Research session on Wednesday 13th March

The session began with a trip to Aston Parish Church to discover more about the seventeenth century and working life. The first monument we discovered was a memorial to a servant from the Holte family.

The memorial from the Holte's to Henry Charles reads as follows: “Near/ To this Place / Lyeth ye Body of / HENRY CHARLES / Servant for the space of 33 Years to / Sr ROBERT HOLTE & Sr CHARLES HOLTE, / of ASTON, Baronets. / He DIED / On the 30^th of January in the / Year 1700 / And in ye 54^th year of his Age, / In Memory / of whose True & Faithfull Service / His Master Sr CHARLES HOLTE / Caused this Momument / To be / Erected.”    



Aston Parish Church exterior




Baptism pool




Church altar




Eagle Lectern




Parish pews




Stained glass windows





The group enjoying the tour



The group reconvened and were asked to create an image of their first job in Aston, drawing on the smells, feelings and images of the workplace for inspiration. A common image was that of the clocking in machine so participants began writing a poem with the beginning of the workday in mind. Other ideas included:

*        The noise of the radio filtering through the speakers from the office.

*        Piecework.

*        Everyone had to stop when the bell sounded for breaks as the factory was not insured for production line accidents during these periods.  

*        If you lived near a factory you would know what time it was from hearing the factory’s bell for different breaks throughout the day.

*        Everybody was paid on a Friday. Wage packets were brown envelopes containing cash.

*        You would put your wage packet in your pocket for security.

*        Most of the images conjure working life in a factory, but we discovered that many of the facts are also applicable to hospital work.          

The Factory Way

Clocking in and out:

Feeding the machine with your work card,

Biting and stamping.

Radio Luxemburg and Caroline

Calmly murmurs its mellow sounds

To the factory floor.

Your mind and your hands were busy,

But talk was limited.

Piecework meant you kept the pace up.

When the hooter sounds for break,

One stops, everyone stops.

Coffee, lunch, tea, home.

Working for Friday paypacket:

Little brown envelopes,

With name, number, payslip, pound, shilling and pence;

Overtime package always a little bit fatter.

Friday payday a happy day,

For some a time to put some by,

For others the money’s already spent.

For Mollie a time to pay back

Before she headed to the pub

For a martini and lemonade.