Winter Programme 2026/2027
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 5 October: AGM followed by How To Do Family History. Vanessa Morgan, a writer and genealogist currently researching local Victorian crime and murders, will introduce key family history records and sources, share a few lighter historical anecdotes, and offer guidance to anyone with questions or difficulties in their own family history research.
Monday 2 November: Dr Charlotte Bull is an art historian working mainly in outreach and education, currently delivering history courses for adults in Lichfield. Her talk – Beasts of the Battle(field): the Staffordshire Hoard – examines the Staffordshire Hoard through the eyes of an art historian, revealing birds, beasts and rich symbolic detail.
Monday 7 December: Have Yourself a Wild Xmas. This seasonal talk by Kevin Reymolds, an amateur naturalist living in the Staffordshire Moorlands explores the role of animals, plants and the environment in Christmas festivities. Why holly, ivy and robins? And why does Rudolph have a red nose? A fast-moving, well-illustrated and humorous look at the origins of our Christmas traditions.
Monday January 11: Peter Cole, Bagman of the Armitage Mummers, will speak about the group and its traditions. The Armitage Mummers are a section of Lichfield Morris Men, often seen performing around Armitage on New Year’s Day.
Monday 1 February: Anthony Poulton-Smith is a prolific local history writer with a particular interest in the origins of place names. In this audience-led talk, he will explore English place names chosen by those attending, so please come prepared with your suggestions and questions.
Monday 1 March: Richard Ewing, Ridware History Society committee member and author of the one-place study of Armitage-with-Handsacre, tells the story of the Lister family of Hawkesyard. Before it became associated with the Spode family or the Dominican Priory, it was the home of the Listers. Richard’s talk recounts the story of the family who established the estate and explores how their descendants became connected with the literary circle of Anne Seward, the government, the royal court, and even a future British Prime Minister.