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Former Cheltenham Ladies' College pupils join tour of Much Wenlock

On 23rd February 2012, a group of former Cheltenham Ladies' College pupils and their guests met at the Raven Hotel, Much Wenlock for a tour of the town.

Catherine explained that it was at the Raven that French founder of the International Olympic Committee, Pierre de Coubertin, dined after watching the 40th anniversary Wenlock Olympian Games in October 1890. What he saw and learnt during his visit to the town influenced his work to create the modern Olympic movement.

The group of about two dozen, set off from the square outside the newly-renovated Museum and followed Catherine up the High Street and back, stopping to hear, amongst other things, how the Games grew from a class of the borough's Agricultural Reading Society into an independent Olympian Society, of the scandal surrounding an assault on Dr William Penny Brookes, and how the Games procession used annually to form up outside the Gaskell Arms and move through the town on its way to the Games Field.

The tour paused behind the 16th century Guildhall (above) in view of the church and Brookes's former home and medical practice in Wilmore Street.

Then, on up Sheinton Street to the Station and the Games Field.  The glorious weather contributed to a lovely afternoon's walk.  At the Field, Catherine pointed out features of interest, particularly Brookes's tree, a mature Wellingtonia near the school named after the Games' founder.

They also paused for a photo by the recently-commissioned sculpture by Adrian Reynolds, an Ironbridge craftsman, which commemorates Brookes' contribution to the Olympics (below).

On to the former Primary School, where in 1872 Brookes first gathered statistical evidence of the superiority of gymnastic exercise over the drill exercises that then formed the only PE on the schools' curriculum.

Finally, back to the churchyard, and to the Brookes family graves at the south-east end of the church. The group also had time to look inside the church at the memorial erected to Brookes' memory after his death in 1895.

After the tour, everyone was ready for the fantastic cream tea served up by Lucy and Kirk Heywood at the Raven .  The hotel is known for the warmth of its welcome, and the plates of sandwiches and huge scones with jam and cream bore this out.

Thanks to Elizabeth Birch for organising a successful afternoon.