The sixth meeting of the Group was held on Monday 28th February 2005 in the house of John Breeze.

Those Present. Mary Offord (Chair), John Breeze, Michael Kent, Gwyn Skae, John Millett,
Sigi Goolden, Dudley Groves, Martin Turner (Secretary).

Apologies. Had been received from Neil Rose, Sue Petrie, and Walter Hodder.

Minutes of the last Meeting held on 24th November and Matters arising.
Material for Newsletter. John Millett said that he had been unable to provide the piece on forges of the area for the March Newsletter, but was working to provide a rather fuller article for the Pamphlet/Booklet to be produced in the Autumn.

Minidisk. The minidisk machine which we had on loan from Uplands has been returned to Michael Harte for the time being.

Report on Working Group Meeting held on 21st February
Mary Offord reported on the meeting. Members said that they too would appreciate a copy of the minutes of this meeting. The secretary agreed to initiate. The main matter for discussion was the pamphlet/booklet which the Society intends to complete by the end of October beginning of November, as a “stocking filler” for Christmas.
Pamphlet. The pamphlet is to be about Wadhurst during the Victorian period (1837-1901). It was decided that:
* We should aim to have produced our individual contributions by the time of our next meeting on June the 22nd when any necessary editing would be resolved. (Afternote. Could contributions please be sent to the Secretary by Wednesday June the 15th, if at all possible, so that copies can be made for distribution at the meeting.)
* The actual dates of the reign of Victoria could be stretched a bit.
* The articles should aim to be considerably more substantial than just a paragraph or two, .
* Members agreed to write on the following subjects
John Millett Forges
Dudley Groves Beer making and the hop industry
Michael Kent Cider making
Sigi Goolden Iron work - Firebacks
Gwyn Skae The Snape Mine and the Miners Arms
Neil Rose The Wadhurst Railway
Martin Turner Woodland and the Timber Industry
* All agreed that the subjects listed only scratched the surface of our remit - Industry and Agriculture in the Victorian period. Hopefully the intended publication could be expanded as research continued.
* The secretary said that he would seek advice from Michael Harte concerning the legal position if sections of text were “lifted from a publication” ( afternote MH is looking into this matter from the point of view of articles for the pamphlet and will advise us)

Update on Research Interviews
Mary told the meeting of the continuing success that she had had with several interviews in relation to the history of George Street.
Martin commented on the cost and problems of producing a worthwhile transcription to the very useful John Hardcastle interview.
John Millett said that rather than attempting to make a complete transcription of his interview with Barrie Luck, he proposed to take notes from the CD disc, which had now been produced. He would type up his notes referring at each stage to which track they referred. This he proposed would be the historical record. Anyone requiring more in depth information, could simply refer to the disc and to the named track. This solution seemed a reasonable compromise to everyone. (We await the ruling from on high?)

Reports.
Iron Industry . Gwyn said that she had written up about 12 pages on this subject. Sigi said that she was coming to the final stages of her thesis.
Livestock and dairy including the market John Millett said more people are required to assist with research. He particularly felt there was opportunity for one or more people to assist with the history of the market and with agriculture. John would like to be able to concentrate on the livestock side of the subject - horses cattle sheep.
Brewing and Hops. Dudley described the progress that he was making along several avenues. He has arranged to meet up with Harvey’s head brewer in the near future.
Woodland and Wood Industry. Martin said that some good information had come from John Hardcastle from his life time association with that industry. The body language from members, indicated that everyone had heard quite enough of that particular interview for one evening. A short discussion about the differences of Pendunculate and Sessile Oak was allowed.

Material for Newsletter
The secretary said he would ask Michael Harte if there was an immediate requirement. Members were inclined to think that it might be enough concentrating on articles for the Pamphlet.

Cardex
The cardex system was once again discussed. Everyone agreed of the long term value. Members with interviews in hand agreed that they intended to complete cards as soon as the information had been consolidated.

Thanks
The Chairman requested that our thanks be minuted to Fiona and John Breeze for allowing us to use their house once again and for their hospitality in providing refreshment.

Date for next Meeting
This was decided for Wednesday 22nd June at Colleens the home of the Secretary.