Citylife in Lichfield January 2022

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The Great Snow of 1947 By Jono Oates ............................ The winter of 1947 was one of the worst recorded in British history although 1963 was also a very severe winter. From late January until mid-March 1947, easterly winds drove a succession of wintry snowstorms across the UK, resulting in what was believed to have been the snowiest winter since the mid-nineteenth century. Six weeks of snow, which began on January 23rd, led to hundreds of small villages being completely cut off by snowdrifts. As the UK was recovering from the effects of the Second World War, armed forces were called upon to clear roads and railways of snowdrifts. Some of the heaviest and most severe snow fell on 4th and 5th March, when snowstorms and gale-force winds reduced the whole of the country to snowfilled chaos. Lichfield was one of many towns and cities that were badly affected and the Lichfield Mercury reported the frozen lockdown of the city in their 7th March 1947 edition. In the early hours of the evening of January 5th, it was reported that the only accessible road was the one out to Walsall, with all other routes blocked by snowdrifts and icy roads. The Mercury recorded that: “Phenomenal scenes were witnessed in all the streets of the city throughout the night, as nearly three hundred lorries had been brought to a standstill, and after every parking place had been jammed full the remaining vehicles were lined up along the Friary Road, St. John Street, and every convenient by-street.” The old Drill Hall on Frog Lane accommodated a large number of the lorry drivers for the night, and when all the hotels and boarding-houses had been filled to capacity several of the drivers were given beds for the night at the police station on Wade Street – and a few lucky stranded car drivers were even given the opportunity to sleep at the home of the Lichfield Superintendent of Police! The City Surveyor’s Department used snowploughs on all of the main roads throughout the night and the traffic, including the stranded lorries, was able to move more freely by the morning of January 6th. Numerous roads were impassable and the snowdrifts varied from eight to ten feet deep in places. On 6th January 1947 two Lichfield men, who had been delivering food parcels across Lichfield District, decided that they wanted a stiff drink after all of their labours over the frozen and snowy roads. They stopped at the Constitution Inn* on the Stafford Road but when they arrived they discovered that the front door was completely submerged by a snowdrift! Undaunted, and clearly desperate for a thirst-quenching pint, they grabbed a couple of shovels and dug their way into to the door, where the landlord opened up and allowed them to have their well-earned pints! A further result of the dreadful weather conditions was the cancellation of various functions and meetings arranged in the district. These included the meeting arranged by the local branch of the British Housewives’ League in the Magistrates’ Room (on Wade Street, now apartments opposite the Garrick) on January 6th when the principal speaker cancelled as she was snowed in at home. In the days before the Internet and mobile phones, news of the snowstorm’s progress failed to reach homes in Lichfield as no London or Birmingham daily newspapers reached Lichfield due to the snow-blocked roads and delays on the train lines. The dreadful winter of 1947 continued right the way through to late March and the Lichfield and District Allotments Society said on 7th March 1947 that they were embarrassed to talk about their upcoming shows in August of that year as all of the allotments were currently still frozen and snow-bound! Five Gables, Bore Street Army lorries at The Friary Market Street, Samuel Johnson Museum on left Everyone loves snow at this time of the year but let’s hope that we get to enjoy if for a few days and not, as in 1947, for three months! *The Constitution Inn was featured in our November 2021 as one of Lichfield’s Lost Pubs. The inn was close to the junction of the Stafford Road, the Rugeley A51 Road and the Kings Bromley Road, by the roundabout that is there now, it was demolished in 1956 to allow for the ‘new’ A51 by-pass road. **Vintage photographs courtesy of the St Mary’s Photographic Collection Sources: The British Newspaper Archive 26
Ancient Globe Bought for £150 Sells for Colossal Sum By Charles Hanson of Hansons Auctioneers .............................. A470-year-old globe, believed to be the oldest example of its kind offered at auction, sparked an intense bidding battle - and left the seller in shock as she watched live online. Five phone bidders competed against the internet to secure one of the rarest objects ever uncovered by Hansons Auctioneers. Such was its scarcity many museums could not advise on the 16th century terrestrial globe because they had nothing like it in their collections. The item prompted strong interest worldwide ahead of auction and swiftly soared past its guide price of £20,000-£30,000. The hammer eventually fell at £116,000 to a private buyer in New York, America, bidding online. The seller, who watched the sale live from her home in Wales, was stunned as the bids came flooding in – and revealed she paid only £150 for the item at an antiques fair. “I thought I was pushing the boat at £150 when I bought it during the pandemic,” she said. “I had no idea it was so important and valuable. I watched the auction with my friend, my husband and a glass of wine. My friend was crying, I was in shock and my husband was totally dumbstruck. I’m delighted.” The globe dating back to circa 1560 Staff at Hansons manage the phone bidders (image courtesy of Mark Laban, Hansons) The seller took the object along for free valuation at Hansons’ Staffordshire saleroom, Bishton Hall, where she met the firm’s works on paper expert Jim Spencer. His intensive research revealed her antique was an incredibly rare circa 1550/60 globe by, or a derivative of, Francois Demongenet, a French geographer known for globe gores which became a model for other makers. Jim, head of Hansons’ Library Auction, Jim Spencer with the globe Charles Hanson during the auction said: “I’m delighted for all concerned. This is an exceptional result. This object truly deserved to excel.” The globe sold in Hansons’ Christmas Library Auction. To book a free valuation at Bishton Hall, Wolseley Bridge, Staffs, email: mholder@hansonsauctioneers.co.uk. Photography by Hansons 27
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Page 19 and 20: WIN a Pair of Tickets to see 90s Li
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Page 24 and 25: And We’re Off… By Jo Howell ...
Page 28 and 29: Most of the inns and pubs featured
Page 30 and 31: Tastes of the Season By Simon Smith
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Page 34 and 35: Transforming the Trent Valley on BB
Page 36 and 37: The Month in Pictures We take a loo
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Page 42 and 43: CLASSIFIED To Advertise please cont

Citylife in Lichfield January 2022

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