I was sorry to read in the “Telegraph” of 25th June, that Robin Bush has died aged 67. For many years Robin was archivist at the Somerset Record Office in Taunton. In 1992, I was struggling to transcribe bits of Brislington’s history from the Bishops’ Papers of the early 17th century and discovered there some slightly seedy goings on. A few of the more juicy pieces of gossip were the reports of certain shenanigans in a sheep fold by two married parishioners, a lady who accused the vicar’s wife of assaulting her – in church - and the interference by a brother in his sister’s love life.  The fact that these notes appear in intelligible form in my “Brislington Bulletins 1601-1699” where both the guilty and complainants are named, is largely thanks to the patient help I received from Robin.

He was a genial character, rather larger than life, and I was thrilled to see him on Channel 4’s “Time Team” and missed him when he did not appear after 2003.

Robin was a brilliant orator and I well remember a speech he gave at a meeting of the Bristol & Avon Family History Society when he told a rapt audience of his adventures when he had taken on a seemingly “ordinary” genealogy quest, if such a thing exists. It appears he was able to hitch a ride on the family tree of a landed family, which led somehow to the Almanac de Gotha and culminated (as far as I recall) with a possible link to the Holy Family!

He concluded with an exultant shout – to prolonged applause – “……..and it’ll never happen to me again!”