The Object of the Society is to provide a common meeting ground for the study and discussion of, and research into, history in general, and of the local area in particular.

President - The Lord Remnant
Chairman -
Treasurer/Membership Secretary -
Secretary - Tel: 0118 940 3121
Programme Secretary - Helen Perry
Committee members:-
- Sarah Houghton
- Barbara Sears
- Wendy Smith

We are happy to try and respond (in our own good time!) to requests for information about people and places in the history of Wargrave parish. Please email us at:

Please send any queries regarding this website to Email :

The Society supports the work of the Wargrave Heritage Trust

The Society is affiliated to the Berkshire Local History Association. and is a member of the British Association for Local History.

For more British History background, explore the BBC's Web Pages by clicking here:

Search the archived reports of meetings for particular topics of interest

If you no longer wish to receive emails from the Wargrave Local History Society, with information such as this, please email secretary@wargravehistory.org.uk to be removed from the circulation list.

Your contact information etc is held securely, used only for administering Wargrave Local History Society membership, or for sending information concerning local history. It will not be given to any other person or organisation without the explicit permission of the person to whom it relates.

The Society's Books

Read about and order our books here.

A copy of the Booklet describing four Historic Village Walks can also be downloaded free from Dropbox as a PDF file by clicking on the cover image below:

The Harriette Cooke Smith Photo Albums
In 2009, we acquired three albums of photographs which feature (inter alia) scenes of Wargrave from the 1870s belonging to Harriette Cooke Smith - see some images here.

We are always interested in adding to our collection of pictures, documents, books, maps etc relating to Wargrave, so if you have anything that you think may be of interest, please contact us.

Click this image for information about the wartime crash of a USAAF B-17 Flying Fortress and the Dedication of the Memorial to its crew on 13th Nov 2014

Reports of Recent Meetings:

January 2021 February 2021

March 2021 April 2021

Reports of previous meetings are held in an Archive

Meetings will be held on the second Tuesday of the month starting at 8pm on-line using Zoom,
until such time as they can be resumed at the Old Pavilion, Recreation Ground, Wargrave.
The dedicated link to access the talk will be sent a few days before the meeting to those who specifically request it.
To indicate your interest, please email us at: info@wargravehistory.org.uk
(Click for a map)

Subscriptions: Family £14 ; Individual £10 ;Concessions £9 ; Visitors are welcome - £3 per meeting

Those members who had paid their subscription during the 2020-2021 Society year
will have their membership period extended automatically to cover the 2021-2022 year.

2021
April 13	Katie Amos	Prospect Park Mansion Reading Libraries' local studies specialist, Katie, revealed the history of this grade 2 listed 18th century Regency style mansion house, its owners and occupiers, and its estate, on the west side of Reading.
May 11	Catherine Sampson	Royal Weddings Catherine's talk to us this year will explore 1000 years of royal marriages revealing reluctant brides and bridegrooms, disastrous unions and delightful attendants.
June 8	Keith Le Page	Stanley Spencer The artist Stanley Spencer was born and lived much of his life in Cookham. Keith, from the Gallery there that celebrates his work, will tell us about the man and the collection.
July		Local History Visit We hope it may be possible to arrange a visit this year. Details will be circulated if and when they can be confirmed
September 14	Thomas Macey	Jacksons of Reading Jacksons Corner was famous as the location of the last family-owned department store in Reading. Former employee and company archivist Thomas will recall its past, with examples from their archive..
October 12	Dr Margaret Simons	Reading in World War 1; The Home Front 1914-18 Margaret, a renowned local historian who has made a special study of the effect of the war on the local area, will share some of her discoveries with us.
November 9		WLHS 40th Anniversary The inaugural meeting of the Society was held in November 1981, and we will reflect on the developments and changes over the past 40 years
December 14	Christmas Party	Christmas Party.
2022
January 11	Lionel Williams	History of the Reading Hospitals Lionel is a trustee of the Berkshire Medical Heritage Centre, and will recount the history of Reading's hospitals, including the Royal Berkshire where the trust has its medical museum.
February 8	Torie Griffiths	My life of Crime: reflections of a former Crown Prosecutor Village resident Torie will tell us about her work with the Crown Prosecution Service and her time in Wargrave over the last 40 years.
March 8	A G M	The Annual General Meeting