Wargrave Local History Society
Meeting report archive
Polehampton School - Twyford’s New Library
A-000290
Andrew Cardy and James Fort
14 May 2024
Edward Polehampton left his significant wealth to the village of Twyford, establishing the Polehampton
Charity about 300 years ago, which built the old Polehampton Boys’ School there. For Wargrave Local
History Society’s May meeting, Andrew Cardy and James Fort recounted its history through to the present,
when it has been adapted to form Twyford’s new library
Maiwand: The battle and the Great Game
A-000289
Mike Cooper
9 April 2024
The Maiwand Lion in Forbury Gardens, Reading commemorates a battle fought in Afghanistan in 1880. The lion is posed snarling defiance to the north – towards Russia
Mike Cooper’s talk looked at the Battle of Maiwand against the background of Anglo-Russian rivalry in Asia – The Great Game – and the history of the lion itself
Brunel and the Great Western Railway
A-000284
Lionel Williams
14 November 2023
Lionel Williams charts the years from the railways’ inception to the British Rail era. The talk looks at Brunel’s forward-thinking ideas and the legacy that he left, enabling the GWR to be one of the most progressive railways of its age