Staine Hundred
The February Meeting of the Staine Hundred was held in the Drama Studio at
Bottisham Village College. Tom Mor stepped in at short notice as the original
speaker was unable to come. He was the designer of the New World Tapestry,
which tells the story of England's colonization attempts in America between
1583 and 1642 when the Civil War broke out. Tom Mor researched and worked on
this enormous 267ft x 4ft tapestry for 25 years. 18 of the cartoon pictures
deal with the wool industry, which was so important economically in East
Anglia, starting in Lavenham with the rich clothier Thomas Spring, who in his
will left £100 to each of the incumbents where he owned property - a total of
130 parishes!..
Another family much involved in the wool trade were the Winthrops who lived at Groton Hall in Suffolk. John Winthrop was auditor of Trinity College and twice a year he would spend 10 days on their accounts. His son John, who went to Trinity College, went on to become the 2nd Governor of Massachusetts. Tom Mor concentrated on the Cambridge connections and told us of a number of people who went to Cambridge University before going to America where they had a hand in shaping the New Country. The Tapestry is due to be moved to Bristol later this year where it will be housed in the original Temple Meads Station which is being opened to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The pictures are clear and humorous as well as informative and so the tapestry will appeal to children and people of all ages. Maureen Rogers gave the Vote of Thanks.
The next meeting will be on Wednesday March 10th when Mrs Twigs Way will be talking about "John Loudon and the Histon Road". The Outing will be on Thursday June 10th to Belton House near Grantham, with a coffee stop at the famous George Hotel in Stamford.