A CELEBRATION was held on Saturday to toast the Feckenham Memorial being removed from Historic England’s At Risk Register.
It followed nine years of hard work to investigate conserving the former Royal Manor of Feckenham.
It was considered ‘at risk’ because of erosion and unmanaged vegetation.
A community group was set up to remove the site from the register by putting in place a formal Conservation Management Plan to collate and analyse data on the site to create effective management policies and actions and determine a work schedule to improve the site and reduce risk to its significance.
Working together with Historic England, Worcestershire Archive and Archaeology Services and Redditch Borough Council, a Conservation Management Plan was completed by January 2021 which forms the basis of the management of the site over the next few years. Clearing of scrub and management of trees is ongoing.
Interpretation panels and signs have been installed to increase villagers’ and visitors’ awareness of the site’s character, history and significance.
All this hard work has satisfied Historic England that the nationally important site can now be taken off the At Risk Register.
Saturday’s celebration at the Feckenham Football Club pavilion featured a welcome and drinks before a talk on the history of the former Royal Manor and Feckenham Forest.
People heard about the project, the plans for the future and about how they could get involved.
They were also given a tour of the moated site and saw the new interpretation signs specially showcased at the event.
Redditch MP Rachel Maclean, who was among the visitors, said: “I would like to thank the Feckenham Archaeological Group for inviting me along to the site of what would have been the moat of the former Royal Manor.
“The group has worked tirelessly for nine years to rescue the village’s largest scheduled ancient monument from at risk status.
“Amazing community action has ensured this site can be cherished by generations to come.”
She added she learned a lot and urged more people to visit.
“The interpretative signs created really help bring to life the history of the site.
“We really are lucky to have so much history in our area.”
Anyone interested in visiting the site can find it at the Recreation Ground at the end of The Square in Feckenham village.
