Notes from A Cotswold Christmas by John Hudson (1988)
Our volunteers have been reading a wonderful festive book, while welcoming visitors to the shop. We thought we would share with you some of their favourite bits about Christmases of old in the Cotswolds.
Even as late as 1913 the butcher used to stock up at the Christmas Fat Stock Fair, while holly and mistletoe seemed to be dripping with berries. Christmas church bells rang out across the Wolds.
Into the twenties and beyond, children enjoyed a stocking filled with oranges and if you were as well-off as the Mitford sisters maybe even a five-pound note.
A hundred years ago in 1916 there was a terribly cold winter, that really chilled the bones, but brought with it the beautiful snow and ice we still like to associate with Christmas time. Imagine ice skating on the nearby river, or sledging down the hills? Or perhaps you would prefer playing Party games inside to keep everyone entertained?
This Christmas looks like being a grey one rather than a white one, but we wish
Broadway Museum and Art Gallery 