Past Events 2024

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Wednesday October 9th 7.30 at Park Junior School
Jonathan Holt “Architectural follies in Gloucestershire”
Jonathan showed his photographs of various follies arouind Gloucestershire and explained the history behind them


Wednesday September 11th 7.30 at Park Junior School
Jack Boskett – “From railways to royalty”
Multi-award winning photographer Jack Boskett presented “From Railways to Royalty.”
His extensive portfolio includes his experiences as an official photographer during the solemn occasion of Queen Elizabeth’s funeral and the grandeur of King Charles’ Coronation. Jack showed us his superb photographs and explained the strories behind them.

Surprisingly, Jack attributes his remarkable journey to his initial passion for railways. He showed us a few of his railway photos and promised to come back next year with many more.


Wednesday July 10th 7.30 at Park Junior School
Dr Toby Jones
“The Newport Medieval Ship: Unravelling the secrets of a mid-15th Century Clinker-Built Merchant Vessel”

Discovered, disassembled and raised in 2002-3, the remains of the Newport Medieval Ship have progressed through cleaning, documentation, analysis and conservation treatment. The ship, which dates to the 1450s/1460s, was probably built in the Basque Country in Spain.  
The use of modern technologies has enabled researchers to determine the dimensions, capacity, and performance of the original vessel.
The examination of the individual ship timbers and overall hull form have led to a greater understanding of Atlantic-Iberian ship design, construction sequence, and woodland resource management in the late medieval period.

Research efforts are currently focussed on plans for reassembly and display, with a multi-disciplinary team designing a comprehensive support structure.
Made from fibre-reinforced polymers that will provide universal support for the hull remains, the support structure would remain largely hidden in the inter-frame spaces of the re-assembled hull, thus satisfying both structural and aesthetic challenges.


Wednesday June 12th 7.30 at Park Junior School
Mike Smith
– “The Stroud Gas Works Tramway”
Stroud’s gas works was located adjacent to the Stroudwater Navigation and coal was delivered by boat to the gas works own wharf. During the 1920s, traffic on the canal dropped considerably with a corresponding drop in maintenance, so coal delivery by water became more and more difficult.
The Stroud Gas Light and Coke Company built a coal tipper and hopper near the railway line from Dudbridge Junction to Stroud and a narrow gauge railway to enable coal to be delivered by rail. 


Wednesday May 8th 7.15 at Park Junior School
Annual General Meeting
The Agenda and Reports can be found here

followed by members’ talks on “Shops of Stonehouse”
Janet Hudson – The Old Dairy and adjacent shops
Alex Walmsley – Willcox Chemist 
Shirley Dicker – The history of the Co-op in Stonehouse
Vicki Walker – The history of the shops in Queen’s Road


Wednesday April 10th 7.30 at Park Junior School
Dr Steven Blake –
The remarkable John Bellamy (1808-1893): the story of a Gloucestershire travelling showman”

Travelling shows were a familiar sight in 19th-century England, and in its day, one of the best known was John Bellamy’s ‘British Model Gallery’. This was a collection of cork and card models of historic buildings which toured the country in a fleet of caravans between 1836 and Bellamy’s death in 1893, when he was described as ‘the oldest showman in England’. Drawing largely on Bellamy’s unpublished memoirs and contemporary newspaper accounts, this talk traced the career of Gloucestershire-born Bellamy as he travelled the country from town to town and fair to fair. It provided an insight into an important aspect of the popular culture of Victorian England.


Wednesday March 13th 7.30 at Park Junior School
Kate Peake – “The Cotswold Way”
Kate Peake showed a series of short films
taking us on a journey along the Cotswold Way from Chipping Campden to Painswick.


Wednesday February 14th 7.30 at Park Junior School
Short talks by members
Phil Bischler“A short history of alum, a tale of the Pope, pirates and pee!”
Cresby Brown“Gloucestershire’s Wayside crosses”
Alex Walmsley – Saving Stonehouse Railway Station – Jack Anderson’s role.
Vicki Walker“Frank Moore 1889-1977”


Wednesday January 10th 7.30 at Park Junior School
Kevin Ward – “
Fundraising for weapons in the Stroud district in World War Two”
Kevin Ward is the Museum Development Manager at the Museum in the Park, Stroud.
In this new talk he gave an overview of the history of the Stroud district and weapons of war,
before describing some of the community fundraising activities and weapons bought by the district in World War Two.