West Rasen Heritage Centre Group Membership 
President ..........................
Chairman ..............................
Secretary .......................... ( tel )
Treasurer ...........................
Tuesday 5th June 2012 West Rasen Heritage Centre BBQ, Marquee, games, entertainment and lots more. Join in for the Queens Diamond Jubilee Celebrations
The new programme of events is now available from Liz Margrave (844047) or May Bennett (843206).
In praise of the Centre, older resident Jean Cooper writes,
“ I was very pleased to come to the West Rasen Heritage Centre to see old friends and have a chat. I really was overwhelmed coming to see and admire the changes. What a lot of hard work and thought has gone into the centre and such a lovely friendly atmosphere, very good coffee. So relaxing to be there. I do hope I can come many more times. Long may it go on and do well ”.
Meetings at 1st Tuesday of the month
Commencing at 7.30pm
West Rasen Centre
Entrance £1.00 plus a raffle.
Annual Show & Fete
Bank Holiday Monday, 6th May 2013 between 1 and 4pm West Rasen held their 13 th Green Man Day.
The Green Man or Woman are usually created on willow frames and decorated with greenery. Seen in winter, it signals the comming spring, but when decorated it becomes symbolic of regeneration in the yearly cycle.
HALL FOR HIRE
West Rasen Village Hall & Heritage Centre is now available for hire. It can accommodate up to 45 people for parties and functions and up to 30 people in a theatre style layout. Display boards are available for exhibitions. There are modern kitchen and disabled toilet facilities and access for the disabled. It is centrally heated with ample car parking. For further details and prices contact Liz Margrave (844047).
Annual General Meeting
West Rasen Centre.
Contact Maureen Sowray.
RUNNING WATER IN WEST RASEN VILLAGE
Albert Richards Bennett's Water Cart
A very interesting and informative extraction from West Rasen Parish records. The Local Government Act 1894, a variety of groups based around ecclesiastical parishes had responsibility for all Parish agenda, this originated in the feudal system of the 8th century. Since 1894 every parish with less than 200 electorates have a Parish Clerk who keeps the records.1909 The first mention of the gravel pit. This was given to the village by the Lord of the Manor for road repairs. 17.11.1912. A survey on property in West Rasen. 46 houses, living rooms 144 sq ft. Yes! I thought they were all one up and one down. 26.3.1915 Mention of sewage works question asked, would there be enough water for the sheep dip. The sheep dip I am told was near the present Sewage works.4.2.1931. Mention of laying on water to the village. Unanimously rejected. 29.10.1934. It was decided not to raise any objections to Caistor R.D.C. with the proposed scheme of water to the village. 1937. The estate was sold by the Duke of Norfolk's estate. 3.10.1937. The roman Catholic Chapel given to the village.23.07.1943. Draft Deeds for the chapel. 6.2.1964. Coronation. West Rasen had a party, and hired a T.V. luckily electricity had been installed the previous week. Back to the running water. John Bennett remembers water being laid to his home. His father Albert Richard Bennett had a cart. On this cart was a huge enormous barrel, Albert used to take this down to the beck and fill the barrel with a bucket. This water was for everything, from cooking washing and the animals. I have a beautiful picture of the cart and the barrel. When running water arrived at the house the tap was fitted to the outside of the house, yet I would imagine his mother Sylvia was overjoyed . M Sowray
West Rasen & Heritage Centre
Since 1994 Heritage Lincolnshire has championed the annual programme for our county. This year the theme is Trade & Travel. There are over 100 special openings and events taking place across Lincolnshire and all are free of charge. In our area, West Rasen Heritage Centre will be open on Saturday & Sunday from 10 am to 4 pm. The village was a Roman Catholic Enclave and the hall was originally a Roman Catholic Chapel. Places of interest are the Saxon Church , the Packhorse Bridge and a thatched cottage. Facilities include parking, generally suitable for wheelchair users, refreshments and toilets. Rase Heritage Society are organising Guided Walks around Market Rasen on Sunday only. Booking is essential contact: Hazel Barnard (01673) 843108. Market Rasen Train Station Adoption Group are holding a one day event at the train station on the Sunday only from 10 am to 3 pm with activities to suit all age groups. The Town Council is organising Tours of the Old Police Station on Saturday only from 10 am to 4 pm. For a full list of events, programmes are available from Libraries throughout the county or online at www.heritageopendays.org.uk
GREEN MAN DAY AT WEST RASEN
The traditional spring event in West Rasen, the 13th Annual Green Man Day on Monday 6th May. The organisers hold the event to raise money to help pay for the continuing refurbishment and general repairs and maintenance of the Heritage Centre. The plans are for a variety of activities to suit all age groups with lots of exciting things for kiddies, tempting treats for all in the tea rooms, and stalls selling lots of interesting goodies. Entrance fee is £1 and includes a free raffle ticket. West Rasen Heritage Centre 1 pm to 4 pm.
Richard Headland entertaining visitors on his Melodeon
SUN SHINES FOR WEST RASEN HERITAGE WEEKEND
The weather was perfect for the 2012 Heritage Weekend at West Rasen when lots of visitors, old and new visited the Heritage Centre. Brenda Coulson from Lincolnshire Family History Society, who is currently researching graves in West Rasen, left some interesting information that had been discovered through careful examination and research of the old graves. If you are interested in finding out more information about families in the West Rasen area please contact Maureen Sowray on 01673 844564 who will be pleased to show you the work left by Brenda Coulson.
GREEN MAN
No one knows the origins of the Green Man image but they can be found in many churches and cathedrals around the country. There is even one on the font at Snarford Parish Church.
It is a symbol of renewed life and one which West Rasen Heritage centre used for their project of renewing the old school building into a centre of community for West Rasen residents and to celebrate the amazing heritage of this small village. Each year they hold their Green Man Day to celebrate their achievements and to raise funds for their ongoing project. Do get along on May Bank Holiday Monday between 1pm and 4pm, where there will be plenty of games, stalls selling local produce, and refreshments. There will also be a chance to look at some of the local history from West Rasen which local historian Maureen Sowrey has been discovering. It promises to be a fun day. See how many Green men you can spot!
THE HISTORY OF WEST RASEN .
Maureen V. Sowray explains how she became interested in the history of West Rasen .
I have always been interested in history and find it amazing that we human's who have made so many mistakes through out history, are still making mistakes. When I moved to West Rasen and received the deeds to our house, I decided to read them. Being the old type of deeds, with the history of the property recorded, all the previous occupiers and owners of the property were listed. So imagine my surprise when I read the name - Dowager Duchess of Norfolk . I wanted to know more. Having got to know Dorothy and Derek Fussey, I enquired about the Duchess and that is where it all started. Dorothy was very keen on the history of West Rasen , particularly the church and got excited every time I found out something new. On telling Brian Ayre about my research he looked at me and said, “I have just the book for you”. The book of course was the historical novel, “Like a Rasen Fiddler.” He also lent me numerous Kelly's Directories, and so I began listing all the farms in the area. At which stage Derek Fussey lent me an estate map to copy, which was produced for the sale of West Rasen in 1937. Once I got into the Paynell's family history, it became a challenge to find out more. A search that has led me to the House of Lords as well as, numerous archives throughout the country.
Everingham in Yorkshire, was the Country Seat of the families who through various marriages owned West Rasen up to 1937, besides various other estates. As all these families were Roman Catholic's, most of my research has been about the Roman Catholics of West Rasen . Up to the turn of the 1800's, there was a period of persecution of Catholics throughout the British Isles, affecting some of the people of West Rasen . Before the Roman Catholic chapel was built in 1872, the local Roman Catholic's met in a special room at the old Manor House. Fortunately after the First World War a lot of things changed. Father Bailey, the RC priest at Market Rasen, whose historical knowledge of the area was amazing, was a tremendous help and always had time to talk to me and put me straight. There was also a Methodist congregation in the village whose services were held in a special room at Poplar Farm. But it is really two buildings that tell the complete history of the village and make West Rasen what it is - The historic parish church of “All Saints” and Roman Catholic Chapel. Which is one of the reasons why we, the residents of the area, went to the trouble and all the hard work of restoring the Chapel. It is also why we altered the name of the village hall to West Rasen Village Hall and Heritage Centre.
We have a Heritage weekend every year so that anyone who is interested can come and see the Chapel and the Church. They can also see the endeavours of the people of West Rasen and the surrounding area, who are of various creeds and beliefs, trying to do their utmost to preserve these buildings.
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