
Events Search and Views Navigation
September 2022
The Falklands War – a first hand experience
Tom Navin, a Falklands veteran, will be talking about his experiences as a combat medic during that conflict. The talk will be illustrated and there will be an extended Q & A session.
Find out more »October 2022
Thomas Brassey – “The greatest railway builder in the world”
An equally famous Thomas in the history of railway building, Thomas Brassey was born at Buerton, Aldford, near Chester in 1805. He was at the forefront of railway mania, building railways across the world and employing some 85,000 men at the height of his career. Our speaker, Peter Bolt, is Secretary of the Thomas Brassey Society and has been involved with the subject for over 50 years.
Find out more »November 2022
Surgical Aspects of WW1
The return of Michael Crumplin, a retired surgeon from Wrexham hospital, is much anticipated. In November he will be looking at what surgery was like, from both sides of the knife, from 1914 to 1918 and aren't we thankful we are living now and not then. His lectures are like no other and not to be missed.
Find out more »December 2022
An Interlude with Joyce Grenfell
Jean Finney is a singer, songwriter and artist but in December she will be Joyce Grenfell for the evening - wonderful. So behave yourselves: "George, don't do that".
Find out more »January 2023
Mary Fitton of Gawsworth
In January Tony Bostock, a local well-known historian, will be joining us to take a look at the life and loves of a Maid of Honour at the court of Elizabeth I. Mary Fitton became a favourite of the Queen but was she also the Dark Lady of Shakespeare's sonnets? Join us on one of those dark January nights to find out.
Find out more »February 2023
Eyam – the Plague Village of England
Chris Green will be giving us the amazing story of the villagers of Eyam in Derbyshire, who voted to quarantine when the bubonic plague came to their village in 1665. What happened next? Some of the descendants of the survivors are still living in the village to this day.
Find out more »March 2023
Pierhead Painters
Unlike those painters who use their artistic licence to great effect, those artists who painted ship portraits are renowned for a careful and accurate depiction of their subjects. The ships' masters commissioning the work demanded a precise rendition of their chosen vessel. Our speaker, Jonathan Aylen, explores the narratives and peculiarities behind some of these paintings.
Find out more »April 2023
The Great Miss Lydia Becker
Miss Lydia Becker was a suffragist, scientist and trailblazer from Manchester, who in the late 19th century became the national leader of the women's suffrage movement, inspiring a 14 year old Emmeline Pankhurst. Although dying 13 years before the founding of the Suffragettes, her work helped to lay the foundations of the campaigns of the early 20th century. Joanna M Williams, an historian and author, will be revealing all.
Find out more »May 2023
The Warburton Archaeology Survey, 1996 to 2022
This month we have Dr Michael Nevell, Head of Archaeology at the University of Salford, looking at the archaeology of Warburton from its prehistoric past to its 19th century buildings. We will be taking a look at the Warburton Roman hoard, the timber framed and brick buildings of the village including the church and the post-medieval corn mill site. Perhaps after this talk you will be able to look at your own locality with new eyes.
Find out more »June 2023
The Ghosts of Chester – the inside story
The nights might be short but Tom Jones, a Chester tour guide, will still be able to find the darker areas of Chester, giving us an insight into the strange and inexplicable goings-on in and around Chester when the bats are out and about.
Find out more »