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Page 3 of 4
This is a letter that Pop wrote in 1989 telling of their trip to
England,
The 1989 Runyard Reunion in Wareham, & of early
Runyard History.
( Good Stuff ! )
| DECEMBER., 1989
Page III Guests started arriving around 10:30 AM and Len and I greeted all 275 of them at the door. We handed them off to Owen and to Barbara Budd (another of Len's sisters) who escorted them to the registration table where they got their name badges, and then showed them where to get a cup of tea. Most of the guests spent the morning, and a good deal of the afternoon going over the 100 or so charts and visiting. Some were visiting with relatives that they had not seen for years and with others that they, had not met before that day. At about I PM we had a full meal, most of which was prepared in the school cafeteria, with some being donated by various members of the families Later in the afternoon there was a presentation of gifts to those that had come from abroad. .1 also gave a short talk on the emigration of the Runyard's to America. To finish off the day there was a drawing of various gifts, and then the singing of Auld Lang Syne. It was a wonderful day too short really to be able to visit with everyone and not enough time to read all 100 of the charts but just a wonderful feeling. Sunday evening, Godfrey Runyard (of California) and his son's Mike and Ken invited Gwen and some of his closer relatives (about 24 'in all) to have dinner at a pub out in the country. It was such a nice place that Gwen and I went back there another evening later on. On Monday, following the reunion, about 20 of us met over in East Lulworth (where Lulworth Castle is located) at the, home of Pat Grove (her grandmother was a Runyard and she is a cousin of Len's). Pat had offered to show us around E. Lulworth and Lulworth Castle and treat us to a Garden Party. Pat and her father live in a thatched roof cottage with a beautiful lawn and garden, it was a lovely warm sunny day just the kind of day for a garden party. We all walked up to the castle. Visited what was once the stables, but is now the estate office and living quarters for some of the employees. We then went on up to the protestant church, located on the left hand side of the castle. While there, Len mounted the pulpit and told us some of the early history of the family. He went into more detail than I had heard before, and again I wished that I had had my tape recorder; so there was no way that I could remember all the detail that he told us, Len has a fantastic memory, specially for names and dates. He also majored in history at University; so he is able to tie the family history to the English and European history. We also visited the Catholic church on the right hand side of the Castle. This was one of the first Catholic churches built after the Reformation. By English law they were not supposed to build any Catholic churches during that period, but the Weld family that owned the Castle were friends of the King and he gave them permission to build as long as it didn't took like a church. Therefore they built a rather round building and called it a mausoleum. It is beautifully decorated and is still used by the family. Lulworth Castle burned in 1929, however, the walls of stone did not fall. It has stood since then slowly deteriorating, but now the National Trust is rebuilding it, and it will become a museum. It is such a nice feeling that it is being saved. Just how many Runyard’s worked at the Castle estate, I don't know but there were many of them. There is even one, Tess, Burt, that still works there. Her brother and father also worked for the estate. My great great grandfather RICHARD RUNYARD b.1805, (Len and I share this relative) was the number three man at the estate. He had, perhaps 200 men working for him. |