Deborah Overton, a retired archaeologist from The Hive in Worcester, gave an interesting talk entitled ‘The Archaeology and History of Rabbits, Pillow Mounds and Warrens’ at our November meeting.

Deborah searched in vain for warrens and pillow mounds in the areas shown in tithe maps for the end of the 19th century but realised they must have been destroyed.

Rabbits were introduced to Britain in the Norman period. They were delicate, pampered creatures, kept in hutches and considered a luxury both for food and fur. The black fur was especially prized and was exported to Spain.

Special pillow mounds were built for the rabbits, some 40 – 60 yards long with moats around to keep them safe. Warreners were appointed in medieval times to ensure warrens were safe and dry. Special breeding rabbits were called clappers. Rabbits were caught in nets at one end of the warren after sending in ferrets on leads to chase them out from the other end.

A domestic warren is an artificial, enclosed establishment dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. It evolved from the Anglo-Norman concept of free warren, which had been, essentially, the equivalent of a hunting licence for a given woodland. These free warrens or licences to hunt, were given by the King to landowners but the commoners were forbidden to hunt rabbits.

Rabbit was looked upon as high quality food and It became very fashionable to have fur trimmed and lined clothes in medieval times. Tawyers soaked the skins in an aqueous solution containing potash alum and salt. . Sometimes egg yolks and flour were added to soften the product.

Sumptuary laws dictated who could wear which fur and only aristocrats could have rabbit fur. These laws were made for the purpose of restraining luxury or extravagance, particularly against inordinate expenditures in the matter of apparel, food, furniture, etc They were intended to regulate and reinforce social hierarchies and morals through restrictions, often depending upon a person's social rank, on their permitted clothing, food, and luxury expenditures.

As time went on, rabbits formed their own warrens on common ground and rapidly grew in number because they can survive on poor ground and eat their own pellets, thus absorbing moisture. However, because of their vast numbers they became a pest especially for farmers whose crops were being eaten. In the 1950s myxomatosis was deliberately introduced in England to reduce the rabbit population - this caused terrible disease. Within a few years the rabbit population diminished by 99%. Even now rabbits continue to suffer from this disease.

On a lighter note, next month we look forward to another magic show with Bob King on Tuesday 19 December at our new venue of Number 8. Visitors will be welcome.

JACKIE PEEK