Winter Programme 2025/2026
Meet in Hill Ridware Village Hall WS15 3RJ.
7.30pm for 7.45pm start. Tea/coffee available.
Non-members are welcome. £3 per visit
For information on how to join please contact: Membership Secretary: Helen Sharp 01543 490873.
Monday 6 October: AGM followed by David Robbie – Great Haywood, Past and Present, People and Places.
David is a retired teacher from Fair Oak School and local historian with more than a passing interest in J. R R Tolkien. His most recent publication represents over 50 years of research and over 30 years of writing. He will endeavour to condense all this knowledge into a lively, informative talk with some humour and poetry thrown in. Great Haywood, he says was founded by Angles in the sixth century and recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. With its manor that included the adjacent estate of Shugborough and the ancient Forest of Cank, it became an important political, religious and commercial centre in the Middle Ages. He will speak of its’ involvement in the tumultuous events surrounding the overthrow of Richard II in the 14th century, the Wars of the Roses of the 15th century, Tudor intrigues in the 16th century, the English Civil War of the 17th century and the Jacobite Rebellion of the 18th century. He discusses the transport revolutions of the 18th and 19th centuries and Great Haywood’s location on four great highways of travel and trade. He will talk about the powerful nobles, influential politicians, fine artists and writers, a serial killer, Nazi war criminals and a large tropical reptile who all have had links to this village.
Monday 3 November: Berenice Wilson: Anglo Saxon Women
Berry’s research is on Anglo-Saxon women 1050-1150ish. Using mostly the Domesday Book as her main source she is able to piece together the life stories, vignettes as it were, of the English women who managed to ride out the vicissitudes of the Norman Conquest with their landholdings still intact. Staffordshire exemplars include Godgifu of Madeley who held a quite substantial group of holdings around Moddershall; Aki’s sister, who may have been a hermit or a nun at Stone; and last but not least to Lady Godiva who may have spent time in Kings Bromley.
Monday 1 December: Ann Featherstone: Fools and Horses the Victorian Circus
This talk provides a fascinating insight into the history of the Victorian circus: the buildings and tents, the feats and performances and the lives of the men and women who rode, tumbled and clowned in them.
A history of the hey-day of circus, in the Victorian era is one of high success and dreadful failure, of fires, falls and fabulous feats. Of horses, equilibrists, aerial acts and clowns, and the men (and women) who rode, tumbled, swung and gagged. Of ‘Lord’ George Sanger whose circus was pitched at Windsor Castle to perform for Queen Victoria. And Charlie Keith who invented the first iron circus. This talk provides a fascinating insight into this little known aspect of Victorian entertainment.
Monday January 12: Kent Parson: One man’s journey into the past; A tale of persecution, romance, massacre and shipwreck.
Handsacre resident and keen family history researcher, Kent will share fascinating research into his 19th century ancestor, the Reverand his 3x great grandfather Joseph Parson. It starts when the Rev. sails to India to take up a chaplaincy… It covers the Rev sailing to India to take up a chaplaincy and covers persecution, romance, massacre and shipwreck! He shares his discovery of an intriguing DNA discrepancy in the family. Kent will also provide a list of websites (in a handout) which might prove useful in members’ research.
Monday 2 February: Vanessa Morgan – ‘How to do Family History’
Vanessa worked as a genealogist for many years. Working for people as far afield as Australia and Canada, but also doing a bit of heir hunting. Also, a writer, she has written seven books for The History Press, local history and how-to family history books as well as true nineteenth century murder cases. Her talk will give some handy pointers for beginners researching family history and for those more advanced researchers. She will try to answer queries you may have. If anyone already has a specific question in mind, let me know and I will pass it on in advance of her talk.
Monday 2 March: Sally Roberts – Mary Adela Blagg – Cheadle’s Pioneering Astronomer.
Sally, a member of the Cheadle Discovery Group became interested in one of the earliest female astronomers when she learned that she was living in Mary Blagg’s house.
Mary, was one of the first women to be admitted as a fellow of the royal astronomical society. A crater on the moon is named after her. A minor moon was named after her only a couple of years ago. She collated a lot of mapping, references, drawings etc to create one ‘map’ of the moon which was used for many years. She developed an improved formula for calculating the distance between a star and its planets (this was used until the1960’s) She lived her whole life in Cheadle, an unassuming woman who did not court celebrity but was nevertheless respected by her (male) colleagues and, surprisingly for the time, given due credit.