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“It was just so rewarding – the fact that we had done a lot of research this winter by really delving into the past, we managed to fi nd out who he was,” ANNE STUTCHBURY SARUM DFAS CHURCH RECORDING TEAM LEADERCHURCH SLEUTHS CRACK IDENTITY OF 007A major breakthrough by the Sarum DFAS Church Recording group, volunteering at St John The Baptist Church, Bishopstone, near Salisbury for over three years, has demonstrated the resolve of the team when documenting their local history. The team of 13 have succeeded in identifying a mystery fi gure on an impressive wall monument, affectionately known by his church recording fi le number ‘007’.For generations, the name of the fi gure has been unknown. There were ARCHIVE WORK WILL HELP INSPIRE A NEW GENERATIONAn important project in sharing information and inspiring a new generation of metalworkers, which has been under way for three years in Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire, is fi nally reaching its exciting conclusion. A group of Heritage Volunteers from Blockley DFAS has been supporting The Hart Silversmiths Trust in caring for a drawings and designs archive which was donated by the Hart family, who are still silversmiths. The archive has been growing over the last century and contains designs mostly by the fi rst silversmith in the family, George Henry Hart. George was a master in his fi eld and achieved international acclaim for his success in raising the profi le of his small town workshop. Two of his most famous pieces include a Processional Cross for Gloucester Cathedral, later used in HM Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953, and a design for the Royal Ascot Hunt Cup. So far, the volunteer team of between six to eight people have worked in two hour periods twice a month (during nine months each year) and have cleaned nearly half of the 3,500 drawings. These represent an important part of local and national heritage, as well as a being a valuable record of the Arts and Crafts movement. To ensure these stunning designs remain available for universities and museums to view, the Trust is creating a mass digital archive. This has been greatly helped by the support of Blockley DFAS’s devoted Heritage Volunteers, who have offered their time to make this project a success. Fran Buckel, one of the volunteer team said: “It has been a real privilege to work on and see some of the most fantastic drawings of George Hart, many of chalices and other ecclesiastical silver items. The intricate detail on the drawings, some in colour, was amazing.” ■ just three initial clues on the memorial: a date, 1612; the ruff around his neck (which could imply a rector, but also potentially a lawyer); and a bird and serpent. By bringing in a heraldry consultant they learned the animals must have been part of his family’s armorial identity. The Role of Rectors revealed that Abraham Conham was rector 1584–1612. Further detection followed his widow, Hester Conham, to All Saints’ Church in Durrington, where a memorial confi rms the same bird and serpent as the Conham family arms, thereby confi rming the identity. ■VOLUNTEERINGwww.nadfas.org.uk NADFAS REVIEW / SUMMER 2016 59