Wargrave Local History Society
Meeting programme
Wargrave Local History Society
The 2026 - 2027 meeting programme
Tuesday April 14th 2026
Reading – Ice age to Romans
Mike Cooper
Imagine a Woolly Mammoth feeding along the Tilehurst Road or a Bronze-Age village by the M4!
This talk examines the evidence of human settlement around Reading from the hunter-gatherers to the Romans
Tuesday May 12th 2026
Life as an international tennis umpire and the outfits worn
Julia Freeman
Jet-setting Julia reveals her unique second career as an international tennis umpire and shows off some of her designer outfits
Tuesday June 28th 2026
Village Festival
Historic Wargrave Walk
Tickets will be available at the Village Festival’s ticket day on Saturday 18th April 2026 - 9:00am-11:00am
Or through the Village Festival website
Tuesday July 15th 2026
Local History Visit - Hinton Ampner, near Winchester
This year we will visit the National Trust property at Hinton Ampner, near Winchester. The Georgian house suffered a major fire in 1960, and was carefully restored by its then owner, Lord Sherborne
Outside, there are formal gardens to explore, and a kitchen garden that provides produce to the on-site cafe
Tuesday September 8th 2026
The People and Places of Bletchley Park
Peter Marcham
Peter is a guide at Bletchley Park, a place where history happened. He will reveal the story of the critically important work of the allied code breakers of WW2
Tuesday October 13th 2026
Our forgotten local WW2 Airfield
Angus Ross and Richard Miller
During WW2 a field at Crazies Hill became an operational grass airfield. One use was for the first flights of Spitfires manufactured by local people. The talk illustrates all the operations that were undertaken here
Tuesday November 10th 2026
Archaeological investigations at Greys Court
John Hesketh
South Oxfordshire Archaeological Group have been investigating the archaeology of Greys Court with the National Trust since 2024. John will provide an update on the excavations and what has been revealed
Tuesday December 8th 2026
Christmas Party Event
Tuesday January 12th 2027
WH Smith, ‘Our fortune was made a farthing at a time!’
Dr Dan Remenyi
The Smith family were among the wealthiest and most influential in the Empire. Dan will examine how the family fortune was created, how it was used, and what became of it thereafter
Tuesday February 9th 2027
Frankenstein and Ozymandias: The Shelleys of Marlow
Heather Adams
Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley and his wife Mary, creator of Frankenstein, chose Marlow for their married home to nurture their family and creativity. Heather will explore their lives in the town
Tuesday March 9th 2027
Annual General Meeting