Archives
The archives presently contain over 2500 items.
They are available to all members of the society and include photographs, postcards, books, cuttings, flags, letters, film, audio recordings, stone pipes, musical instruments, industrial items to name just a few.
An extensive catalogue is maintained as a spreadsheet to allow for easy access.
A number of improvements to the catalogue are envisaged for the near future.
From the Archives:
We have received a collection of the Guiting Gazette published in the village from 1977 till early 1986.
It makes for fascinating reading as it chronicles the day to day life of the village and provides an insight into the thoughts and whims of Raymond Cochrane who is pivotal to the history of Guiting Power.
The collection is now complete, Many thanks to the Guiting Manor Amenity Trust for providing the missing editions.
The gazettes are available below as PDF files.
The Guiting Power Bakery dressed for the Father Brown TV series
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The Avenue Dispute
In the late 1960's a dispute raged over a locked gate in Guiting Power.
A collection of Newspaper cuttings from the archive is available for download.
The file is about 14 MBytes
The Hunt for Oil
click for a larger image
A number of hydrocarbon exploration wells were drilled in the Cotswolds during the 1970's.
At Guiting Power drilling commenced in June
1979 and after reaching a depth of 7140' in August the well was abandoned and plugged, no trace of oil or gas was found.
Reports in the Telegraph reflect some national interest, available here Telegraph 11/12 and Telegraph 29/12.
There are a number of references in the Gazette during 1979 including an article from the Guardian.
Details of the exploration
are available in the Bearcat Report
WW2 Guiting Power
An RAF aerial photo taken in 1946 shows Nissen huts at the Grange and the earthworks for the searchlight battery in the Lower Home Ground.
click for a larger image
Guiting Grange was requisitioned by the military during WW2.
After arriving in England the 603rd "Tank Destroyer" Battalion equipped with M18
Hellcats moved to the North Cotswolds on the 2nd May 1944.
Most of the battalion was based at Sherborne however "C" company with 12 M18's were stationed at the Grange prior to moving to France on the 16th July 1944.
An extract from Sgt Lawrence Miller's synopsis "Eastward"
More reading available on the link for 603rd
While in the Lower Home Ground the searchlight emplacement with associated revetment, slit trenches are at the top of the photo. At the bottom are Nissen style huts, used to house the generators and fuel for the searchlight.
A rather grainy aerial image showing the searchlight personnel's accomodation along the edge of the avenue during the war.
