Patrick's rare collection is old news

The Shrewsbury Chronicle of July 24, 1795, published a satisfyingly long list of French ships lost "in the present war" - and a much shorter list of English losses.

It is just one of the news items in a collection of 18th century Shrewsbury Chronicles in the possession of Patrick Wood which is certainly rare, and is perhaps even unique in private hands.

"I've been through it and it seems to be a full 12 months here," said Patrick, from Church Stretton.

"They are sort of bound. There is a coincidence in that the original proprietor was Mr T. Wood. He has got my surname, but there is no connection."

Patrick, who is 68, says the newspapers used to belong to his late father, Charlie Wood, who was chairman of the J P Wood and Sons poultry business at The Grove, Craven Arms.

"I am not absolutely positive about how he came by them, but I think a farmer friend of his in Cheney Longville found them in a barn. I can remember going up there when I was quite young. He might have had a lot more of these and my father just had some of them. I should think this would have been in the 1960s.

"My father never talked about this, and I just came across them in his attic in his Church Stretton home when he died in 2006."

Patrick thinks the farmer might have simply given the newspapers to his father.

"My father was interested in anything to do with the area, and was a very reminiscing sort of chap."

The Shrewsbury Chronicle was founded by Thomas Wood in 1772, so the newspapers are relatively early in the life of the publication.

"The quality of the print is amazing," said Patrick.

Apart from the 1795 papers, there are a few loose ones from other dates.

"In a way the 1835 ones are a bit more interesting, because they talk about seaside trips from Shrewsbury in a stage coach. And then there's one from 1934."

Patrick has had a quick skim through the 1795 papers, and found the adverts of the day particularly interesting.

The Wood's family business was one of Shropshire's major employers in its day. Set up at The Grove in the mid-1950s, its Chukie brand became one of British agriculture's major success stories.

It was sold to Unilever in 1968, with Charlie Wood staying as chairman until his retirement in 1978, by which time the firm was employing 1,400 people. It was sold to Unigate in 1984, who closed the complex in 1990.

Patrick himself worked in the business but then started a screen printing business called Interprint, and among the many and varied items in his shed are a picture of Princess Di with Prince Harry at Thorpe Park in 1992 in which Harry is wearing one of Interprint's sweatshirts.

Another is a bowler hat, which he thinks might look good in our photo.

"It was my father's bowler which he used to wear to business meetings in London until he found that he was the only person in London still wearing one."

As to the future of those ancient newspapers, he says: "I will just keep them. I will have them there and leave them to my sons probably, although I don't know if they will have any interest in them. I might get a valuation on them."