). Members and visitors 10p. Parking space adjoining.

SUMMER PROGRAMME, 1980
3 May (Saturday afternoon) – A Bridgwater Walkabout.
23 May (Friday evening) – Mudford Church and Earthwork Site.
7 June (Saturday, all day by coach) – Guildford, Surrey. 12 June (Saturday afternoon) – A Tour of Dorset Churches.
9 August (Saturday, all day) – Sherborne Abbey and Town.
August (Friday evening – date to coincide with work in progress) – Halstock excavations.
6 September (Saturday afternoon) – Archaeology, History, and Natural History
of the Somerset Levels.

Further details of the above programme will be announced in due course.

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