A wide variety of events are arranged for FoGA members throughout the year. In the summer months visits are arranged to local historic houses (often not open to the general public) mills, churches and towns.  Recently the Friends have visited Hasfield House, Elmore Court, Ashleworth Court, Lydiard Park, Stanway House, Newark, Highnam Court, Badminton House, Dunkirk Mill Nailsworth, Northleach and Tewkesbury Abbey.

Each year, workshops, given by the Gloucestershire Archive Staff, are arranged and are free to FoGA members.  These have covered topics such as Reading Secretary Hand, researching Military Records, Landscape History, Education Records, Nonconformist Records, Tracing the History of Buildings, House History and Poor Relief.

There is a social evening held just after the New Year.  In recent years, this has taken the form of an historic supper, using dishes of the time, relevant entertainment and sometimes appropriate dress. A recent one, "Yes, we have no bananas", was a Victory Supper to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the ending of the Second World War. Previously ones were a Victorian Evening and a Henrietta Maria Supper.

In the autumn FoGA hold a members' evening which allows those researching their own projects to share their findings and experiences with the rest of the Friends. These evenings cover a wide range of topics from the history of Newent to restoring Gloucestershire Canals.

Talks are given throughout the winter months. Subjects have included the British Waterways Project, the Sherborne Archive, the Siege of Gloucester, the History of Children's Books, Gloucestershire Film Archive, Crime and Punishment in the 19th Century and Saving the Cheltenham Old Town Survey.

“My Favourite Archive” - 2007

This was a new event organised by Maureen Anderson and, judging by its success, is likely to become a regular feature.  The event showcased extracts from favourite archives, which were entertainingly read by Jeremy Kemp, Liz Robinson and Maureen’s son Alistair.

The first archive chosen was the Gloucester Castle Accounts for weeks 1-6 of the year 1265.  This detailed week by week the money spent on building works, materials and master craftsmen at the Castle.  For example work on a catapult cost 6 shillings and a penny halfpenny and on the furnace house 6 shillings and a penny.  It reminded one that everything had to be handmade: bolts, hinges, metal bands, thousands of nail, pegs, buckets, ropes, hammers.  The total expenditure for the 6 weeks was £14-2s-8d.

The next archive was the Parish Examination at Rodborough, to see if the claimants were entitled to parish relief, for example - 1803 - Mary Browning was born in Stroud and had a child by her husband Samuel Bird who left her.  He was presumed dead and she then married Charles Browning, but later her first husband turned up and she had another child by him.  All were born in Rodborough.

The next selection was as a result of house research in Dymock.  It was the local vicar’s notebook of about 1865, which contained a map of the homes of his parishioners, details of these families and his own personal comments on them.  “Roberts – never at church, she has a terrible tongue; Mays – shady lot, son died in Egyptian War; Brookes – she a practised hypnotist; Miss Lay – living in open sin; Davies – she slutton, he drinks; Turners – rather crazy, he drinks, violent, she a gossip”. 

Granville Sharp wrote down a song of the negro slaves when he was in Barbados and it was found in the Archives.  A moving recording, made by the Christ Church Tabernacle Gospel Choir, was played. 

From the Cheltenham Town archives came the first prosecution under the 1867 Workshop Regulations, which set out to reduce the working hours of young staff.  Miss Thomas, a dressmaker, was anonymously reported to the authorities as contravening the regulations.  She was prosecuted under the act and fined.  The archive contained the interviews with her staff and the anonymous letter that began the inquiry.

The diary of William Swift, a Churchdown schoolmaster, whose mother lived in Cheltenham provided an insight into his social life.  Seventeen couples were present at a party in December 1876.  The food included chicken, ham and rabbit pies and they entertained themselves with songs.  The event finally ended at 4am.  In 1877 he went to the Circus in Wellington Street and to the theatre.  He also detailed a fire that broke out in a chapel in Churchdown.

The final archive was letters written by Samuel Allen a farm labourer to his sweetheart Annie, a dairymaid.  They usually met on a Sunday.  He ended his letters with kisses in the shape of their initials.  Only his letters survive.  Did it have a happy ending?  Well, they married and raised a family!

Annual Social - January 2008

This year’s annual social evening commemorated the accession of Elizabeth I.  Organiser, Maureen Anderson, provided everyone with a ruff to wear but all had to create their own headdresses. The men were given hats to decorate with feathers, sequins and ribbons, while the ladies attached their own chiffon scarves to headdresses that Maureen had created. After a lot of laughter and fun all were attired as Elizabethan lords and ladies, ready to dine on a very tasty menu of pork casserole, syllabub and fruits and nuts.

Vicky Thorpe led two excellent workshops for the Friends looking at less well known sources for family history.  These included prison, asylum, coroner and newspaper records.  Vicky began by saying that if you can trace your family back to 1750, you are doing quite well.  She gave an overview of the various sources but warned that the content of some coroner and asylum records could be upsetting.  Coroners' records in Gloucestershire are available from the 19th century, but there are many gaps as many of the records went for salvage during World War II.  However, newspaper reports of the coroners courts may be available to fill in the gaps.  If your ancestor was an inmate in the workhouse, in receipt of out-relief or provided with employment in another part of the country/world their name may appear in the Board of Guardians records.  Asylum records may give biographical information, case papers and admission and discharge dates. 

The group was then divided into pairs and each group given a box of source material and a set of questions to be answered about a specific individual or case.  At the end of their investigation, each pair reported back to the group on what they had been able to discover.  This was another excellent workshop!