Programme for 2024-2025
We have an exciting programme of talks for 2024-2025, covering a range of subject matter from local to national and across the ages.
Meetings are held on the third Thursday of each month, starting at 7.30pm, at the Windhill Churches Centre, Windhill, Bishops Stortford, CM23 2ND.
Non-members are welcome to all meetings, for a £5 entry payable at the door (cash or card)
The nearest car parks can be found at Basbow Lane (CM23 2NA) and Apton Road (CM23 3SN). Both are just a short walk from the Centre. Please note that the charging regime continues to 8:00pm. A little further away, the car park in Jackson Square, under Sainsbury’s, is free after 6:00pm
September 19
Hertfordshire Gardens in the Tudor and Stuart Periods
Dr Anne Rowe
Many wealthy and influential men have chosen to live in the county of Hertfordshire and this talk will look at the evidence for some of the great gardens they created during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Examples include those made for Henry VIII at his palace at Hunsdon, those for the King’s Secretary, Sir Ralph Sadleir, at Standon Lordship, and those laid out at Hadham Hall for Baron Capel in the early seventeenth century.
October 17
Warfare in England in the 10th and 11th Centuries including the Battle of Maldon
John Pullen-Appleby
This talk will discuss the tumultuous process and military campaigns that produced a united kingdom for the English. It will examine the trials and tribulations experienced by the rulers striving to preserve it intact and, additionally, the two battles fought at Maldon in the late 10th century, culminating in the accession of Cnut in 1016.
November 21
The Gunpowder Plot
Richard Thomas
The background to the “Powder Treason” is examined and the involvement of those who laid the plot: Catesby, Percy, Guido Fawkes and ten other conspirators. The events of early November 1605 are outlined as well as the flight and fate of the conspirators, including the trial and executions of those who were captured.
December 19
Henry VII and the Tudor Pretenders: Shadowy Conspiracies and Murky Plots
Nathan Amin
In 1485 Henry Tudor emerged from the Battle of Bosworth victorious, having killed Richard III. But peace did not reign over England thereafter. In this talk the myriad conspiracies and murky plots which sought to depose the first Tudor king will be examined, focusing on the three pretenders whose causes were fervently advanced by Yorkist dissidents – Lambert Simnel, Perkin Warbeck and Edward, Earl of Warwick. Just how close did the Tudors come to being overthrown long before the myth of their greatness had taken hold?
January 16
The Good School Guide to 19th Century Bishop’s Stortford
Dr Chris Connell
Starting from nothing, the 19th century saw the building of a range of schools in Bishop’s Stortford to serve the needs of a growing population. Many of these are still operating today, with some of the original buildings being used until the 1960’s and now re-purposed. The provision also reflected the religious division within the town.
February 20
Royston Caves
Keith Patrick-Matthews
Since its re-discovery almost 300 years ago, Royston Cave has been a source of speculation and mystery, especially for its religious carvings. The current consensus is that it was built by the Knights Templar in the 12th or 13th century. However, the style of the carvings suggest a later date and a culprit for their creation has been identified.
March 20
Mikhail Gorbachev and the Collapse of the Soviet Union
Dr Jonathan Davis
In March 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev became General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and leader of the Soviet Union. He introduced fundamental reforms at home, including perestroika and glasnost, and forged friendships with Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan which led to the end of the Cold War. But after six years of upheaval and chaos, Gorbachev called time on the USSR and brought the red flag down over the Kremlin. This talk will discuss the consequences of Gorbachev’s reforms, showing how he unleashed destabilising forces that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991.
April 17
Tudor Education in Essex
Tony Tuckwell MBA
The early chantry schools that emerged as endowed grammar schools in the mid-16th century were intended to provide a literate governing class for the new Protestant Reformation. This talk will demonstrate how politics, religion and education were powerfully linked but also how the classical curriculum offered by grammar schools for over 300 years became increasingly irrelevant, leading to enforced reform by Gladstone’s first Liberal government. Find out why Chelmsford Free Grammar School is the only one on record as having killed a pupil by corporal punishment and why one of its Headmasters was accused of being a papist rebel.
May 15
AGM and a talk: Bishop William - the Godfather of Bishop's Stortford
Dr Mike James
In about 1080, a Norman motte-and-bailey castle was constructed in the Stort river valley. Bishop’s Stortford was insignificant then compared to its more prosperous neighbours, yet Waytemore Castle remained active for over five centuries, unlike the many hundreds of its mediaeval contemporaries. Why was its location special? How was it built? What was it for? This talk discusses some of that history and reasons for Waytemore’s longevity.
After the talk refreshments will be served.
The programme for the 2024-25 season can be downloaded here.