Wargrave Local History Society

1998
April 14	Laureen Williamson	Bodging and Other Woodland Crafts Laureen gave a fascinating look at lost local crafts.
May 12	Judith Hunter	The Making of Slough From a hamlet to a modern town.
June 9	Tim Allen	The Eton Rowing Lake Excavation Tim, from the Oxford Archaeological Unit, told us of the current archaeological work.
July 14	Armine Edmonds	Historic Walk of Sonning
September 8	Peter Delaney	Wargrave from the 11th to the 20th Century A look at the history of our village.
October 13	Sue Read	Touring the Victorian Thames
November 10	Doug Noyes	How Reading has Changed An audio-visual presentation covering the Friar Street, Market Place, and Broad Street part of Reading.
1999
January 12	Joanna Power	Warren Row A history of the Church and the village.
February 9	Luke Over	The Province of Wealdham Another in our series about the surrounding communities, covering Shottesbrooke and White Waltham.
April 13	Steve Capel-Davis	Locks and Weirs Tracing the history of locks and weirs on the River Thames
May 11		Visit to the River and Rowing Museum, Henley on Thames Talk by the Curator, Jane Bowen.
June 8		Historical Walk - The Loddon A guided walk as part of the 1999 Wargrave Village Festival.
September 14		Down Memory Lane Wargrave residents reminisce; an event of the Wargrave Millennium Village Festival.
October 12	Brian Boulter	Town Museum to Heritage Centre. The Maidenhead Heritage Centre
2000
January 11	Peter Halman	At the heart of an Empire The changing scene in the Thames Valley during Victoria's reign..
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 Ben was part of the archaeological team on the site in Reading, so was in a unique position to tell us of the rich history of this area
May 9	Sue Branfoot	The Nineteenth Century Church Sue - distantly related to George Gilbert Scott - has made a special study of nineteenth century churches
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.
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 Around 80 members of the family held a reunion.
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.
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. Maureen and Judi gave us an insight into how they research and produce the costumes for the Wargrave Theatre Workshop�s productions in the village.
April 27	Stephen Loyd	Walk of Ruscombe Woods Stephen will take us on a walk to discover many of the flora that grow in this protected woodland.
May 11	Geoff Horsnell	Shiplake Lock Geoff gave us an insight into his role as a lock-keeper on the Thames.
June 8	Michael Parsons	Brakspear Brewery Michael - who was Managing Director at the brewery - told us of the history of this famous local firm.
July 7	Local History Visit	Science Museum at Wroughton This year we arranged for a visit to the rarely open Science Museum site at Wroughton, including the large object store and archives there.
September 14	Marshall Barr	The Royal Berkshire and Battle Hospitals Marshall Barr - chairman of the Berkshire Medical Heritage Centre - told us about the history of the principal hospital for our area.
October 12	David Poynter and Chris Wood	The Robert Piggott Junior School David is a former Headmaster of our village junior school, and recounted some of his memories from his time on School Hill. Chris Wood worked with another former Headmaster, Adrian Downton, and recalled that period as well.
November 9	Tony Weston	A Woman in Wax Tony told of Madame Tussaud and the famous waxworks
December 14	Christmas Party	Christmas Party "What do you think this is?" questions - and some answers.
2011
January 11	Duncan MacKay	The Secret Thames Duncan - who worked with the Environment Agency - will tell us about less obvious aspects of the Thames.
February 8	Trevor Ottlewski	History of Domestic Lighting Trevor returned to give us another of his informative - and illuminating - talks.
March 8	A G M	The Annual General Meeting