All the talks take place on a Wednesday in the Mead Hall in East Lane, Wheathampstead
(behind The Bull, next to the free car park, starting at 7.30 pm).
Admission is £1.00 for members and £3.00 for non-members and guests.
March 2022 update
The relaunch of our programme of monthly talks at the Mead Hall is going well. The five talks held so far have been well attended and much appreciated. They are still (at the time of writing) subject to a maximum attendance of 30 people and members may wish to wear face coverings. We are now planning the programme for the rest of the year and will alert all members to forthcoming talks as well as putting up posters in the village.
2021 |
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20 October |
Kris Lockyear |
Mapping Verulamium |
In this talk, Kris brought us up to date with the latest findings that he and his team of volunteers have made at Verulamium, particularly in the western half of the old city, now the estate of Gorhambury. He showed how combining three methods of geophysics (ground penetrating radar, magnetometry and earth resistance surveys) can reveal extraordinary detail of what is underground without the need to excavate. For more about these methods, click here. |
17 November
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Jon Mein |
The Red Lion - a story of a 500-year-old St Albans inn |
The Red Lion inn, under a series of different names and rebuilt at least twice, stood on the corner of French Row and High Street in St Albans. Jon showed how, starting in the 15th century, the fortunes of the inn ebbed and flowed according to the state of the coaching business. When St Albans was a day's ride from London, the inn boomed along with more than 20 others in the town. The introduction of an up-market competitor in Fishpool Street damaged the business and the arrival of the railways made things even worse. The emergence of St Albans as a tourist attraction and business centre, and mass ownership of the motor car, led to some revival. |
15 December |
Mike Smith |
Christmas Day in the workhouse |
Using a variety of photographs and slides of original documents kept at HALS, Mike described the historical background and legislative context of the opening of the Wheathampstead workhouse in High Street in the mid-18th century. A document dated 1821 listed the 30 occupants of the workhouse at that date and another, dated 1824, stated the 'Rules for the Poorhouse'. Particularly fascinating were the letters exchanged between different parish authorities concerning settlement disputes and which authority should pay for the support of individuals and families who had moved between parishes. The Wheathampstead workhouse closed in 1836 and the building and contents were sold. Mike showed us the inventory of the contents and his reconstruction of the layout of the building which was demolished in 1936. |
2022 |
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19 January |
Mike Smith |
Wheathampstead in ten objects |
In an entertaining and informative sprint through the history of Wheathampstead, Mike took us from Wheathampstead Lake half a million years ago, via the Iron Age, Romans, Saxons, medieval and modern periods, to the 19th and 20th centuries. He showed how the village has lived through periods of boom and slump, and finished on an optimistic note for the future. In discussion, many members were able to contribute to the main presentation. |
16 February |
Tony Berk |
The origins and history of Harpenden |
Dr. Tony Berk gave a fascinating presentation about the Origins of Harpenden that effectively challenged the old notion that Harpenden owed its growth to the coming of the mainline railway in the late 1860s. Two crucial drivers helped to raise Harpenden's profile and to foster growth. The first was the establishment of the Rothamsted Experimental Station in 1843 by John Benet Lawes and its highly influential work on crop yields. The second was the Harpenden horse races that ran from the 1830s until 1914. The first regular race in 1848 attracted a crowd of 10,000. |
16 March |
Ken Griffin |
Gallows Hill and Hertfordshire executions |
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20 April |
Elizabeth Eastwood |
The lost palaces of Hertfordshire |
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18 May |
Dianne Payne |
Researching and writing a book for Wheathampstead |
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15 June |
Heather Falvey |
The jottings of two Buntingford vicars: the Layston Parish Memorandum Book |
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20 July |
Zoe Jasko |
What the wind saw - short stories from the heart of Hertfordshire |
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August |
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There will not be a meeting in August |
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21 September |
Elizabeth Eastwood |
The Wicked Women of Hertfordshire
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The following local and national societies offer a wide variety of online talks.
The St Albans History Society (SAHAAS), better known as the 'Arc & Arc'. Click here.
The Hertfordshire Association for Local History (HALH). Click here.
The Institute for Historical Research (IHR). Click here.
The National Archives. Click here.
Gresham Lectures. Click here.