Friends of Coughton Court

After a very hot June day, the Friends of Coughton Court were glad to sit in the Court’s cool restaurant to listen to Sandy Cale who, dressed in an elegant Georgian costume and bonnet gave a most amusing and interesting talk about Worcester in Georgian times. She was ably assisted by her husband who had taken most of the photos for the power-point presentation.

Mrs Cale said she liked to think that she looked like Jane Austen, but when she gave guided tours around Worcester, children were quick to tell her that she looked like Little Bo-Peep and made the appropriate sheep noises! Even passing adults were not slow to join in.

Mrs Cale gave a brief history of Worcester beginning with the motte and bailey castle, of which only the motte now remains. The city became prosperous through wool from Cotswold sheep and was famous for its worsted cloth. Queen Elizabeth 1 considered Worcester cloth the best and the town was also famous for glove making.

By the time of Napoleon, Worcester’s River Severn was like “the M5 of its time”, bringing Cornish clay, spices, tea, tobacco and many other commodities into the heart of Worcester, helping to develop Worcester’s various industries such as its world famous porcelain and the iron works, examples of which can still be seen around the town and in places such as the Embankment in London.

Worcester was the first Georgian town in the UK because so much had been destroyed in the Civil War. When the rebuilding began some years later, it was in the glorious new Georgian style.

Mrs Cale showed some of the buildings which were fortunate to survive as well as paintings and etchings of those which sadly didn’t. The Methodist chapel was saved from demolition at the last minute to become the Countess of Huntingdon’s Hall.

At the end the audience felt keen to go and look again at Worcester with new eyes, and Mrs Cale will certainly be asked back to Coughton not least because of her trick of starting to say something and then saying, ” No, I won’t tell you that. That’s another talk.”

There followed a lively question session after which, Mrs Cale was pleased to take off her bonnet and use it as a fan, since even the restaurant had warmed up considerably. It was a very enjoyable evening.

The Friends meet at 7:30 on the third Wednesday of the month from March to October in the restaurant of Coughton Court. The next talk is on Thomas Telford. Guests are very welcome. For further information contact the secretary, Janet Thomas on 01386/833767, email: jethomas@btinternet.com or see www.friendsofcoughtoncourt.btck.co.uk