Guarlford History Group

News and Future Programme

The authors of the Guarlford History Group have published their new book 'The Guarlford Scene' which contains 285 pages of restored duotone photographs and more stories about rural village families past and present, their memories and environment.

Click this link for more details, and to find out where the book can be purchased

If you enjoyed the book why not not consider buying additional copies as gifts for friends and relatives. 

At this price we think the book is a real bargain and will give immense pleasure both  to  those living in the village, families whose ancestors once lived in the village, as well as newcomers and historians interested in how rural society has evolved over the last 100 years.

Parishioners and those born in the parish are eligible for a discount; please ask.

Possible Activities to come

The chairman of the Guarlford History Group reports:-

We have been very pleased and encouraged by the sales of our second book, 'The Guarlford Scene', and the positive response generally to this photographic record of life in the village over the last hundred years or so.

A review in the February edition of 'Worcestershire Now' said the book 'makes compulsive reading and that history is without doubt one of our most precious commodities', a claim borne out by descendants of Guarlford families, some of whom have e-mailed us from as far away as Australia to express their pleasure and appreciation in having memories recalled.

It is people who make the history and, as we always anticipated, the greatest interest our readers have is also in people, personalities and family history.

The reward for the authors of 'The Guarlford Story' and 'The Guarlford Scene' comes therefore from knowing that the older and longer established village families especially have found so much pleasure in reading about village life in the past and in seeing so many vivid images of Guarlfordians in the twentieth century.

We wish to continue to make what we have always hoped would be a contribution to village life in the twenty-first century, not simply a study of history for its own sake.

As our village hall presentations have shown, our history project has brought local people together and regenerated a community spirit, which is still valued even in a world that is so different in many respects from the one described in our books.

We are now seeking the views and suggestions of villagers about how we might continue the work of the last six years. While we have no thoughts of a further book - two local history books are already at least one more than many villages have! - we do wish to explore other possibilities, such as focusing on one or more aspects of Guarlford history in greater depth, with the active involvement of others who have an interest and some existing knowledge.

This is a genuine consultation. We have no preconceived ideas, only a readiness to consider whatever might help to sustain the community engagement and interest created by our history group and valued by those who have read and enjoyed our books.

Short talks, presentations or pamphlets might be among the outcomes of any further research we undertake.

Later on this year we hope to have another presentation in the village hall to update everyone on the Guarlford Archive we are setting up. This will be a paper and electronic storage system to preserve the memories, the photographs and information that, with the two books, will provide a permanent record of our local history for future generations.

We plan to make the archive accessible to all with an interest, and we hope that younger members of the village community will come to value and make use of this resource, and contribute to its development.

Please become actively involved by suggesting how we might usefully continue our work and by once more contributing to Guarlford's history project.

Just as there would have been no books without you, so there can be no worthwhile future endeavour without your active, continuing support and participation.

Please contact a member of the group or the Webmaster if you would like to help.

Other Activities

Work on the aural archive (see below) is still proceeding. If you would like to have some of your memories recorded for posterity, either on tape or in print, please either talk to a member of the group or e-mail the Webmaster.

The History Group has also been consulting with the Guarlford Footpath Warden and others about the feasibility of publishing more Village Walk leaflets. The first walk has been published on the web site and can be printed from the web page.

The photographic competition and craft exhibition in September 2007 was a great success. Thanks to all who entered photographs and helped with the exhibition in the Village Hall. The photographs which were to have been published in colour in 'The Guarlford Scene' had to be printed in duotone due to unexpected printing limitations.

Talks about the project can be arranged in Guarlford Village Hall for interested local groups. The only charge would be the cost of hiring the hall - please email the Webmaster for further information.

Aural History

If you would like to record memories for posterity please  get in touch with one of the members of the Guarlford History Group or e-mail the Webmaster. Spoken memories can either be transcribed to text and listed together with written memories on the Reminiscence pages of the web site, or used to create short stories that could be listened to and possibly linked to one or more images in the photo gallery.

The majority of stories have been transcribed to text but there are currently two images with audio clips attached that you can listen to on the Photo Gallery page.