Schoolmarmy charities 

A considerable amount of material has been added to the archives of Wallingford Relief in Need Charity (formerly Wallingford Municipal Charities), and the constituent charities, 1895-2005 (D/QWA).  They show how charities changed in the second half of the 20th century, such as moving from handing over physical sacks of coal to making contributions to gas bills. Local solicitor and trustee John Hedges complained in 1982 about what he saw as 'schoolmarm-y' and 'old-maidish' guidance from the Charity Commission relating to reorganisation of the charities, which had been established by various individuals between the 17th and 20th centuries.  They included almshouses for the elderly, support for the poor (cash, heating, and clothing/bedding), and education and apprenticeship.  One even provided for the maintenance, repair and lighting of Wallingford Bridge. 

Broadmoor 

Ongoing work on the nationally important archive of Broadmoor has reached a milestone with all the female patient files now being catalogued up to 1928 (D/H14).  Please note that access remains restricted until 100 years after each patient’s death, with some limited information being possible for the closest relatives. 

Clubs and societies

Additions have been made to the archives of the Berkshire (later Berkshire and Oxfordshire) Farmers’ Union (D/EX1413). This includes an almost complete set of their yearbooks, 1919-1986, and continues the set of magazines up to 1983, giving an insight into farmers’ interests over a period of great agricultural change.  We have also received a small collection of Slough and District Civic Society newsletters, 1981-2010 (D/EX3027). 

We have been given a nice photograph of the Reading Imperial Football Club team, champions of the Reading & District Football League for three seasons around the turn of the century (D/EX2945/1). 

New for family history 

We have received the following parish and nonconformist registers: 

Little Coxwell: marriages, 1987-2018 (D/P53B) 

Tilehurst St Catherine: baptisms, 1963-1999; marriages, 1968-2019; banns, 1968-2016 (D/P132C) 

Woosehill Community Church, Wokingham: baptisms c.1983-2000s (D/N66) 

Unfortunately the Woosehill register has been very badly damaged by a fire, which destroyed much of the content, including all the dates, and the remains are too brittle ever to be handled.  We have created a digital copy of what survives, available onsite on our bookable PCs.  The church is a Local Ecumenical Partnership between the Methodist and Anglican churches which was set up to serve a big new housing estate in the 1980s, the church building opening in 1993. 

You can find out more about all these records by searching our online catalogue.  Enter the collection reference given above in the Catalogue Reference field.