Meetings 2010 to 2018

To give a flavour of the wide variety of talks, below is a list of meetings held between 2010 and 2018

2010 – 2011 Season

October 5^th	“SOLDERING” IN EARNEST, Aspects of the Crimean War 1854-1856 – Mr Andrew Sewell
November 2^nd	HISTORY OF WOBURN ABBEY & THE RUSSELL FAMILY – Mr Chris Gravett – Curator, Woburn Abbey
December 7^th	VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS – Seasonal entertainment, with mince pies & mulled wine. Period costume optional .
2011
February 1^st	FLITWICK MOOR MURDER, A C19th mystery – Mr Mark Steinhart (followed by wine & cheese)
March 1^st	HISTORY OF THE BEDFORD CHARITY (HARPUR TRUST) THROUGH ITS BUILDINGS – Mr Richard Wildman
April 5^th	GOWRIE CONSPIRACY The attempted kidnap of James VI and political intrigue – Dr David Davies
May 3^rd	AGM & Eric Houfe Memorial Lecture 7:30pm THE PRE-RAPHAELITES AT OXFORD – Dr Linda Whiteley, lecturer for Oxford University Summer Schools and expert on C19^th art

2011 – 2012 Season

October 4th	TREASURES OF THE CECIL HIGGINS GALLERY – Tom Perrett, Head of Collections
November 1st	A BEDFORD MISCELLANY – Simon Houfe, Andrew Sewell, Richard Wildman
December 6th	CHRISTMAS SOCIAL & FILM NIGHT Archive films of Bedfordshire life. (Mince pies & mulled wine.)
2012
February	N.B No February meeting this year.
March 6th	SIR JOHN SOANE & MOGGERHANGER PARK – Richard Millar
April 3rd	BONE, STRAW & PAPER – Life of 19th-century French prisoners – Paul Chamberlain
May 1st	AGM 7:30pm followed by the Eric Houfe Memorial Lecture. THE COLLECTIONS OF THE 2ND EARL OF UPPER OSSORY – Sir Timothy Clifford

2012 – 2013 Season

October 2^nd	BEDFORDSHIRE PAINTERS – Richard Wildman
November 6^th	HANDS-ON HISTORY See and handle artefacts from history – Paul Hyman
December	CHRISTMAS SOCIAL (Mince pies & mulled wine.) A brief history of Rosebery House – James Gibb
2013
February	N.B No February meeting this year.
March 5^th	EDMUND WINGATE The celebrated mathematician – Revd Stephen Williams
April 2nd	A QUAKER WEDDING What a local wedding can reveal about social history – Dr Barry Dackombe
May 7^th	AGM 7:30pm followed by the Eric Houfe Memorial Lecture CHURCH MONUMENTS IN BEDFORDSHIRE – Simon Houfe

2013 – 2014 Season

2013 – 14
October 1st	THE LIFE OF GODFREY PLACE VC, Local hero and Midget Submarine Commander – Paul Watkins (Author)
November 5th	THE HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE PRIORY Henry II to Henry VIII – Hugh Garrod
December 3rd	CHRISTMAS SOCIAL & A short local film and photo exhibition (Mince pies & mulled wine.)
2014
March 4th	BEDFORDSHIRE SCANDALS – Nigel Luft, Bedfordshire and Luton Archives & Record Service
April 1st	THE VIGIL – A dramatised trial in which you will be the jury. Various local actors
May 6th	AGM 7:30pm followed by the Eric Houfe Memorial Lecture WESTMINSTER ABBEY Its Bedfordshire connections – Andrew Sewell

2014 – 2015 Season

2014
October 7th	THE HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE PRIORY after Henry VIII, till now – Hugh Garrod
November 4th	CHASING STEEPLES, How the Grand National started, in Harlington! – Steve Williams
December 2nd	A TOUR OF AVENUE HOUSE, A BBC archive film with Sir Albert Richardson – Simon Houfe (Mince pies & mulled wine.)
2015
FRIDAY March 6th – at Parkside Hall	THE FOSSIL LADY OF LYME – One-woman show with Alison Neil. Tickets in advance, with priority for society members.
April 7th	DINNER INVITATION FROM DIANA ASTRY, some of her recipes, with tastings – Jennie Sewell
May 5th	AGM 7:30pm followed by the Eric Houfe Memorial Lecture VICTORIAN Pre Raphaelite watercolours and drawings – An expert from The Higgins, Bedford

2015 – 2016 Season

2015
October 6th	POLITICS, COSTUME AND TENNIEL – How they affected social change in the 19th century. – Dr Ann Gibb
November 3rd	FROM AESCHYLUS TO AFGHANISTAN, Poetry inspired by conflict, not confined to the First World War – Mark Steinhardt
December 1st	BELOW STAIRS AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE, The lives of those serving royalty. Did they get the day off at Christmas? – Janet Stow (This meeting also includes wine, mince pies and nibbles)
2016
March 1st	ST FREMUND The legend and truth about a little- known 10th century saint associated with Dunstable Priory – Hugh Garrod
April 5th	ANTIQUES VALUATION EVENT – David Fletcher and other experts will tell you about your “attic finds” and curiosities. This will be a fundraising event, in support of local projects.
May 10th NB 2nd Tuesday	AGM 7:30pm, followed by the Eric Houfe Memorial Lecture: THE WALLACE COLLECTION – Dame Rosalind Savill F.S.A. former Director of the Wallace Collection.

2016 – 2017 Season

October 4th	THE GHOSTS OF AMPTHILL– John Hele, Chairman of the Society (Wine and nibbles)
November 1st	ST FREMUND, The legend and truth about a little-known 10th-century saint associated with Dunstable Priory – Hugh Garrod
December 6th	A LAST HURRAH FOR SHAKESPEARE, Why is he so much a part of our lives? A celebration to mark the 400th anniversary of his death, with various contributors. (This meeting also includes wine, mince pies and nibbles)
2017
March 7th	THE PRE-RAPHAELITES, An insight into the lives of the artists and their works – Gary Day
April 4th	RECENT ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES IN BEDFORD – Various speakers from the Local History Society
May 9th NB 2nd Tuesday	AGM 7:30pm, followed by the Eric Houfe Memorial Lecture, CONTRASTING COLLECTIONS – The Fitzwilliam and Soane museums – Tim Knox, Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

2017 – 2018 Season

2017
October 3rd	THE PANACEA SOCIETY – Vicki Manners, Panacea Museum Archivist
November 7th	BLUE SKY THINKING – THE SHORTS BROTHERS’ AIRSHIPS – Lydia Saul, Keeper of Social History, The Higgins
December 5th	JANE AUSTEN’S CHRISTMAS – Janet Stow (This meeting also includes wine, mince pies and nibbles)
2018
March 6th	WILLIAM NOURISH & THE KING’S ARMS PATH GARDEN, Bryden Keenan & Joan Emsley
April 10th CANCELLED	LIVING WITH THE PROFESSOR, Ampthill in the 1950s. Simon Houfe
May 8th NB 2nd Tuesday	AGM 7:30pm, followed by the Eric Houfe Memorial Lecture FIT FOR A QUEEN –The re-presentation of the pleasure grounds at Kensington Palace to mark the Diamond Jubilee of HM The Queen in 2012 – Dr Todd Longstaffe-Gowan

2018 – 2019 Season