Talks 2025
December (Wed) Verulamium to Silchester, via Hedgerley? – Nigel Rothwell
Antiquarian historians speculated on the route of a Roman Road connecting the Roman centres of Verulamium at St Albans with Silchester, and passing close by Hedgerley. They called it ‘The Camlet Way.’ With the benefit of modern remote sensing data, acquired by the Chiltern Conservation Board’s (CCB) ‘Beacons of the Past’ project, the evidence for this road has been re-evaluated.
This talk will look at the Roman presence within the Chilterns and South Bucks; at some of the characteristics of ‘known’ Roman Roads to illustrate how LiDAR data has helped shed new light (literally and figuratively) on reinterpreting the relative importance of some of these; and will explore implications of the discovery of a previously unknown section of Roman Road in Hodgemoor Woods, Seer Green, on the route between Verulamium and Silchester.
The accompanying figure is a LiDAR image of the Roman Road through Hodgemoor Woods – this is the best-preserved section of ‘agger’ built Roman Road within the Chilterns.
Nigel Rothwell is a retired geologist with a keen interest in landscape development. He has worked extensively as a volunteer with the CCB on interpretation of their LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) data. He is also a keen amateur historian and has published a variety of papers on geology, LiDAR interpretation, Roman Roads, and local history, including documenting aspects of the history of Seer Green (see ourlivingvillage.org). Nigel is the Honorary Membership Secretary for the Buckinghamshire Archaeological Society (BAS) and is also a Leader with the Chiltern Young Archaeologists’ Club (YAC).
24 Jan (Fri and possibly 21/02/2) Burnham Abbey – a hidden gem – Guided Tours for HHS members
We have a remarkable opportunity to visit the original mediaeval Burnham Abbey. It has been in private hands since it was built as an Abbey in 1266 and was home of the Augustinian Canonesses until the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII in 1539. The buildings were then adapted to become an Elizabethan house and became a farm which included the old barns in Cippenham. After restoration in the early 20thcentury it became the home of the Society of the Precious Blood from 1916 and is now for sale.
It was originally built by Richard, Earl of Cornwall and King of the Romans. His father was King John and he was brother of Henry III. He was one of the richest men of his time who also built Tintagel Castle, took part in the crusades, was Regent 1252-1254 and fought Simon de Montfort in the second Barons War. Burnham Abbey is a grade 1 listed building with most of the original buildings. Before it is sold the Society has generously offered us the opportunity of a unique visit led by one of the Trustees.
8 February (Sat) John Adams and Thomas Jefferson’s Tour of England, 1786 – Julian Hunt
In 1786, John Adams, then the American Minister to London and subsequently the second President of the U.S.A., was visited by his friend Thomas Jefferson, later to become the third Presiden, but then American Minister to France. Jefferson was keen to see English gardens, as he was planning a garden for his new house in Virginia. Julian will trace their journey through Buckinghamshire, where they called at the Grenville’s great houses at Wotton Underwood and Stowe. They later visited Hagley Hall and The Leasowes, near Birmingham, before returning home via Blenheim. Using their diaries, Julian will tell us what they thought of each garden and what they spent at the inns where they hired their post chaises, dined and stayed overnight.
Julian Hunt is a former Local Studies Librarian and has worked in Birmingham, Oldham and Aylesbury. He has written books on several Buckinghamshire towns, including Amersham, Gerrards Cross and Beaconsfield. He is now President of the Buckinghamshire Archaeological Society.
19 February (Wed) Trailblazer: the extraordinary life and work of Barbara Leith Smith Bodichon – Jane Robinson
Victorian Barbara Bodichon was responsible for the development of feminism in Britain. She campaigned for equal opportunity in the workplace, the law, the polling booth, at home, and in the world beyond the kitchen or the drawing-room; she co-founded the first university college for women in Britain (Girton) and the first women’s suffrage society. She was also that rare bird, a successful professional female artist. Cheerful, loving and beloved, she’s a very modern heroine.
Jane Robinson is an acclaimed social historian, focusing on women pioneers. Her 13 books include the best-selling Bluestockings, the story of the first women to access higher education in Britain, and major biographies of nurse Mary Seacole, social reformer and artist Barbara Bodichon, and the inspirational humanitarian Josephine Butler. She is a Fellow of both the Royal Historical and Royal Geographical Societies, a Hawthornden Fellow, a writing mentor, and a Senior Associate of Somerville College, Oxford.
19 March (Wed) The Harry Kirby Memorial Lecture: Hidden histories – a spotters guide to the British landscape – Mary-Ann Ochota
Wherever you go in Britain there’s history woven into the landscape around you – in the shape of a field, the wall of a cottage, a standing stone or churchyard, even in the types of grass under your feet. And there are thousands of sites waiting to reveal their secrets.
In this talk, TV presenter and archaeology author Mary-Ann Ochota will celebrate the joys of being a ‘landscape detective’ – spotting clues and telling the stories written into the countryside around us. From chambered tombs to churches, tumuli to turnpikes, ancient yews to ridge and furrow the British landscape is endlessly exciting, and ours to explore. Mary-Ann’s books Secret Britain: Unearthing Our Mysterious Past and Hidden Histories: A Spotter’s Guide to the British Landscape will be available to buy.
Mary-Ann Ochota is a broadcaster and author, specialising in archaeology and anthropology. She’s a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, Patron of the Ridgeway National Trail, and Hill Walking ambassador for the British Mountaineering Council.Her books, Hidden Histories: A Spotter’s Guide to the British Landscape and Secret Britain: Unearthing Our Mysterious Past have introduced thousands of people to the wonders of Britain’s ancient archaeology, and revealed some of the treasures hidden in plain sight pretty much everywhere you go.
Mary-Ann is a familiar face on archaeology shows including Mystic Britain, Time Team, Britain Afloat and History Channel’s Ancient Impossible and has presented radio documentaries for the BBC on subjects as varied as Walking the Iron Curtain, the fate of the Arctic’s Narwhals, and trekking St Columba’s Way with horses for Open Country. Mary-Ann writes regularly on the outdoors, including for the Observer, Telegraph, Countryfile Magazine, Geographical, TGO and Summit and is pas16 April (Wed) History of Vogue Magazine – Julie Summers
Julie spent almost four years reading every issue of British Vogue. The resulting book gives us an unexpectedly fresh look at the history of the last 100 years seen through the eyes of the editors of Britain’s most famous fashion magazine.
In this talk she will tell us about how she went about the research but also some of the more unusual things she discovered within the pages of 1,768 issues. British Vogue – the Biography of an Icon was chosen by Mary O’Sullivan (Sunday Independent) as the fashion book of 2024: “Exquisitely illustrated with work from the world’s top photographers … a history of 20th century fashion, culture and civilisation in one glorious book.”A copy of the handout from John Leighfield’s talk, Putting Hedgerley on the Map – from Gough to Gopogle, on 27 October, can be downloaded from the link below
21 May (Wed) Piece of the Great Wall of China – Rena Hume
Beginning in Fulmer we follow the career of a pioneer in music recording, an extraordinary businessman who took a new invention around the world becoming an authority on rhododendrons and Chinese porcelain along the way and bringing home a piece of the Great Wall of China. This is a whirlwind tour to many countries experiencing the speed at which life changed in the late 1800 s whilst delving into history and meeting well known personalities on our travels. Beginning in Fulmer we follow the career of a pioneer in music recording, an extraordinary business man who took a new invention around the world becoming an authority on rhododendrons and Chinese porcelain along the way and bringing home a piece of the Great
Wall of China.
Rena Hume is a graduate of the Glasgow School of Art and is something of an authority on Charles Rennie Mackintosh. She holds the Scottish Teaching Certificate and taught in both Glasgow and Birmingham before relocating to Chalfont St Giles. After a break bringing up her children she taught art and the history of art in a local grammar school for several years. Rena has always been interested and involved in local activities and has headed WI, Girl Guides , Twinning with a particular interest in fund raising for the village hall and library. Prior to Covid she was a convenor for U3A Art Appreciation. With many years’ experience in public speaking it seemed an obvious step to combine that with her knowledge of art and take up lecturing.
18 June (Wed) The Gerrards Cross Cowboy – DJ Kelly
Though few people nowadays have heard of him, Captain Thomas Mayne-Reid was an adventurer and novelist who, in his day, had been a teacher, journalist, soldier-hero, slave overseer turned abolitionist, buffalo hunter, actor and playwright. 2018 saw the bi-centenary of the birth of this well-connected cowboy who sold his enthusiasm for America’s wild west to several generations of boys and who inspired many of them to seek their fortunes in the Commonwealth and Colonies. More famous in his day than Rider Haggard and Captain Maryatt, he chose to build a massive Mexican-style mansion in Gerrards Cross for himself and his child bride. His is a tale of adventure and derring-do, of romance and riches and finally, poverty and obscurity.
Chalfont St Peter based best-selling author Denise Beddows has lived in 20+ countries across several continents during a 37-year career in government service. With a background in research, investigation and intelligence analysis, she nowadays writes true crime, cozy crime and spy thrillers as Denise Beddows, and biographical fiction and local history as DJ Kelly.
A member of The Society of Authors and the Crime Writers Association, and volunteer researcher for local history and heritage group, The Celfunde Inheritance, she regularly gives talks to various community groups. She actively supports Chalfont St Giles Literary Festival, founded ‘Chiltern Kills’ crime writing festival in Gerrards Cross, and organises a series of local ‘Meet the Authors’ events in support of her community library.
2 July (Wed) The Regent’s Canal Charlie Forman
Get the feel of a waterway that was once one of London’s main transport arteries as horses trudged the towpath hauling heavily loaded barges. At the turn of the 19th century, the massive new set of docks on the Thames didn’t connect with the inland waterways network which ended at Paddington just 8 miles away. It was a no-brainer to build a canal to join them. The Prince Regent gave his name to this new London by-pass and in 1820 the Regent’s Canal was born. This talk tracks its history from the dog days of near bankruptcy during the Napoleonic wars through its heyday, when it joined up the goods yards of many of London’s grand new railway termini to its post-war decline and rebirth as the city’s great linear park. Once no-one in their right mind would live next to such a stinking industrial backwater. Today a mere glimpse of the canal from your balcony puts thousands onto the value of your home. Let your mind take the journey from the elegance of Little Venice past the old industrial warehousing of East London to arrive on the Thames at Limehouse.
As a London walking tour guide and lecturer, Charlie Forman highlights the social, architectural and artistic history of his home city. It is a city he is passionate about, not least because it has a historic core larger and richer than any other world city.
A member of the City of Westminster Guide Lecturers Association, Charlie’s talks focus on the forces that have shaped and changed this multi-faceted metropolis and the artistic and cultural heritage that this has given us.
After many hundreds of walks and a four-decade long career in housing and regeneration Charlie has absorbed a deep understanding and appreciation of the capital including some fascinating vantage points like the seven years build-up to the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games where he played a role in channelling potential long-term benefits into surrounding East London communities. Charlie Forman’s publications include Spitalfields: A battle for Land.
27 September (Sat, 2pm) London’s Lost Gardens Dr Todd Longstaffe-Gowan
Our fascination with lost gardens is more than a mere pervasive wistfulness for the
past or a vague longing for vanished paradise – it is often fuelled by our interest in
reconstructing worlds that supply us with a powerful means of making sense of the
past, and a way of reading history. London gardens, being often shut off from the
continuum of everyday life around them, and so allowing particular scope for
individual experimentation, readily encapsulated attitudes to the design and use of
open spaces that now often seem eccentric and improbable.
Todd Longstaffe-Gowan’s talk will focus on and celebrate the evanescence of
London’s vast and varied garden legacy, and will provide insights into his recent
exhibition Lost Gardens of London at the Garden Museum in Lambeth London. The
gardens he will examine range from the capital’s humble allotments and defunct
squares to amateur botanical gardens, princely pleasure grounds, artists’ gardensand private menageries – gardens that have either vanished or that have changed
beyond recognition. Lost Gardens will seek to remind us of what a precious asset
gardened greenspace is, and how it has contributed over the centuries to the quality
of life and well-being of generations of inhabitants of the Metropolis.
Todd Longstaffe-Gowan is a landscape architect and historian. He is gardens
adviser to Historic Royal Palaces, President of the London Gardens Trust (LGT),
lecturer at New York University (London) and editor of The London Gardener (journal
of the LGT). He is the author of several books including The London Square (Yale,
2012), and English Garden Eccentrics (Mellon/Yale, 2022). His Lost Gardens of
London was published by the Modern Art Press in 2024.
Talks 2024
17 January (Wed) The Lesser Known Grand Houses of South Bucks – Mike Dewey
21 February The Bulstrode Brasses – Richard Emerson
This talk is about the Bulstrode Memorial Brasses of St Laurence Church, Upton – the elaborate metal motifs that originally adorned the graves of one of the wealthiest and most powerful families in South Bucks. It will look at the brasses themselves, at the secrets such brasses may reveal, and at the people that the Bulstrode brasses depict. The talk will not only focus on the males but on their wives too, who often have an even more interesting story to tell. It will also explain how the brasses link Upton and Hedgerley in a seemingly unique way.
Richard Emerson is a retired freelance writer and editor who spends much of his time researching the history and heritage of St Laurence Church, Upton, the wider Upton district (much of it a conservation area), and the people who link them. Richard uses the information he gleans to write newsletters, give talks and launch the occasional heritage project.
23 February (Fri) Museum of Brands, Ladbroke Grove (Outing) £6.30, minimum of ten for group rate. Enjoy a Nostalgic Journey through 200 years of Consumer Culture. Closing date for Bookings 17th January 2024
20 March The Harry Kirby Memorial Lecture Moats, Mottes and Castles : status and defence in Medieval Buckinghamshire – Mike Farley FSA
No single memorable battle is recorded in Buckinghamshire and the county has only one surviving defensive structure built of stone – Boarstall Tower. There are only a few documents recording the existence of castles here, but fortunately surviving earthworks show that several others existed. Far more numerous are moated sites – where do they fit in? This talk will look at the variety of evidence available.
Prior to becoming a ‘mature’ student at the University of Wales where he read Archaeology, Mike, had a completely different career and was fortunate to be able to make a longstanding hobby his job. No doubt two childhood experiences profoundly influenced his ultimate career. Firstly, a BBC programme – ‘How things began’ – where the narrator was chased by a dinosaur – in retrospect perhaps a little unlikely – or later a Bronze Age man doing the same with an axe. Secondly his father took him to see an Anglo-Saxon cemetery under excavation .. real bones together with a spearhead!
On appointment as ‘Field Archaeologist’ at Buckinghamshire County Museum Mike conducted or arranged excavations and with the assistance of numerous volunteers initiated the County’s database of locations and finds of historic significance (the much expanded version of which is now available online via the Council’s ‘Heritage Portal’ site). Inevitably identifying planning applications that potentially affected significant locations also became an important part of the job. This in turn led to the rise of professional archaeological service- providers such as Oxford Archaeology who were funded by developers to deal with ‘heritage contamination’ issues. Ensuring the effective management of planning issues remains a key issue for Mike’s successors now based within Buckinghamshire Council. One of the biggest projects they have recently had to deal with is the construction of the HS2 line …
17 April Railways Round The Chilterns: A Historical Journey – Rudi Newman
The counties of Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire have long played a major part in national history, a key element to this being transportation. From 1838 to 1925 some 45 networked railways were built here and each has history reflecting elements of rail development, from feared new technology to rampant competition and enthusiasm. Based on my book Railways Round The Chilterns, a round journey across these three counties is presented, discovering the history of some of their railways plus a few stories of life on the lines. This journey was once entirely possible, but today exists only as a memory of travels past. Enjoy the trip…
Dr Rudi Newman has a long-standing passion for all things historical, particularly concerning his specialised field of transportation – his doctoral study having centred on Victorian railway socio-economics and the impact of the coming of the railways to the Chilterns. He is also the author of ‘Travelling to Tragedy’, ‘Steaming to Sixty: Watford Miniature Railway’, and ‘Railways Round The Chilterns’. A collector of transportation ephemera supporting his historical research, he has assisted with museums and exhibitions on a range of related subject matters and has presented numerous articles and lectures on transportation themes. Formerly the Honorary Secretary and Editor of the British Titanic Society, he has also featured on the BBC, Channel 4, Sky News, international television and other media outlets, and has lectured at institutions including the National Archives, National Railway Museum and Trinity College, Cambridge.
15 May (Wed) AGM The Enumerator Strikes Back – Dave Annal
The enumerators first went to work on the UK census in 1841 and have performed a vital role in each successive decennial census ever since then. It hasn’t always been an easy ride: confronted by hostile householders and at the mercy of the decisions made by the census authorities, their stories shed a fascinating light on one of the most important sets of records used by family and local historians today. Using original documents, contemporary newspaper reports and the census returns themselves, this talk will turn the spotlight onto the men and women who created the UK’s census returns.
Dave Annal is a professional researcher with over 40 years’ experience. He is a former Principal Family History Specialist with the National Archives and he worked at the Family Records Centre for many years. In 2019 he was awarded a Fellowship of the Society of Genealogists and in 2022 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Dave has written a number of family history books including the bestselling beginner’s guide Easy Family History and Pen & Sword’s Birth, Marriage & Death Records (with Audrey Collins) and, with Peter Christian, he is the co-author of Census: the Family Historian’s Guide. He is also a regular contributor to Family Tree Magazine where he runs the Family Tree Academy. Dave is a popular speaker on the family history circuit and has spoken at a number of major events including Who Do You Think You Are? Live and Rootstech, as well as giving regular talks to family history groups. Dave has been researching his own family history since the mid-1970s and he hasn’t finished yet!
19 June (Wednesday) Canary Wharf – a journey back to the future – Charlie Forman
Canary Wharf was a totally new concept which revived London’s Docklands. Or was it? This lecture takes you back to the foundations of the West India Docks with their magnificent warehouses and follows through to the glittering high-rise commercial hub of today. It shows how history has repeated itself. The unprecedented speed and scale of change gave us the world’s biggest enclosed docks then, and some of the continent’s tallest buildings to marvel at now. It’s all happened twice – from the re-use of derelict space in an ‘island’ setting, through the innovative transport connections, and private security systems to the opposition of the City of London. Businesses central to the national economy underpinned both developments – from the slave owning sugar importers of two hundred years ago to the global finance houses of today. It is all there in a lecture that tells these parallel stories, while contrasting them with neighbouring Limehouse and its flagship Nicholas Hawksmoor church, a riverside community before the docks were dreamt of. We meet the likes of Robert Stephenson in the first build-out and come across Cesar Pelli and Norman Foster in the second.
Charlie Foreman
As a London walking tour guide and lecturer, I highlight the social, architectural and artistic history of my home city. It is a city I am passionate about, not least because it has a historic core larger and richer than any other world city. A member of the City of Westminster Guide Lecturers Association, my talks focus on the forces that have shaped and changed this multi-faceted metropolis and the artistic and cultural heritage that this has given us. After many hundreds of walks and a four-decade long career in housing and regeneration I have absorbed a deep understanding and appreciation of the capital. I’ve had some fascinating vantage points like the seven years build-up to the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games where I played a role in channelling potential long-term benefits into surrounding East London communities. My publications include Spitalfields: A battle for Land.
23 June (Sunday) Mikron Theatre Company to present Love, Peas, Trowel and Errors
26th June (Wednesday) Guided Tour of Ewelme Village and Water Cress Beds – Oxfordshire (Outing)
3rd July (Wednesday) Evening – Talk and Tour of Old Keepers Garden Hedgerley Village – Rob Cooper
Rob Cooper and Tristram Hanley have been creating the garden at Old Keepers in Hedgerley since 2016, when they fenced out the dastardly muntjac.
Based around the old brickmakers cottage, the earliest records of which date to 1749, the house has some interesting features as a result including a faux venetian window, a triangular pediment in the brickwork, and Rob’s favourite part a selection of bricks behind the wisteria etched with the initials of (one must presume) of the brick makers themselves.
The garden has been planned to complement the house and natural landscape, which is on a slope at the bottom of Hedgerley Hill. There is a more formal area near the house and a wild area full of wildflowers as you head towards the woods, a couple of woodland gardens, a productive area, and to the front of the house an area of plants that appear to be deer resistant.
This will be Rob and Tristram’s third year opening for the NGS, and the kindest comment they have had to date was:
“You can tell this is a real gardener’s garden, planted by someone that loves plants and propagates lots themselves. You have an eye for a view as it seems the whole garden has been planned around them”.
Following a short talk on the history of Old Keepers and the garden development in Hedgerley Memorial Hall, Rob and Tristram are looking forward to inviting you to enjoy the garden on a summer’s evening when they believe an English garden is often at it’s best – at the end of a day’s work, with friends and maybe a drink, with the beautiful scent of phlox and roses surrounding you.
16 October (Wed) Chilterns at Work – Dr Jill Eyers
Stretching from Oxfordshire’s Goring in the south to Royston, Hertfordshire in the north, the Chilterns forms a meandering chalk spine right across four counties: Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire. The Chilterns landscape is justly famous, but this beautiful area reflects centuries of people working the land including the woodland – and exploiting its resources in an imaginative way. This same landscape also gives us a glimpse of a once much more industrial past. This talk will provide a background to the resources of the Chilterns landscape, and then how people have used it over thousands of years.
The talk is connected to three books: Chilterns and work and Journey through the Chiltern Hills (both available through Amberley Publishing, and Chiltern Trails and tales which will be available at a discount price of £10 from Jill on the night.
Dr Eyers is a geologist and lives in the Chilterns. She has lectured for several UK universities and runs course with talks for local groups.
Her career took her to many parts of the world with projects in the Caribbean, Brazil and Turkey. Most of her professional work was as a freelance geological consultant, but she moved into the archaeological world when she set up Chiltern Archaeology in 2006.
Now semi-retired she has written numerous books.
26 October (Saturday) Autumn Lunch followed by Putting Hedgerley on the Map – from Gough to Google – John Leighfield
An updated talk, previously given in February 2018, heavily illustrated with pictures of all the key maps that feature Hedgerley from 1574 onwards. It gives a brief introduction to mapping from prehistoric times up to the earliest, primitive maps of Britain. It looks at the first extant map of Britain with genuine cartographic content and the revolution in mapping in the 16th century (particularly Saxton and Speed), in the 18th century (driven by a prize given by the RSA), in the 19th century (the Ordnance Survey) and then transformation in mapping brought about by the technological revolution of the late 20th and the 21st centuries.
John Leighfield was educated at Oxford 1958-1962 (Greats at Exeter College).
His career has been in IT from the pioneering days of 1962 onwards. He has been Chairman/President/Master of various national IT institutions and chairman of a number of IT companies.
Has had a major interest in Education as Chairman of Council of the University of Warwick, a member of the Development Boards of the Bodleian Library and of Exeter College, Oxford. He has been Chairman of Governors of a number of schools, including his old school, Magdalen College School, Oxford.
He has been collecting maps (of Oxford, Oxfordshire and adjoining counties and of Cornwall) since 1966 and regularly lectures on the topic.
9 November (Saturday) 2pm Searching for London’s Lost History – Jason Sandy
For over 2,000 years, the River Thames in London has been a repository of lost and discarded objects. At low tide, the exposed riverbed is the longest archaeological site in Britain. With permission from the Port of London Authority, mudlarks search for historic treasures revealed by the outgoing tide.
In this lecture, Jason Sandy, author of MUDLARKS: Treasures from the Thames and co-author of Thames Mudlarking, talks about some of the greatest artefacts discovered in the river. He will also display hundreds of artefacts from his own personal collection which you can handle.
20 November (Wed) Breakspeare, The English Pope – Adrian Waddingham
The only English pope in the history of the Catholic Church The first biography in over a century Overlooked for centuries, Nicholas Breakspear’s achievements outshone those of his contemporary, the martyr Thomas Becket. Born in poverty and probably illegitimate, Breakspear rose to become the only Englishman to ascend the throne of Saint Peter, ruling over the papal states as Adrian IV. His life is not a tale of liturgy or sermons, and there are more cannons than canons, as Breakspear faced fighting in Scandinavia and the Second Crusade in Spain. He was immediately thrust into conflicts upon his election as pope in 1154.
First, he had to overcome the rebellious republicans of Rome before defending his Church against armed threats from the Norman King William of Sicily, the Byzantine Emperor Comnenus and finally the German King Frederick Barbarossa, intent on restoring the former glories of the Holy Roman Empire. Breakspear saved his Church from German domination, but his legacy is contested.
There was a papal schism on his death and many blame him for allowing Henry II’s subjugation of Ireland in 1171. For the first time in over 100 years, R. A. J. Waddingham returns to the evidence in chronicles and medieval manuscripts to tell the whole story of Breakspear’s remarkable journey through twelfth-century Europe.
Adrian Waddingham is a retired consulting actuary and an Honorary Fellow of Royal Holloway, University of London. He was awarded a CBE in the Birthday Honours of 2012 for services to pensions. In 2019 he completed a Graduate Certificate in Historical Research, with merit, at Birkbeck, University of London.
His first book ‘Breakspear: the English Pope was published by The History Press in August 2022. Copies will be available to purchase on the night.
4 December (Wed) The Great Exhibition and Albertopolis – Peter Lawrence
This talk will cover Prince Albert’s team planning, the construction of the Crystal Palace, the success of the Great Exhibition and the incredible legacy it left that we can all enjoy today.
Peter Lawrence is a retired member of Royalty and Diplomatic Protection at Scotland Yard and is now an Adult Education Tutor of local history, author, broadcaster and Freeman of the City of London. Peter and his wife moved to Norfolk from Essex in 2011.
26 April (Sat) Outing Mail Rail & Postal Museum
3rd May (Sat), 11.15-13.15 Saturday Searching for London’s Lost History – Mudlarking Walk, Tickets £25.00
Members who attended the fascinating talk on Mudlarking by Jason Sandy in November last year will recall that Jason offered to lead a 2 hour walk along the Thames foreshore for HHS. I am pleased to advise you that a date has been fixed (Saturday 3rd May 2025). The walk is one of a number organised by the Thames Explorer Trust www.thamesexplorer.org.uk an educational charity working to teach people about the Thames.
This special event is held to celebrate the Totally Thames Festival and is a rare chance to meet our guest Jason Sandy (author of “Mudlarks: Treasures of the Thames” ) who will help you interpret the many artefacts found on the Thames foreshore and talk to you about his experiences. What archaeological surface artefacts will be revealed by the outgoing tide – smoking pipes, drainpipes, pottery, bones? There is lots of evidence of London’s past to be found. Money raised from these sessions supports the development and delivery of our schools’ programmes.
Meeting by the glass obelisk under Millennium Bridge, on the North Bank, we will explore the foreshore from the bridge to Queenhithe Dock. We are guaranteed to find pipes, pottery and lots of evidence as the twice daily tide reveals London’s history.
Booking is essential. Children must be accompanied by an adult (minimum age for children is 8 years). Maximum of 2 children per adult.
10 May (Sat) Study Day Who owns Hedgerley? The Templars to the Stevensons – Julian Hunt and Michael Rice
17 September (Wed) A potted vision of Stoke Poges – Harvey Whittam
‘A Potted Vision of Stoke Poges’ will be a whistle-stop tour of the heritage through the centuries from the Domesday book to the late 20th century. The talk will deal with the most eminent people to have lived in the Parish, such as, one of England’s greatest jurist, Sir Edward Coke; the poet, Thomas Gray and John Penn. Unlike many other Parishes, the prominence of more than one large country house features heavily in the talk. Dukes. Earls and Barons living in them, yet often not being Lords of the Manor. Several less well known facts, unearthed from archives in recent times are
explored: from a General having to ‘babysit’ a Duke of York to a Pope’s Secretary of State being educated in the village.
The first time Harvey came across Stoke Poges was in 1983 when he came to work in Slough from university. One of his bosses heard he played golf and so he was offered to join either Stoke Poges or Burnham Beeches golf club. Upon looking at the map, he chose Stoke Poges as it was closer and hosted major tournaments.
Harvey has always been interested in local history. He puts this down to going around many Parish churches as a child, followed by a good Sunday lunch at country house hotels. He has had life membership of the National Trust which has been a big draw to visiting wonderful properties.
None more so than, touring Scotland’s fine castles with his wife, Sue (a HHS Committee Member). The passion for studying the heritage of Stoke Poges only came about in 2016 on a visit a Norman Grundon’s waste site, organised by The Stoke Poges Society. He became its chairman of the ‘Society later that year. Now retired, he has recently helped Bucks Council in ensuring many properties are Local Heritage Listed. He continues to voluntarily collaborate with many groups interested in heritage in the Thames Valley, especially with HHS.
15 October (Wed) The History of Amersham through Place Names Alison Bailey
Why does Amersham have so many Stanleys? Westanley Avenue, Stanley Hill Avenue and Stanley Hill for example. How did Copperkins Lane get its name, or High & Over? Place names give us clues to our history, particularly local history, as the names of our streets and buildings often reflect local events and local people. Some Amersham names were evidently inspired by important events such as Lollard Close, or nature such as Cherry Lane. Others were inspired by people, whether they are the great and the good, such as Gilbert Scott Court or artisans and humble farmers such as Loudhams Road. Did a 9th century battle with the Danes give Gore Hill its name or was Turpin Row named after the famous highwayman?
25 October (Sat) Autumn Lunch 12noon – 2pm £20 – booking required. Followed by talk (free to members) 2.15pm Mavericks: Empire, Oil, Revolution and the Forgotten Battle of World War One – Nick Higham
When Russia crashed out of the First World War following the Revolution in 1917, Britain was desperate to prevent its German and Turkish enemies seizing the oil-rich port of Baku on the Caspian Sea. But the country had few soldiers to spare and Baku was hundreds of miles from the nearest British army. So a ramshackle plan was hastily thrown together by officials with little local knowledge to block the Turks, and a small group of enterprising, fearless and often reckless men were tasked with implementing it. One was a charismatic and unorthodox career soldier, who had been the model for one of Rudyard Kipling’s most popular characters. One was a Scottish aristocrat and diplomat who smuggled millions of roubles for the war effort. One was a brilliant inventor and the younger brother of one of the British army’s most senior generals. One was a seemingly indestructible soldier who was held hostage for sixty-five days in horrific conditions. The fifth was a spy who printed his own currency and would eventually emerge as an author at the age of ninety-nine.
Nick Higham’s talk, based on his forthcoming book, tells the five men’s story and that of the little-known Battle of Baku and its legacy.
Nick Higham is a writer and former journalist who spent nearly thirty years as a BBC correspondent. An accomplished television and radio performer, he is also a regular interviewer at literary festivals. His history of London’s water, The Mercenary River, was published in 2022.
8 November (Sat 2pm) Searching the Tower of London Moat Jason Sandy
During recent excavation works at the Tower of London castle, Historic Royal Palaces conducted an archaeological survey of the moat surrounding the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Archaeologists and metal detectorists worked side by side to recover a wide variety of historic artefacts. In this lecture, Jason Sandy (mudlark and author of MUDLARKS: Treasures from the Thames) will talk about his unique experience and show us the extraordinary objects they found while searching the medieval moat. You won’t believe the incredible history they uncovered which dates back to the Middle Ages!
Jason Sandy is a British American architect and property developer in London. He is a board member of the exclusive Society of Thames Mudlarks & Antiquarians, and he is a trustee of the Thames Explorer Trust. Jason’s mudlarking adventures have been featured on national television in Britain, USA, Germany and Canada. After writing extensively about mudlarking for magazines in Britain and USA, he wrote the book, MUDLARKS: Treasures from the Thames and co-authored Thames Mudlarking: Searching for London’s Lost Treasures. His mudlarking collection has been exhibited in the British Museum, Tate Modern, St. Paul’s Cathedral, National Maritime Museum, London Museum Docklands, Guildhall Art Gallery, Wildwoods Convention Center (USA) and other cultural institutions. Jason also lectures about mudlarking in schools, universities and organisations in Britain and USA.
19 November (Wed) The Good Ol’ Days Peter Phippen
10 December (Wed) Willie and Ettie: The Souls of Taplow Court – Nigel Smales
This is a tale of triumph and tragedy. For thirty years before WW1, William Grenfell, Lord Desborough, and his wife Ethel entertained elite friends at Taplow Court. This “interesting group of clever men and pretty women [was] known as ‘The Souls’. No section of London Society was better worth frequenting, including as it did all that was most intellectually amusing and least conventional”. Despite the heady Edwardian heights of being “bent on pleasure of a superior kind, looking for their excitement in romance and sentiment”, how could the story end sadly for many of The Souls?
Nigel Smales was nine when he fell in love with history for its fantastic stories. When he retired 50 years later from a career which evolved from architecture to management consultancy, he returned to that first love to write When You’re Smiler, his father’s biography, and Taplow Moments, a history of the place which has been his home for 28 years. And from these have grown a portfolio of talks which he enjoys sharing.
Prgramme for 2021-2
| 23 June 2021 Zoom | Nick Dobson | An Underground Guide to 1950’s London |
| 4 July 2021 (Sunday) 2pm | Alison Bailey | Outing Arts & Crafts architecture walk in Chesham Bois & Afternoon Tea Booking req’d |
| 27 July 2021 | Franzi Cheeseman | Guided Walk– Stoke Poges Memorial Gardens |
| 28 July 2021 | Norman Grundon | Outing – A summer evening in Hedgerley Park |
| 15 Sep 2021 | Mike Dewey | History of Holly Hill House Stoke Poges |
| 29 Sep 2021 | Museum Guide | Outing Guided Tour of Bentley Priory Bkg req |
| 6 October 2021 | Curator | Outing Curator Tour – Heath Robinson Museum Pinner & Optional Lunch Max 15 people each tour Booking required |
| 20 Oct 2021 | Julian Hunt | A E Housman, a Worcestershire Lad |
| 23 October 2021 | Peter Marsden BLHN convener | BLHN 2021 Conference – Wycombe Abbey Theme- History of Shopping in Bucks – from medieval market places to modern retail parks |
| 30 October 2021 | Julie Summers | Autumn Lunch and Dressed for War |
| 17 November 2021 | Jane Robinson | Ladies Can’t Climb Ladders |
| 27 Nov 2021 (Sat) | Paul Atterbury | At Home in the 20th Century Tickets £10 Memorial Hall Centenary Fundraising Event |
| 15 December 2021 | Keith Spencer | A History of Wycombe in 10 Objects |
| 19 January 2022 | Oliver Green | London’s Great Railway Stations |
| 16 February 2022 | Janice Cross | History of the National Garden Scheme |
| 16 March 2022 | Harvey Watson Battlefields Trust | The Harry Kirby Memorial Lecture The first blitz- Zeppelin & Gotha raids in WW1 |
| 20 April 2022 | Charlie Forman | How the West (End) was Won. A John Nash Production |
| 4 May 2022 | Joy Appleton (Donation to BHC) | Outing to Boxford Heritage Centre/ Boxford Roman Mosaic talk Limit 20 people |
| 18 May 2022 (AGM) | Anne Fletcher | Widows of the Ice (book due out 15/03/22) |
| 19 May 2022 | Jenefer Farncombe | Outing to Hall Barn Garden and Tea |
| 22 May 2022 | Michael Rice & Hilary Stainer | Beating the Bounds (walk) around Hedgerley |
| 15 June 2022 | Julian Hight | Britain’s Forest Story – history, legend and ancient trees |
| 16 June 2022 | Gardeners World Live | Coach £25pp approx. or Self Drive |
| Summer 2021 | Mikron Theatre Company | Historical Play as part of their 50th National Tour Hedgerley Memorial Hall |
| 21 September 2022 | Cathy Sturrock | Beckonscot Historical Photographic Archive |
| 19 October 2022 | Sir John Randall | The History of Randall’s of Uxbridge |
| 29 October 2022 | Dinah Latham | Autumn Lunch Walking Forward, Looking Back |
| 16 November 2022 | Marian Miller | Tales of a House Detective |
| 21 December 2022 | Tom Chesshyre | From Source to Sea |
| 18 January 2023 | Oliver Green | Metro-land to HS2 |
| 15 February 2023 | Rena Hume | Charles Rennie Mackintosh |
| 15 March 2023 | The Harry Kirby Memorial Lecture | |
| 19 April 2023 | Keith Piercy | Harefield Light Railway |
| 17 May 2023 (AGM) | 21 June 2023 | 20 September 2023 |
| POSSIBLE OUTINGS |
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