A History of the Tysoe & District Record

The earliest known reference to the Record goes back to 1870, when the Vicar was charged with producing a sheet for inclusion in the National School Press. This would contain anything of interest that had taken place in the parish during the preceding month, as well as a calendar for the coming month, the accounts for the church and school notes. The price was 2d and those paying in advance would have copies delivered. The sheet was printed at the Tysoe Church & School printing press.


The Record as we know it today was created in 1951. Its Committee consisted of: Rev TE Jones - Editor, EE Farbrother – Sub Editor, G Styles – Business Manager, Mrs TH Walton, Mrs Parrott, Mr & Mrs Edwards, Mr Quinton, Mr Trought and Mr WB Wells. Many of these names will be familiar to residents today. What was produced then is similar in its content to today’s Record except that the workload was spread more equitably.  


The very first copies were printed by F.V. Tustain, a printers at Long Compton, until March 1962. However printing was fitted around their other 'better paid' work and sometimes the Record didn't get printed at all.


In the Fifties, post war austerity was very noticeable and the raw materials to produce the printed word were in short supply. This was also the time of Foolscap, Octavo and Quarto paper, not A4 or A5. Hence the unusual shapes of early Records. For reasons unknown, over the years the shape of the Record changed from a publication of 5” x 8” to 8” x 10” and finally finished at the A5 size we have today.


Carol Clark, our archivist, has digitised copies of the records from 1951. David Sewell, a former editor who grew up in Tysoe, remembers his “first involvements with the Record as a teenager in the seventies. Wax stencils and Roneo duplicators ruled supreme back then.”


Circulation is now c. 400 copies which are hand-delivered around Tysoe and neighbouring villages by a team of 15 distributors. Producing the Record is involved and time consuming, but it is a community affair with the printing being produced on a state-of-the-art photocopier at the Tysoe Children’s Group.


While the production, pricing and presentation of the Record has changed over time with the arrival of new technologies - online design and layout tools and 4-colour printing - its essential purpose remains the same as ever: to report on anything of interest that takes place during the preceding month and to mention future events, in doing so it provides a valuable social history of Tysoe and the wider parish.


Long may it continue to do so!

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The first copy was produced using typed wax stencils on a Roneo duplicator

David Sewell describes his Pa's experience when he had to stand in for Ernest Farbrother: "His first attempt at stencil typing resembled a second hand dartboard when held up to the light. The first page looked like a Chinese version of Mr Morse's code."

Editors of the Tysoe & District Record

Here is a list of Editors who have produced the Record since the 1950's:

  • 1951 Rev Thomas E Jones
  • 1956 Rev Jones moved and an editorial board was set up, comprising between four and seven individuals, including, and probably organised by E E Farbrother, the School's Headmaster
  • 1980 E E Farbrother retired and the Editorial Board concept continued for another four years
  • 1984 Mrs S M Williams
  • 1999 Mrs M A Gibbs
  • 2007 David Sewell
  • 2021 Shirley Cherry

From his 'Confessions of an Editor' in March 2010 David Sewell writes: "My goodness how times have changed with the advent of computers and photocopiers. Who knows what form future editions of the Record may take? Colour, complicated graphics, delivery by email?"

As it turns out David's predictions were spot on!

For previous issues of The Record please see here.

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