2026
Next event
25th April (Saturday) 12 noon 50th Anniversary Lunch Bull Hotel Gerrards Cross
The first meeting of HHS was on Wednesday 24th February 1976. Join us to celebrate our half centenary. Tickets £30
9th May Study Day (Saturday, 10am – 4pm) Hedgerley Memorial Hall and Burnham Beeches – Julian Hunt and Dr Helen Read MBE
Our theme this year is the history of Farnham Royal and Burnham Beeches. In the afternoon Dr Helen Read will lead a walk to describe the history of Burnham beeches
Upcoming events
2026
20th May (Wednesday) Historic Bridges of Bucks – Marshall Hall
Marshall Hall is a retired UK university professor of Socio-anthropology who has held a lifelong interest in travel, exploration, linguistics, architecture, and adventure. As an American living in London he enjoys a multicultural perspective on career, family, and the human condition. He has three daughters and ten grandchildren living in America.
He originally moved from the University of Cincinnati to England to teach for the American College in London and 33 years later still calls the UK home. He is married to an English woman, has UK citizenship, and lives in Chesham just outside central London.He is often asked what sparked his specific interest in bridges, especially old ones, to which he doesn’t have a clear answer, but seems certain it has something to do with the human aspect of them. How important were they to the people who used them, how many feet have crossed them, how difficult were they to build, and what stories are there surrounding them? There is always a story. None-the-less, wherever he travelled if there was a bridge nearby, he had to have a look and take photos. There is a particularly rich history of bridges in England and during his years here Marshall has visited and researched hundreds of them.
Today Marshall writes, teaches the occasional university class as a guest lecturer, does public speaking, and tends to his allotment. In 2019 he self-published a travelogue about his three-month adventure to the South Pacific islands entitled “Searching for Paradise” and is currently working on a local linguistic book called Blimey I’m Knackered, An American’s Survival Guide to British English.
21 May (Thursday) Sue Woolnough – Frogmore Paper Mill Outing (Self Drive)
Hemel Hempstead Bkgs close 15 th April 26
5 June (Friday) Charlie Forman – Regents Canal Cruise Outing
Bookings close 20 th May 2026
Long boat trips to Little Venice in west London. On this trip departing 1115 you pass through St. Pancras, Camden locks, and Regent’s Park, and the shorter Maida Hill Tunnel. The journey takes about two hours each way. On request we stop on route to enable you to buy a sandwich for lunch from a convenience store. The boat stops for just a few minutes at Little Venice, where toilet facilities are available. Guided trip with tea/coffee on board.
9 June 2026 (Tuesday) 7pm MIKRON Theatre Company perform Wensleydale Whey
June 17th (Wednesday) A brief history of Myddelton Street Dave Annal
20th June (Saturday,12 noon) 50th Anniversary Party and BBQ White Horse Hedgerley – £15
1st July (Wed) Guided Tour of Luton Hoo Walled Garden (Self Drive) 11am £7.50
The Walled Garden at Luton Hoo Estate was designed by Capability Brown in the late 1760’s for John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, noted Botanist and Prime Minister under George III.The Garden changed and evolved under owners and management to match the fashion of horticulture in the 19th and 20th centuries, with each owner leaving their mark on the garden’s rich history.
8th July (Wed) 6.30pm A Summer Evening at Bekonscot Free
Bekonscot Model Village & Railway is the world’s oldest and original model village, opening for the first time in 1929.
In 1927, Mr Roland Callingham, a London accountant, instructed gardeners to dig a swimming pool at his home in Beaconsfield. The pool and tennis courts were used for garden parties, attended by politicians, royals, aristocrats and the movers and shakers of the era, they would come out for a breath of country air. In 1928, Mrs Callingham made a short but moving speech which suggested that either the indoor model railway went, or she did. The model railway moved outdoors.
Local buildings and personal favourites of the staff provided much of the village’s inspiration, for all were constructed from memory, photos or imagination. Bekonscot’s founder was never concerned with precision: it was, and always will be, eccentric, fun and full of character – Bekonscot was never meant to be taken too seriously.
Bekonscot has been through many changes in its history. The biggest change came in 1992, when it went from being a modern reflection of rural England featuring all of the latest cars, trains and planes, to reverting back to capturing a snapshot in time of the 1930s.
July 15th (Wed) The English Village Dr Jill Eyers
5th August (Wed) Coach Outing to Canterbury (from Hedgerley Premier SL2 3RP 8.30am) £30 Join us as we head east for a visit to the historic city of Canterbury where you will have the opportunity to visit a UNESCO World Heritage Site – Canterbury Cathedral which dates back to 597AD when St Augustine became the first Archbishop, the ruins of St Augustine’s Abbey and St Martin’s Church where St Augustine first worshipped in England’s oldest working Parish Church.
If you like Museums you can visit the Roman Museum, Beaney House of Art and Knowledge and Kent Museum of Freemasonry. A perfect way to discover interesting facts and hidden gems of the city is by taking a river boat tour or for the more adventurous punts can be hired. Guided (or self guided) walking tours are available and you can relax in Dane John and Westgate Gardens. There are plenty of cafes and restaurants plus retail therapy in the extensive shopping area.
6th September (Sun) Fawley Hill Railway and Museum Invitation Running Day £15
Bookings close 1st July
Fawley Museum is a private museum established in the 1960s by the late Sir William McAlpine at his estate near Henley on Thames. It hosts a fine collection of memorabilia and models relating to railways and other forms of transport together with a working standard gauge railway operating on the steepest gradient in the country.
23rd September (Wednesday) Guided Tour of Cumberland Lodge Windsor Great Park £15
The Lodge was built in the 17th century by John Byfield, a captain in Oliver Cromwell’s army, and was originally known as Byfield House. It was taken over by Charles II following the restoration of the monarchy, and for much of its subsequent history it was the official residence of the Rangers of Windsor Great Park. The first to reside at the Lodge was Baptist May, Keeper of the Privy Purse. Other rangers to reside at the Lodge include Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, and William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, the third son of King George II and from whom the building takes its name.
HHS 