Summer 2021
- Members will be sent emails with meeting registration details for Zoom talks
- We plan to restart physical talks at the Crossways Community Baptist Church at Junction Road, Dorking in September this year
- All talks are on Mondays and start at 7:15 for 7:30pm unless otherwise stated
2nd August(Zoom)
Secret Britain: Unearthing Our Mysterious Past
Time Team presenter Mary-Ann Ochota will reveal secret histories from around Britain, including “A cornucopia of our weirdest and most wonderful archaeological sites and artefacts”.
Book early!
16th August(Zoom):
Searching for Inspector Donaldson.
A talk on the first policeman to be murdered in Surrey, told by Donaldson’s great-great grandson, Henry Pelham, who found the story while researching family history. Local interest: PC Donaldson once patrolled Dorking for the force
6th September (Dorking)
Mills of the River Wandle
Mills have shaped the identity of the River Wandle for hundreds of years. Around 90 water wheels operated along it at its peak, Talk by Mick Taylor of Wandle Industrial Museum
Sunday 19th September
Titanic Walk in Godalming (£7)
90-minute guided walk on the tale of John George ‘Jack’ Phillips, a wireless telegraphist aboard the RMS Titanic, from his early years in Godalming to his final hours aboard the ship. Led by Gavin Dulley
27th September (Zoom)
Town Hall & traders: High Street Croydon to 1901
Talk by Carole Roberts, President of Croydon Natural History & Scientific Society, on the development of Croydon with several comparisons to how it looks today
4th October (Dorking)
John Evelyn’s Surrey
Horticulturalist John Evelyn (1620-1706) was born in Surrey and kept a diary that provides important insights into this era.
Talk by Isabel Sullivan of Surrey History Centre
25th October (Zoom)
Canal History & Heritage (incl. Wey & Arun Canal)
Talk by Carole Roberts, President of Croydon Natural History & Scientific Society, on the development of Croydon with several comparisons to how it looks today
1st November (Dorking)
Remembering & Forgetting: local WW1 memorials
We’ve done a lot of remembering of the Great War – but “forgot to remember” a lot too.
Talk by Kathy Atherton of Dorking Museum, author of “World War One in Dorking”
22nd October (Zoom)
Dissolution of the Monasteries- Superstition, Scandal & Dodgy Dealing
Meet pirates, highwaymen & thieves – and that’s just a few of the monks! And some of them were in Surrey.
Talk by historian Dr Julia Hickey.
6th November (Dorking)
Charles Voysey’s Surrey houses
Charles Voysey (1857-1941) was an architect and designer who was a source of inspiration to Art Nouveau and built several notable properties in Surrey.
Talk by Dr Anne Anderson
20th December (Zoom)
Enterprising Friends : the extraordinary commercial success of English Quakers in the 19th century
Quakers such as Josiah Wedgwood, Abraham Darby, George Cadbury, Edward Pease and James Clark played a prominent role in our industrial revolution. Find out more in this talk by Chris Bruce-Jones
