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February 2003
The Swynnerton Millennium Book | |
|  | | Elsie Blackburn with her book |
| | Elsie Blackburn of Swynnerton decided that the flora and fauna of the local area should be documented in the form of a book... So she sketched and sketched; and made a book.
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| | At the end of 1998, Mrs Elsie Blackburn of Swynnerton, an ancient village in the heart of Staffordshire, thought that the flora and fauna of the area should be recorded - and she decided that she should do it.
So with great enthusiasm she started on what would become a task that would take her the whole of 1999.
Sketching in all weather
Every morning she would go into the fields and hedgerows, find a new item, sketch it in its natural surroundings and then return home where she would do a pen and ink and colourwash drawing - the most demanding type of work -one mistake meant starting again.
Imagine Elsie's excitement when traces of otters were seen locally - in they went! By the end of the year, she had done some 800 items!
800 Drawings
During 1999, the idea of recording everyone in the village at the Millennium was developed, so the two ideas came together.
A group of friends helped her collect the names of all the people resident in the village on 1st January 2000 and one page per household was included.
As Elsie says " This Millennium moment only occurs about once in every 30 generations, so it is worth recording". There are 200 pages in the Book and each page has four drawings.
Elsie graciously decided that the Book should become the property of the village and she asked that St Mary's Church should become its custodian so that visitors and villagers alike could enjoy it.
Crafted place
As soon as folk had seen the Book, it was clear that a display table of equal merit should be commissioned to hold it. Manufactured by craftsmen in Yorkshire from English oak and funded through the generosity of the village's Millennium Celebrations sponsors and the villagers themselves, the community feels that the Display Table does justice to the Book.
The Book and the Display Table were presented to St Mary's Church on 26th January 2003 by the Mayor of Stafford on behalf of the community and dedicated by the Reverend Barry Brewer, Rector of Swynnereton.
Both items now grace the lovely Church and can be enjoyed by all visitors to the village. | | | |
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