Monthly Newsletter
July 2025
Previous Month
Next Month
​​​​​
What’s On at The Met
​​
AYDMS presents:
Beauty & the Beast
Thurs 17th July 7pm
Fri 18th Jul 7pm
Sat 19th Jul 1.30pm & 7pm
Tickets from £15
For more information on these and more visit:
https://awenboxoffice.com/the-met/whats-on
or tel 01495 533195
​​
Museum Opening Times
​​
The Museum is open to the public, free of charge:
Thursday to Saturday 10am – 1pm
​
Contact us
​
Museum phone number 01495 211140
Email: abertillerymuseum@btconnect.com
Web: www.abertilleryanddistrictmuseum.org.uk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abertillerymuseum
​
Contact Names
Mr G Murphy Curator
Mrs P. Bearcroft Deputy Curator
Mrs E. Ewers Chair
Mrs K. Pratley Treasurer
Mrs S. Murphy Newsletter
​
Vice Presidents (Annual Subscription £25)
Rev Roy Watson
Mrs Carol Brooks
Mrs Margaret Cook
Mrs Margaret Herbert
Ms Michele Dack
Mr Ross Leadbetter
June​​​​​ 100 Club
​​​​​​
This month’s prize numbers were drawn by Gillian Yemm and Frankie Jones the lucky winners are:-
​​
No. 03 Colin Price £20
​​
No. 56 Gay Fisher £10
​​​
If you would like to join our 100 club and be in with a chance of winning, it costs just £1 a month. Ask at the museum for further details.
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
Grand National is 90 this year
​
No not the horse race, but the Grade II listed rollercoaster at Blackpool Pleasure Beach! Built in 1935 by American engineer Charles Paige, it is the only wooden twin track racing coaster in the UK. The ride is 62 feet (19m) tall and has an overall length of 3300 feet (1000m) and reaches speeds of 40mph. At the top of the lift hill the cars pass under the ‘THEY’RE OFF’ sign and race through ‘Becher’s Brook’, ‘Valentine’s’ and the ‘Canal Turn’ before reaching the ‘Winning Post’. Take your seat, buckle up and click the link below for the ride of your life!
​
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ItHeyUnArw
​​​​​
Condolences
​
Our treasurer and regular contributor to this newsletter, Mrs Karen Pratley, has recently suffered the sad loss of her mother. Our thoughts are with her and her family at this sad time.
​​​​​
​​​​​
​​​​​
​​​​​
​​​​​
​​​​​
​​​​​
​​​​​
​​​​​​
​​​​
​​​​
​​​​​​​​
​
​​
​​​
ILFRACOMBE
​
‘Verity’
​
A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to be in Ilfracombe on the north Devon coast and walked down to the sea front on a nice warm but windy afternoon. There I came across a huge sculpture named Verity (meaning true principle or belief, VERITAS in Latin!) On seeing it for the first time many either love it or are not a fan of this 20.25m (66.43 ft) high and 25 ton bronze fabrication loaned as a gift to North Devon Council by artist Damien Hirst. Verity was fabricated in over 40 pieces of bronze at a foundry in Gloucestershire. The sculpture is both weather and lightening proofed with a phosphorous bronze surface 20mm thick. It underwent extensive wind tunnel test to ensure capability to withstand the wild winds and sea spray of the Ilfracombe coastline.
​
After two years of planning and production Verity arrived in three parts in October 2012 and after a week of assembly was hoisted in place using a 250 tonne crane. Verity holds the traditional symbols of truth and justice – a scales and sword. The off balance scales hidden behind her back and the sword is held high in her outstretched arm. The stance is an allegory for truth and justice based on Edgar Degas’s Little Dancer of Fourteen Years (C.1881). From the right hand side the huge sculpture looks a ‘normal’ naked woman but from the left hand side the cross section of her head and torso is anatomical with a developing foetus in her womb.
​
Love it or hate it Verity stands tall through all the winds and weathers looking out over the sea standing on a base of scattered legal books.
​
St Nicholas Chapel
​
Turnaround from looking at Verity and up on a high cliff looking out to sea you will find St Nicholas chapel. Take a walk up the steep slope to get a wonderful view of the town of Ilfracombe and the coast then look out to sea...it is a beautiful view all around. Go inside the chapel and learn the history of the place of worship that was built in 1321 for the people of Ilfracombe.
​
From the middle ages the light on top was maintained to guide and warn ships at sea and bring them safely into the harbour. In 1540 St Nicholas ceased being a chapel when Henry VIII dissolved monasteries. In 1850 the family of John Davey lived in the chapel with a family of 14 children, he became the lighthouse keeper. It has also been used as a reading room and laundry until left and becoming neglected then in 1962 the Rotarians of the town took it over and restored it and it became a special place of interest. The old porch has been transformed into a small chancel with occasional services and one room turned into a small gift shop.
​
The chapel is free to enter but donations are gladly accepted to help maintain the beautiful little building, and of course, like so many places of interest today it is run by volunteers.
​
To find out more visit the website...
www.stnicholaschapelilfracombe.co.uk
Karen Pratley
​​​
ADOPT-A-SHIP
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Our museum sometimes has to commission specialist repair work on a damaged textile but fortunately nothing as daunting as this poor flag which hangs in Ludlow Parish Church - £6000 is needed for its repair. But what is the story behind the White Ensign of HMS Ludlow, the sorry flag in the photo?
​
Royal Navy losses were horrendous in 1941 but money to replace the lost ships was difficult to raise. At the end of 1941 and into 1942 the Government organised a major National Savings drive; each area of the country was given a savings target and each target had a particular type of warship assigned to it – these events became known as 'Warship Weeks' as a large win for an area would lead to it 'winning' a warship.
Photographs and artefacts would be exchanged as part of an adoption process. Things seem to have been a bit different with HMS Ludlow. The ship was transferred from the US to Britain and re-commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Ludlow, a Town-class destroyer. The people of Ludlow seem to have adopted HMS Ludlow of their own accord and the crew were sent gifts such as board games, wireless sets and books. The ladies of the town also produced a White Ensign in silk for the ship and this was ceremonially dedicated in St Laurence – Ludlow's Parish Church – before being handed over to the ship.
​
The ensign sailed with the ship during her wartime duties until June 1945 when, shortly after VE Day, the ship was de-commissioned. HMS Ludlow then had a less illustrious role to play as it was used for target practice by the RAF and sank in July 1945 off the Firth of Forth.
​​​
This particular White Ensign had never been official government issue and thus the ensign (and later the ship's bell) returned to St Laurence's Church through the intercession of the ship's final Commander. Efforts were made in 2016 to raise the £4000 then needed to maintain the flag but the fundraising campaign was unsuccessful. With the ensign continuing to deteriorate, a fresh appeal has been launched although now the figure needed is £6000.
​
Closer to home, Abertillery also adopted a ship – escort ship HMS Nigella, a Flower-class corvette. Many of the country's smaller towns raised money for corvettes which each cost £125,00; and in all no less than 164 corvettes were adopted in this way. As with HMS Ludlow, HMS Nigella survived the war on escort duty in the North Atlantic but was sold in 1947 for service in the Merchant Navy under the name of Nigelock. The ship was subsequently lost at sea in 1955 after a colourful career in the mercantile service including repulsing pirates in the China Sea – you can read more if you put the ship's name in a search engine. I won't go into that here as it will make this article too long and stray from the original intention of telling you a little about ‘adopt-a-ship’ and the White Ensign at Ludlow.
Jen Price
​
Quick Quiz
-
Which famous US Federal Holiday celebration started July 1776?
-
Which well-loved and iconic member of the Royal family was born 1st July 1961?
-
In July 1903 which famous bicycle race began?
-
French designer Louis Reard introduced what fashion piece in 1946?
-
What is the birth stone for the month of July?
-
What began on 28th July 1914?
​​​​
Wimbledon by Sally Murphy
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
My mother only followed one sport; in fact she only followed one tournament and that tournament was Wimbledon. Growing up in the 60s and 70s with only one TV in most households and only three channels to choose from, I had no choice but to love it or hate it and once my mother had explained the rules and scoring, I grew to like it if not love it.
​
Wimbledon is the third of four Grand Slam tournaments played throughout the year, the other three being the Australian Open, the French Open and the US Open. Wimbledon is the oldest of the four and is generally considered the most prestigious, it is also the only one still played on grass which apparently is the fastest surface making it the most difficult surface to win on.
​
The All England Lawn Tennis Club we know today began life in 1868 as the All England Croquet Club and was situated off Worple Road in Wmbledon. Then in 1876, a Welshman by the name of Major Walter Clopton Wingfield devised the game ‘Lawn Tennis’ as an outdoor version of the racquet sport ‘Real Tennis’.
As the name suggests it was devised to be played on grass and the following year (1877) the All England Croquet Club changed its name to the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club and held its first tournament. That very first tournament was for men only with a total of 22 taking part. It was won by Spencer Gore who was an English tennis player and a county cricket player. It would be 1884 before the competition was opened up to women and men’s doubles also began that same year. Ladies doubles and mixed doubles wouldn’t start until 1913.
​
Wimbledon is the only major tournament to operate a strict white-only dress code. It is thought to date back to the Victorian era when it was deemed ‘improper’ to be seen perspiring and white disguised it better. While some players have challenged the white kit rule over the years, the tradition is still vigorously enforced today. Until 1922 the returning champion was given a pass for the earlier rounds and only had to compete in the final. It is also worth a mention here that, like the other Grand Slam tournaments, only amateur tennis players (albeit top-ranked amateurs) were able to compete. That wouldn’t change until 1968 when the ‘open’ era began and it was open to all, professional and amateur alike.
​
The tennis courts at the Wimbledon club were arranged with the main court at the centre and the remaining courts around it, hence the principal court was known as ‘Centre Court’. In 1922 however the club moved to its current location at Church Road and here the ‘Centre Court’ was no longer central though the name was retained to identify it as the principal court. It remained this way until 1980 when four more courts were added north of the main court which once more placed the principal court at the centre of proceedings and gave its name credence again.
Today there are 18 courts used for the tournament and a further 20 practice courts. The centre court has a capacity for over 14,000 spectators and, since 2009, benefits from a retractable roof which allows play to continue whatever the weather or lighting conditions.
​
In July 1974 I enjoyed a school trip to the Wimbledon tournament. The trip of course stopped short of tickets for Centre Court and I could only listen in envy as the centre court crowd laughed at the antics of one of my favourite players, Romanian Ilie Nastase. Nastase loved to play to the crowd and, as I found out later on returning home, when it had started to drizzle, he had borrowed an umbrella from a spectator to carry on playing in the rain until, inevitably, the umpire stopped play. Ironically I didn’t see much tennis at Wimbledon that day (my mother saw more on television at home) but I did leave with an official program for her which she cherished for many years.
Quiz Answers
-
Independence Day
-
Diana, Princess of Wales
-
Tour De France
-
The Bikini
-
Ruby
-
World War I
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wimbledon_Championships​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
