| 2016 |
| April 12 |
Ann Smith |
100 Years of Reading Shopping
Ann is one of the librarians at Reading Central Library, and has made a study of shops and shopping over the past century, and told us of their history, the changes in shopping habits.
|
| May 10 |
Valerie Alasia |
Henley Workhouse - the Story of Townlands
Valerie, a Henley local historian, told us about the history of, and life in, Henley's Workhouse.
|
| June 14 |
David Williams |
The Work of the Finds Liaison Officer
Thousands of archaeological objects are discovered by metal-detector users and members of the public every year. These finds can tell us about the past - how and where people used to live and the types of objects they made and used. The Portable Antiquities Scheme ensures these are recorded, which is the work of the Finds Liaison Officer, and David is the person responsible for East Berkshire (and Surrey), and told us of his work, and some of the items discovered.
|
| July 12 |
Local History Visit |
Chawton
This year we visited Chawton, once home of Jane Austen (Jane's aunt and uncle had lived in Wargrave and another relation was vicar of Wargrave). In the morning, we have a guided visit to Chawton House, an interesting house, housing the Chawton House Library, and then after a break for lunch, we visited the Jane Austen House Museum in the afternoon.
|
| September 13 |
Peter Delaney |
Wargravians and World War 1
The village war memorial records the names of those who died during the war, but they were not the only villagers involved in 1914-18. We heard about some of those who died and some of those who survived the conflict.
|
| October 11 |
Sue Hourigan |
The Preservation of Archive Records
Sue is the conservationist at the Berkshire Record Office, and will tell us about the ways in which the archives are preserved for the future.
|
| November 8 |
Barbara Ratings |
My Experiences as a Vicar's Wife from Germany
Barbara will share some of her recollections of life at the vicarage - from her perspective of one who was not familiar with the vicarage, let alone English village life. What were the expectations in 1971? Cucumber sandwiches on the vicarage lawn? How did she learn what to do with "church hankies"? Whatever was she expected to reply when asked by a parishioner "Is Father in?" Are Anglicans Protestants or Catholics? Why could nobody she asked in Germany tell her what the Church of England was about?
|
| December 13 |
Christmas Party |
Christmas Party
|
| 2016 |
| January 10 |
Daniel Wood |
Boats of the River Thames
Dan - who grew up in Wargrave, and worked on the river - will recount some of his experiences of times on the river.
|
| February 14 |
Graham Jones |
The Lambourn Valley Railway
The railway branch through this part of Berkshire was not promoted by one of the 'big companies'. It had a special kind of traffic from the start - and a different special kind of traffic at the end of its life. Graham will tell us about the life of railway and some of the people associated with it.
|
| March 14 |
A G M |
The Annual General
Meeting
|
