Two more history boards have been installed today, this time in Romany’s Garden. They feature “Romany”* himself and Lindow man **.

There are two more to go in Bank Square in the first tranche.

What other parts of Wilmslow’s history do you think we could celebrate ?

* Romany was the Rev George Bramwell Evens (15 February 1884 – 20 November 1943) and known under the pseudonym Romany, a British radio broadcaster and writer on countryside and natural history matters – quite possibly the first to broadcast on such issues and sometimes recognised as the forerunner to David Attenborough.

Evens’ mother was Romani, born in a vardo (Romany wagon).

He is most famous for his Out with the Romany radio programmes, which commenced in 1933 on the BBC’s Children’s Hour, describing travels in his own vardo, with Comma the horse, his English Cocker Spaniel Raq, and his young friends Muriel and Doris. Although the programmes were all pre-scripted and performed entirely in the studio, the impression given was of Romany and his friends going for a walk in the countryside and spontaneously discussing the plants and animals they came across. 

He lived at Number 1, Parkway, Wilmslow.

The vardo was donated, unconditionally, by his widow, to the forerunners of Cheshire East Council. For many years it was displayed outside the library in Wilmslow.

** Lindow Man, also known (in jest) as Pete Marsh, is the preserved bog body of a man discovered in a peat bog at Lindow Moss in Wilmslow. The remains were found on 1 August 1984 by commercial peat cutters.

The find was described as “one of the most significant archaeological discoveries of the 1980s” and caused a media sensation.

Dating the body has proven problematic, but it is thought that he was deposited into Lindow Moss, face down, sometime between 2 BC and 119 AD, in either the Iron age or Romano-British period. At the time of death, Lindow Man was a healthy male in his mid-20s, and may have been of high social status as his body shows little evidence of having done heavy or rough physical labour during his lifetime. There has been debate over the reason for his death; his death was violent and perhaps ritualistic.

A number of lacerations across the body and a garrotte around the neck were discovered during forensic analysis.

The recovered body has been preserved by freeze-drying and is on permanent display at the British Museum.