The Oxhill News

This months News

Contents

WI Report

Mr Godfrey entitled his illustrated talk ‘Postman’s Knock’.

Complaints about the carriers of mail and abuses of the system were part and parcel of the history of the mail.

Brian Tuke set up five major routes for Henry VIII to send missives about his kingdom.  It used walking post boys for distances of 10- 20 miles, or messengers on horses for longer distances in stages.  Post haste was faster without stops. 

Even though Queen Elizabeth 1 had a favourable rate of 1d/mile for her post, there were 16 years when it wasn’t paid.  Post was opened to the public in the reign of Charles 1st, but at 2d for 40 miles or 8d to Scotland even for the literate poor it wasn’t accessible.

Some time later high performance coaches, rented from a middle man were brought in to cut the journey time on the West Country route- an idea imported from France.  The sound of the post horn made turn pike operators leap into action because the post could not be delayed.  The idea of pay to use roads built by local businessmen struck a familiar chord.

Roland Hill worked hard at post office reform, removing free postage for MPs and newspapers; introducing pre-payment; reducing the cost to 1d and introducing post-codes.  He was so difficult to work with he had to work in the Treasury.

Rosemary Brown was the hostess.  Molly Swift, Ramona Richards and Ann Evans provided the refreshments.  Flower of the month: 1st. Kath Silman (leucojum or spring snowflake); 2nd. Myrtle Knight (hellebore)

Members busily signed up to offer items for the display of current members’ skills, to steward, to bake cakes and biscuits for visitors to the 90th Birthday Exhibition, to make table arrangements of spring flowers for the evening meal and to enter the Spring Show.

We were reminded that our new project is to help fund the Tysoe schoolchildren’s cooking area. Special events to raise funds are:

Tysoe coffee morning: Reading Room: 26th May

Whatcote Strawberry Tea: 26th June

President’s ‘At Home’: 8th August

Oxhill coffee morning (Autumn date)

Everyone took home a ceramic dish to commemorate our special birthday, made by Tysoe potter, Penny Varley.

Our next meeting is the 90th Birthday Celebration. (Wednesday 4 April: Exhibition and teas from 2-5 p.m.; evening dinner with musical entertainment 6.30 for 7.00).

The May meeting on Wednesday 2nd is the Spring Show & Resolutions meeting, while the meeting on June 6th (Childrearing from the 1700s) will be in Oxhill Village Hall.

This site is maintained by villagers of Oxhill for the benefit of the community and those interested in the history, news and activities that make the village such a pleasant place to live.

Last modified: March 30, 2007