Events
Live WHLS lectures at the Primary School Hall at Aylesford School
See our programme below for dates.
The hall opens at 7 pm and meetings start at 7.30 pm, apart from April when we start the AGM at 7.15 pm. We need to vacate before 9 pm.
We also provide an additional lecture in January - online - at 2 pm on a Saturday afternoon in January
Our lectures run between September and April. In the Summer we organise outings instead.
Venue for In-Person Meetings
*Aylesford School Primary Hall, Tapping Way, Warwick, CV34 6XR – for evening meetings.
Remember, if you are a member of one of our affiliated societies, you can enjoy our talks for free!
Summer Outings Outings will go ahead whatever the weather unless weather conditions make the outing unsafe. Please book with this in mind and dress appropriately.
Future Events
Saturday 11 January 2025 | 'Three Warwickshire Parish Churches' by John Hunt (online meeting) |
Tuesday 18 February 2025 | 'Life in Roman Alcester', by Alan Godfrey |
Tuesday 18 March 2025 | 'Members evening', Short presentations by members |
Tuesday 15 April 2025 | 'Caring for the Community', by Sheila Woolf |
Recent Events
Saturday 30 November 2024 | Lord Leycester Hospital, Warwick. Nearly 50 of us enjoyed visiting this medieval treasure in the heart of Warwick and learning about its history on a guided tour with the brethren from the Lord Leycester Hospital. Following the building of the original chapel, in 1123, the medieval Guilds built the half-timbered buildings as a centre to govern the town, house travellers and provide support to the deserving poor. In 1571 Robert Dudley, Queen Elizabeth I’s favoured courtier, established a community of Master and Brethren in the old Guild buildings. Today the Hospital is run by the Master, a retired military officer, and still houses ex-servicemen and their wives. |
Tuesday 19 November 2024 | The Gunpowder Plot in the Midlands, by Mairi Macdonald |
Saturday 21 September 2024 | All Saints Church, Burton Dassett 2 pm to 5 pm 60 of us joined Dr Stephen Wass for a talk in the beautiful surroundings of All Saints Church, Burton Dassett, a stunning church with medieval wall paintings. We heard about the historic background to the shrunken village and church of Burton Dassett before Stephen focused on the archaeological excavations in the graveyard and 'village green' outside the churchyard wall together with the recording and re-interpretation of the 'holy well'. After delicious refreshments, Stephen took us around the outside of the church and there was an optional walk up to the nearby beacon. A big thank you to the All Saints' Church team for the afternoon.
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Tuesday 17 September 2024 | Two Newdigate Ladies, by David Paterson Two members of the Newdigate family owners of the Arbury estate, a century apart. Lady Elizabeth (1683-1765) and Mrs Maria Newdigate shared two attributes. Each when chatelaine of the estate during the minority of their sons successfully managed the estate following less good management by male predecessors. They had an enlightened approach to the education of children living on the estate. Lady Elizabeth founded the Chilvers Coton Charity School for thirty poor children. A century later Maria supported both this school and the one at Astley. The difference in their titles reflected the failure of the direct male succession within the family and therefore the extinguishing of the baronetcy. Maria probably influenced two other significant women: her niece Jessie Boucherett, an early campaigner for women’s’ rights and the daughter of Robert Evans, the excellent land agent. Marian Evans’s time exploring the Arbury library helped her to develop her literary career as George Eliot. |
Tuesday 15 October 2024 | Sutton Park: The origins, components and afterlife of a medieval deer park, by Mike Hodder |
Saturday 20 July 2024 | Harbury Village and Heritage Centre With the help of the enthusiastic and knowledgeable volunteers from Harbury Heritage Centre we stepped back in time to learn about the history of Harbury village and its inhabitants on an informative walking tour of the village. We then enjoyed delicious refreshments and a chance to browse the historical documents in their collection, including photographs and maps.
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Saturday 6 July 2024 | Holy Trinity Church, Sutton Coldfield We enjoyed an entertaining afternoon led by one of our members, Stella Thebridge, who has been heavily involved with the restoration of this beautiful church. We learnt about the history of Holy Trinity Church from its founding in 1250 with its rich heritage of stained glass, memorials, unique woodwork and glorious painted ceilings. |
Saturday 29 June 2024 | Roman Mancetter Visitor Centre and St Peter’s Church An entertaining day at Mancetter VIsitor Centre, learning about about Mancetter’s role as a town of front line strategic importance during the early years of the Roman invasion and then the history of the medieval town and guild, all within the beautifully maintained late medieval church of St Peter. We heard compelling arguments to support the claim that Boudica's last battle was fought nearby and enjoyed learning more about the Mancetter martyrs. We were fortified with excellent refreshments, and many of us expressed a wish to return. |
Tuesday 16 April 2024 | Following the Society AGM, Louise Essex, Warwickshire Libraries Senior Librarian Local Studies, gave an overview of the county library local studies collections including the Warwickshire Local Studies Collection based in Nuneaton. The talk covered the types of resources available to researchers freely available in libraries, the overlap between Record Offices and Local Studies Collections, and the importance of donations of material. Louise highlighted the more unusual and interesting items within the collections, such as board of health maps, trade directories, sanitation records and photographs. |
Tuesday 19 March 2024 | Members' Evening At our members’ meeting two short papers were presented Robert Howe - talking about Harvey Bloom antiquarian author and rector of Whitchurch. Robert Howe spoke about James Harvey Bloom(1860-1943) rector of Whitchurch (near Alderminster) and antiquarian. His peers thought well of him, but he is now largely forgotten and ignored. He left behind a mass (perhaps muddle is a better word) of papers across several archives. Robert is setting up a database of Bloom’s writings which will enable future researchers to make better use of them. Colin Clay – following on from our recent archaeological interest on the use of LIDAR in investigating landscape using the large iron age fort at Wappenbury as an example. Colin Clay, a member of Lighthorne History Society, one of our member societies, shared with us how from a desktop and using free software he had been able to study the changing landscape of Warwickshire. He does this using a combination of old maps, aerial photography (including some taken by the Luftwaffe pre-second World War) and the new technology of LiDAR. This latter process provides glimpses of by-gone landscapes: forgotten Roman roads and as at Bidford the change of course of a road (in this case leading to a crossing over the river); vanished lakes such as the mere surrounding Kenilworth Castle; altered settlements such as the deserted medieval village at Wormleighton (owned by the Spencer family). He finished by showing us the dramatic LiDAR pictures of Wappenbury which ‘removed’ the trees that hid the slight univallate hill fort. The view of the Holloway leading to the south entrance was particularly dramatic. |
Tuesday 20 February 2024 | Peter Coulls: ‘Umberslade Baptist Chapel and the Muntz Family’. Over 30 of us enjoyed hearing Peter's story of a rarity; a non-conformist estate chapel and the estate owners, 18th century immigrants to Birmingham from Bohemia. They are remembered chiefly for the eponymous metal alloy, Muntz Metal and perhaps their connection to the Cutty Sark. |
Saturday 13 January 2024 | Over 60 people attended Christopher Dyer's online talk on ’Revealing Warwickshire’s past: the importance of Burton Dassett Southend’. This excavation, carried out in 1986, revealed a thriving medieval market village. It is the most detailed examination of such a settlement in Warwickshire. This very important site is the subject of a major new book. |
Saturday 25 November 2023 | 1 pm to 4 pm. St Mary's Guildhall and Coventry Cathedral. Nearly 50 of us enjoyed an afternoon visiting these 2 iconic sites in Coventry. St Mary’s Guildhall has acted as the centre of power in England during the War of the Roses, housed the crown jewels, been the prison of Mary Queen of Scots and hosted famous literary figures, such as George Eliot. Visitors can also see the newly unveiled medieval kitchen, one of the best preserved in the country uncovered for the first time in 100 years. In the stunning Great Hall, the famous Coventry Tapestry still hangs in its original spot after 500 years. Follow the threads of the medieval wool trade, which made Coventry an important centre of commerce and power. Coventry Cathedral: The original Cathedral of St Michael was built between the late 14th and 15th centuries and was destroyed in the 1940 blitz on Coventry. Our tour will take in the ancient ruins before moving to the iconic new Cathedral, designed by Basil Spence in the 1960s. The interior is notable for its huge tapestry of Christ, designed by Graham Sutherland, the emotive sculpture of the Mater Dolorosa by John Bridgeman in the East end, and the Baptistry window designed by John Piper. We also enjoyed a cream tea, at St Mary’s Guildhall. |
Tuesday 21 November 2023 | Andrew Lound: ‘Vulcan’s Temple: The Story of Soho Foundry.’ This entertaining talk focused on Boulton and Watt’s factory at Soho, Birmingham, which was one of the key sites in the development of the Industrial Revolution. |
Tuesday 17 October 2023 | Around 30 of us enjoyed Maggie Wood's talk: 'Mr Gayden of Brailes & Other Stories - Adventures in Local History Research'. Maggie's talk focused on a collection of twenty 19th century men’s smocks held at the Museum. Says Maggie: “Most came into the museum in the 1960s with limited snippets of information – for example ‘…said to have belonged to a cowman from Whitnash, gored to death by a bull.’ However, using a variety of sources, many now digitised and available on-line, it’s been possible to track down some of the smock wearers, and to build fascinating narratives for local lives long forgotten – while meeting some surprises along the way.” Maggie was Keeper of Social History for the Warwickshire Museum Service from 1988 to 2012. Her last project there was to raise money for, and then oversee the conservation of, the Sheldon Tapestry Map of Warwickshire – a unique Elizabethan textile. |
Wednesday 13 September 2023 | Nearly 70 of us enjoyed a tour of St Mary’s Church, Warwick, with church historian and WLHS member Tim Clark, across 2 different days. Founded before the Norman Conquest, St Mary’s Church is the premier parish church in Warwick. It was rebuilt in 1150 and saw extensive refurbishment in the 15th Century when the famous Beauchamp Chapel was built under the patronage of the Earls of Warwick, and then again following the Fire of Warwick in 1694. Our tour was led by Tim Clark, volunteer church historian and WLHS member and author of Faire and goodly built: an incomplete history of St Mary’s Warwick. Tim guided us through a history of this magnificent church and took us through its relationship with the earls of Warwick, the town and the townspeople. We also enjoyed seeing St Mary’s famous late medieval stained glass, 15th century sculptures, a 12th century crypt and the Dudley tombs. The tours were followed by a cream tea at the nearby Apple Tree Tea Rooms (included in the price), which provided a lovely end to the afternoon and a chance to socialise. |
Meeting report: 'Getting Online for Research and Publicity'.
The winter lectures are free to WLHS members and members of affiliated Local History Societies; we charge £3.00 for non-members - refundable on the night when joining the Society!
For a list of other societies' lectures and events, see our OTHER EVENTS page.
Edgehill Battlefield Walk
St John the Baptist, Lea Marston
The interior of the Guild Hall, Henley in Arden.
The Windmill at Napton on the Hill
Bagot's Castle, Baginton