Wargrave Local History Society
Archive of Talks
1998 | ||
April 14 | Laureen Williamson | Bodging and Other Woodland Crafts |
May 12 | Judith Hunter | The Making of Slough |
June 9 | Tim Allen | The Eton Rowing Lake Excavation |
July 14 | Armine Edmonds | |
September 8 | Peter Delaney | Wargrave from the 11th to the 20th Century |
October 13 | Sue Read | Touring the Victorian Thames |
November 10 | Doug Noyes | How Reading has Changed |
1999 | ||
January 12 | Joanna Power | Warren Row |
February 9 | Luke Over | The Province of Wealdham |
April 13 | Steve Capel-Davis | Locks and Weirs |
May 11 | Visit to the River and Rowing Museum, Henley
on Thames |
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June 8 | Historical Walk - The Loddon |
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September 14 | Down Memory Lane |
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October 12 | Brian Boulter | Town Museum to Heritage Centre. The Maidenhead Heritage Centre |
2000 | ||
January 11 | Peter Halman | At the heart of an Empire |
February 8 | Peter Delaney | Madam Tussaud is buried in Wargrave, Question
Mark Some pitfalls that beset the unwary researcher. |
April 11 | Ben Ford | The Oracle Excavations |
May 9 | Sue Branfoot | The Nineteenth Century Church |
June 13 | Selina Avent | Living History Some houses at Crazies Hill and their owners. |
July 9 | A Visit to Dorney Court A private conducted tour of this famous Tudor house. |
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September 12 | Dr Jill Eyres | Local geology The basis for all our local history, affecting the development of settlements, agriculture, industry etc, is the ground on which we live |
October 10 | Brian Eighteen | Water Mills on the River Loddon Brian returns with a slide presentation, from the source of the Loddon to the Thames at Wargrave |
November 14 | Professor E Collins | Historical Issues Local Historians Might
Address Professor Collins, President of the Berkshire Local History Association, will explore how our local history relates to the wider community |
2001 | ||
January 9 | Geoff Brooks | The Berkshire Fire Brigade With special emphasis on the Wargrave Fire Station |
February 13 | David Burfitt | Hurley Another in our series about nearby villages. David is one of the authors of the recent book on Hurley |
April 11 | Trevor Ottlewski | Berkshire Beyond The Obvious A presentation in which Trevor spoke about a variety of lesser known sites in Berkshire, including some very local examples. |
May 8 | Dennis Johnson | Brickworks in Berkshire A history of the brick and tile industry that operated from the brickworks of Berkshire |
June 12 | Village Festival | Walks / Exhibition / Fete / Parade |
July 8 | Society Visit | Police Museum Visit This year we were able to visit the fascinating Police Museum, set in delightful grounds at Sulhamstead. |
September 11 | Luke Over | The Railway Comes to Maidenhead We welcomed back Luke to tell us about the early history of the Great Western Railway in our area. |
October 9 | Down Memory Lane | Crazies Hill Memories This year our Down Memory Lane looked specifically at the Crazies Hill, Cockpole Green and Upper Culham part of the parish. |
November 13 | Tina Marinos | Wokingham Tina spoke of the history of this old and interesting local town . |
December 11 | Alan Copeland | Christmas Party Alan entertained us with a presentation of "Curiosities on your Doorstep" |
2002 | ||
January 8 | Angela Spencer-Harper | Dipping into the Wells Angela spoke about the history of the Chiltern villages of Stoke Row and Highmoor |
February 12 | Sheila and Patrick Rooney | Fires of Windsor Castle The 1992 fire was the latest of several that Sheila and Patrick told us about, as well as the restoration work that was then needed. |
April 9 | Ted Wallington | The Air Transport Auxiliary Ted talked about this important war-time group, which had its base at nearby White Waltham. |
May 14 | Jane Bowen |
Henley from the Wargrave Road Jane (curator of the River and Rowing Museum) talked about the museum, its history and development, and plans for the future. The
A'Bear family gathering |
June 18 | Society Visit | Whitchurch Silk Mill An afternoon visit to this working survival of the industrial revolution |
July 23 | Peter Symons | Wargrave and Shiplake Regatta A talk about the history and running of this important village event. |
September 10 | Matthew Williams | Huntley and Palmers A talk about this important and famous local business. |
October 8 | Prof. Michael Fulford | Silchester Professor Fulford talked about this Roman town (the nearest to Wargrave) in the light of the current excavations. |
November 12 | Ken Goatley | Wokingham Past and Present Ken showed us part one of this history of this local market town, with present day views as well as old ones |
December 10 | Christmas Party | |
2003 | ||
January 14 | Ken Goatley | Wokingham Past and Present Ken showed us part two of this history of this local market town, with present day views as well as old ones |
February 11 | Angela Spencer-Harper | Dipping into the Wells - (Pt 2) Angela returned to tell us more about the history of the Chiltern villages of Stoke Row and Highmoor |
March 11 | Annual General Meeting The President, Lord Remnant, led a discussion on changes in Wargrave over the last 50 years. |
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April 8 | Trevor Ottlewski | Timber Framed Buildings Trevor talked about the design of these buildings, and the tools and methods used in their construction |
May 13 | Rosalind Adams | Walton Adams This local family of photographers - Walton, Marcus and Gilbert Adams - were noted Royal photographers, as well as recording local subjects - and for a while lived in Wargrave. |
June | Historic Walks | Historic Village Walk As part of the Village Festival, the Society organised two walks, one of them followed by supper and a quiz in The White Hart. |
July 8 | Outing | Taplow Court A private afternoon visit. |
September 9 | Brian Eighteen | Rural Life Brian returned to talk to us this time about rural lives, illutrated by views from old postcards. |
October 14 | Theo Ziffo | The Motor Industry in the Thames Valley Theo spoke about the history of some of the motor manufacturing companies that have existed in this area from Dagenham to Oxford. |
November 11 | Bruce Maidment Tom Berman |
Hennerton and the Backwater Bruce and Tom told us about this peaceful area of the village. |
December 9 | Christmas Party | Christmas Party Members met over a glass of mulled wine and a mince pie to view some interesting slides of previous Society visits from Geoff Brigg's collection. |
2004 | ||
January 13 | Margaret Houlbrooke | The History of the Suffragettes Margaret has made a special study of the Suffragettes (who - reputedly - caused the fire at St Mary's Wargrave in 1914) |
February 10 | Bob Whiteley | The Woodclyffe Almshouses Bob has researched the Almshouses, and shared with us their history and what previously occupied the site |
March 9 | AGM | The Annual General
Meeting Followed by a chance to look at a number of objects and photographs relevant to our village history, brought by our members. |
April 13 | Geoff Briggs and David Bounds | Henley Ancient and Modern Geoff & David showed us one of their special audio-visual presentaions, this one concentrating on the local market town of Henley |
May 11 | Colin Henwood | Traditional Boatbulding on the
Thames Colin is a boatbuilder specialising in traditional Thames boats, and told us about some of the historically interesting boats of the River Thames. |
June 8 | David Nash Ford | The
A’Bear Family David talked to us about his research into the history of the A’Bear family, who lived in Wargrave for over 600 years. |
July 7 | Outing | An
outing to the Pendon Museum followed by tea at Dorchester Abbey and a chance to hear about the recent archaeological and restoration work. |
September 14 | Ann Bushnell | The Piggott Infant School The School moved about 40 years ago from Victoria Road to Beverley Gardens. Ann (Headmistress for much of that period) shared with us her memories of the school, at both sites. |
October 12 | Patrick Fennessey | The Skiff Rowing Association Patrick told us about skiff and punting activities on the River Thames. |
November 9 | Sandra Swan | The Wargrave Surgery Sandra told us about the changes that occurred in her time as one of our village doctors |
December 14 | Christmas Party | Christmas Party |
2005 | ||
January 11 | Margaret Railton | Waltham St.
Lawrence Margaret told us this time about the neighbouring village of Waltham St Lawrence |
February 8 | Ron Smith | Edwin Lutyens and his Two Ladies
The famous architect, Edwin Lutyens had several Wargrave connections - both of his work and people he knew. |
March 8 | AGM | The Annual General Meeting Followed by another of Geoff Briggs' excellent tape/slide presentations on the village. |
April 12 | Jean Debney | What's In a Name?
Jean, a well known family historian and broadcaster, spoke to us about the meanings of members' surnames |
May 10 | Michael Bayley | The Survival of Lowland British Words and
Phrases Michael told us about the spoken language, as used by local farm workers, 100 years or so ago. |
June | Wargrave Village Festival | Historic Village Walks
on
June 7th and 12th Festival Fete and Parade on June 18th |
July 12 | Local History Visit | An Outing to Milestones Museum at Basingstoke |
September 13 | John Dearing | Hymn
Writers Connected with Berkshire John told us about several of the local hymn writers - with a chance to sing some of their work! |
October 11 | Margaret Houlbrooke | Decades of Discipline Margaret told us about life in the workhouses and the punishments therein, with examples from local institutions. |
November 8 | Alan Copeland | Curiosities in the Chilterns
Alan returned to show us more of the "unusual" - this time in the area from Reading, Windsor, Amersham and Beaconsfield. |
December 13 | Christmas Party | Christmas Party |
2006 | ||
January 10 | John Gimblett Ian Small |
The
Commonwealth War Graves Commission John and Ian told us about their records of those who "died in the service of their country". |
February 14 | Maurice Owen | Wargrave's Gardens and Gardeners
Maurice recounted his memories of the grand gardens of Wargrave and some of the characters who lived and worked there. |
March 14 | A G M | The Annual General
Meeting
Followed by a chance to look at a number of objects and photographs relevant to our village history, brought by our members. |
2006 | ||
April 11 | John Chapman | Postal History of
Reading John spoke about the development of the postal services with examples from the Reading area |
May 9 | Paul Lacey | Thames Valley
Traction Paul told us more about the ‘local’ bus company, in the 1920s and 30s this time. |
June 13 | Edward Fox | Wheelwrights
as a Rural Craft Edward is a skilled wheelwright, and told us about this now rare rural craft |
July 11 | Local History Visit | A special conducted tour of Eton College , including the College Chapel, College Hall Upper School and Lower School and the Museum of Eton Life |
September 12 | Colin Hennell | Metal Detectors - History beneath our
feet. Colin explained the ways in which a metal detector can help us discover some of our history, the legal position, and showed examples of what can be found. |
October 10 | Andrew Hutt | Dovecotes and Pigeon Lofts of Old
Berkshire Andrew explained the history of pigeon keeping, dovecotes and pigeon lofts in Berkshire, based on evidence from the surviving buildings and historical records. |
November 14 | Brian Boulter | The Stagecoach Era Stage coaches used to carry people on longer journeys along the Bath Road, and Brian returns to tell us about this way of travelling. Unfortunately Brian had to cancel this visit to speak to us. Instead, the meeting was a slide programme consisting of a brand new set of "Images of Wargrave Then and Now". |
December 12 | Christmas Party | Christmas Party |
2007 | ||
January 9 | Tony Weston | Secrets of the Box Tony inherited a family writing desk - and within a secret compartment were documents dating from the 1820s. |
February 13 | The WLHS Team | "Researching
Your Ancestree" Maybe you have been watching "Who Do You Think You Are?" on television, or have been wanting to find out who your ancestors are, or build your family tree. But how do you get started? What are the 'practical problems'? What are the 'traps for the unwary'? The Wargrave Local History Society presented an introduction to the process of tracing your family history, with practical advice and illustrated by examples of interest. There were ideas on how to get started, what kind of records are useful, where to look, etc given by members who are actively involved in this kind of research. |
March 13 | A G M | The Annual General
Meeting
Followed by a slide programme consisting of the second part of the new set of "Images of Wargrave Then and Now". |
April 10 | Tony King | Victorian
Shopping Tony took us on a shopping trip as it would have been in Victorian times. |
May 8 | Laureen Williamson | The History of
Housework Laureen came back to talk to us about the way domestic tasks have changed over the years |
June | Village Festival The Society conducted a Local History walk on 13th June, and participated in the Festival Parade and Fete on 23rd June. | |
July 10 | Local History Visit | Visit to Highclere Castle, near Newbury. The home of the Earl of Carnarvon with grand rooms, pleasant gardens and a museum relating to Howard Carter's Tutankhamun discoveries. |
September 11 | Cameron Floate | Policing the
Village Cameron was our village policeman in the 1950s and 60s, and shared his memories which are an interesting comparison with the present day. |
October 9 | Pam Cardy | Sheeplands Farm and
Farm Shop Pam told us about the development of the farm and the farm shop, which have been part of the village for 44 and 26 years respectively. |
November 13 | Trevor Ottlewski | Wokingham's Town
Halls The present town hall in Wokingham is not the first, and Trevor told us about the history of the earlier building as well as the present one. |
December 11 | Christmas Party | Christmas Party |
2008 | ||
January 8 | David Embling | History of English
Furniture David is an experienced cabinet maker, who specialises in restoring English furniture, and he told us about this, illustrated by examples he has worked on. |
February 12 | Joan Dils | Victorian
Earley In another of our series about the communities around Wargrave, Joan talked about the area that is now modern housing, as it was in the 19th Century. |
March 11 | A G M | The Annual General
Meeting A small amount of business followed by "an item of special local interest" - a first view of some of the Postcards from The Bird Collection |
April 8 | Dr Jill Greenaway | Secrets
from the Depths Jill Greenaway, from the Museum of Reading, told us about items from the Thames water collection. |
May 13 | Jill Wallace Gabi Bolton |
Caversham
Park Two representatives from BBC Monitoring told us about the history of this large imposing house overlooking the Thames and the work of their unit there. |
June 10 | Tony Barker | The Wargrave
News Will be 30 years old this year, and Tony, who has been involved in its editing and managament, told us of the history and development of our "village newspaper" |
July 8 | Local History Visit | Visit to The Vyne Sherborne St. John - the National Trust 16th century house and grounds with its Tudor Chapel. |
September 9 | Brian Boulter | The Stage Coach
Era Stage coaches used to carry people on longer journeys along the Bath Road, and Brian returned to tell us about this way of travelling |
October 14 | Michael Pooley | Shiplake Lock
Island "Comments on an unusual way of life" - Michael spoke about the unique way the Islanders enjoy the open air, river and locality of Wargrave and Shiplake. |
November 11 | David Lee | Wessex Film and Sound
Archive David brought films from the Wessex Film and Sound Archive, including some local items, to show us. |
December 9 | Christmas Party | Christmas Party |
2009 | ||
January 13 | Peter Johnson | Hare
Hatch Peter was for many years the Farm Manager for Bear Place Farm, and spok about aspects of the history of Hare Hartch, and the possible lines of local rivers in thr area |
February 10 | John Ratings | Memories of a
Vicar One year on from his retirement, John recalled some of the events and activities in the village with which he has been associated. |
March 10 | A G M | The Annual General
Meeting A small amount of business followed by "an item of special local interest" - a trip "Down Memory Lane" with some long term residents of the Village. |
April 14 | Angela Spencer-Harper | The Old
Place Angela returned to tell us this time about historical artefacts found in south-east Oxfordshire, as recorded in her latest book. |
May 12 | Stephen Loyd | Ruscombe
Wood Stephen told us about the natural history and conservation work being done in Ruscombe Wood. |
June 14/27 | Village Festival | The Wargrave Village
Festival The Society again providied an Historic Walk of Wargrave , on June 14th, and took part in the Village Festival fete day. |
July 14 | Local History Visit | Milton Manor House This year we have an exclusive visit to an elegant 18th century house built by Inigo Jones for Bryant Barrett, lacemaker to King George III. The house is set in a splendid garden location with two lakes and enjoyable woodland walks, and we have arranged for a special guided tour and tea for Wargrave Local History Society. |
September 8 | Martin Bishop | Bats, Balls and
Biscuits The Huntley and Palmer's biscuit factory cricket team is the focus of this look at the social and economic history of the company workers, and the development of cricket locally. |
October 13 | Sarah Charlton | Berkshire Manorial
Records Berkshire had over 350 manors, and records survive for over 250 of them - a useful source for family and local history of the communities over which their landowners had legal control. Sarah is the project officer indexing the Berkshire and Buckinghamshire manorial documents and told us about them and how to locate them. |
November 10 | Bill Bookless | Wargrave
Scouts The Wargrave Scout Troop was formed in 1909 (one of the earliest in the country), and so is celebrating its centenary this year. Bill nad Nigel Board spoke on some aspects of its history and current activities. |
December 8 | Christmas Party | Christmas Party |
2010 | ||
January 12 | Ted Fox | My Life as a
Countryman Ted has worked in the countryside all his life and shared some more of his memories with us. |
February 9 | Dick Bush | A stroll through my
life as a farmer, and the work of a Parish Council
Dick (and his family) has farmed in Wargrave; he is also chairman of the Wargrave Parish Council and will give an insight into its work. |
March 9 | A G M | The Annual General Meeting After normal business, a presentation was made of some of the contents of three Victorian Photo Albums of Harriette Cooke Smith. |
April 13 | Maureen Fennemore and Judi Rowlands |
How
to source and prepare costumes for Wargrave Theatre Workshop
productions.
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April 27 | Stephen Loyd |
Walk of Ruscombe
Woods |
May 11 | Geoff Horsnell |
Shiplake Lock
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June 8 | Michael Parsons |
Brakspear Brewery
|
July 7 | Local History Visit |
Science Museum at Wroughton
|
September 14 | Marshall Barr |
The Royal Berkshire and Battle
Hospitals
|
October 12 | David Poynter and Chris Wood |
The Robert Piggott Junior
School |
November 9 | Tony Weston |
A Woman in Wax
|
December 14 | Christmas Party | Christmas Party "What do you think this is?" questions - and some answers. |
2011 | ||
January 11 | Duncan MacKay |
The Secret Thames
|
February 8 | Trevor Ottlewski |
History of Domestic Lighting
|
March 8 | A G M | The Annual General Meeting |
April 12 | Tony King |
The Old
Bath Road |
May 10 | Gerry Westall |
Suttons
Seeds |
June 12 |
Village Festival - Historic Village
Walks | |
July 5 | Local History Visit |
Stonor House |
September 13 | Peter Smith |
The Royal State Coaches
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October 11 | Geoff Brooks |
Memories of Cockpole Green
|
November 8 | Derek Brown |
Consuta |
December 13 | Christmas Party | Christmas Party |
2012 | ||
January 10 | Rob Needham |
Wargrave Bells and Bellringing
|
February 14 | Marion Pope |
Memories of my time in Wargrave
|
March 13 | A G M | The Annual General Meeting |
April 10 | John Coulson |
The
Crofton Beam Engines |
May 8 | Ann Armstrong |
Life in the Land Army |
May 16 | Ann Griffin | Historic Walk around Cookham |
June 12 | Ann Griffin |
Cookham Paddock 2005 Excavation |
July 3 | Local History Visit |
Fawley Hill Railway and Museum |
September 11 | Geoff and Val Beckett |
Berkshire Lady Fliers
|
October 9 | Prof Ted Collins |
Horses on and off the Farm
|
November 13 | Clive Williams OBE | The Nabobs of Berkshire |
December 11 | Christmas Party | Christmas Party |
2013 | ||
January 8 | Brian Armstrong |
Experiences of a Rowing Coach |
February 12 | Aldon Ferguson |
Local Airfields |
March 12 | A G M | The Annual General Meeting; 1840 Tithe Map & Terrier Following the formal part of the meeting, a presentation by Philip Smith on the history of his house in the village, and people who had lived there, was shown, and then Peter Delaney and Richard Lloyd showed how the Wargrave tithe map and its associated terrier (together making the earliest fully detailed survey of the village) and the 1841 census could be used to discover much about the village's inhabitants and the use of the land at that time. |
April 9 | Michael Aris & Neville White |
The The Duke of Wellington's Country House at Stratfield Saye The Duke of Wellington is famous, of course, as victor at the Battle of Waterloo. His 'reward' from the country for doing so enabled him to acquire Stratfield Saye, as his country home and Michael and Neville recalled both the history of the man and the house. |
May 14 | Leslie Grout |
St George's Chapel, Windsor Leslie, a local historian and 'Blue Badge' guide to Windsor Castle, shared his detailed knowledge of St George's Chapel with us. (It was his 'specialist subject' when he won Mastermind!). |
June 22 | Village Festival History Exhibition A chance to see items from our archive, showing how the village has changed over the last hundred years or more, on display in the Woodclyffe Hall. | |
June 23 |
Village Festival - Historic Village Walk | |
July 10 | Local History Visit | Hughenden Manor This year we will visit Hughenden, home to the 19th century Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. We can also find out about the top-secret war-time activities there, and - being a WLHS visit - we will then have afternoon tea in the Manor Tea-room. |
September 10 | Mildred Cookson |
The Life and Times of a Miller at Mapledurham
|
October 8 | Norman Rees |
Experiences as an ITN Reporter |
November 12 | Dr. Elise Fraser | The Archaeology of Silchester |
December 10 | Christmas Party | Christmas Party Including excerpts from George Beck's Diary and "old and new" photographs of the changing face of Wargrave. |
2014 | ||
January 14 | Fred Freeman |
Life as the Village Chemist Fred was for many years Wargrave's pharmacist, at first in the High Street before moving to Victoria Road, and recounted some of his memories serving the village. |
February 11 | Patsy Roynon |
History of Loddon Drive The area around the mouth of the River Loddon was developed during the 20th century, and Loddon Drive resident Patsy escaped from the floods to tell us about the history of Loddon Drive and the houses there. |
March 11 | A G M |
The Annual General
Meeting |
April 8 | Elizabeth Hazeldine |
Fillets Court and the Families who Passed Through the Estate Elizabeth told us about the history of Fillets Court at Henley - the location of a house from the 14th century which is now the site of Phyllis Court. |
May 13 | Caroline Stanford |
The Work of the Landmark Trust Caroline's illustrated talk about the Trust's work and latest projects. Based at White Waltham, it has been saving historic buildings at risk for nearly 50 years, restoring them to the highest standards and giving them a new future by letting them for holidays, and now cares for almost 200 amazing buildings and sites across Britain and beyond. |
June 10 | Mark Stevens | Broadmoor Mark is senior archivist at the Berkshire Record Office, and has made a special study of the Broadmoor Hospital, and shared with us the history of this special institution. |
June 25 | Local History Visit | Bentley Priory Bentley Priory is an 18th century house built on the site of an Augustinian Priory, and was the Headquarters of Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain in 1940. We visited the newly opened museum there, set up as a permanent memorial to those who served in the Royal Air Force and fought in the Battle. |
September 9 | Joan Dils |
Tudor and Stuart Feasts
|
October 14 | Barbara Askew |
The Windsor Fire Restoration |
November 11 | Dr. Christina Hill-Williams | The History and Role of the High Sheriff of Berkshire |
December 9 | Christmas Party | Christmas Party |
2015 | ||
January 13 | Trevor Ottlewski |
Purpose-built Villages Not all villages are old established like Wargrave, and Trevor told us about some of the villages that were specially created by wealthy philanthropists in the last 200 years |
February 10 | Peter Hearn |
Hennerton from Eggs to Golf Balls Peter told us about the ways in which the family business diversified from farming to a successful golf club. |
March 10 | A G M |
The Annual General
Meeting |
April 14 | Dr. Phillada Ballard |
Culham Court Culham Court stands in what was the northern part of the parish of Wargrave (although now within Remenham), and Dr Ballard has made a special study of the property and its owners, and enlightened us about its history over several centuries. |
May 12 | Sheila Viner |
Water Mills on the Thames andLoddon Sheila is actively involved in the Mills Archive Trust, and in the history and restoration of water mills. She told us about many of the mills that used to exist along our two local rivers |
June 14 | Local History Walk | Village Festival The walk took us around Mill Green, Church Street and the High Street, when stories about some of the historic buildings and their occupants were recounted. |
June 17 | Thomas Plant | Village Festival Well known antiques expert Thomas Plant - familiar to many from several television series - gave us an insight into his work as an antiques and collectables valuer and auctioneer. As part of the Wargrave Village Festival, this took place in the Woodclyffe Hall. |
July 14 | Local History Visit | Bletchley Park This year we spent the day visiting Bletchley Park, home of the codebreakers during WW2. There is an extensive range of buildings, and the displays include the 'Bombe' used to help crack the Enigma code. |
September 8 | David Ward |
The Geology of Bowsey Hill
|
October 13 | Roy Sheppard |
The History of Postcard Collecting |
November 10 | Anthony Poulton-Smith | Berkshire Place Names |
December 8 | Christmas Party | Christmas Party A celebration of Christmas customs over the millennia |
2016 | ||
January 12 | Phil Davis |
Families and Aspects of the History of Hennerton Phil has been researching the history of the house at Hennerton, and some of those - notably the Rhodes family - who lived there. Their lives impacted on more than just the local area, and Phil shared with us what he has discovered about six such characters. |
February 9 | Ann Griffin |
Large, Dark and Handsome - The Revd James Austen Leigh of Knowl Hill Ann has gathered together aspects of the Austen Leigh famiily of Scarletts, Kiln Green (with its connections to Jane Austen) and the building of St Peter's Church in Knowl Hill. |
March 8 | A G M |
The Annual General
Meeting |
April 12 | Ann Smith |
100 Years of Reading Shopping Ann is one of the librarians at Reading Central Library, and has made a study of shops and shopping over the past century, and told us of their history, the changes in shopping habits. |
May 10 | Valerie Alasia |
Henley Workhouse - the Story of Townlands Valerie, a Henley local historian, told us about the history of, and life in, Henley's Workhouse. |
June 14 | David Williams | The Work of the Finds Liaison Officer Thousands of archaeological objects are discovered by metal-detector users and members of the public every year. These finds can tell us about the past - how and where people used to live and the types of objects they made and used. The Portable Antiquities Scheme ensures these are recorded, which is the work of the Finds Liaison Officer, and David is the person responsible for East Berkshire (and Surrey), and told us of his work, and some of the items discovered. |
July 12 | Local History Visit | Chawton This year we visited Chawton, once home of Jane Austen (Jane's aunt and uncle had lived in Wargrave and another relation was vicar of Wargrave). In the morning, we have a guided visit to Chawton House, an interesting house, housing the Chawton House Library, and then after a break for lunch, we visited the Jane Austen House Museum in the afternoon. |
September 13 | Peter Delaney |
Wargravians and World War 1
|
October 11 | Sue Hourigan |
The Preservation of Archive Records |
November 8 | Barbara Ratings | My Experiences as a Vicar's Wife from Germany |
December 13 | Christmas Party | Christmas Party |
2017 | ||
January 10 | Daniel Wood |
Boats of the River Thames Dan - who grew up in Wargrave, and worked on the river - recounted some of his experiences of times on the river. |
February 14 | Graham Jones |
The Lambourn Valley Railway The railway branch through this part of Berkshire was not promoted by one of the 'big companies'. It had a special kind of traffic from the start - and a different special kind of traffic at the end of its life. Graham told us about the life of railway and some of the people associated with it. |
March 14 | A G M |
The Annual General
Meeting |
April 11 | George Rawlinson |
Wargrave 535 George, now operations director for the RNLI, grew up in Wargrave, and shared some of his memories of the village at that time with us. |
May 9 | Peter Trout |
Airships Peter told us about the early history of airships |
WARGRAVE VILLAGE FESTIVAL | ||
June 11 | Historic Village Walk | |
June 15 | Thomas Plant | "More about Antiques" (Click here for information on ticket availability for both these events) |
July 19 | Local History Visit | Kingston Bagpuize This year we had an afternoon visit to Kingston Bagpuize House, an interesting manor house and gardens that was also featured in the television series Downton Abbey |
August 10 | Local History Walk | Wallingford As an additional 'social' event, we will have a guided afternoon walk of historic Wallingford |
September 12 | Wendy England and Judy Palmer. |
The Berkshire Women's Institute
|
October 10 | Martin Andrews |
Fox-Talbot in Reading |
November 14 | John Harrison | Living Heritage |
December 12 | Christmas Party | Christmas Party |
2018 | ||
January 9 | Mick Pope |
Activities around the Recreation Ground Mick has belonged to a wide variety of sports teams within the village, and recounted some of his memories of Wargrave's sporting and other leisure activities on the Recreation Ground |
February 13 | Catherine Sampson |
Berkshire Churches Catherine gave us a glimpse at some of the many historical, unusual and sometimes hidden churches and churchyards, including some of our most historic small churches, in and around Berkshire and the people associated with them. |
March 13 | Peter Halman |
A Stroll in the Park |
April 10 | Clive Williams |
Shire Hall Remembered Clive was the County Secretaqry and County SOlicitor for the Berkshire County Council, and explained some of its history and operation |
May 8 | Peter Delaney |
Robert Piggott and the Wargrave Schools An illustrated presentation about the local schools by the Society's Secretary, a former master at the Piggott School. |
June 12 | Ian Wheeler | Fairmile Hospital - a Victorian Asylum
Ian is the author of the recent book on Fairmile Hospital, at Cholsey, which from 1870 to 2003 provided for Berkshire patients with mental health issues. |
July 11 | Local History Visit | Dorney Court This year we visited the Tudor mansion, parts dating from 1440, and home to the Palmer family for well over 450 years |
September 11 | Joe and Joy Haynes |
Wargrave Theatre Workshop
|
October 9 | Paul Lacey |
Smith's of Reading |
November 13 | David Lewis | Old Windsor - |
December 11 | Chrismas Party | Christmas Party. |
2019 | ||
January 8 | Audrey Curtis |
Twyford and Ruscombe. Audrey, secretary of the Twyford and Ruscombe Local History Society, is author of the recent book about these two neighbouring villages, and told us of the people, places and events associated with them. |
February 12 | Graham Horn |
History and Restoration of the Kennet and Avon Canal The canal was a busy means of transport, linking Reading to Bath, and Graham told us of its history, from its inception to its heyday, its decline and subsequent restoration. |
March 12 | A G M |
The Annual General
Meeting. |
April 9 | Brian Armstrong |
Leander Club This meeting took place at The Leander Club, which was formed in 1818. Brian recounted the main events of its 200 years history, and following that, Society members were given a tour of the Club. |
May 14 | Dr Stephanie Duensing, and Dr Ceri Boston |
Wargrave Churchyard Excavations Stephanie was the archaeologist for the Wargrave Churchyard excavations in early 2018, whilst Ceri made the analysis of the bones that were discovered, and they will tell us something of their work and conclusions which can be drawn from the finds about mediaeval Wargravians. |
June 16 | ![]() |
Historic Village Walk |
June 18 | Thomas Forrester | 'The Magic of the Auction '
An evening with the Auctioneer Thomas Forrester (formerly Thomas Plant). |
July 10 | Local History Visit | Selborne This year we visited the Gilbert White House (Gilbert White's 18th century book on the Natural History of Selborne is a classic) and gardens, and the adjacent Oates Museum (about the Victorian explorer Frank, and Lawrence's expedition to the south pole), followed by afternoon tea, of course. |
September 10 | Mark Puddy |
History of the NHS
|
October 9 | Linda Humphrey-Evans |
Caversham Court and its Gardens, and the families who lived there |
November 12 | Diana Coulter | Sonning: The History Explored Through 10 Buildings |
December 10 | Christmas Party | Christmas Party. Followed by Recollectons & Ramblings from Tim Hodges. |
2020 | ||
January 14 | Aldon Ferguson |
The Role of Women at Danesfield and Phyllis Court in Photographic Interpretation in WWII. Danesfield was the centre of interpretation for all Allied aerial photography in Europe in WWII, and Aldon shared with us his research into some of the vital work that they carried out. |
February 11 | Catherine Sampson |
Georgian Cooking Local historian Catherine made a return visit, and this time she gave us an insight into the recipes used in the Georgian era. |
March 10 | A G M |
The Annual General
Meeting. |