Weobley Big Dig draws in wide community involvement
TV presenter Kate Bliss of BBC Bargain Hunt, Flog It! and Antiques Road Trip is opening the Weobley Big Dig’s first exploration pit in the outer bailey area of Weobley Castle on Saturday, June 3 at 2pm.
This kicks off a week of wide community involvement with more than 100 volunteers excavating, cleaning, cataloguing, manning the village hall display centre and museum — and looking after visitors.
Young people from Weobley Scouts and Weobley High School are involved with their own pits and a total of 25 sites around the village will be both dug and restored during the week.
Expert guidance will be given by Herefordshire county archaeologist Tim Hoverd and his team who say this is the biggest community dig they have undertaken.
The opening weekend will also feature a Living History artisan ‘village’ on the castle site with members of Amicorum Medieval Enactors carrying out historic crafts, such as a fletcher making arrows, shoemaking by a cobbler and a scrivener writing out texts, as well as medieval cookery and children’s activities.
Over the nine days of the Big Dig effortts will be divided between those involved in excavating, cleaning and handling finds, while the event as a whole is facilitated by other essential volunteers manning the Village Hall visitor centre and exhibition, museum, village centre info point and stewarding three car parks.
Project manager for the event is Roger Burrage, who is also the secretary of the Weobley & District Local History Society Society. To find out more, email him on weobleyhistorysociety@gmail.com
