Dr Simon La Frenais will be detailing the tempestuous career and death of this remarkable sailor who, as well as captaining the Beagle on its amazing voyage, also founded the Meteorological Department, now known as the Met Office.

This month we welcome Elizabeth Morris.  Elizabeth is a trained actor with a love of history who brings her characters to life through performance.  We will experience the true story of a Northwich Union Workhouse inhabitant, Lizzie Vernon.

A talk by Dave Thomas who has been, for the last 3 years, a volunteer teamsman, dressed accordingly, at the farm at Tatton Park.  His talk is about the Egertons who owned the estate for some 360 years from 1598, until the death of the last Baron Egerton in 1958…

The Rylands family were substantial employers during the 19th century in Warrington where they manufactured wire - as a consequence the Rylands name is well known in Warrington to this day.  One of the family was Peter Rylands who lived at Massey Hall and who became a Mayor of Warrington…

David North, who is an artist and resident of  Little Leigh, will be talking about Jabez Thompson and his red terracotta bricks.  These decorative bricks are used nationwide, in particular they were used for the 'Last Supper' reredos at the Church of St Michael and All Angels at Little Leigh.

This month Philip Harrison will be giving us his personal reminiscences and anecdotes from the design and building of the Roman Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral in Liverpool.  Philip was the resident site architect during its construction from 1964-1968.

Please note that we will be holding the meeting at the Scout Hall on the corner of Well Lane and Church Street.     Elizabeth Williams, a Trustee of the Elizabeth Gaskell House in Manchester, will be discussing the ways in which the authors treated love, both in their books…

Last Chance!  Admission ( £5 ) must be purchased in advance by today , Friday 6th December,  latest. No tickets at the door. Note that we will be holding the meeting at the Scout Hall on the corner of Well Lane and Church Street and starting slightly later than usual…

This year we shall be attending a screening of the Christmas themed ballet - The Nutcracker.  This screening will be held  at the Curzon cinema at Knutsford at 3 pm, with a car share leaving from The Wheatsheaf, Weaverham, at 2 pm.

Gary Conley was a miner at the Sutton Manor Colliery for 19 years until 1991.  He initially worked at the coal face but later transferred to the surface and eventually into colliery management.  He now tells the story of growing up in a mining family, the humour and heartache of…