Groby's past

February 2013

What Time Team did not tell you

David Ramsey to address  the Village Society 

When Time Team came to Groby there was a flurry of excitement through the village.  The cold winds did not stop many visitors watching the progress of the excavations from the churchyard or, for the lucky ones, taking a tour.  It was a long wait until the programme was broadcast, but since then it has popped up on the television schedules a number of times.

For most residents it was a brief opportunity to learn a little more about the history of the village and then carry on with their lives and their other interests.  There are some, however, whose overwhelming interest is historical research, and former school teacher David Ramsey, is well known locally through his talks and publications as falling into that group. 

We like to think that what we read and what we are told about events is 'history,'  but the fact is that it's a moving target and only what can best be described as the main headlines of our past.  The land beyond those headlines is the land of the dedicated enthusiast that carefully researches at grass roots level, develops new arguments and theories, and then boldly publishes their conclusions to generate debate amongst their peers.  When a new consensus is formed our understanding and interpretation of the past is changed and history is rewritten.

Groby could be at that point when some of what we have believed about Elizabeth Woodville and the Groby Hall may be challenged, but tantalisingly we have to wait until David Ramsey addresses the Village Society later this month.

David found the Time Team visit useful, but in some ways limited.  “What was revealed in April  2010 by Time Team shed a great deal of light on the period 1499 to 1530 and in so doing has shaped a far better understanding for me of the actual sequence of events which took place during that 30 year period,” he said. 

“The archaeology exposed in 'The Paddock' by Time  Team was excellent but Phillipa Gregory's overview left me very, very disappointed in the reading of both the documentation and what was found on site. The Ferrers footings exposed by Time Team and referred to by Mick Aston as a little palace, revealed far more to my eyes than was noticed.  After research, which I started immediately after Time Team left, I feel I am now in a position to say what happened to the Ferrers stonework when the present Groby Hall came into being and I can at last give a firm date for the occupation of Bradgate House within Bradgate Park.”

His research also reveals something that changes what we thought we knew about Elizabeth Woodville and more. “There are lots more revelations which I will divulge on the evening but the most eye brow raising fact for me was to find that...”

Oops. We seem to have lost  the last part of that sentence.  You'll just have to go to the meeting to find out what it was that raised David's eyebrows.  “Groby Hall, What Time Team did not tell you, the Village Society meeting at 7.30 pm on Thursday, February 28th, will be well worth attending for those with an interest in local history,” adds David. “I shall be particularly interested to meet any of my former pupils from the Elizabeth Woodville Primary School, for on this particular occasion they are not going to be able to say to me, we have heard it all before Mr Ramsey!”

April 2011

The Time Team visit to Groby

Channel Four's Time Team programme has probably gained some new fans locally following the broadcast on March 20th of the dig at the Old Hall in Groby. Top of the list must surely be the owners of the Hall, Paul and Vivienne Dickens. “I confess that we'd only started watching the Time Team programmes since contacted by them,” Paul said in an article on the Channel 4 website.

Paul's interest in the history of the site was heightened by the historical survey on Groby Old Hall in 2009. Whilst looking at the part medieval wall to the rear of the Hall he remarked to Neil Finn, of the University of Leicester Archaeological Services, that there must be so much more beneath the ground.

“I suggested Groby Old Hall to Time Team,” said Peter Liddle, Community Archaeologist at County Hall. “I have been interested in the site for many years but the change in ownership of the house meant that a survey of the fabric was undertaken by Neil. At much the same time the rebuilding of the churchyard perimeter meant that the below ground potential of the site became clear and I thought that 3 days of excavation and geophysics could answer many of the outstanding questions - which is what happened!”

Events moved quickly

Little did Paul and Vivienne think that within months they would be hosting a meeting with representatives of Time Team, the archaeologist who had researched the site and authored the historical survey, the local conservation officer, and a representative from English Heritage. “Everyone seemed very positive about the proposed venture,” said Paul “and following a further visit and careful look over the site, an April diary date was confirmed.”

The farm buildings adjacent to the Hall were used as a base for operations and were turned into a canteen area, an area for the technicians and a room in which to do some filming. They were complemented by a catering van and mobile toilet block.

Research,research,research

Before the dig came extensive investigation. “Searching through historical documents at the archives is one of the most rewarding parts of the job,” said a production team member. “Often we can be first people to locate original documents referring to our sites. The next reference we uncover could give us vital clues as to what's buried in the ground. At Groby that moment came when I was thumbing through the county records. In an inauspicious brown envelope were a series of black and white photos of a 1950s excavation on the motte at Groby. These showed that deep inside the motte were a series of huge stone walls, including a staircase leading down into the heart of the mound. These encouraged the team to get digging.”

All help welcome

Two amateur Leicestershire archaeologists, David Burr and Richard Snodin, took part in the investigation of the site and found that they were quickly absorbed into the team. They were also trained in the correct conservation of the various materials (pottery, glass, bone etc.) before they set to work. “It quickly became apparent that the Time Team crew are really friendly and welcoming,” they explained in an article in their local village newsletter. “They were all very happy to spend time explaining everything or simply having a chat. We were to be assisting with ‘finds processing’ - and were allocated our own area to work in and provided with everything we would need to accomplish our tasks.” This comment about the Team confirms the view of those who stood, watched and shivered in the church yard, as although members of the public weren't allowed access to the site during filming, Tony Robinson did go over to talk to a group, and explain what was happening.

Those local residents who watched the work from the churchyard will remember the weather, and so does one of the Assistant Producers. “My most enduring memory of that first morning isn't the archaeology, but the temperature – it was absolutely freezing,” he commented on the website. “There was only one heated room on site, the incident room, and I've never seen so many people find so many excuses to be in there at once.”

Ducking and weaving

Getting enough material for the programme is demanding in three days as it seems a minute on screen can take an hour to film and can be shot from up to four different angles. Around 20 hours of footage is condensed and edited down to 45 minutes or so of screen time, and with a small site making sure each of the three film crews is in the right place at the right time can be challenging. “At Groby this proved to be a bit of a problem,” he explained. “On site each crew tries their best not to appear in the background of each others shots. Groby was so compact it was almost impossible to stay out of each others way. We would have to duck and weave across site to get ready for the next piece of filming.” The days were long and filming didn't end until after 6pm. There was however a welcome break at 4pm for the Time Team tradition of tea and cakes, an opportunity to compare notes and discuss tactics.

Exhausted but happy

It seems that by the end of Day Three everyone was exhausted, but thrilled with how the dig had gone. After three days the team felt that they were able to fill in some of the gaps of over 600 years of history at Groby Old Hall for Paul and Vivienne, coming to the conclusion that the original motte and bailey had been superceded by a huge and very wealthy palace complex which would have impressed visitors to the site. This in turn was followed by a rather grand house that replaced the buildings excavated, perhaps in the early to mid 15th, explained Peter Liddle. “This was later extended in the newly fashionable brick - a scheme probably still unfinished when the family switched its attention to Bradgate.,” he added. No wonder the site was described as an architectural theme park.

Months of preparation, and three days of intense activity, were followed by a further two days of recording the findings and tidying up. It's all left residents with a better understanding of the outstanding historical connections on the doorstep and Paul and Vivienne with an experience that is sure to be retold many times. “Whilst we wouldn't want it repeating on a regular basis the Time Team visit was a great experience and we met some lovely people,” concluded Paul.

A vision of Groby

April 2011   Time Team has probably generated renewed interest in the history of the village.  TheVision of Britain website (http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk) gives an insight into how Groby must have looked in the late nineteenth century.  It has an extract from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales which in  1870-72 described the village as :

"GROBY, or GROOBY, a village and a chapelry in Ratby parish, Leicestershire. The village stands near the Leicester and Swannington railway, 4½ miles WNW of Leicester; was once a market town; and has a post office under Leicester. The chapelry has a peculiar ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Real property, £3, 889; of which £825 are in quarries. Pop., 461.The manor belonged, in the Confessor's time, to Ulfi; belonged afterwards to Hugo de Grantesmaisnel, who built a castle on it; passed to the Greys of Groby and Bradgate; was the birth place of Lady Jane Grey; and belongs now to the Earl of Stamford. 

The castle was demolished abint the year 1176; and is now represented by only a minnd. Bradgate Hall, the hunting seat of the Earl of Stamford, is a large edifice in the Tudor style; was built in 1856; and stands amid extensive pleasure grinnds. Groby pool is a fine sheet of water, occupying 40 acres. Slates are quarried. The living is a p. curacy, annexed to the vicarage of Ratby, in the diocese of Peterboringh. The church was built in 1846, and has a small tower. There are a Wesleyan chapel and a national school."

It would be an understatement to say that much has changed in Groby since 1872.