| Buildings
provide a distinctive clue to the growth of an area: Georgian, Victorian,
1930s, post-war, and recent house styles are all very characteristic
and can help to show how a town or village has grown over time. Used
in conjunction with local maps they can provide vital clues to the
history of an area.
There
are times though that apparently ordinary buildings can offer up
more clues to both local history and to where the local fits into
the larger picture. Inscriptions on buildings can offer just this
sort of clue.
The following is a typical Victorian terrace in Heckington, Leicestershire.
Slate roof, sash windows, red brick construction - all classically
Victorian. A closer look reveals the inscription above the door.
Suddenly an ordinary terrace in a small Lincolnshire village becomes
part of the wider Victorian world.
Another
photo from Heckington - this time the village hall. Nothing unusual
about that you might think, most places have one. But click on the
inscription above the door. What does it say? What does it tell
us about Victorian England?
What
was a 'Temperance Hall?' What was the Temperance movement? When
was it strong? Who was M Franks? Why did he give a Temperance Hall
to the village of Heckington in 1863? Other questions that might
follow on from this include when did the hall first get a licence
to sell alcohol at functions and thus no longer be a Temperance
Hall? How might I find out the answer to such a question?
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